The history of the Israelites in the Bible shows that even in the midst of tyranny and persecution, they trusted the scriptural prophecies that promised the Messiah would come establishing freedom and peace. Many sought to diligently follow the laws of Moses, which were meant to help them be obedient and worthy to receive the Messiah.
Suddenly, they heard that Christ Jesus, a humble man from the obscure village of Nazareth, was traveling in the region, preaching that “the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17).
This proclamation from the gentle man must have seemed revolutionary and impossible to many, who assumed that the expected Savior would be a mighty king commanding a powerful army. There was no king or army, and persecutors were still everywhere, along with corruption, poverty, sickness, and death.
Seeing another as God sees him is the ultimate act of love.
But Jesus began doing something radical—not just teaching in the synagogues but healing people of “all manner of disease” (Matthew 4:23). His words and works were revealing the presence and power of God. The restoration of health, harmony, and peace to those in need was demonstrating to people that the reign of God’s kingdom was present. It was showing them that they were free from mortal, material laws of discord and disease. His following rapidly grew.
Jesus delivered to his disciples what became known as the Sermon on the Mount (see Matthew 5–7). Its message seemed to refute so many rules, laws, and traditions his people had been bound to for centuries. But Jesus assured them he had not come to destroy the law but to fulfill it. He proceeded to teach them new ways to think about their laws as well as how to understand themselves, their neighbors, and even their enemies. Jesus’ teachings were based on the law of divine Love. The change in thought, or repentance, that was required was grounded in love that was “the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:10).
Jesus made the important point that those who are “poor in spirit,” or receptive to learning, will realize the presence of the kingdom of heaven (see Matthew 5:3).
The more I study Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and his parables and healings, the more I realize how important they are to us, his followers today. When we are receptive to his message, we recognize when there is a need for a change in our thinking, for repentance, to bring us into accord with the law of Love. Jesus’ words and works are like lighthouses on a rocky shoreline that not only keep us from being swept into the rocks, but guide us to safe havens where we are anchored in the calm waters of God’s kingdom.
I can forgive!
Several years ago, I experienced a perfect example of how following Jesus’ teachings about repenting—especially loving more—brings us to the calm waters of His kingdom.
Without warning, I found myself in a situation that threatened to rob me of my self-esteem and trust in others. Added to this was the conviction that I was a victim and therefore justified in blaming another for the fear and despair I was feeling. Then one evening I was in bed, physically incapacitated and unable to phone for help. I turned to God and asked what I needed to do. The only answer I got was, “Forgive.” I resisted vehemently. I felt forgiving would do nothing to change the way I was being treated. I kept asking. The answer was always the same: “Forgive.”
I was aware that forgiving is what Jesus expected of his followers. The Sermon on the Mount makes it perfectly clear that we are to turn the other cheek, forgive our debtors, and do to others what we would have them do to us. In other words, I was expected to love.
Recognizing this, I suddenly felt surrounded by the peace and calm of Christ, God’s message of hope and healing. Then came the thought, “Of course I can repent. I can for-give!” That is, as I saw it, I could give up the false, material sense of the individual involved for the true spiritual identity that God created. He was God’s child, under God’s jurisdiction. I no longer had anything to fear for myself or for my children. I fell asleep and awoke the next morning free, physically and mentally.
Looking back on this experience, I realize that when I forgave, I loved. Seeing the truth about another by seeing him as God sees him is the ultimate act of love. And I was able to see myself in the same light. I too was loved by God, free and whole, dwelling with Him in His kingdom of harmony.
Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer of Christian Science, describes what takes place when we change from thinking as a mortal who believes in matter and material laws, to following Jesus’ example and seeing the truth about man (all people). She 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. Thus Jesus taught that the kingdom of God is intact, universal, and that man is pure and holy” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, pp. 476–477).
When thought changes from ruminating over a mortal, material sense of personality (including our own) to beholding the truth about everyone’s spiritual identity, we love as Jesus loved. Turning from material testimony to the governing spiritual fact, we know we are in the realm of God—His kingdom of heaven, harmony.
When we follow Christ Jesus and humbly turn to the promised Comforter, we love as we have been loved.
An important reminder
This new understanding reminded me of another lesson Jesus teaches about loving others. He told his disciples to freely give because they had freely received. As direct recipients of his love, they could share that love with others and say to the people, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” And what better way to express love for God and man than to “heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils” (Matthew 10:7, 8).
I too had freely received, and I wanted to freely give by doing the works Jesus says those who believe on him will do. He explains how: “The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:26). With Mrs. Eddy’s discovery of Christian Science or divine Science came the arrival of the promised Comforter.
When we follow Jesus and humbly turn to the Comforter—divine Science that “leadeth into all truth” (Science and Health, p. 127)—we love as we have been loved. We are able to go forward with love,
assured that the Comforter is teaching us everything we need to know to experience and share with the world the healing truth of God’s ever-present harmony. This is the kingdom of heaven, the “reign of harmony in divine Science; the realm of unerring, eternal, and omnipotent Mind; the atmosphere of Spirit, where Soul is supreme” (Science and Health, p. 590), and love is the key to experiencing it.
