Anger overcome

I was really trying to know the Christ. I had been reading in the Christian Science Bible Lessons, The Herald of Christian Science, and the writings of Mary Baker Eddy quite a lot about the perfect man, created in the image and likeness of God, though I was having a hard time understanding this concept. I felt closer to the Christ when I read the Bible or Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy, but whenever I would face my own mental entanglements, I could not grasp the healing presence of the Christ.

One Sunday after a church service at a Christian Science branch church, a good friend suggested that I look even further into the meaning of the Christ, which I did. And I was surprised by all the things I discovered. One of the instances I read in the Bible was Jesus asking his disciples who he (Jesus) was. Peter replied, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16 ). Mrs. Eddy explains: “That is: The Messiah is what thou hast declared,—Christ, the spirit of God, of Truth, Life, and Love, which heals mentally” (Science and Health, p. 137 ).

A few days later, when the buzzing of my phone interrupted my nap, I couldn’t help but answer in a rude way. When I hung up, I felt angry with myself about the many unkind reactions I had expressed. And at that moment I asked myself: “Why do I feel like this? Why am I not expressing more of the Christ?”

Then I prayed the Lord’s Prayer because I knew that it meets every need. I asked God with all my heart to make me “gentle, pure, and mild,” as Hymn 291 from the Christian Science Hymnal says, which came to my mind at that moment. Then something amazing happened. My thought was flooded with ideas. It was the “ ‘still, small voice’ ” of Christ (Science and Health, p. 323 ), telling me in a loving but firm way, “You don’t need to keep on pretending to be who you are not; be yourself, a pure and free idea full of love, peace, kindness, full of all the spiritual qualities that belong to you as a child of God.”

Mrs. Eddy writes in Science and Health: “Man is not matter; he is not made up of brain, blood, bones, and other material elements. The Scriptures inform us that man is made in the image and likeness of God. Matter is not that likeness. The likeness of Spirit cannot be so unlike Spirit” (p. 475 ). The thought telling me not to pretend to be someone I am not kept coming back with strength; also, the thought came that I could never be dishonest, irritable, sensual, fearful, or limited; and that I could never get sick, be inclined to sin, or die. I couldn’t be something God had never caused me to be.

That string of words was a wake-up call for me. I immediately looked for The Herald of Christian Science in Spanish. A copy had just arrived that morning. The cover read: “The Christ, persuasive and persistent.” I read the cover article and realized that the Christ is always present, even in those moments of despair and confusion. I felt that it was the Christ that told me through my friend to get to know the Christ more. It was the Christ that inspired the ideas of the article I read and that spoke to me in such a clear and firm way.

Very soon something changed in me, and today I consider myself a kinder and gentler person.

We can all listen to the Christ, feel its presence, and hear its healing words. We can all learn of our true nature and essence through the Christ. This learning process is unlimited, and we can begin to know that the Christ is right here where we are at this very moment.

Santos Salazar
Arequipa, Peru