Loving Alone is Living

EARL A. RUSSELL

Mankind is constantly seeking ways and means of extending and perpetuating life. Much of the time, however, it is using material methods, and so its efforts do not meet with the desired success. It uses material means because it believes that life is material, or physical, and organic. Were it true that life is material, it would be equally true that humanity could be helped by material means; but Christian Science shows the impossibility of a creation that is unlike and contrary to the one creator, Spirit, God.

Christian Science both explains and proves that there is in reality no matter, and that so-called matter's claims to power, life, truth, intelligence, and substance are myths, misconceptions of spiritual facts. Matter, so called, does not exist as a real entity. Consequently, it has no life to perpetuate or extend. The destruction of the belief that there is intelligent matter is not the destruction of life, but, instead, is proof of the fact that Life is God, indestructible and eternal; and this fact brings to light the true manifestation of life expressed in harmonious activity and progress. It further shows how spiritual man, as the image and likeness of God, is constantly, ceaselessly, reflecting God, pure immortal Life. In the degree that one understands this great spiritual fact and acts unselfishly, one is truly living by reflecting God, divine Love.

In his first epistle John has said that "God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him;" and students of the Bible agree that this is true. Yet, through the belief in a material creation, mortals have presumed to believe that man, the offspring of creative Love, can express both fear and hate. Such a conclusion is obviously incorrect, for Love could not create hate, fear, nor yet anything to be feared; Spirit could not create matter; good could not produce evil; nor could Life cause or end in its opposite called death. Effect must be in harmony with its cause, as everyone knows. If God is Love, as John says, and God is Life, then Love is Life.

A student of Christian Science was once placed in a very trying situation in which much criticism and condemnation were manifested. He was innocent of any wrongdoing; and because of this he was tempted to condemn others as being in the wrong. It then occurred to him that as a student of Christian Science he must endeavor to see each one as he is in reality. It also occurred to him that loving one's socalled enemies means destroying the belief that there are any enemies to call forth fear or hate. With this realization, it was but a short time before the dream picture had lost its seeming reality and a better sense of true friendship had resulted.

When our beloved Master and Way-shower said. "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another," he was showing the importance of keeping the First Commandment by having nothing unlike love in thought. And Mary Baker Eddy, our revered Leader, says in her poem "Love" (Poems, p. 7), "Love alone is Life." Her statement does not deviate from John's saying, and it further emphasizes the importance of Christ Jesus' admonition. It is significant that our Leader lived in accord with this teaching, as did the Master and his beloved disciple.

If, as John says, "God is love," and if, as our Leader has revealed, "Love alone is Life," then, to love is to live; and unless we are loving, we are not truly reflecting the one Life; we are not truly living. To be loving does not mean that we should overlook evil or error of any sort. It means, however, that we are truly loving only as we unsee the seeming evil in our thought, refusing to believe evil to be part of the real man or to have power over him at any time. Many times we best show our love by rebuking wrongdoing both audibly and mentally, by refusing to associate with willful evildoers, and by refusing to be passive in our attitude toward the false claim of evil.

Christ Jesus said, "This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." And, truly, it is "life eternal" to know God as Love; to be conscious only of love and to reflect Love. It is apparent that nothing can be done materially to enable us to love more and so to live more. And it is equally apparent that nothing can be done materially to prevent us from so loving and so living. The position may be summed up concisely in the statement that to love abundantly is to live abundantly, and to love forever is to live forever.

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