`Your Original Face'

ONE of my favorite rock musicians is Van Morrison. Not only because of the distinct way he plays the electric guitar, acoustic guitar, saxophone, and harmonica. Not only because of his unusual and creative singing. But also because the lyrics of the songs he writes often touch on meaningful issues. A number of his songs convey spiritual searching or spiritual insights.

One song I like is called ``Till We Get the Healing Done.'' It's about all the different ways we'll know the healing we need has been accomplished. One example that particularly struck me as I listened to the song recently was the line ``Till you know your original face.'' And the words of another song, ``Before the World Was Made,'' adapted by Van from a poem by William Butler Yeats, talks about ``Your original face / Before time and space.''

What is your original face--identity and nature? Isn't that an amazing question to think about? People have been thinking about the concept of a spiritual identity for thousands of years. In the Bible the Psalmist, another songwriter, wrote, ``I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness'' (Psalms 17:15). The writer knew that man is actually created in God's likeness. He also realized he'd only be satisfied when he expressed that true ``face,'' the likeness of God, his creator.

So if our original face, or our true being, is the likeness of God, we find out who we really are by finding out who God is. The Bible tells us God is Love, Spirit, Truth, Life. And we also have the example of Christ Jesus, who understood better than anyone else who God is because he was literally the Son of God.

Jesus called God our Father. He understood that man is actually created by God to manifest Him. Jesus knew that man isn't really a human being but is the spiritual expression of God. He came to teach us to wake up from believing we're physical mortals so we can experience our wonderful, heavenly selfhood, which we've always had and can't ever lose.

Once Jesus described his work and referred to his original being. He said, according to John's Gospel: ``I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was'' (17:4, 5).

Christian Science is based on the Biblical fact that man truly is the image and likeness of God, and on the example of Christ Jesus as the proof of that fact. Christian Science helps us understand that if man is the image of God, divine Love, he must be lovely, lovable, loving. If man is the likeness of Spirit, he must be totally spiritual.

Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, who discovered Christian Science, explains what this means. It says: ``The Scriptures inform us that man is made in the image and likeness of God. Matter is not that likeness. The likeness of Spirit cannot be so unlike Spirit. Man is spiritual and perfect; and because he is spiritual and perfect, he must be so understood in Christian Science. Man is idea, the image, of Love; he is not physique'' (p. 475).

That means we're not trying to discover a certain physical appearance. We're discovering that we're made up of beautiful spiritual qualities.

We can express these qualities-- such as kindness, gentleness, wisdom, strength--right now. As we do so, we'll be showing more and more of our real, original face, which reflects God! That can't include anything unlovely or unintelligent or sick or weak. God is perfect, and we're His image; so our true nature is perfect, too.

Have fun looking for your own original face--and the glorious, spiritual qualities of everyone around you, too!

BIBLE VERSE

God created man

in his own image,

in the image of God

created he him;

male and female

created he them.

Genesis 1:27