Living to Help

SIXTEEN of us were recently celebrating a young man's graduation from college. His life centers around helping others. He senses people's needs and then encourages and assists them to be productive. His business is teaching skiing and selling ski equipment. And through his natural tendency to be kind, he has also helped people find employment by instructing them how to repair and sell skis.

Blessing others is something everyone can do. When people's lives are marked by unselfish love for others, they become living proof that love is active, not passive. The essential quality in this blessing business is unselfishness, because it's when we're free from self-interest and self-limitation that we can help other people best, in both minor and major ways.

The life of Christ Jesus gives examples of how to be selfless. Jesus knew that he was the Son of God. He also knew that everyone is God's child and naturally expresses God's wonderful nature as a result.

In a conversation with his disciples, Jesus said, according to St. John's Gospel, "As the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself" (5:26). Along the same lines, he talked about the way everyone can live unselfishly: "He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him" (John 7:18). So whoever realizes his God-given spiritual sonship-or her spiritual status as a daughter of God-finds true identity. This recognition of spiritual identity helps each of us to live a life that blesses others. This is done through reflection of God, not through personal effort. God's power-the same power Jesus lived so effectively-is available to us right now in provable laws and rules that we can learn and practice in all we do.

For over one hundred years people have been redefining their lives through understanding God and His laws, as Mary Baker Eddy revealed following her discovery of Christian Science. At a critical time in her life, it was reading the Bible account of a healing of palsy Jesus performed (given in the ninth chapter of Matthew) that healed Mrs. Eddy of serious internal injuries. She knew she had found the timeless Truth that Jesus taught and lived. Then she dedicated her life to making this discovery plain and provable to other people, through spiritual understanding. A book she wrote, Miscellaneous Writings, says: "The Scriptures speak of Jesus as the Son of God and the Son of man; but Jesus said to call no man father; 'for one is your Father,' even God.

"Is man's spiritual sonship a personal gift to man, or is it the reality of his being, in divine Science? Man's knowledge of this grand verity gives him power to demonstrate his divine Principle, which in turn is requisite in order to understand his sonship, or unity with God, good" (pp. 180-181).

Finding that "unity with God, good," is priceless. It is also powerful. With it, daily life becomes a place in which to define the spiritual talents God has given you. No one is meant to be useless or ineffective. Everyone is entitled to be productive-to understand his or her true nature and its boundless potential. Blessing others is really just a case of helping them to understand this same nature themselves. There are many avenues for doing this, such as guiding and helping children, supporting civic enterprises, and praying for local and national interests and world peace.

And speaking of prayer, it's in moments of prayer and inspiration that we often first glimpse the wonderful gift of God. We only need to accept the spiritual fact that He is our Life. Honoring God is the most liberating, joy-bringing step anyone can ever take. Even a modest, first-time effort to understand our spiritual identity makes us followers of Jesus' teachings. And it equips us to go ahead in the work of living to bless.

Be kindly affectioned

one to another with

brotherly love; in honour

preferring one another.

Romans 12:10