IN THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE BIBLE LESSON September 29, 2008 Issue

WALKING IN THE LIGHT

VIRGINIA STOPFEL

THE ABUNDANCE of metaphors and related terms in the Golden Text and Responsive Reading in this week's Lesson titled "Unreality" immediately got my attention. There are "night" and "day," "darkness" and "light," "sleep" and "watch," to name a few. As they wove their way through the Lesson, I saw them as pairs contrasting "unreality" and "reality" as well as "ignorance" and "understanding."

Because night and day and darkness and light are part of our daily experience, as metaphors they make very clear the difference between what is real or unreal in human experience from a Biblical and spiritual point of view. Our familiarity with the effects of night and day, darkness and light, etc. makes it easy to relate immediately to their message. An aspect I hadn't focused on before, is that the point of the metaphor is linked with a human condition or activity. For example, it's easy to accept being "children of the light." Consequently, I have to ask myself: "Do I watch? Am I wide awake to detect what is not part of the light?" Also, the Golden Text refers to the "armour of light." Am I willing to put on the "breastplate of faith and love" and wear as a helmet the "hope of salvation"? These contrasting metaphors continue through every section of the Lesson and are illustrated in story form in the first two sections.

Light is the very first creation by God (see Gen. chap. 1, Section I, citation 1). Throughout the Bible, light is a symbol of life, of joy, of justice, of salvation. This light has nothing to do with the sun because from the very first it is associated with thinking/understanding. "And God said" is the Bible's way of telling us, "And God thought, Let there be light." Also, God "saw that the light was good" is the Bible's way of telling us that God perceived only perfection in the light. As I studied this verse and did a little research, I saw something I hadn't seen so well before: Gen. 1:3 is God's declaration that "reality" is filled with His "goodness." His perfection.