The student of Christian Science finds great interest in tracing the appearing and reappearing of the light of the Christ in the thought of men and women, as it is recorded in the sacred Scriptures. This light came to the receptive thought of Jacob as he was wending his way from Beersheba to Haran. At nightfall he tarried at a certain place and gathered some stones for a pillow and lay down to sleep.

In his dreams he saw a ladder which reached from earth to heaven, and he beheld angels of God, ascending and descending on it. Then he awakened from his sleep and exclaimed (Gen. 28:16,17): "Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not. ... This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven." We read, "And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it." And he said, "This stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house."

Many years later, Jacob prevailed over the workings of evil in his own thought and was transformed. It was at this time that he wrestled "until the breaking of the day" (Gen. 32:24), until the light of Truth shone on him in its effulgence. In this experience his thought became illumined in great measure with the light of the Christ.

It is recorded that still later, when Jacob "came out of Padanaram" (Gen. 35:9), he "set up a pillar in the place where [God] talked with him, even a pillar of stone: and he poured ... oil thereon. And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Beth-el" (verses 14, 15). Jacob recognized the place where his thought had found access to God, and he must have realized that the angels of His presence were there to give him courage and strength and the tenderness of ministering Love.

Spiritually interpreted, the pouring of oil on the pillar of stone could mean that Jacob considered this place sacred because God spoke to him there. In the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy gives "consecration" as one of the definitions of "oil" (p. 592). The full definition is, "Consecration; charity; gentleness; prayer; heavenly inspiration."

Certainly Jacob's experiences brought into his life a great measure of consecration and deep spirituality. He won dominion over the workings of evil and became indeed a soldier for God.

Of exceeding importance was the work of Moses. He too was a man of consecration and of great spiritual strength. He saw God as Truth and pointed out to his age and to all succeeding ages the necessity for obedience to moral law.

In the eleventh chapter of the book of Hebrews we read that before leading the Hebrews out of Egyptian bondage, Moses chose "rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt."

It was the light of Christ which illumined the thought of Moses and made him a notable example of consecration which inspires us today to be meek and humble, to be strong and of good courage, to be obedient to the law, and to endure with all consecration and faith, for we too have seen "him who is invisible" (verse 27).

The highest example of consecration is that of Christ Jesus. His assertion, "The Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works" (John 14:10), showed that he recognized that it is God, divine Love, who heals.

When Jesus came down from the mount where he delivered his greatest sermon, there came a leper asking to be cleansed. The man was instantly healed. Then a man sick of the palsy was instantly healed. Many other healings took place that same day. And Jesus taught his followers to go and do likewise.

If one is to follow his example, unselfed love is requisite. Faith and understanding alone are inadequate to fulfill the command to heal. The motive for healing must be unselfish, and unselfishness requires consecration—dedication of one's life to the service of God, wholly and without reservation.

When she turned to God in prayer, Mrs. Eddy was healed of a supposedly fatal injury. Her faith steadily advanced to spiritual understanding, and the Science of Jesus' Christianity was revealed to her. She discovered that through the understanding of the Christ it is possible for one to heal the sick and reform the sinner.

Accordingly, she dedicated her life to the great work of helping humanity find healing and regeneration through the application of this Science. In this blessed task she not only healed many who came to her, but she taught large numbers of students this Science, which enabled them to bring healing and regeneration to many people.

Mrs. Eddy places at the very beginning of the chapter on Christian Science Practice in Science and Health the story of the Magdalene, thus indicating that it is imperative that the Christian Science practitioner reflect the consecration which is born of Love.

Here is what Mrs. Eddy says (pp. 366, 367): "If we would open their prison doors for the sick, we must first learn to bind up the broken-hearted. If we would heal by the Spirit, we must not hide the talent of spiritual healing under the napkin of its form, nor bury the morale of Christian Science in the grave-clothes of its letter. The tender word and Christian encouragement of an invalid, pitiful patience with his fears and the removal of them, are better than hecatombs of gushing theories, stereotyped borrowed speeches, and the doling of arguments, which are but so many parodies on legitimate Christian Science, aflame with divine Love."

O magnify the Lord with me, and let
us exalt his name together. I sought
the Lord, and he heard me, and
delivered me from all my fears....
The angel of the Lord encampeth
round about them that fear him,
and delivereth them.—Psalm 34:3—7.