The walls and niches of the museum we were touring were filled from floor to ceiling with masterpieces depicting scenes from the New Testament. Tucked away in a corner, however, amid all the artistic grandeur was a statue no more than ten inches high by some unknown sculptor. Simply and reverently it portrayed Jesus leading a flock of sheep and holding a lamb in his arms.
Although insignificant in size, this rendering of Jesus as the good shepherd seemed to capture for my wife and me more of Jesus' message to mankind than all the other works put together. It reminded us that the presence of the Christ, Truth, which Jesus exemplified, touches mankind—not so much as a regal figure arrayed in robes of splendor but as a loving shepherd, guarding and guiding and caring for each of us.
As Christian Scientists we had always loved Jesus because of his teachings and his healing ministry, which he left as the great example of true Christianity for all time. He had fully lived the Christ—man's eternal spiritual sonship with God. In Science and Health Mrs. Eddy explains the distinction between Jesus of Nazareth and the Christ, or the divine power which animated him: "Jesus was born of Mary. Christ is the true idea voicing good, the divine message from God to men speaking to the human consciousness. The Christ is incorporeal, spiritual,—yea, the divine image and likeness, dispelling the illusions of the senses; the Way, the Truth, and the Life, healing the sick and casting out evils, destroying sin, disease, and death."Science and Health, p. 332. The reason this distinction is so important is that even though the physical Jesus is no longer with us, the Christ is always present to protect and sustain and shepherd mankind. And we can look for and find tangible evidence of Christ in our lives.
