You are custom-made
A Christian Science perspective.
We recently purchased a sofa with a somewhat unusual shape that fit the room exactly where we needed it. It seemed custom-made, even though it was secondhand.
Because the sofa certainly had not been specially manufactured for us, I began to think about why I even thought of it in the context of being custom-made, since that notion often elicits a sense of unaffordable luxury. Certainly, the sofa wasn’t luxurious – or expensive. No, what made me think of it this way was that it appeared just when I needed it, complete and perfect.
The sofa to me was more than an attractive furnishing for comfort. My delight in it came from the qualities it represented – its perfect fit in economy, form, color – all qualities that can be seen in spiritual ways. Those qualities are understood in the theology of Christian Science as having their source in God and are evident in so many ways. God is Spirit, the only Creator of the universe, including each of us as the ideas He has conceived. What God creates is like Him – entirely and provably spiritual. And we’re created to include everything we need – all the qualities of His goodness.
Mary Baker Eddy, who founded the Monitor, recognized with impeccable spiritual logic that what God has made expresses His nature in every attribute. She described in this way the ideas that God, as the divine Mind, has created: “From the infinite elements of the one Mind emanate all form, color, quality, and quantity, and these are mental, both primarily and secondarily. Their spiritual nature is discerned only through the spiritual senses” (“Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” p. 512).
Each quality and condition of what is good and needed is actually found in Spirit. And that means each individual includes them also. The divine Parent of all identities is constantly providing the atmosphere of pure joy, the environment of infinite possibilities, the substance of spiritual good, for each one. We are created to fit in life, or being, in the most fulfilling, delightfully individual way.
The book of Isaiah in the Bible describes this. As recorded in the King James Version, God declares, “This people have I formed for myself, they shall shew forth my praise” (Isa. 43:21). “The Message” paraphrases that passage with this encouraging statement: “a people custom-made to praise me.”
Every man, woman, and child is precision-created to express God’s divine purpose – and to joy in it. Viewed another way, purpose, joy, and fulfillment are spiritual qualities that express the divine will. God creates no mass-produced individualities. Even the concept is self-contradictory. Individuality is the unique expression of our loving, even doting, divine Parent, of the divine intelligence that creates and forever nurtures our growth and development.
God creates no misfits, no unneeded identities. There are no lapses where someone has fallen through the cracks, missed his calling, outlasted her usefulness. Infinite Mind loved each one into being, with a creative intelligence that never fails to prepare and secure the perfect place for each one, for now and eternity. Every individuality is forever wanted and needed, and therefore is perfectly planned for. New satisfaction, freshly orchestrated by God, continues to come to us through our unfolding understanding of God’s plan for us.
We were created to fit the niche where we can best express and glorify our Creator and express our uniqueness. You were created by your Creator to fill your niche. It uniquely fits you, in order to lift you, enlarge your capacities, and bless you. That will bless others as well. You can trust this and move forward in your life on its basis. You are custom-made.
For a podcast by the author on this topic, see “Your Daily Lift,” July 21.