The Caring Christ

CAN'T you just picture this man, Jesus? He moves unhurriedly, with grace and certainty, though the crowd presses close around him. Suddenly, Luke tells us, he pauses to ask, "Who touched me?He can't be talking about the crowd's jostling, and after some hesitation, a woman comes forward. She tells why she had touched him and says that she had indeed been healed of a long-standing issue of blood. There is kindness and warmth in Jesus' reply: "Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace. This and other accounts of healing in the New Testament illustrate the depth of Jesus' spiritual affection. He cared deeply. Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, says of Jesus in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: "Through the magnitude of his human life, he demonstrated the divine Life. Out of the amplitude of his pure affection, he defined Love. The Christ, so evident in Jesus, enabled him to care for others in the deepest way possible. Jesus' Christly love and care were never hurried or shallow. In the presence of this one man, Christ Jesus, people were healed of illness, pain, and disability. Their hopes were rejuvenated, their lives often turned completely around. Wasn't this real care? Although Jesus is not with us today, the Christ he so fully embodied is always with us. "Christ is the true idea voicing good, the divine message from God to men speaking to the human consciousness, writes Mrs. Eddy in Science and Health. Christ "voices to man the true idea of God. If you or I were to be in great need of care and caring, wouldn't we want to know where we could find such care? Christ, "the divine message from God to men, tells us this is God and turns us to God as the one divine source of all good. And we learn that God's care is ever present because God is Love itself. Since God is infinite, He is always with us. His presence is a constant fact, and the full measure of His love for each one of us is always in force. Depth of care--isn't this what the Christ tells us about God's love? This love goes to the root of everything instead of smoothing it all over superficially. Another example from Jesus' life can help us see this point. Once, John's Gospel records, Jesus encountered a Samaritan woman at a well and told her about the water of life that would enable her to never thirst again. He wasn't talking simply of water that didn't need to be drawn from a well, however. He went beyond a casual or superficial contact with this woman--so much so that she recognized that such prophetic insight could come only from the spiritual nature Jesus embodied. And she went into the city to tell others, "Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? Real caring is much more than human emotion. It has a clear healing aspect to it. So, it not only comforts, it also shows us something of who we are as God's man. Since God is divine Love, His great love creates man spiritual and perfect. Man is God's spiritual offspring, the child of Love's great care. Certainly there are times when we aren't feeling like the child of anyone's care. But God's love for us is real, and it works in meaningful ways. We can turn to Him in any situation, at any time. And we can trust divine Love to open our hearts more completely to others. For when God's love enlivens our own sense of caring, we feel cared for ourselves.