Article May 30, 2016 Issue

The greatest gift

Alexandra Hawley

One of the most important guidelines for me as a parent is the first line of the Lord’s Prayer—“Our Father which art in heaven” (Matthew 6:9)—for God is our true Parent, and we are all His children. In Genesis, the Bible tells us that God made each of us in His image and likeness, and that He saw His creation as completely good. 

We can turn to our divine Parent in any situation, trusting that His goodness and wisdom are here to guide us in making all our decisions. The Bible further tells us that God is Love (see I John 4:8), and as we trustingly acknowledge this presence and power, we will see that divine Love is here to guide our children as well.

In Mary Baker Eddy’s book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, she gives a spiritual sense of the first line of the Lord’s Prayer—“Our Father-Mother God, all-harmonious” (p. 16). Also in this book, she uses the word Principle as a synonym for God, and uses it along with the synonym Love in a number of passages. Principle and Love are one; they’re both God. But I find it helpful to think of Principle as representing the fatherhood of God and Love as representing the motherhood of God. 

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