What defines who we are? Do personality, society’s labels, how others view us, and our experiences intertwine to make us who we are and determine our prospects in life? What about our view of ourselves? Is it physical, intellectual, emotional, or spiritual – or some combination of these views?
Christian Science reveals that God – who is Mind, Soul, Spirit, Life, Truth, Love, Principle – is the creator of the universe, including man. And as the Bible tells us in Genesis 1, we are the image and likeness of God. Instead of a physical image that we see in a mirror, we are actually the reflection of God. And because God is Spirit, our identity is wholly spiritual, constituted of all the qualities of God.
In the Christian Science textbook, “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” Mary Baker Eddy writes of the great Hebrew leader Moses, who initially seemed to define himself by the limitations of his human nature and experience, that he ultimately “illustrated the grand human capacities of being bestowed by immortal Mind” (p. 200).
What are these capacities of Mind that we, like Moses, can express? The Apostle Paul lists them as “the fruit of the Spirit,” including “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance” (Galatians 5:22, 23). And the writer of Second Timothy states, “God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (1:7). God expresses these fundamental qualities and forces in man – each one of us – moment by moment.
This is divinity embracing humanity – guiding us, spiritualizing our thought, and lifting us so that we evidence the divine goodness of God. When we recognize and acknowledge these aspects of God’s nature as innate characteristics of our true selfhood as His reflection, we begin to understand how God identifies us. We are not matter-based personalities striving to become better people; we are God’s children, with all the gifts and advantages of the daughters and sons of God.
Even when our real identity seems to be covered up by fear, confusion, depression, resentment, or other negative states of thought, we have only to turn from this limited concept of our identity and embrace our true, spiritual nature. God’s qualities are always within us, ready to shine. As we become conscious of our authentic selfhood, we emerge from a material sense of life and manifest more of our divine nature – and healing takes place in mind and body.
After moving to a large urban area to be closer to my family, I began looking for a job. There were no openings in the field I had been working in, but I did find one as a night-shift security guard for a large complex. This company had never hired a woman for this position before, but I knew I had all the God-given qualities needed to do the required work. The shift supervisor I interviewed with saw those qualities in me as well.
Usually, it was the shift supervisor who hired new guards, but I was required to interview with his manager and the manager above him as well. During that week, I was praying, affirming that God’s attributes aren’t based on or divided by gender and that I am the expression of His qualities. I knew that the activity and energy of Spirit, the intelligence of Mind, the direction of Principle, and the kindness of Love were all reflected in me – and that God was providing the right place for me to use my God-bestowed talents to do the most good.
Each interview became a joyful discussion about me and about the work, and I was hired as the first woman on night-shift security at this complex, opening the way for others to come.
The divine truth of man’s relation to God, Spirit, as His reflection negates any sense of life as mortal or as including physical concepts of identity that inevitably result in limitations and barriers. What amazing power and authority are imparted to us by divine Mind, bestowing the understanding that we are composed of and express the divine energies of God, Love.
The more we identify and live as children of God, the more we make our lives the practical expression of the power of goodness and love. Science and Health says, “The human capacities are enlarged and perfected in proportion as humanity gains the true conception of man and God” (p. 258). That true conception is our real, spiritual identity, and living this authentic self results in healing and the restoration of harmony, not only for us but also for those around us and the world.
Adapted from an article published in the July 13, 2026, issue of the Christian Science Sentinel.
About The Author
