OUR beloved Master had much to say of the kingdom of heaven. He did more than speak of it, for his whole life and ministry exemplified heavenly harmony. What he lived, he taught; hence his teachings are of the highest value in pointing the way for others. Had his mission been limited to his own individual experience and practice, his marvelous demonstrations of divine power would have had no particular effect beyond the short period in which he lived, and history would have recorded him only as a great man. But Jesus was more than this. He was the anointed of God, the heaven-sent messenger to the poor, the oppressed, the sinning, the diseased, the dying, to demonstrate to them the way, through Christ, to an understanding of their eternal spiritual unity with God. Does not such understanding bring dominion over evil? Moreover, this understanding, once established in individual thinking, should be permanent.
Jesus never intimated that the spiritual understanding of God required any special endowment of intellect by which it might be attained. Man's God-given heritage of everlasting life may be consciously enjoyed by everyone. As the creator is infinite Spirit, God, and forever the same, so must His creation be universally spiritual and eternal. Such were the teachings of the master Christian, and his wonderful works, resting upon this everlasting foundation, bore full evidence of the enduring reality of spiritual life, intelligence, and substance.
The advent of Christ Jesus signified the manner of the appearing of the Christ, Truth, to human thought. It betokened meekness, joy, reverence, love, and peace—not pride, pomp, ecclesiasticism, strife, and vainglory. Earthly kings and kingdoms trembled lest "The Prince of Peace" and his kingdom, long heralded, should take away their power and prestige. The mission of Christ Jesus, however, was not to overthrow human governments, but rather to enlighten both rulers and nations, to show all mankind the better way of Christ, revealing individual self-government, derived from the might of divine intelligence, the kingdom of God. It is true that the understanding of this heavenly kingdom proclaimed by Jesus was to uproot and destroy selfishness and sin, do away with oppressive laws and practices, and usher in a new reign of righteousness and peace. But this rule would in no wise disturb the fundamentals of law and order. On the contrary, it would bring them to light and establish them in the hearts and minds of all peoples. Jesus definitely stated that he did not come to destroy but to fulfill. Fulfilling the law of harmony through the perfect understanding of God and man as Father and son, he became humanity's guide, its Way-shower.
