Who or What Is the Christ?

You have different sets of clothes and each change of clothes gives you a different look. Yet no matter what clothes you put on, you are still you.

Perhaps it will help to think of your Christ Self in a similar way—it doesn't change, either no matter how many different ways you look or act on the outside. The real you—that Christ Self—is always perfect and makes you the one-of-a-kind individual you are.

The Christ is the presence of God in each of us. (Does this definition of the Christ have a familiar ring to it? Ten points if you guessed that your Spirit and the Christ are the same thing.)

It's our responsibility as creations of God to express our Christ Selves. In fact, it is our only responsibility because if we do this, we will be loving, compassionate, forgiving, gracious, joy-filled, and all the other things that are part of our divine design.

In allowing the world to see the splendor of our divinity, we become way showers, as Jesus was. And also like Jesus, we'll recognize this same Christ nature in everyone else.

The Christ: Your Real Self

“Christ” is not Jesus’ last name. Jesus was able to reveal so completely his Christ Self—his God nature—that he was called Jesus Christ. But actually Christ is as much your real name too.

The word Christ comes from the Greek word Christos, meaning “the anointed.” “Christ” is a title reserved for anyone who becomes aware of and fully realizes the depths of his or her divine possibilities, as Jesus did.

Christ is God individualized in each of us. The Christ is not a person. Jesus is the person. The Christ refers to the spiritual aspect of him—and of you and of all people. Jesus and the Christ—there is a difference.

Siddhartha Gautama was called Buddha (the Enlightened One), but “the Enlightened One” was not his last name. It was a description. Jesus is called “the Christ” or “Jesus Christ,” but Christ is not his last name. It is a description.

Jesus was the man who discovered and expressed his divinity and became known as Jesus Christ. … Since we were created with the exact same potential as Jesus, we, too, can discover and express our divinity. We, too, can become “the Christ.” The more you ponder this statement, the more awesome it becomes. Allow the impact of its meaning to filter down into your soul, where it can do its work.

The Christ in each of us is unquestionably what makes us one of a kind.

Excerpt from The Simple Truth: Making Sense of God, Life and Other Stuff.