"Science only can explain the incredible good and evil elements now coming to the surface. Mortals must find refuge in Truth in order to escape the error of these latter days." So writes Mary Baker Eddy in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 83).

Refuge in Truth is found as we turn away from the material sense of things, with all of its evils and discords, to the spiritual sense, which reveals the all-harmonious, divinely created, and God-governed state of things. Spiritual perfection is the truth concerning any situation, no matter what the opposite evidence may be, and to cling to it is to find a refuge. And what a refuge this is, for it results not only in peace of mind and in protection from whatever may be threatening, but also in the inevitable improvement of the situation.

The suggestions seem to cry out from all sides that evil is real and active and that there is something to fear, something that can interfere with our harmony, joy, and completeness. Or, on the other hand, we may believe that evil is alluring and can entice us from what we really know is right. But every note of inharmony, every suggestion of loss, lack, sin, or anything that would deny God's presence and power, is wholly false, a mesmeric suggestion, and we have the remedy for it at hand, namely the truth of God's omnipotence and omnipresence, His goodness, His allness, and the inevitable inclusion of man's being and his experience in that allness. The allness of good precludes the possibility of anything unlike good, and this fact is ours to prove here and now, no matter what evidence to the contrary is presented by the material senses.

Our Leader advises us (ibid., p. 393), "Rise in the strength of Spirit to resist all that is unlike good." We are not helped by sitting back and enduring the suggestions that come to us, or by accepting them at their valuation. To destroy them, we need to grow in spiritual understanding. At the very outset of this growth the student can look for encouraging results; even a little understanding of Truth, if applied faithfully, will do wonders for him.

When she was a very young student of Christian Science, the writer was teaching music in a private school. She had had very good musical training, but little teaching experience. As a result she had great difficulty in planning the work for her several classes, beyond temporary and sketchy preparation. Becoming quite discouraged by the poor work she was doing, she turned to her Christian Science textbooks, the Bible and Science and Health, and spent several hours in consecrated study. Then she turned unreservedly to God with an earnest, humble prayer for help.

To her amazement, ideas for her work started pouring into her consciousness so fast that she hurried to get pencil and paper. In a short time she had a working plan for the year for all of her classes, and with deep gratitude she saw that it was worked out immediately and completely when she turned unreservedly to God for help.

If we are tempted to believe that there is dishonesty or impurity in ourselves or in others, we should promptly take refuge in the truth, the truth that man in God's likeness is always truthful and pure. If the suggestion be one of lack or loss, we can realize the impossibility of such a thing, because God, infinite good, is caring for all of His children, abundantly supplying them with all that is needed for their complete welfare.

Just saying the words of truth, of course, is not enough, but as we persistently correct our thinking concerning any situation, denying the suggestions of evil and replacing them with the truth that God governs, we shall see the conditions improve and greater harmony and joy will be ours.

In order that we may establish the daily practice of turning to the truth for refuge, it is most helpful and important to keep careful watch over our thinking. We must see how much of our interest is given to material things at the expense of spiritual consideration of God and man. It is plain that we cannot think about material things and spiritual truths at the same time.

"There is divine authority for believing in the superiority of spiritual power over material resistance," our Leader tells us on page 134 of Science and Health. By the very fact of turning to God, we are aligning ourselves with the only power there is. Our real being is always in God, divine Truth, for we are the actual expression of Him and therefore of His infinite goodness. Finding refuge in the truth is the practical answer to every human problem.

When Christ Jesus made the scientific declaration (John 8:32), "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free," he was stating the eternal fact that the truth always liberates the individual who accepts it, always blesses and heals him.