In every circumstance one should remember that his very existence witnesses to the presence of God, for God is Life, and Life is manifested in individual being. Man represents Life. Of man made in God's likeness, Mary Baker Eddy writes (Pulpit and Press, p. 4), "His existence is deathless, forever unfolding its eternal Principle." She goes on to say: "Wait patiently on illimitable Love, the lord and giver of Life. Reflect this Life, and with it cometh the full power of being."

The purpose of Christian Science is not to prolong the belief of life in matter, but to teach men to reflect, by every Godlike quality, the Life that is deathless. One result of such reflecting is longevity; but immortality, not human longevity, is the goal of scientific Christianity. And with immortal good comes the dominion which God bestows upon His likeness. In the measure that one approximates the perfection of real manhood, he represents God.

When Christ Jesus instructed Nicodemus in the basic truths which underlie the healing power of Christ, Truth, he made a clear distinction between mortal consciousness, which represents the animal nature, and spiritual consciousness, which represents Spirit, or eternal Life. He said (John 3:6), "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."

The Master represented immortal Life at all times because he expressed true, spiritual elements, which are deathless. He said to Philip (John 14:9), "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father." Jesus embodied qualities and ideas which came from his divine source, and his reflection of these qualities and ideas signified the living glory of his infinite source. Hence, even on earth, he represented God's will, His authority, His power, His government, His love.

No longer should one wonder what God is or what man is like. The example has been given which clearly characterizes man as he exists in Science. Real manhood, when understood, brings the demonstration of the power of health over sickness, purity over sin, intelligence over stupidity, life over death.

Mrs. Eddy says in "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 46), "In Science, man represents his divine Principle,—the Life and Love that are God,—even as the idea of sound, in tones, represents harmony; but thought has not yet wholly attained unto the Science of being, wherein man is perfect even as the Father, his divine Principle, is perfect."

A representative not only portrays but is empowered by that which it represents. Man's representation of God is not abstract, but alive in active goodness and power. In order to prove man's immortality, one should manifest love, integrity, justice, strength—qualities which can never be lost or diminished and which can never die.

Like the strains of music which express harmony in tones of tenderness, gaiety, eloquence, and might, man expresses living qualities, which represent his Life-principle. We see the real man shining through human consciousness as individuals are noble and generous, loving and guileless. The world's great need is to be filled with inhabitants who represent Life and who can thus think and speak with authority to every phase of error.

Jesus' acute recognition of man's office as God's representative led him to rebuke sharply the hypocritical Pharisees. These foes of the Christ strained at the letter of the law, demanding ritualistic niceties; but they neglected the compassion and forgiveness and affection which evidence the kind of worship that pleases God. These foes were "blind guides" (Matt. 23:24) that were leading mortals down a dead-end road of suffering and destruction. The Pharisees represented the unreal, carnal mind, which opposes whatever is truly expressive of divine Life. But they were powerless to prevent the Master and his followers from representing the power of God.

Today humanity is facing what is probably the greatest destructive threat in its history. Christian Scientists, knowing that man represents the power of divinity, can do much toward stopping the mental action of evil that would plunge civilization into a state of moral and physical chaos.

Are we contributing all we are capable of contributing? Are we representing divine might, which can destroy perverseness and silence irresponsible, unreasoning impulses of thought? Are we dedicating ourselves to the purpose of proving the power of existence, which unfolds divine Principle?

Mrs. Eddy says in "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 189), "For man to know Life as it is, namely God, the eternal good, gives him not merely a sense of existence, but an accompanying consciousness of spiritual power that subordinates matter and destroys sin, disease, and death."

Our sense of existence, our consciousness of being, should be a constant reminder that life and power are inseparable, because Life and its representative are inseparable. Power is ability to act. Our present ability to think righteously, to reason intelligently, to maintain good will, must become so spiritualized that it will attain the might to stop every perverse force of thought which would design destruction in contradiction of Love's plan of peace.

God has given us the truths of being through our Leader's great revelation. Our duty and our joy are to represent God in our times and to prove the scientific dominion of Life over mortality.

Helen Wood Bauman