People often voice concern about repeating their parent’s bad experiences.
For instance, a 60 year old might fret, “My mother died from a heart ailment when she was 60. I’m afraid I will too.” Or, “I have a hard time controlling my temper. I got it from my dad.” And the list goes on.
But Christian Science comes to the rescue and teaches that we do not have to repeat errors of our parents. We can do better.
We can learn from our parent’s experiences and improve on them. It’s called God’s law of progress in action!
A good place to start is by understanding that God is our Parent. We inherit all our capacities and health from God and life is our opportunity to act on those capacities and demonstrate abundant health.
What our parent demonstrated does not constrain what we can demonstrate.
If our parent died young from an illness, then we can see the error of that illness and prove its unreality by living a long happy life ourselves. Spiritual truth makes it possible.
God is the source of our health, and always present to demonstrate.
Illness is not self-perpetuating. Truth stops it.
So, don’t let the past outline your future. It is an axiom of historical study that we are to learn from past experiences, improve upon them and do better.
Whatever bothers you about your parents will cease to bother you when you understand what is spiritually true about you today. Be what God created you to be, and move forward from where your parent’s left off. Your improved example will speak well for them and for you.
This is such an important message for today. Thank you.
What ever our parents do, doesn’t reflect on us since our basic heritage comes only from God, Good. We only reflect God. Because of that, if our parents demonstrate God’s reflection, then we also. If they make mistakes, we learn from them not to.
Great point! One of my favorite passages from Mary Baker Eddy’s Science and Health, page 14 begins: “Entirely separate from the belief and dream of material living, is the life divine…” To me this means that our life is spiritual, with no influence from or reference to a material history. Thanks for your wonderfully inspiring posts.
Thank you for reminding me of something I heard a long time ago. A lecturer once spoke of the need to see through all “false reports of heredity,” of character traits, disease, physical claims or limitations of any kind from our parents or grandparents. Then he went a step further that I have always appreciated. He stated that we don’t have to accept such things as having been real for them either! We can all claim our spiritual heritage from God alone–for them and for us! There is no law of heredity in divine Love’s spiritual creation.
Thank you Evan…this was another GREAT ONE…
Nice to know too, that whatever mistakes our parents made can be redeemed as well. No need to leave them with their mistakes, but to also know they are progressing and overcoming too.
Many years ago, my father, a Christian Scientist, in a very humble, generous, loving way told me he hoped he had done a good job of parenting but I should improve upon where needed. Now I have told my son the same thing. How important to drop the negative thinking and carry forward the best thinking for our children. As God’s children we can only reflect the best.
Thank you, Evan! As always spot on – and commenters, thank you as well for your additions! Thus blog so supports this week’s lesson.
Wonderful message Evan. I know the feeling you mentioned at the beginning. My mother passed on at age 57 from a cancer belief. When I was closed to turning 57 (21 years ago) I had those questioning thoughts — but thank heaven for Christian Science that teaches us how to quickly banish fear. Keep these inspiring messages coming.
These were wonderful truths to revisit. Enjoyed all the comments as well. Thanks so much!
This post is exactly what I need to hear, and is so applicable to me. My mother, a lifelong dedicated student of CS, passed on at age 45 from a belief of cancer. I have struggled with fear of the belief of not only heredity, but also the fear that if she, who I considered a “better” person and CS student than I am, could not overcome the belief of cancer, what chance would I have if it ever happened to me? My CS teacher too said its a mortal belief that isn’t true about any of child of God, myself or my mother included. Thank you for the reminder Evan, that it is our right to prove the unreality of the claims of illness by living long healthy lives. We aren’t doomed to repeat what happened to our parents-we are privileged to demonstrate the Life that is God.