Compassion, when utilized properly, is a quality that has far-reaching healing effects. Our Master, Christ Jesus, was filled with compassion for his fellow men and women—whether they were labeled friends or enemies. His compassion healed; it stopped human suffering; it overcame hatred, revenge, anxiety; it brought hope and love to individuals seeking help.
Jesus' love for his fellowman was far more than just human affection and the will to do good unto others. His love far surpassed just the liking or loving of mortals and their personalities. His love for his fellowman was based on his love for God, good. He understood man as being made spiritually, freely, and perfectly. He discerned man made in God's image of goodness and loveliness. This image of God—the spiritual man—is understood in Christian Science to be the idea of God, the divine Mind. And it's this idea of goodness that Jesus loved. Jesus' gaze was fixed on the spiritual, God-made man—the perfect, gentle, real, spiritual man that God created. This enabled him to love everyone, no matter what.
Jesus' love for others was more than an unconditional love; it was the spiritual understanding of God and man's unity, oneness, their absolute inseparability. It was this understanding that enabled Jesus to surpass mere human sympathy and express his compassion in spiritual healing. This doesn't mean that Jesus never felt sorrow, unhappiness, or concern for another, but that he didn't stop there. The love he expressed didn't temporize with evil but completely destroyed it.
