Some years ago, my family and I visited a park in the state of Florida, in the United States, where we entered some very deep caves that really impressed us. Within them reigns the most absolute darkness—a darkness before unknown to me. It was dense and silent, in spite of the number of people who were on the tour with us. We spent a few moments almost holding our breath at the oppressiveness of the place. But all it took for that impenetrable darkness to clear was for the guide to turn on a small flashlight. To this day that is precisely one of my daughters’ most vivid memories—the dense darkness instantly disappearing in the presence of that tiny light.
When one of my daughters made a comment about this, it reminded me of the number of times light is mentioned in the Bible, throughout the Old and New Testaments. Christ Jesus said of himself, “I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness” (John 12:46). Jesus was speaking of the Christ, Truth, which he demonstrated to such an extent that he overcame all kinds of obstacles. The light of Christ, the divine nature of Jesus, was felt wherever he went—along the roads, in the cities, in the fields, and even over the fury of the waves. And that light cleared away the darkness of illness, enslavement, and fear. His understanding of God as Spirit, as the only creator, and of the spiritual nature of God’s creation made Jesus unimpressed by and unafraid of sickness and death. He was conscious only of the luminous spiritual reality. Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy states, “. . . as we approach Spirit and Truth, we lose the consciousness of matter” (p. 278). The more we understand of Truth, the more we understand about the true nature of man (everyone) created by God.
Some years ago, a good friend of mine began to notice that his vision was diminishing, especially when he drove at night. When reading he had to get as close as possible to the light from a window or a lamp in order to make out the letters. But then he was elected Second Reader in his branch church. (A Second Reader, in Christian Science churches, reads passages from the Bible during Sunday services.) Someone who had noticed what he was going through wanted to give him a large Bible, with type that was very easy to read. He thanked his friend, but decided to get a normal-size Bible and pray for healing.
