Either all of us are God’s children or none of us are. I had this realization regarding the labels people often put on one another. It was clear to me that no label could change the fact that we are all God’s children. 

While studying the Bible Lesson (found in the Christian Science Quarterly), I had read this passage from the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: “God is Love. Can we ask Him to be more? God is intelligence. Can we inform the infinite Mind of anything He does not already comprehend?” (Mary Baker Eddy, p. 2).

At the time, I was dealing with a legal issue. An individual owed me a large sum of money and it was hard not to label this person as dishonest and manipulative. But when I read that passage, I realized that if God is infinite Mind and knows all, then He knows us only as His perfect creation, and labels are just a form of mortal mind (a suppositious mind opposed to God). Christ Jesus called that opposing mind a liar. I couldn’t single out one person and hold critical thoughts about them, because that would be giving in to the lie that there are two creations—one good and one evil—rather than the one God, Spirit, and His wholly good, spiritual creation. If we are each God’s pure child, then I couldn’t hold untrue thoughts about anyone.