Man is not violent; Man does not crave material power; Man is not destructive.
The true Man that God created in His image is infinite, spiritual, compassionate, meek and loves his neighbor as himself.
As the human consciousness wakes up to who we really are spiritually and who our Father-Mother Creator is, we will feel satisfied, whole and complete. Acts of violence, such as this one, will then no longer be possible because man could not have the desire to hurt or injure another.
I had the wonderful realization last night that I don’t have to like everyone, but I do get the privilege and have the ability to love everyone. While it might seem easier to love the people that we like, Jesus shows us how to go deeper.
He said, “By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35)
This makes me think of Jesus disciples being in one big love fest where everyone gets along and no one has any conflict. However, we have evidence in the Bible that some disciples found it hard to get along. I like to think that even if we don’t like someone we can still have the humility and unselfishness to work together, as Jesus’ disciples did. And we have the spiritual understanding to know that each individual is made in the loving image of God.
In a way, this way of loving each other is a lot simpler than trying to get human personalities to blend. It goes straight to the divine, to the Truth and spiritual state of things. It frees me from even wasting time trying to get human personalities to match up when I can go right to the true idea and get to know each one as the son and daughter of God.
Recently, a friend shared how she was praised at church while serving in a particular capacity. The praise was given by a fellow church member. Knowing both of these individuals, I admired their ongoing friendship and the way they appreciate the God-given qualities in one another such as integrity, dependability, honesty, forthrightness, compassion, and care. These individuals have served in church together for many years.
If I look at just the material surface of things, I might wonder how these individuals could be friends since they are so different: you could say one is a conservative, upper-class man while the other a liberal, middle-class lesbian.
How can these two different individuals serve together for decades in church and share a friendship that dives so much deeper than a material sense of things? By truly appreciating one another as God’s child – as brothers and sisters of the one Father-Mother God.
“…man is not material; he is spiritual”, wrote Mary Baker Eddy (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 468). If our identity is spiritual, that means it isn’t made of anything temporal (or temporary). We are made of God’s thoughts, ideas and qualities. This certainly makes me want to get to know who and what God is, so that I can know who and what we are – what we are made of.
“God’s being is infinity, freedom, harmony, and boundless bliss.” (Ibid, 481)
Meditating on each these synonyms and attributes for God gives us a greater understanding of who God is; and it tells us about what we are made of since we are made in God’s image and likeness. It also reveals how our human relationships can transcend material confines and be harmonious, united and long-lasting.
Spirituality & Healing 