The renewing Christ
Tony Lobl | from The Christian Science Journal
One thing always marred my enjoyment of my beloved London skyline—the numerous clunky construction cranes littering the horizon in contrast to the outline of my favorite classic and modern buildings. That is, until a friend, alive to the metaphysics of Christian Science, came to visit. “Aren’t they wonderful!” he said, pointing to a bevy of cranes interspersed between some beautiful buildings in Central London. He said that to him, these cranes were symbols of the idea that the Christ—the divine presence of God in human experience—is always at work, reconstructing and renewing our thoughts and, as a result, our lives.
I have never again resented a single crane on any city’s skyline. I now find them beautiful in their own special way. On my most-inspired days, they remind me of what God’s love has done and is doing for me (and for all), day in, day out—restoring hope and renewing spirituality, which heals hearts, minds, and bodies. On my less-inspired days, they symbolize the promise that the Christ is already at work, even while I still seem to be sulking, discouraged, or just plain missing the mark of expressing the pure spiritual love that is really my true nature.
Like the ubiquitous cranes, the Christ is always getting the job done.
The healing Christ! Like the ubiquitous cranes in the most burgeoning of cities, the Christ is always getting the job done, whatever the physical, moral, or spiritual job of rebuilding and renewal needs to be—whether for an individual, a family, a community, a business, a church—or a whole nation.
The Christ is the spirit of all-conquering compassion and powerful peace, which Jesus evidenced in his own prayerful reconstruction of downtrodden minds and bodies buckling under the strain of sickness and sin. Like the Gadarene, whom Jesus restored to “his right mind” (see Mark 5:1–15) or the man at Bethesda with a decades-old infirmity. Jesus asked him, “Wilt thou be made whole?” And, indeed, the man was made whole—he was restored to perfect health immediately (see John 5:1–9).
The infinite Christ is always immediately at hand to touch the individual heart to make exactly the correct thought shift that will bring healing. And while the healing Christ is invisible to the material senses, it is nevertheless strong enough to uproot years of accumulated heartache, depressed hope, and even the most logical of human unhappiness. The immortal Christ, the very expression of Life itself, can restore the dying and dead to life, as Jesus and his disciples proved. And this is entirely realistic today for spiritual healers following Jesus’ example and adhering to the laws of God, just as Jesus did 2,000 years ago.
The immortal Christ can restore the dying and dead to life.
In his own resurrection, Jesus showed that true renewal and restoration comes from inner consciousness—the consciousness of God’s absolute allness. This is what rebuilds external lives.
This understanding is the motor that drives all Spirit-based renewal—knowing that the Christ, everyone’s true selfhood as God’s child, is not subject to any material conditions.
We can think of this affirming truth whenever sin tempts us or if we are suffering from illness. As spiritual ideas, God’s dearly loved children, we are not subject to mortal conditions. Renewed by the same infinite, eternal Christ that transformed the Savior, each of us can learn, “through Truth, Life, and Love, to triumph over sin, sickness, death, and the grave” (Science and Health, p. 49).
Since my friend helped reorient my thought a couple of decades ago about those building cranes spread across the London skyline, I have taken many photos in many cities, including lots of snapshots of beautiful cranes. And while cranes represent the industry, creativity, and development of human endeavors, they are idle at night, on holidays, on the weekends. But the universal Christ never rests, never stops working on our behalf, and continuously rebuilds thought and lives everywhere, throughout all time, one heart at a time.
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