Article January 18, 1982 Issue

Here, not there

SUSANNE D. deMILT

Man, inseparable from his Maker, is always immortal, holy, perfect in every way. As the exact image and likeness of Love, he is always loving. As the very expression of Soul, he is eternally at peace, happy, and healthy. As the emanation of Mind, he is intelligent. Entirely apart from the material definition of man, this new definition needs to be understood in Christian Science.

Where is this man, this divine idea of God? He is within the Mind that is God—safe there, secure, healthy, and happy there. But where is this divine idea in relation to the human man—the one who needs food and clothing and shelter, who may be sick or frustrated or depressed? Or in relation to the mortal who is apparently healthy, happy, and contented? Further, what does the immaculate, pristine purity of the real man have to do with the person sunk in the pain of sin or guilt or sickness?

Christ Jesus didn't leave the true idea of man out there somewhere as a lovely-sounding theory but brought it to bear on the human situation. Right here on earth he destroyed the basic error that man could ever be mortal—could ever be blind or sinning or crippled or even dead. He proved that the divine idea has everything to do with the human being; when really seen and deeply felt, it heals him. Speaking of Jesus, Mrs. Eddy says in Science and Health: "He was inseparable from Christ, the Messiah,—the divine idea of God outside the flesh. This enabled Jesus to demonstrate his control over matter."^{Science and Health, p. 482.}