IN The First Epistle General of John to the early Christian churches, the beloved disciple gave a characterization of the Father in such vivid terms that it cannot fail to leave a distinct impression upon the thought of the receptive student of Christian literature. "God," he wrote, "is light, and in him is no darkness at all." In these words light and darkness are shown in opposition: the light of divine wisdom shines forth from the Father and fills all space, but the darkness of human ignorance proves its utter falsity by its inability to find for itself a place in the spiritual universe. In God, good, there is no trace of evil. It follows that, in the words of Mary Baker Eddy, as given in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 207), "Evil is not supreme; good is not helpless."
The great and living truth of God's absolute perfection expressed in spiritual light and wisdom, in His all-embracing tenderness and care for all that He has created,—there being in the divine Mind nothing that can darken or disturb the peace and happiness of His children,—must be known of men. How else can anyone who is seeking to rid himself of the burden of ignorance, which evil has seemingly imposed upon him, find a standard by which, with God's help, to work out his own salvation?
Mortal man, so called, is confessedly a helpless slave in the toils of mistaken material beliefs. Sooner or later, left to his own devices, he tastes the bitterness which comes from discovering the inability of merely human, material interests to give him peace or satisfy his hunger for good. His plight is described by the Psalmist in these words: "Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction: Lord, I have called daily upon thee, I have stretched out my hands unto thee." To such a one, if he be sincerely seeking the understanding of Deity as a remedy for his anguish, the words of John will appear as a rainbow of heavenly portent, "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all."
