RARE metals and gems buried deep in the earth must be brought forth and put through a process of refining before their beauty can be fully recognized. The arduous search for these treasures and the labor of separating them from worthless matter makes them of such value that they are called precious.
Lovelier far than earth's most beautiful jewels or precious metals are the gems of wisdom and understanding which glow through the Scriptures and radiate the spiritual import of the Word of God. Through the teaching of Christian Science we are learning that knowledge gained from material sense cannot help one to find the precious things of Spirit. Only through the most sacred at-one-ment with God can we catch clear glimpses of the radiance of things as they really are, and follow God's directing.
As metals must be separated from their worthless surroundings, so must our thoughts be lifted above the illusions and misconceptions of material sense-perception, so that nothing may dim their clear reflection of Spirit or intercept their power for good. The prophet Jeremiah very strongly emphasized this need when he expressed God's promise, "If thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth." Nothing is more precious than the word of God. To be able to discern the spiritual meaning of God's word, and to separate it from the false beliefs about God and man, is to see Truth in its purity and to reflect it in right thinking and right living; in other words, to be Godlike.
