Article May 23, 1988 Issue

Please identify yourself

There's more to each of us than meets the eye. We can get the true story of who we are by asking what God knows of us.

Margaret H. Sullivan

Proper identification, job resumes, report cards, placement records. Pictures and statistics often seem to describe us. But do they define us? Are we really limited to what we may appear to be on paper? Surely there is more to each of us than statistics would reveal. Simple physical description could never completely and accurately define an individual. But if one wanted to get a better concept of his true identity, where would he look?

The Bible gives an exact description of who we really are in the first chapter of Genesis: "God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."^{Gen. 1:27.} This definition of man is far removed from the way we generally perceive ourselves. We are accustomed to thinking of ourselves in limited, material terms—what we are on paper or what is contained in someone's opinion or evaluation of us— because we have unconsciously accepted a view of man as wholly or primarily physical. If we start from the basis of accumulated human information, no wonder we feel unsure of what constitutes our identity as the reflection of God!

As we get a better understanding of God, we gain a clearer understanding of His reflection, man. The oneness of God and man provides the basis for our claiming, through prayer, the distinct and complete spiritual nature of our true identity. The Christian Science textbook, Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy, describes the relationship of God and man: "God, the divine Principle of man, and man in God's likeness are inseparable, harmonious, and eternal. The Science of being furnishes the rule of perfection, and brings immortality to light. God and man are not the same, but in the order of divine Science, God and man coexist and are eternal. God is the parent Mind, and man is God's spiritual offspring."^{Science and Health, p. 336.}

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