When ordered by Nebuchadnezzar to fall down and worship the golden image he had made or suffer the consequences, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused. The Hebrew captives explained: "If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up." 1 The three Hebrews would not fall down and worship the golden idol, even if their understanding of God's saving all-power was not sufficient to nullify the flames.
Human reasoning probably offered many excuses for going along with the crowd and worshiping the golden idol. However, the Hebrew captives' bravery and true substance were anchored in the felt substance of God's law. Surely their trust had been forged in previous furnaces of one kind or another. But this one! The hottest and most dangerous!
No matter. Not to trust omnipotence now would be to deny the God they had trusted and proved. Had they glimpsed something of the truth that man's life is eternally spiritual, not even temporarily physical? Christian Science reveals that Life is God, Spirit, Mind, and that the eternal relationship of God and man simply cannot be dissolved. Mrs. Eddy, author of Science and Health, writes, "Life is real, and death is the illusion." 2
