Article September 24, 1927 Issue

Lifting up the Christ in Consciousness

VIVIEN U. WILLARD

It is related in the twelfth chapter of John that Jesus said, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." Down through the ages since those words were spoken, it has been generally believed that Jesus made reference only to his crucifixion, the lifting up of his human body on the cross. Does such a notion as that, however, coincide with the teaching of Jesus about himself? Did he not always point away from himself to God as the source of all good? To a certain ruler who called him "Good Master," he said, "Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God." On another occasion he said to his disciples, "I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me."

On page 473 of the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy, we read, "Christ is the ideal Truth, that comes to heal sickness and sin through Christian Science, and attributes all power to God." Jesus had a very clear sense of his mission, which was to heal mankind by explaining and exemplifying the Christ, Truth. He healed the sick and raised the dead through his clear understanding that man, God's idea, is spiritual and perfect. This high, uplifted thought, which refused the false concept of man as material, enabled him to fulfill his mission of presenting the Christ to human consciousness.

On page 247 of "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany" Mrs. Eddy writes: "Christ is meekness and Truth enthroned. Put on the robes of Christ, and you will be lifted up and will draw all men unto you." Does not the privilege of lifting up the Christ in consciousness remain to each one who calls himself a student of Christian Science to-day, and is there any greater privilege? The question of how this may be done comes naturally, and the answer is not far to seek. It is by studying and applying the truth that Jesus taught, as it is revealed in the Bible, the Christian Science textbook and the other writings of Mrs. Eddy. The vital part is the applying of what one learns to daily thinking and doing; for it is through the persistent, honest effort to cast out of consciousness all that is unlike good, and to enthrone there the Christlike qualities that reflect God, that one becomes a follower of Truth.

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