Knowing God to be the true parent of each one of us, we are no longer just neighbors but equally loved brothers and sisters. Further on, the Platform of Christian Science includes this statement: "Father-Mother is the name for Deity, which indicates His tender relationship to His spiritual creation" (Science and Health, p. Knowing this, we can expect fear and distrust to have no place in neighborly relations. That God is Love assures us that all creation is loving and lovable. Understanding this, we realize the permanence of good in our neighbor, as well as in ourselves, and can get past a mistake on either side. Just as truth never changes, all that God, good, is doesn't change. God, as Truth, reveals the permanence of all that is good. Sometimes it may seem hard to discover this reflection, but the more we know about the original, God, the better able we are to recognize His-Her qualities reflected. The one Life, God, is our source, and we can see evidence of this one Life reflected in all. There isn't one's own life and a different source of being for others. Understanding God to be Life indicates that we have much in common with others. Early in this explanation she wrote, "God is what the Scriptures declare Him to be, – Life, Truth, Love" ("Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," p. Mary Baker Eddy, who founded Christian Science, wrote a platform – a statement of teachings – to explain her religious views. Maintaining and increasing our love for God demands an ever-enlarging understanding of our divine Creator. Keeping the two commandments in their proper order, however, can assure the fulfillment of both, for a heart filled with love for God naturally overflows. Many have found that trying to love one's neighbor – those next door or at the next desk – is not always the easiest thing to do. It's interesting that to love one's neighbor is not the first but the second commandment. ![]() And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (22:37-39). The Gospel of Matthew records Jesus' answer: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. Two thousand years ago, that biblical command was spelled out in response to a questioner, asking which is the greatest commandment. Yet, so has the age-old Scriptural instruction, "Love thy neighbour as thyself." Can it still effectively address the complexity of contemporary disputes such as this one? ![]() And even conflicts about how trees grow in one another's yards have been around for years. While the conflict between solar panels and shade trees is relatively new, neighbors having conflicting interests is not. When his neighbors wanted to keep their trees, the disagreement eventually turned into a lawsuit. The article featured a case in Santa Clara County, Calif., in which a man installed solar collectors on the trellis behind his house, but in order for them to effectively absorb the sunlight, something had to be done about the redwood trees in his neighbor's yard. The article explained, "The Solar Shade Control Act went unnoticed for 30 years, but since December it has come up in several lawsuits…" ![]() " Which is greener – sun or tree?" headlined a story that ran last week in this newspaper.
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