Editorial December 19, 1994 Issue

The Christ-spirit—divine Love ruling the affections

Barbara M. Vining

I suppose nearly every Christian has tried to imagine what it would have been like to be in the presence of our Lord, Christ Jesus, and to have felt (and been) washed clean—mentally, morally, and physically—by the divine Love that was expressed in his heart and affections. Wouldn't this be the greatest Christmas of all—to feel the warmth of Christ's love among us!

The affections of Jesus were thoroughly animated by divine Love. That's the Christ-spirit, or the spirit of Christ, which heals. "In healing the sick and sinning," Mary Baker Eddy observes in the Christian Science textbook, "Jesus elaborated the fact that the healing effect followed the understanding of the divine Principle and of the Christ-spirit which governed the corporeal Jesus" (Science and Health, p. 141). This same divine Principle, Love, is here today. When Love is understood and expressed in our own affections and heart, this is the Christ-spirit with us, washing us clean.

We learn so much about Love, God, and the effect of Love's action in the human heart, through the Biblical accounts of Jesus' teachings and healing works. Divine Love, ruling Jesus' affections, healed because it reached the hearts of those who sought healing. "There came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed" (Matt. 8:2, 3).

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