In commenting upon Job's words, "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee," Mrs. Eddy says in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p.262): "Mortals will echo Job's thought, when the supposed pain and pleasure of matter cease to predominate. They will then drop the false estimate of life and happiness, of joy and sorrow, and attain the bliss of loving unselfishly, working patiently, and conquering all that is unlike God."
No one can truly drop his material beliefs until he is convinced that he has found something to replace them. To one who thinks, however slow his growth may be, inward conviction is the only accurate path to freedom. Even though one may hear and approve a true statement, until he has used his own reasoning powers to grasp the substance of this truth, to make it conclusive and demonstrative, it does not become part of his own consciousness of life, nor is he ever wholly sure of it, or fully at peace. The spiritual vision which Job gained, came through inward conviction and demonstration; he did not find the needed inspiration in those about him. When one has gained sufficient understanding of God to "drop the false estimate of life and happiness," he sees that he has not yet conquered all, but that his work is in a sense only begun; he has, in fact, but reached the basis for true work.
The epic of Job proves, as stated in the prologue, that evil has no place in God's creation, or indeed anywhere, if its suggestions be rejected. The narrative brings out clearly that all right thinking in conclusion tends to revelation. Men grope through the darkness of mortal belief, and if moved by the correct motive, undoubtedly reach a measure of truth in revelation, thus assuring themselves that true life is something apart from mortal surmise. Job stands prominently among the great characters of the Old Testament, and his mental struggle to reach the revelation of truth is bared to the world. The discussions of his friends seem like so many arguments of ancient, worn-out theories against the spiritual idea of God which began to dawn in his consciousness. In uncovering the fact that the human structure is mainly built on supposition and has no foundation, and that human theories, however plausible, do not sustain one in the hour of suffering, Job lost his anchorage in the old beliefs, and evil was manifest in discordant physical conditions until he gained spiritual self-government in new ideals. One is impressed with his absolute honesty, his grim humor, his purity, and his desire, not to pit his will against that of the Almighty, but to examine every landmark thoroughly until he was satisfied that he was on the right path.
