Mortal existence might be likened to "chaos and old night." To unenlightened thought, good often seems without foundation and subject to destruction and decay, while evil seems to predominate in almost every facet of experience. In the Bible we read that "the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep."
The troubled thought of any mortal who has not yet awakened to the spiritual nature of God and His universe, only comes on ever blacker darkness by probing deeper into the material scene. It takes spiritual light to bring form and meaning to life. The above verse ends, "And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."Gen. 1:2; Indeed, God, Spirit, has to be seen as the source of true consciousness before meaning and purpose can save mortals from the chaotic darkness of materialism.
The steps of creation presented in the first chapter of Genesis can be understood as symbolic of the steps of unfoldment taking place in each individual human consciousness as it awakes to spiritual reality. Before the true picture of all life is viewed from this standpoint of perfection, two things must happen to prepare the unfolding thought for the new idea of perfection.
First, there must be light. As thought begins to contemplate material existence and see it as little more than a formless void, thought is then ready for the influx of spiritual light. "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness."vv. 3, 4;
Christian Science teaches that divine light appears through the revelation of the Christ. Mrs. Eddy defines "Christ" as "the divine manifestation of God, which comes to the flesh to destroy incarnate error."Science and Health, p. 583; This Christ, Truth, comes to human consciousness to reveal the ever-presence of God. This awakening to Spirit is indeed caused by Mind-impelled light, brought to earth by Christ.
Without this light, formlessness would characterize mankind's concept of existence. Without the Christ, mankind continues in a darkened sense of materialism that offers little hope of salvation.
As the term "Christ" is explained in Science and Health, it is not considered to be synonymous with the man Christ Jesus, as it is in many Christian religions. Christ in Christian Science refers to the divine influence ever with men, the spiritual idea representing God's presence and power. Christ is also the title of Jesus, who so uniquely expressed that spiritual idea in his own life.
As God reveals Himself to mankind through the influx of this light of the Christ, it is then possible for mankind to discern between the light and the darkness, and the second step of unfoldment takes place: "And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters."Gen. 1:6;
In each one's experience, when, through the light of the Christ, he is able to draw his own line of demarcation between the spiritual and the material, the real and the unreal, he is ready to comprehend the continuing unfoldment of creation as further narrated in the first chapter of Genesis. In this light that shines in the darkness one beholds the universe, including man, as God made it. The step-by-step unfoldment of the ensuing days is seen in the true glory of reality, and no evil is present to mar the spiritual scene.
Mrs. Eddy gives the metaphysical interpretation of "firmament" as "spiritual understanding; the scientific line of demarcation between Truth and error, between Spirit and so-called matter."Science and Health, p. 586; She explains, "Spiritual understanding, by which human conception, material sense, is separated from Truth, is the firmament."ibid., p. 505;
Christian Science healing demands both the light and the firmament. Disease is a product of darkness that can only be dispelled by the light. As thought awakes, through the Christ, Truth, this illumination reveals clearly man's relationship to God, and this understanding casts out sin and sickness. Thus the work to be accomplished in bringing about healing is to embody more of the Christ in one's own thought. This Christly way to health and harmony is Christian Science healing.
By the light of the Christ one not only discerns the way to think and act; he discerns the darkened modes of thought that are, in belief, the cause of all problems. The more light there is illumining one's consciousness, the more the darkness is dispelled. Thus an individual's prayer needs to be one of acknowledgment of the Christ and a deep seeking to embody it in his every act.
As one yearns to be Christly, to express the purity and goodness that stems from God, he finds that his prayer is answered in spiritual light. In this increased light, how easy it becomes to draw the line of demarcation between the real and the unreal!
The Bible declares: "And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven."Gen. 1:7, 8.
Christian Science teaches that heaven denotes absolute harmony. Surely the ability to spiritually understand the real and to draw a firm line of demarcation shutting out the unreal brings harmony into one's experience. Without the light, such a distinction could never be made.
Spiritual healing demands that a clear distinction be made between the Godlike and the ungodly. Fear is one element of darkness the Christ light destroys. Fear denotes a lack of understanding of God, Christ, and man, and their perfect relationship—unbroken even in what appear to human sense to be times of greatest stress.
Fear says one cannot see the path he must walk because of the darkness of doubt or pain or confusion. But in the light one's upward path is clearly marked. It leads straight to God, and is safe because it embodies only good. If seeking healing, one draws the line firmly and casts fear into the utter darkness from which it came. No one can be afraid of the dark when light is available, for light dispels all darkness.
God made man, and He maintains him under divine law. This absolute control cannot be set aside, for God, Spirit, is indeed omnipotent. It is the Christ that reveals this great truth to the human consciousness and casts out fear.
Hatred, resentment, guilt, and grief are states of thought that also need to be firmly separated from the individual who would be spiritually regenerated and healed. As one maintains his line of demarcation in every thought and act, he will conscientiously shut out destructive states of thought.
Maintaining one's perception of the firmament requires a moment-by-moment watch over one's thoughts and deeds. If it were not for the light, this would be an impossible task. One who maintains his light also maintains his ability to see clearly how to keep his line of demarcation drawn.
The unreal never touches the real; the material never mingles with the spiritual. Man was created in the light, and Mind made both this light and the firmament. One who follows the Christly way of life walks in the light, firmly measuring his thoughts against the firmament.
