'To Bless All Mankind' November 28, 2016 Issue

Innocence and the armor of Love

Mary Alice Rose

Adapted from an article published in The Christian Science Monitor, September 14, 2016.

Recent headlines have focused on the plight of children as both victims and perpetrators of violence in war zones. Whether on traditional battlefields or in guerrilla warfare, in remote villages or on inner-city street corners, Christ Jesus’ teachings show that the power of God is present to help, save, and heal.

Jesus’ mission was to lovingly lift individuals above a sense of being either a victim or a perpetrator by showing mankind the healing power of divine Love. Christ Jesus proved that God’s children, created spiritually in God’s likeness, are naturally innocent and good. Knowing that man is the pure and eternal reflection of God—of Love and Life itself—Jesus demonstrated, through healing, man’s innocence from violence, insanity, hatred, and fear.

Mary Baker Eddy observed that, while Christ Jesus did not have the weapons of the world, he was armed with the understanding of God as infinite Spirit and Life (see Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, pp. 48–49 and 52). As the Bible explains, infinite Spirit is the source of all creation, so our true identity is fundamentally spiritual rather than fleshly. And, as the offspring of infinite Life, it is natural for us to reflect the vitality and strength of Life. This understanding is the armor of divine Love. And it lifts us above physical suffering.