Are you willing to claim your inheritance? God is your benefactor, and He has made you, His beloved child, heir to all that is beautiful, good, and pure. Your inheritance is not dependent on the demise of anyone, because God and His offspring are eternal; it is all yours— right here, right now. Do not postpone claiming and enjoying what is rightfully yours.

One of the first steps in claiming an inheritance is proving one's identity as the named heir. Perhaps one does not know how to identify himself as the child of God, Spirit, because he has always thought of himself in terms of human ancestry. If this is the case with you, let Christian Science be your counsel to establish your birthright as God's heir.

In reference to John 1:12, 13, Mrs. Eddy writes: "When we understand man's true birthright, that he is 'born, not...of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God,' we shall understand that man is the offspring of Spirit, and not of the flesh; recognize him through spiritual, and not material laws; and regard him as spiritual, and not material. His sonship, referred to in the text, is his spiritual relation to Deity." ^{Miscellaneous Writings, p. 181;}

According to the teachings of Christian Science, you have the moral right to claim, in these or other words: "I am God's child. I am spiritual because God, my Father-Mother, is Spirit. I am heir to all that God imparts. Because of my perfect relation to Him, I can claim the attributes of Life, Truth, and Love as my inheritance and use this wealth of divine goodness in my daily experiences."

Although your spiritual inheritance cannot be measured in material terms, it is clearly real and tangible to the spiritual senses. It is the manifestation of God's nature. It includes the beauty of Soul, the strength of Spirit, the intelligence of Mind, the law of Principle, the power of Truth, the joy of Life, and the tenderness of Love.

We can hardly expect to enjoy the benefits of our spiritual legacy if we do not claim all God's attributes and ideas as our own true substance and let them enrich our thoughts and actions. If we fail to do this, we can be compared to a man living in poverty, refusing to use funds he has deposited in a bank. On the other hand, if we do claim and use our God-given inheritance, we find an abundant supply of everything we need.

He who knows he is God's heir and claims his birthright can approach his human experiences from the standpoint of giving instead of getting. He does not suffer from the cruel fears of lack and limitation, which are concomitants of a material sense of being. He affluently demonstrates the divine nature without fear of depletion. He knows he is constantly supplied with the divine ideas that supply his daily needs.

Every discordant condition is a false belief in the absence of good. When you claim and demonstrate your inheritance of God's attributes and ideas, you are, in truth, claiming and proving your dominion over any suggestion of evil that may be confronting you. Health, activity, and companionship, as well as goodness, intelligence, peace, and happiness, all are yours by inheritance. The seeming place of lack of any kind is already filled with the riches of God's love.

Sometimes one is reticent about using his inheritance of Christly qualities. He fears that his expressions of tenderness, integrity, compassion, forgiveness, will be misunderstood as impractical in this world or misinterpreted as human weakness. Dependence on God's goodness to solve problems requires moral courage. Divine Love expressed is strength, not weakness. Godliness is spiritual power. It overcomes human frailties such as dishonesty, immorality, hatred, jealousy, and so on.

Mrs. Eddy says in the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health, "Moral courage is 'the lion of the tribe of Juda,' the king of the mental realm." ^{Science and Health, p. 514:} Claim this spiritual power as your gift from God. It will bless everyone with whom you come in contact.

Christ Jesus had the moral courage to identify himself as the Son of God and to claim his inheritance of God's goodness and power. He was never reluctant to overcome evil with good. He proved that God's endowment of love is sufficient to meet every human need. He used his inheritance to demonstrate the practical way to heal sin, sickness, and death. He taught us that we can claim this same Christ-power as our own and share with mankind the blessings of God.

If a false claimant, named evil, or mortal mind, contests God's will and tries to deprive you of what is rightfully yours, Christian Science, if sought, can quickly and effectively defend you. The accuser uses the suggestions of doubt, discouragement, and fear to dispute your sonship with God. If he can deceive you with his lies, your inheritance of health and harmony may seem to be in jeopardy.

Christian Science, acting on your behalf, renders the false appeals of mortal mind null and void. It exposes evil as an impostor because evil does not proceed from God, the only Mind. It is not supported by God's law and never could be an entity in God's good creation. Therefore its false claims have no authority over God's offspring. Christian Science assures you that error cannot prevent you from enjoying the dividends that come from claiming your inheritance of fearlessness, assurance, and spiritual understanding.

God's will of good for all His children has been established— proven to be true—by thousands of documented testimonies of spiritual healing. His will is law. His children share and share alike. Each one is heir to all that God imparts. One's possession and demonstration of God's abundant goodness does not deprive another, but we see our own in someone else's good.

The Apostle Paul writes: "As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God..... The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." ^{Rom. 8:14, 16, 17.} Identify yourself as a child of God, claim your inheritance, spend it freely. It will be returned to you a hundredfold.