Christ's Kingdom

Albert F. Gilmore

The coming of Christ's kingdom, when the just should be duly rewarded and only righteousness reign, was the millennium foretold by many writers of the Holy Scriptures. This kingdom was to be a sanctuary in which the worthy should remain forever in a perpetual state of bliss and heavenly joy. Isaiah spoke of the coming of Christ's kingdom thus: "In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel."

Obviously, the prophet foresaw the bounty of God bestowed upon those of the chosen people who should escape the evils which so commonly beset mankind, the temptations with which mortals become enmeshed. Christian Scientists, convinced that their highest calling is to aid in the establishment of Christ's kingdom on earth, are eagerly concerned as to the ways and means whereby this may be accomplished. Instructions are not wanting. On page 94 of "Retrospection and Introspection" Mrs. Eddy says, "I am persuaded that only by the modesty and distinguishing affection illustrated in Jesus' career, can Christian Scientists aid the establishment of Christ's kingdom on the earth." Thus did our Leader prescribe the means the heavenly state may become manifest even in the affairs of mankind.

The modesty which Jesus exemplified is a quality which all Christians earnestly seek to emulate. The mightiest of men, so richly endowed with spiritual consciousness that he could invoke divine aid without limit, and yet the most modest! Denying all personal power or capability, he invariably turned to the Father as the source of all his strength. "I can of mine own self do nothing" was spoken out of clear understanding of God's omnipotence. Christian Scientists, rightly desirous of following in his footsteps, likewise deny personal glorification. They are assured that good has one divine source, from which emanates all that is worthy and true.

The assumption of superior powers or accomplishments as something worthy of praise, as something personally created, is a stumblingblock which has delayed the progress of many an adventurer on the road of life. Such an attitude, through exploiting personality, shuts one off from the realization of the divine possibilities which belong to man as the offspring of God. The love which declares, "All that I have is thine," brings its bounty only when the son is prepared to receive the measureless beneficence of a loving Father. Modesty, then, is the quality which opens up the channels through which infinite blessings ever hold sway.

Our Leader also set the affection which characterized Jesus' career as a quality to be emulated in establishing Christ's kingdom. There can be no doubt of the extent of that affection or of its purity. Spiritually-minded in a degree never equaled among men, the Master both by teaching and by practice set the high standard of pure affection, affection which had for its object the spiritual qualities derived from God. He who declared, "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God," cherished no doubt as to the necessity of this quality in the demonstration of spiritual power. They who place their affections on materiality are making false trusts, trusts which are sure to pass away in the common fate of the temporal and ephemeral.

What qualities in John made him the beloved disciple? Surely it was not his human personality. Was it not rather his ability to understand the Master's mission, his discernment of spiritual good, a faculty which brought them into closest sympathy? This quality, wherever encountered, stirred the affection of Jesus, who so lifted up the Christ that he became the Way-shower to mankind.

In an impressive passage, beginning on page 53 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mrs. Eddy writes: "Had he [Jesus] shared the sinful beliefs of others, he would have been less sensitive to those beliefs. Through the magnitude of his human life, he demonstrated the divine Life. Out of the amplitude of his pure affection, he defined Love." The fullness of one's life and the purity of one's affection are conditions necessary to the attainment of that state of consciousness which establishes Christ's kingdom. Are we following in these steps of the Master? Are we worthy students of our beloved Leader's wise words? Let us search our hearts and purify our thoughts.

Paul saw the necessity of purifying affections. "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above," he wrote to the Colossians. "Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth." The apostle well knew the fallacy of earthly affections. He had demonstrated the power of Spirit to a degree that left him in no doubt as to mankind's need, and he expressed his convictions in language clear to all. Mankind makes no progress Spiritward through clinging to materiality. Modesty and pure affection are necessary to the establishing of Christ's kingdom,—the "branch of the Lord" which is both "beautiful and glorious."

Albert F. Gilmore

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