Enjoy yourself!

A casual greeting to a friend? Yes, usually. But the phrase can imply much more if emphasis is placed on the word "yourself." It can then convey the hope that the friend will thoroughly enjoy his own selfhood; that he will be satisfied with his own identity and confident of his worth, knowing the greatness of his true being as the offspring of the divine creator.

A special kind of modesty is needed to enjoy one's own self in this way -- a humility that flows from spiritual understanding of identity as God's expression and from wholehearted obedience to the divine will. Far from being self-centered and smugly self-satisfied, such joy is evidence that one is rightly giving glory to God as the single Principle of all being, of whom man is the reflection. It involves trusting God and praising Him for His magnificient works -- even for the perfection of one's own true being.

When Christ Jesus came up from the water of the river Jordan after his baptism by John, the Bible tells us a voice was heard from heaven saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." n1

n1 Matthew 3:17.

During the next forty days this divine revelation of Jesus' immortal identity and of God's approval of him was challenged by the suggestions of the devil -- or the carnal mind, as the Apostle Paul later referred to the source of evil. Alone in the wilderness, Jesus had the opportunity to establish for himself what it meant to be the Son of the all-powerful God and to be the witness destined to reveal to the whole world the divine supremacy.

Later, toward the end of this career, despite the enormous success of his ministry and healing, he still maintained the certainly that he could accomplish only what God have him strength to do. He was always alert to the fact that the healing power was not a personal asset but belonged exclusively to Deity. "I have glorified thee on the earth," he said. And he continued, "And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." n2

n2 John 17:4, 5.

The Master knew his mission was to witness to the grand nature of God and to demonstrate the harmony of man. He did this to perfection, and as we, too, accept his Christly revelation of man's true being and more and more identify ourselves as God's manifestation, in the way he did, we will be able humbly to enjoy our own true selves and have a higher, happier grasp of our individual worth.

In a message published in 1902, Mary Baker Eddy n3 pointed out, "Happiness consists in being and in doing good; only what God gives, and what we give ourselves and others through His tenure, confers happiness: conscious worth satisfies the hungry heart, and nothing else can." n4

n3 Mrs. Eddy is the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science;

n4 Message to The Mother Church for 1902,m p. 17.

As we learn the Science of real being -- the Science of Christ Jesus' teaching and example -- we come to recognize that the perfection of our own and others' individuality is inevitable, and it is right to enjoy it. We see that perfect selfhood is derived from God, that we are governed by His law. We gladly acknowledge the supremacy of God and His will. Then we enter into the contented state of consciousness in which we know who we are, what we are, and why -- and we are glad. DAILY BIBLE VERSE I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14