One of the most impressive stories in the Old Testament is that of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Refusing to obey the command of King Nebuchadnezzar to worship an idol, these three Hebrews were cast into a furnace so hot that it killed the men who threw them in. When King Nebuchadnezzar looked into the furnace, he was astonished at what he saw: "Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? . . . Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God." Dan. 3:24, 25. Then the three Hebrews came out of the furnace and were found to be without injury. Not even the smell of fire was on them.
This account teaches many beautiful lessons. Among them is the fact that the Christ, the redeeming and saving Truth, was available to mankind before the human lifetime of Jesus. Indeed the Christ has always been present in individual human consciousness. The Master referred to the eternality and preexistence of the divine idea, or Christ, when he told the Jews, "Before Abraham was, I am." John 8:58.
One should also be alert to the promises the Master makes about the activity of the Christ in human thought. In Matthew we read, "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Matt. 18:20. What did Jesus mean? Who, exactly, would be with us?
