When Christ Jesus declared to his disciples, "Ye are the light of the world," he was not speaking to an extraordinary group of people, but to a group of simple men, engaged in ordinary vocations, whose only claim to distinction was that they had recognized the Christ which Jesus revealed and manifested, and had left all to follow him. The disciples made many mistakes; they often failed to understand their Master's teachings, but Jesus patiently taught, rebuked, and many times forgave them; and he said to them, "Ye are the light of the world."
Christ Jesus revealed the eternal Christ, and demonstrated man's unity with God. He knew that those who recognized the Christ, Truth, and who lived it as they understood it, would be light-bearers to the world. Even before the appearance of Christ Jesus, there had arisen prophets and seers who had received glimpses of the truth concerning God and man, and who had, through this knowledge, demonstrated freedom for themselves and others. Concerning the expected deliverance of the exiles, the prophet Isaiah cried, "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee."
There never was a more imperative need than at the present time for all those who have been awakened to some knowledge of the Christ, Truth, to make that light effective in their lives; to obey the Master's injunction, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Never was there a greater need for spiritual knowledge, and for the assurance that this knowledge can be utilized every day in human affairs through the teachings of Christian Science. Our beloved Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, made a thought-provoking statement when she said (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 158): "The burden of proof that Christian Science is Science rests on Christian Scientists. The letter without the spirit is dead: it is the Spirit that heals the sick and the sinner—that makes the heart tender, faithful, true."
