Where Does Jesus Belong in Our Lives?

MY little daughter said it as well as anyone I've ever heard. Not long ago, someone asked her what she liked best about the Bible. With real adoration in her eyes, she said, "I love Jesus best.Is it any wonder that the Bible's record of Christ Jesus still inspires adoration and respect today? At one point, for example, the Bible tells us of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. Matthew's Gospel records: "And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. . . . And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them. Can't we today look forward to our cities, families, and nations being moved by the love of Christ? The spirit of Truth that Christ Jesus spoke and lived reforms individual hearts as nothing else can. Reformed hearts lead to better lives, better families, communities, and nations. And, of course, to a better world. What was it about this man Jesus that inspired hearts and moved cities? Those who came into Jesus' presence and were ready for his message doubtless felt an inner joy. Jesus showed them something wonderful about themselves. He showed them their genuine God-created individuality in God's likeness, and this moved them. Isn't it Jesus' message of spiritual reality that we, too, respond to? Jesus firmly established that God is divine Spirit. And he repeatedly showed by actual physical and moral healing that man is spiritual and reflects the nature of God, his creator. Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, says of Christ Jesus in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: "The divine nature was best expressed in Christ Jesus, who threw upon mortals the truer reflection of God and lifted their lives higher than their poor thought-models would allow,--thoughts which presented man as fallen, sick, sinning, and dying. The Christlike understanding of scientific being and divine healing includes a perfect Principle and idea,--perfect God and perfect man,--as the basis of thought and demonstration. "Perfect God and perfect man is the basis of what Jesus taught, and it's also the basis of Christian Science. Since God makes man after His own likeness, man, in his real identity, is morally upright and free from sin. He is dependent only upon God. Freedom from sin is man's natural state, the way God creates man in His likeness. This is what Jesus understood so well, what he demonstrated by healing, and what even in our day sends hope and inspiration into the lives of those who follow his teachings. Today, the written record of Jesus' life and works retains that great power to inspire our thought and our lives. The real power we see in the Biblical accounts is the power of Christ. Christ was and is Truth's message that speaks to us about God and about man as God creates him. Christ is not limited by space or time but is always with us. When Christ, Truth, moves us, it doesn't leave us where it found us. Since Christ presents the perfect model of spiritual man as God creates him, we are drawn closer to God. Christ naturally changes our lives for the better. And Christ shows us how we can overcome sin. Nothing reinforces in our thought the presence and power of God like our love for Christ. And if we follow Jesus' example, we will again discover the practicality of his teachings in our lives by our study of the Gospels.