God is divine Love. And anyone who understands the nature and power of Love has discovered true joy. Christ Jesus exemplified this understanding. He illustrated it through healing, preaching, and teaching. He said to his followers, "These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full." John 15:11.
In his ministry Jesus spoke of God's perfection and goodness, and he showed how we can prove our perfection as God's offspring. He indicated that God's will is supreme on earth as in heaven. He taught that God is our heavenly Father, and that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. He spoke of eternal life and of God protecting us, healing us, blessing us. This understanding of divine Love brought Jesus lasting joy, and it can bring us joy.
The Master proved that this understanding transforms human lives when he healed disease, restored lost sight and hearing and movement, cast out sin, and raised the dead. He demonstrated the power of Christ, God's saving influence, which is with us today and always. Mary Baker Eddy writes in Science and Health, "Christ, Truth, was demonstrated through Jesus to prove the power of Spirit over the flesh,—to show that Truth is made manifest by its effects upon the human mind and body, healing sickness and destroying sin." Science and Health, p. 316. This message of the power of God, good, over the flesh and evil—a message we experience even today in healing—is certainly joy-giving.
