There seems to be a prevalent notion that individuals are empty vessels awaiting external fulfillment or validation. This perspective often leads to a focus on filling perceived voids through human effort.
In my study of Christian Science, I have realized that the most empowering approach to life involves recognizing that everyone is already complete and that we’re tasked with uncovering the God-given goodness within ourselves and others.
The Bible offers numerous passages that affirm the inherent goodness and completeness of individuals as children of God. For instance, “God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). As God’s creation, we are not flawed or broken. We don’t need to gain something from outside of us that we don’t already have; our spiritual wholeness can be recognized and revealed within.
In “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” Mary Baker Eddy brings clarity to this idea: “Man is not matter; he is not made up of brain, blood, bones, and other material elements. The Scriptures inform us that man is made in the image and likeness of God” (p. 475). For me, this shift in perspective has been life-changing.
When I was a professional baseball player, I was surrounded by a culture that constantly evaluated worth by external metrics. But even in that competitive environment, I could see clearly that the best coaches and teammates were those who could see beyond performance and connect with their own inherent spiritual qualities, as well as recognizing and appreciating the talents of both teammates and opponents.
Later, as I moved into coaching and leadership roles, I leaned into the spiritual concept that greatness and excellence are already within each individual. The role of a mentor and leader is to help uncover and draw out spiritual, God-given qualities.
Jesus consistently demonstrated that he did not see people as broken or lacking but as already whole. One powerful example in the Gospel of John (see 5:2-9) tells of a man who had been ill for 38 years and was lying by a pool that was believed to have healing powers. Jesus didn’t see a hopeless man broken by decades of infirmity. He saw a child of God – whole, capable, and blessed. That spiritual perspective – clear, unwavering, and unhampered by human theory, logic, or diagnosis – confirmed the man’s God-reflecting identity and restored his health.
This example challenges us to stop seeing others (and ourselves) as “in process” or lacking. It calls us to behold instead what God knows to be true about us. Science and Health reminds us, “Man is the expression of God’s being” (p. 470). To me, this means that the source of my value is the spiritual fact that I reflect God.
As a coach of youth sports, I’ve seen the difference it makes when I stop focusing on shortcomings or inconsistencies and instead recognize a child or teen’s spiritual identity as resilient, capable, and purpose-driven. This doesn’t translate into ignoring areas of needed improvement, but rather into helping young athletes break free from self-imposed limitations. The temptation in sports programs is to look for what’s wrong and then try to fix people. But what if we were to simply recognize (and sometimes persistence is needed!) the light within them – the spiritual, God-reflecting qualities that are already there?
In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reminds us, “Ye are the light of the world. … Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14, 16). Our job is not to install the light in others, but to help clear away what’s hiding it.
Whether we are working to support our own children, young students, athletes, or colleagues, we can ask ourselves, “Am I approaching this person as a problem to solve or as a light that just needs uncovering?”
There are moments, even with years of experience, when I doubt my own capabilities. In those moments, I remember that I’m not an empty vessel either. You and I are both the image and likeness of God – complete, equipped, and capable. This understanding has helped me step into new leadership opportunities.
In sports, education, leadership, and life, there is transformative power in recognizing that we, and those around us, are not lacking but whole – are not vessels to be filled, but expressions of God to be revealed. The more we follow Jesus’ example in seeing others in this way, the more fear, resentment, doubt, and ego we remove, until the reflection of God’s goodness and perfection is all that is visible.
Adapted from an article published in the Dec. 29, 2025, issue of the Christian Science Sentinel.
