When Nicodemus asked what was his secret, Jesus answered:
"Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again." (John 3)
Elsewhere, Jesus made this shocking declaration:
"If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother,
and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his
own life also, he cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14)
Now, we can be sure he did not mean that we become hateful! That would be contrary to the very foundation of his teaching and life. What then? The love that Jesus lived was and is universal and cannot be restricted. It was captured by St John in the earth-shaking statement, God is love. A love that is confined to the object being loved is a total contradiction to this because it leaves God out. "I love my child because, well, you know, it's my child!" can do more harm than good. St Paul refers to this as carnal-mindedness:
"The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not
subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God...
Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh...
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." (Romans 8)
So for the parents who loves their child because it is their child, they are not subject to the law of God, nor can be! Parental possessiveness, personal responsibility, and other destructive tendencies creep in in the name of love. And this is the heritage of being "born in the flesh." While the one who looks to God, Spirit, as his Maker, as his Creator, who strives to make His will his own, will love unerringly, reflecting divine Love and power.
In the following, the term Christian Science refers to Jesus Christ's teaching, and does not refer to a religious denomination:
"Christian Science teaches only that which is spiritual and
divine, and not human. Christian Science is unerring
and Divine; the human sense of things errs because it
is human... Christian Scientists must live under the con-
stant pressure of the apostolic command to come out from
the material world and be separate. They must re-
nounce aggression, oppression and the pride of power.
Christianity, with the crown of Love upon her brow,
must be their queen of life." (S&H)