I was waiting to board an international flight, when a group of mostly men wearing clothing unfamiliar in that area and speaking in languages that I did not understand arrived at the gate. Airline staff allowed them to board the plane first, disregarding the boarding order. The other passengers looked upset. I worried we might be in some kind of danger and felt a little animosity. So I started to pray. I held on to the thought that we are all good and innocent members of God’s family.
Once on board, I was seated next to one of the individuals I had seen earlier. I continued praying until I felt God’s presence and love. Soon, a flight attendant gave us immigration forms to fill out. The young man sitting next to me asked me in basic English to help him with the form. He told me that they were a group of refugees fleeing wars in Africa and Europe. He said he looked forward to reaching a place where he could live safely.
I tried to comfort him and started to help him and other refugees with their forms. And I prayed with all my heart to recognize that everybody there could feel God’s infinite love and comfort.
Later, examining what had happened through the lens of Christian Science, I realized that fear and ignorance had tempted me to accept a stereotyped view of people I thought might potentially be enemies. But the divine influence of Christ, Truth, changed my perspective.
God fills all space and always cares for us. He is our Father-Mother, immutable Love, infinite Spirit, and we all are part of His spiritual and innocent creation. We’re each and all the expression of this invariable divine Love. There cannot be enemies in God’s family!
Christ Jesus taught that we all have one Father, God. Through Jesus’ deep and pure understanding of and love for God and humanity, he healed, reformed, and fed multitudes. He overcame the hatred of his enemies with love – love that sees in others God’s image and likeness as the only reality of their being. He taught his followers to love their enemies in this way, to forgive and to heal. He conquered death and the grave through his understanding of the all-power of God, divine Love, good, and the powerlessness and unreality of evil.
The perception that we have enemies is a false view, a mesmeric fire of enmity, that can be dissipated by understanding more about God’s nature and our relationship to Him. When we turn Godward in prayer, His love and power dissolve fear and open our eyes to what is real.
Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer of Christian Science, explains the importance of loving our enemies according to Jesus’ teachings. In her article “Love Your Enemies,” she writes, “Simply count your enemy to be that which defiles, defaces, and dethrones the Christ-image that you should reflect” (“Miscellaneous Writings 1883-1896,” p. 8).
Reflecting the “Christ-image,” we find our true, spiritual identity, the reality of our being. Our true, spiritual being, as an expression of divine Love, innately reflects the Christ-image. Knowing this purifies our thoughts, feelings, and actions step by step.
The story of Jacob and Esau in the Bible illustrates this. The rivalry between these twin brothers eventually caused Jacob to flee from Esau, who had threatened to kill him. But Jacob’s problem was not that his brother had disputes with him. Jacob’s problem was the duplicity of his own mentality – how he saw and related to God and to others. This false material sense was Jacob’s enemy.
Guided by God to return home, he struggled mentally to overcome this enemy until he changed his view. Mrs. Eddy writes, “Jacob was alone, wrestling with error … when an angel, a message from Truth and Love, appeared to him and smote the sinew, or strength, of his error, till he saw its unreality; and Truth, being thereby understood, gave him spiritual strength in this Peniel of divine Science” (“Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” p. 308). When Jacob met Esau, they were reconciled.
This spiritual sense of life, substance, and intelligence reveals that these qualities are unlimited and have their source in God, divine Spirit. Each one of us is an individualized and unique expression of infinite Love, Spirit, Life itself. When we see the Christ-image reflected by ourselves and others, we feel safe under His control. Correcting my own views and thoughts has harmonized my family life, friendships, and professional relationships.
In turning to God, we discover that we have no enemies. We can choose to be freed from fear, distrust, and hatred by exercising meekness, forgiveness, and brotherly love. This brings peace to our relationships and makes us not only feel, but be, safe.
Adapted from an article published in the April 2026 issue of The Christian Science Journal.
