"Likeness" ANNIE M. KNOTT, CSD          Apart from the teachings of Christian Science, man's likeness to God is very generally believed to be corporeal; and the attempt is made to argue from effect, as seen through the lens of material belief, back to God, the spiritual cause of all reality. From this viewpoint it is argued that because man has a material body, God must have a corresponding organism of some sort; and thoughtful people, looking at poor physical specimens of humanity, are sometimes puzzled as to where the divine likeness is to be found.          Man's likeness to God, as presented in the first chapter of Genesis, is explained by Mrs. Eddy on page 516 of Science and Health, where she says, "The substance, Life, intelligence, Truth, and Love, which constitute Deity, are reflected by His creation; and when we subordinate the false testimony of the corporeal senses to the facts of Science, we shall see this true likeness and reflection everywhere." The student of Christian Science is taught to think of man's likeness to God as the manifestation of all that expresses the divine nature; and in his daily demonstrations it is both a duty and a privilege to hold ever in view the idea of infinite Mind, that the divine qualities may be humanly brought out in the ratio of one's understanding.          It goes without saying that we all desire to express life, and this would mean existence unshadowed by the fear or expectation of death. It would also mean unceasing and unwearied activity, and it would at the same time mean the expression of divine intelligence. Nor is this all, for the student learns that he cannot truly reflect the divine Life unless he expresses truth and love in all his activities and in his relations with his fellow men, for the failure to do this would measurably lessen his realization of Life, with all that this word implies in Christian Science. If at any time we seem to fail in our efforts to realize the health, harmony, and prosperity which should always characterize the children of God, it is deeply interesting to search the Scriptures and find therein many statements as to the divine nature, that we may thereby trace our own likeness to our heavenly Father. We are told that goodness is one of His chief characteristics; and again we read, "Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne." We of course readily admit this to be true of God, but how often do we seek to find justice and judgment enthroned in our own consciousness?          The mortal belief in self-preservation tends to blind one to the broad demands of justice, as seen from the spiritual viewpoint; and those who fail to recognize these demands need not wonder if they are unable to realize justice in their own affairs. To realize the blessings of justice one must himself be just; and as this is seen, true judgment will begin to characterize his thoughts, words, and deeds. It is beautiful to trace here the close relation between justice and judgment, because without the one the other is not apt to be demonstrated on the human plane. For example, one may have a strong sense of the demands of justice, — of right between man and man, — but unless the justice is perceived as a divine quality and linked to judgment, its human expression is apt to be one-sided, hence incomplete.          In Christian Science the greatest world questions are found to have a vital relation to our individual problems, for the divine Principle is as truly expressed in the small as in the great things of life. The lowliest are neither exempt from the demands of justice nor excluded from the blessings which follow obedience to these demands, and health and harmony are the unfailing result of a true understanding of the divine nature and of what man's likeness to God means. From the standpoint of Christian Science it means nothing less than the dominion expressed in the first chapter of Genesis as man's birthright, and which nothing can ever take away from man as God's idea. Speaking of this Mrs. Eddy says (Science and Health, p. 518), "His birthright is dominion, not subjection;" and at each step of the way we find new inspiration in tracing the infinite possibilities of man's likeness to God.   "Likeness" by Annie M. Knott, CSD Christian Science Sentinel, November 18, 1916

 

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