What if today at twelve o'clock noon, everyone, everywhere, stopped hating? What a heaven on earth this would be!

All of us can take a beginning step in this direction. Each human being can exercise his own God-given dominion over hate. The Way-shower, Christ Jesus, said, "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." Then he continued, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." ^{John 13:34, 35;}

As we read the four Gospels, we can see that Jesus had a deep love for God, Spirit, and for man, whose true identity is the spiritual, perfect image of Spirit. This enabled him to restore the maimed to wholeness, awaken the sinner to goodness, heal the sick, and raise the dead to life and peace. Just before the crucifixion, our Master performed a loving act of healing. Judas came with soldiers to arrest Jesus. One of Jesus' disciples took a sword and cut off the right ear of the servant of the high priest. Of Jesus' act the Bible says, "He touched his ear, and healed him." ^{Luke 22:51 ;} Doesn't this prove that love has dominion over hate?

How can we be more aware of Jesus' love for God and man and follow his example? We can start by actively expressing such spiritual qualities as purity, joy, love, and wisdom, and seeing these qualities expressed by others. Christian Science reveals that as we gain a spiritual conception of God and man, we awake to God's great love for all. The Bible assures us, "His eye seeth every precious thing." ^{Job 28:10;} In reality, God, Spirit, is the only Mind—all Life, Truth, and Love, filling all space. Thus man, our true Christly selfhood, is the complete, perfect, spiritual idea of the heavenly Maker. Man knows this forever. God made man good; He never made hate, sin, sickness, or death. Hence what God, Spirit, did not make cannot exist anywhere or as anything.

As we hold to the spiritual picture, it is easy to love man as the image of Spirit. I have had the opportunity to visit many countries. One day I thought: "How can I love each individual on earth? It would almost be impossible." But through the years, as I studied the Bible and Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy, I found the answer. I realized that as I behold man not as a mortal but as God's reflection, this is really knowing man for what he is. He is holy. No form of animosity can ever touch this spiritual concept.

Hostility cannot grow like a weed in our thought when we rely on prayer and a spiritual understanding of God and man. This is truly spiritualizing thought. It is important to know that we cannot allow ourselves to hate even just a little bit if we desire to grow in the understanding of God and spiritual man.

In an article entitled "Love Your Enemies" Mrs. Eddy says: "In Christian Science, the law of Love rejoices the heart; and Love is Life and Truth. Whatever manifests aught else in its effects upon mankind, demonstrably is not Love. We should measure our love for God by our love for man; and our sense of Science will be measured by our obedience to God,—fulfilling the law of Love, doing good to all; imparting, so far as we reflect them, Truth, Life, and Love to all within the radius of our atmosphere of thought." ^{Miscellaneous Writings, p. 12;}

Today we can go forward and reject any suggestion of hatred, since it is only a lie of the so-called carnal, mortal mind. Each of us can claim our God-given dominion and demonstrate spiritual reality. After all, the only real power and goodness anywhere are of God, Love. We can know with conviction, "The Lord God omnipotent reigneth." ^{Rev. 19:6.} The heavenly Father reigns forever. There is no opposite. As we strive to constantly love man as the reflection of Spirit, we are walking in the ascending footsteps of our Master.