Imagine living during the time of Christ Jesus and meeting his disciples. Maybe we'd be amazed at the outspokenness of Peter, dismayed by James's and John's positioning for Jesus' favor, discouraged by the greed of Judas and by Thomas's doubt. Our view of others in the family, at work, and in church may be no more promising than this view of Jesus' disciples, but the Master had a different view of his students, and the way he saw them is of great value to our own perception of others.
Reading the Gospels, we see something of how Jesus gained his view of his students and those around him. His lifework and prayer were aligned with God, Spirit, and he watched for God's revelation of man. In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy writes: "Jesus beheld in Science the perfect man, who appeared to him where sinning mortal man appears to mortals. In this perfect man the Saviour saw God's own likeness, and this correct view of man healed the sick." Science and Health, pp. 476-477.
In the presence of what Jesus demonstrated of this true view of man, the disciples grew spiritually. They had moments of shining triumph over material sense and its discouragements, confusions, and terror. Each felt the touch of the Christ, and this divine manifestation of God enabled each one to see the way to be more than what his limited sense was willing to allow. The disciples were feeling and experiencing something of their true selfhood. Complacency with limited personality was breaking up, and the great talent and light of sonship with God was beginning to shine through.
