Many people over the ages have utilized the metaphor that we are children of God. This fully relatable image began with Jesus as the son of God, and has been perpetuated by many since, including Mary Baker Eddy, who says for example, “Unless you fully perceive that you are the child of God, hence perfect, you have no Principle to demonstrate and no rule for its demonstration.” I concede this concept is important. She also says “Father-Mother is the name for Deity, which indicates His tender relationship to His spiritual creation.”

We understand that a child has the characteristics of a parent. Also, a parent should have caring solicitude for their children, keeping them safe, and providing for their every need. This image is helpful to many, especially those that are fortunate enough to have had good parental role models.  While meant to be a beautiful, reassuring metaphor, thinking of yourself or others as a child of God, however, does have limitations.

The problem lies in that this analogy implies there are two things going on– parent and child– when there are not two, but only one. Indeed, this is misleading. Jesus said, “I and my Father are one.” (John 10:30) Mary Baker Eddy also says, “As a drop of water is one with the ocean, a ray of light one with the sun, even so, God and man, Father and son, are one in being.”

What I’ve learned over years of listening to people in my spiritual practice is that the concept of being a child of God has a lot more traction for them than the idea that they are at one with God. This manifests itself in all sorts of unhelpful ways. Those with troubled parents, have difficulty relating to God at all.  Particularly in this paternalistic world, many have trouble with the image of God as Father. (I wrote this blog encouraging the idea of God as Mother instead.)

But the issues go beyond that. Being likened to a child calls up infantile images of helplessness, of not being fully grown, and of needing education and help, when actually we are now the direct spiritual understanding of God. You’ll understand yourself by looking at all of God’s qualities and attributes to be sure, but you must remember that you already include and are inseparable from every bit of that.

Indeed, you have no existence or meaning apart from God.  You are not a bundle of potential trying to be Godlike, but are already a complete, spiritual reflection. All there really is to you (or anyone else) is what is divinely going on. It is important to remember that you are a spiritual idea in the Mind of God, not a mere human person realizing those ideas. Your consciousness never left heaven for earth.

The term “child of God” is false to the degree that it makes you out as a finite person with mixed tendencies. You are not a mortal with a human mind of your own, as most people think, but a completely inseparable reflection of divine Mind, with no ideas of your own. You are completely as God made you and not a separate moral agent flung into the world to try your best. You reflect the divine Mind completely with no personal agenda or outcome.

I encourage you not to live as a person, but as an inseparable divine idea. Experience your oneness with divine Love. Together you co-exist. Each one of us co-exists with God. The ramifications of thinking this way are huge, and are the next level up from thinking of yourselves or others as a child of God.

For example, consider that if everyone is one with God, and God is Love, then everyone is loving. Think of that! No one is unloving!  I bet we all know or know of someone that it would be revelatory to think of that way. (And if you do, they will manifest more of that truth.)

The point here is that getting away from the child image, where disobedience, personal sense, or bad behavior is strong a possibility, try to stay with what is going on spiritually –that only what is Godlike is actually present or has power– since God (good) is ALL, and we, you, they, all of us, are always at one with that, inseparable forever from that. What a relief!