Luke 2:8-14 "In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch..."

“In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.’ 13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, 14’Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!’” (Luke 2:8-14)

Question:

In this passage, Jesus is born and called a savior. My belief is that Jesus is my savior, and only through him can we be saved from our sinfulness. What are Unity's thoughts on Jesus being the savior and man being sinful?

Comment:

Certainly Unity shares your reverence and appreciation for the message and ministry of Jesus Christ. We believe Jesus to be a savior not in terms of who he was and is, but in terms of who we are. His message, essentially, is that we can—and must!—save ourselves. He saved himself; he realized and expressed his innate Oneness with God—the Christ of his being—so perfectly that he became the singular example of what we are to realize and express from within ourselves. "What I have done you will do," he assures us (John 14:12). Is man “sinful”? Yes. The root word of sin means error thought, and we think erroneously every time we fail to realize, embrace and express the Presence and Power of God that is our true identity. Jesus cannot change our thinking for us. He can—and does—teach us with infinite love, and demonstrates the possibilities for healing, love and abundance we are denying ourselves by clinging to error thoughts. And he waits with infinite patience for us to learn the lessons, follow his example and “save ourselves” from the negative results of our error thoughts.   Blessings!

Rev. Ed