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Lifted higher by the Christ
There’s a computer game that I love to play. My friend and I always try to see if we can beat each other’s highest score, to see who can say that they are the winner. I often think that I won’t be able to go higher than my friend’s highest score, or even than my last score, but I keep trying until I do.
Aren’t we all striving to reach a higher goal in life, too? I know I am. Daily I try to lift my thoughts so that I can see the truer picture of all that is around me, and so that my thoughts can reach for a higher understanding of God. I know that I can go higher with God—and that the Christ will show me the way.
At one point in my life, I didn’t understand the Christ. I thought in terms of God: I talked to God; I prayed to God; I listened to God; I followed God’s direction. But then when I went through Christian Science Primary class instruction, my teacher asked all of his students to write a paper on the Christ. I knew that the Christ was the message of God’s love, brought to us by Jesus, but not much more than that. I told my teacher that I didn’t think I could write this paper. He smiled and said that I knew the Christ even if I did not think that I did. He suggested that I read and study pages 331–334 in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, and assured me that they would give me a better understanding of the Christ.
I spent the afternoon and into the night reading those pages over and over, as well as the definition of Christ in Science and Health: “The divine manifestation of God, which comes to the flesh to destroy incarnate error” (p. 583 ). I knew that I had caught a glimpse of the Christ—and I was able to write my paper, too.
Here’s what I learned. The Christ is the divine message from God (see Science and Health, p. 332 ). The Christ is the light of the world, bringing humanity out of darkness and lighting the way to divine Principle, God. Jesus’ commands to “heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils” (Matthew 10:8 ) are fulfilled only through the Christ. Like God, the Christ is eternal. It is the essence of Christian Science.
These thoughts started me on my journey of going higher, of learning more about God and the Christ, and of getting closer to God. The Christ was showing me the way to go higher and I loved it.
Last year, Christmas fell on a Sunday and the Christian Science Bible Lesson was all about the Christ. I was substituting for the Second Reader, and was enjoying the sun coming through the windows as I listened to the First Reader. It felt as if the light of the Christ was shining on me, lifting my thoughts higher to help all who were listening—not only in the congregation, but throughout the world. I thought about this passage from the Bible: “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (II Corinthians 4:6 ).
As I daily read and study the Bible and Science and Health, I find that my spiritual understanding of God, the Christ, and Christian Science is growing. I love that feeling. Yes, the Christ is showing me the way of divine Life—and it is the Christ that is lifting my thoughts higher.
—Carole Bell, Payette, Idaho, US