The Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, met with great opposition, even cruel injustice, in pursuing her goal of spiritual teaching and healing.
Why not? This is what he promised those who believed in him! n4 One who wants to take a radically spiritual stand to love his enemies will be able to find a practical way to start doing this if he begins by acknowledging God as infinite, indivisible Love, and man and woman as God's beloved children.
Should we be expected to love as he loved and get the results he did?'' What about us? We could say, ''That was Jesus. Loving in the way Jesus did expresses a universal law of harmony, which, when practiced, transcends the time-honored prejudices of the carnal mind. It's not merely a commendable thing to do. To love our enemies, then, is to live in accord with - and demonstrate - the very Principle of our being and of the universe. Yet the love of which Jesus spoke is natural, because it proceeds from an understanding of God as divine Principle, infinite Love itself. Perhaps the spiritual demand to ''bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you'' n3 contrasts just as starkly with twentieth century materialism. The New Testament teaching that God is Love and that we are the sons and daughters of divine Love was in sharp contrast to ancient traditions of a national, tribal god who demanded ''an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.'' n2 Rather, it's to heal the selfishness, hatred, and insecurity that breed animosity. Nor is it merely to grit our teeth and steel ourselves to bear injustice. To obey this precept isn't to naively place ourselves in a position of vulnerability. Studying Jesus' teachings and works, one can see that ''Love your enemies'' is a realistic demand for living, and its power is in healing. He overcame every threat of hatred against him - even the attempt to silence him by death. Jesus demonstrated this rule in his remarkable healing career. ''Love your enemies'' n1 is a simple saying, and yet it requires a whole new perspective, a departure from conventional thinking. Certainly Christ Jesus' teachings are revolutionary!
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