Mother love is the quality of thought that cares for, looks after, tends, and protects the object of its affection. The center of God's affection is His beloved child, made in His likeness. The Mother-love of God is the life of man. This life is eternal and uninterruptible. Man has all the love God gives, and God gives all the love man has. Mrs. Eddy observes, "As Elias presented the idea of the fatherhood of God, which Jesus afterwards manifested, so the Revelator completed this figure with woman, typifying the spiritual idea of God's motherhood." ^{Science and Health, p. 562.}

The hungering heart needs the nutriment of love as parched land needs rain. The garden of thought must be watered so that it may blossom and bear the fruit of compassion for all mankind.

"A mother's affection cannot be weaned from her child, because the mother-love includes purity and constancy, both of which are immortal," ^{Ibid., p. 60.} writes Mrs. Eddy. These immortal qualities come from God and express the true Love for which the world longs. In families where this love is practiced, children are better equipped to cope with the adversities and frustrations they may encounter in the world. Those who, for one reason or another, have not had the advantage of this joyful experience may yearn for this bond that binds the human family together in brotherhood. In their search for this quality, they will be gently led to look to a higher than human source for succor and comfort—to understand divine Love, which enfolds all mankind in its tender embrace.

Much violence and crime may stem basically from lack of feeling and failure to experience the mother love that gentles and guides human thought in the way of goodwill. Yet the most tender care given by human parents will not in and of itself heal the world's ills. Something more is needed.

We learn in Christian Science that man is wholly spiritual and that the material picture of man as a mortal outcome of the union of two other mortals is a false depiction. Christ Jesus said, "Call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven." ^{Matt. 23:9.} He not only left this command as a guide for us; he maintained an unshakable consciousness of his unity with his divine Father. As we yield to the truth that God is our Father-Mother, we find we too can turn in thought to God and feel His tender presence, no matter what circumstances we face. We can let Love govern each aspect of our being. When spiritual qualities in our thoughts and lives predominate, we experience healing.

Each individual idea of God, divine Mind, is loving, complete, and satisfied, because each is inseparable from Him. We recognize this ever-present Love and feel its nurturing presence to the degree that we lose all sense of hate and fear. Let us do as Jesus bade when he said, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." ^{11:28 .} To me, the "I" of Christ Jesus is the Mother-love of God comforting His own.

What a joyful sense of the divine parenthood unfolds as we advance Spiritward. God is man's true Parent. Joy fills the heart when we realize that we all issue from the one spiritual source. Mrs. Eddy describes man's family, writing, "Love, the divine Principle, is the Father and Mother of the universe, including man." ^{Science and Health, p. 256.}

This spiritual view, held to and put into practice, is productive and supportive, enriching the human family. It increases the value of family life in the community and imbues us with the true sense of Love, which consequently reaches out and embraces all mankind. It enables our affections to more nearly approximate the Mother-love of God.