Christ is as eternal as God. The practicality of the Christ lies in the fact that Christ is the true idea of God and man; the divine manifestation of Spirit, which has been present throughout the ages to destroy the falsities and impurities of the flesh and to heal the sins and sicknesses of mankind through God's power and for His glory.
The divine title of Christ was bestowed upon Jesus, the humble Nazarene, who exemplified the nature of his Father more practically than any of the prophets who preceded him. This Christ-nature was especially manifest in the graciousness which caused him to say, "I can of mine own self do nothing" (John 5:30). This very meekness, springing from his complete self-immolation and dependence on God, was the secret of his mighty works. So great was his humility, so sure was he of his divine origin and of Love's ever-present, tender care, that personal sense was not able to victimize him.
While the human Jesus had his struggles and temptations, his spiritual selfhood knew neither anger nor murmurings; it could not be hurt, cast down, or disturbed by malicious pretensions of evil. Self-will, self-justification, self-love, and the barrenness of human frustration had no power over Jesus, who was ever conscious of man's relationship with the Father and of the divine truths of being. To him, holiness and purity were the only realities and the natural characteristics of man. Never could he be made to believe that he was unappreciated, neglected, or alone, nor could he be tempted to yield to the arguments for place and power, because the Christ revealed to him the fullness of divine being.
In thought, word, and deed Jesus exemplified the obedience to Principle described by Mary Baker Eddy on page 116 of "Miscellaneous Writings." There she writes, "Never absent from your post, never off guard, never ill-humored, never unready to work for God,—is obedience; being 'faithful over a few things.'" The Master was ever alert to distinguish instantly between the aggressive suggestions of the carnal mind which lead to sin and sickness and the ideas or spiritual intuitions of the divine Mind, which, when acted upon, establish harmony in human affairs. Always he excluded the one from thought and welcomed in and utilized the other, thus experiencing at all times the reward of obedience.
Consciously living every moment of the day as God's son, Jesus was able to express the Christlike qualities of peace and joy under the most adverse human circumstances. He knew that Mind's abundance is always present to meet the human need through the progressive unfoldment of spiritual ideas. His understanding of true manhood flowed out impartially in love and blessing to the best and the worst, the least and the greatest, of humankind. So did the good example of his own life make practical his story of the good Samaritan, who, in obedience to the promptings of divine Love, paused in the pursuit of his own affairs to give aid and comfort to a beaten and wounded stranger.
The effort to emulate Jesus' unselfed devotion to the Christ-idea is indispensable to the successful demonstration of Christian Science in family, church, or community life. Mrs. Eddy paints a telling picture of such devotion in the following words (ibid., p. 312): "Love is consistent, uniform, sympathetic, self-sacrificing, unutterably kind; even that which lays all upon the altar, and, speechless and alone, bears all burdens, suffers all inflictions, endures all piercing for the sake of others, and for the kingdom of heaven's sake."
Paul says, "The body is not one member, but many," and, "Now are they many members, yet but one body" (I Cor. 12: 14, 20) . Drawing the parallel, he states of the church members (verse 27), "Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular." So it is that the members of the home, church, and community may be one body in Truth, consciously embodying all God's qualities, and thus exemplifying in their spiritual living and practice the radiance, sublimity, and graciousness of Soul; the loveliness, mercy, and humility of Love; the honesty, righteousness, and might of Truth; the energy, spontaneity, and activity of Life; the purity, holiness, and substance of Spirit; the beauty, harmony, and justice of Principle; the wisdom, versatility, and peace of Mind.
Jesus' sojourn on earth was brief. Yet he lives forever in the heart of humanity because he fulfilled so well his mission of exemplifying the Christ-idea, forwarding unity and brotherly love and saving and healing mankind. Following in his footsteps brings the same blessings to us that he experienced and shared in his own time. Our Leader, who discovered and gave to the world the Science of Christianity, which Jesus practiced, possessed the same Christly qualities of graciousness and strength. She too lives in her works and will so live throughout eternity.
Jesus proved that he was among men as one who served. This was manifest not only in his healing of sin and sickness and in his feeding of the multitudes, but in his washing of the disciples' feet and in his preparing breakfast for them on the shores of the sea of Tiberias. Mrs. Eddy humbly prepared and served meals for her early students in her simple home at Lynn, Massachusetts, in addition to her great work as the first Christian Science healer in this age. Later, as the established Founder and Leader of a great Cause, pressed by countless duties, she was not too busy to express constant interest in and consideration for all things that pertained to the welfare and comfort of her large household. On many occasions her graciousness extended far beyond the walls of her temporal home to both friends and foes in the outside world.
Each one today has the same example of humble Christliness to follow. It matters not whether the way to this accomplishment seems rough or smooth to human sense. It is important only that, keeping his thought closed to error and open to Truth, one continues to walk in the pathway of the Christ and to hold fast his integrity. How lovely, then, a day at home or in the office or anywhere becomes; for when one is standing firm in his recognition of the true idea and expressing that idea, he enjoys peace and harmony and imparts strength and courage to all whom he meets. Can there be a happier mission, a surer entrance to the human heart, or a clearer road to the establishment of heaven on earth?
In the subway train which a student of Christian Science boarded was a drunken man who presented anything but a lovely picture. Instantly the student took her stand for the Christ-idea. Reversing the evidence of the senses, she declared man's beauty, perfection, and present holiness. Next to the inebriate sat a father and his little girl. As the silent truth went forth, the child smiled at the man and began to talk lovingly to him. He answered her falteringly. The father rose to change their seats. The student spoke softly to him: "Why not let her be?"
The little girl's father resumed his seat. Gradually the man's voice cleared and his conversation with the child began to be normal and pleasing. Four stops from where she had entered the car the student reached her destination, leaving behind her a completely sobered man and a happy father and child.
This is but one small proof of the effectiveness and universality of the Christ-idea, be it expressed in scientific understanding or in that child-love which sees but good. How necessary it is that we live and move and work in that love and Christliness every moment of the day; that we go forth to meet each day, not with the thought that we are human beings with work to do to earn our daily bread, but with the conviction that man is the divine idea or reflection of God, forever radiating Love.
Then will the Biblical promise be fulfilled in us (Isa. 66: 13), "As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem." The peace of God will become an ever more firmly established fact in our experience, and we shall know ourselves to be His sons forever.
