There is not a Biblical record of the victory of good over evil but is narrated as an instance of the perception of and obedience to good alone. Deliverance from all distress and inharmony is won through cultivating spiritual vision; that is, by keeping the eye single to God. This spiritual process requires constant vigilance. The material so-called universe must be mentally supplanted by the spiritual universe; material things must be reduced to thoughts, and thoughts in turn spiritualized. When one's thinking becomes illuminated by the wondrous light of Truth, one will no longer allow thought to wander aimlessly into the so-called material realm. Ungoverned thought is like a runaway train; with no destination in view, it rushes madly onward unchecked, leaving in its wake a trail of disaster and destruction. Spirit and spiritual things, not matter and materiality, are alone constructive and profitable to meditate upon.

The eternal purpose of seeing only God, good, and the manifestation thereof, must be won through persistence and purity. "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect," is the divine command. In order to attain a measure of this perfection, one's neighbor, as well as one's self, must be seen in this true light, as spiritual and perfect. Entertaining thoughts of evil for another, one is thereby darkening his own consciousness; and his consciousness is the only avenue through which perfection may be won. If we believe evil can be real for another, we are entertaining some measure of belief in its reality for ourselves.

The one who will keep his eye single to God can meet and master any difficulty that confronts him. A Christian Scientist once had a most inspiring proof of this verity. She had an obligation to meet. When the time drew near to go, she was experiencing great physical distress. The most radical application of the truth had seemingly failed to bring freedom. Then turning away from self, from the contemplation of suffering, from the obligation to be met, and all else material, she looked wholly to God, asking Him to protect her from believing in, yielding to, or being subject to evil. In a short time a friend who knew nothing of the circumstances stopped and said, "It just came to me that I wanted to come and get you in my car." This seemed beyond all doubt an answer to prayer, so she arose, quickly dressed, and reached the appointed place just at the right hour; and to her great joy she realized that she was entirely healed. " 'Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?' What cannot God do?" writes Mrs. Eddy on page 135 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures." By refusing to accept material sense testimony in the face of suffering—the seeming evidence of its reality—and keeping her eye single to God, this student was cared for and freed. When the last material plan or desire has been surrendered and a willingness is gained to do anything God directs, we then bring the problem into touch with His law, which is ever operating; and its solution is sure.

The one who allows himself to indulge in the despicable habit of repeating error is not keeping his eye single to good. A dictum of error is a direct denial of the allness of God. Reiterating evil, whether it be the rehearsing of so-called physical ailments or the relating of a bit of current gossip, receives a firm rebuke from our dear Leader. On page 346 of "Miscellaneous Writings" she says, "It is a rule in Christian Science never to repeat error unless it becomes requisite to bring out Truth." What an emphatic statement! How seldom is it really necessary to express evil even for the purpose of destroying it! Much suffering, many heartaches, and various other manifestations of discord will be eradicated when conversation is purified. When we sum up the results of the practice of recounting evil, verily it is costly.

Looking only to Spirit, God, is all that will ever deliver men from the darkness of materiality. In any line of human endeavor, it is the one who keeps his eye steadfastly fixed on one goal and strives honestly to reach it, who succeeds. The one who visualizes the destination one day and loses sight of it the next is working in a slipshod manner, and his ultimate achievement is doubtful. So it is with the one who looks intermittently at Spirit and matter.

The great line of departure by which singleness of vision is accomplished is to gain the same perception of the universe and man that God has of them. What He sees and knows about it is all there is to comprehend. The winning of this clarified vision enables us to begin to eradicate personal sense. We are then freed from the constant temptation to think of people and to consider what people may be thinking of us. We have learned that personal opinion regarding us does not matter at all; it is what God knows about us, and whether we are exemplifying the divine qualities, that counts.

There is no more inspiring episode portraying radical reliance on God depicted in the Bible than the story of Moses at the Red Sea. His unswerving reliance on God in the face of seemingly unsurmountable difficulties has many times been a guiding light to the feet of the Christian Scientist. When Moses and his companions had reached the Red Sea, he was not only hemmed in on every side until there was no possible material means of escape, but he had lost the co-operation of his followers. They murmured against him because he had led them to what appeared to be their destruction. But Moses, to whom Mrs. Eddy refers as a type of "moral courage" (Science and Health, p. 592), saw God, good, alone. Such courage, such faith he had! How could the sea, the darkness of error, but be dissolved? The children of Israel could see only the Egyptians and destruction; while Moses saw only God, good. The children of Israel of to-day are finding that the parting of the sea and the ability to go safely forward are commensurate with their willingness to turn from the Egyptians of fear and doubt to see God only.

On page 347 of "Miscellaneous Writings" Mrs. Eddy says: "Those who know no will but His take His hand, and from the night He leads to light. None can say unto Him, What doest Thou?"

Copyright, 1925, by The Christian Science Publishing Society, Falmouth and St. Paul Streets Boston, Massachusetts. Entered at Boston post office as second-class matter. Acceptance for mailing at a special rate of postage provided for in section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917,authorized on July 11, 1918.