"God said, Let there be light: and there was light" (Gen. 1:3). This profound and simple statement reveals Mind as the only substance of being and shows the light and intelligence of Spirit, revealing itself through its own ideas. That which God, Mind, has said and authorized is real— absolute, final, complete.
In "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" Mary Baker Eddy includes Mind as one of the seven synonyms for God. In answer to the question, "What is God?" she says p. 465), "God is incorporeal, divine, supreme, infinite Mind, Spirit, Soul, Principle, Life, Truth, Love." These seven synonyms express in their various shades of meaning the sum total of being, here and now. The Word of God, divine Science, is revealed through the study of these synonyms, through the understanding of God as all-power, all-presence, all-science.
Our Leader says (ibid., p. 510), "Light is a symbol of Mind, of Life, Truth, and Love, and not a vitalizing property of matter." To speak the Word of God with authority is to let our light shine. It is thus that we help others. As our thoughts are flooded with the consciousness of the divine presence, we find the healing light of the Christ, Truth, permeating all our experiences.
