In the tenth chapter of the epistle to the Hebrews the writer recalls to his hearers "the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions." He reminds them of the reproaches and losses which they had undergone for the sake of the Gospel, and finishes on a note of certainty that their endurance will be rewarded.

In a consideration of this passage it is particularly helpful to note that the illumination comes first. The light which their understanding of the Christ had brought to those early workers was so intense, and so irradiated their whole consciousness, that they "endured a great fight of afflictions; ... were made a gazingstock ... and took joyfully the spoiling" of their goods, because they had seen something of spiritual reality which far transcended their material sense of substance.

These verses are of great value to us today. Conditions in the world are such that many seem to be struggling with adverse circumstances, and may perhaps be asking themselves why such things should have befallen them. Let us remember those helpful words "after ye were illuminated." The spiritual light which comes when we begin to understand the teachings of Christian Science illumines and shines through the consciousness of the student. Do we not need to tend this glorious light, to guard it watchfully? Perhaps unconsciously we had grown satisfied with the better material conditions which resulted from our first understanding of Christian Science; we may even have accepted the world's standard of prosperity. But worldly riches sometimes vanish overnight, and as we scan the material horizon we can find there no certitude of peace or contentment. These are obtained through a deeper sense of spiritual values, which brings out the permanent and enduring nature of good, and our own individual relationship to it.

Let us never forget the spiritual illumination which came with our first knowledge of Christian Science! Surely it is something for which we may be immeasurable grateful. Yet sometimes it seems to have been momentarily forgotten in the contemplation and recital of material griefs and troubles.

Three qualities of thought which are of inestimable value in working out our problems are mentioned by the writer to the Hebrews. He says, "Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. ... Now the just shall live by faith." Confidence, patience, and faith will carry us through the burden and heat of the day—not confidence in ourselves, in our own capabilities and capacities, but an abiding confidence in the power of Spirit and spiritual reflection; confidence that God is unchanging, ever-present good; that good forever flows from God to man, His reflection, and that no evil mind exists to stem or deflect the eternal currents of His loving-kindness.

These are some of the truths of which we became aware when we "were illuminated"; and they have never ceased to be true, even though the light may seem clouded for a time. No cloud can come between God and His idea, man, any more than anything can intervene between the sun and the rays which emanate from it. Truly this confidence has "great recompence of reward," when exercised in conjunction with patience and faith.

Now patience may seem to be difficult of attainment, but when it is realized that it is an attribute of God, we find that it is already ours by reflection, and that it can be brought into our daily experience. This patience is a living, active quality, not a dull waiting for something to happen. It knows that activity is constantly expressed, even though is may not be apparent. The husbandman waits for the appearance of the grain he has sown, knowing that there must be germination of the seed below the surface before the tender shoots become visible.

Faith, "the substance of things hoped for," keeps us steady in the face of the incursions of error. Mrs. Eddy tells us that "faith, advanced to spiritual understanding, is the evidence gained from Spirit, which rebukes sin of every kind and establishes the claims of God" (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 23). We have this faith because we have been "illuminated"; that is to say, the light which Christian Science brought to our consciousness, when we first recognized the truth of its teachings, pierced the darkness of doubt and spiritual obscuration, and showed us the true facts of being. This light is absolutely pure because it is the revelation of Truth, "the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world."

We need to keep ourselves in conscious relation with Truth, to let its radiance shine through all that would presume to darken or deflect it, and reduce these mists to nothingness. Our Leader writes (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 165), "The light of this revelation leaves nothing that is material; neither darkness, doubt, disease, nor death."

If in the years that have intervened since this light first shone into our consciousness we have allowed ourselves to become entangled with material things, so that we have forgotten to put spiritual things first, it is helpful to take the above declaration and start afresh to prove its truth. We must see that revelation is not intermittent, but is the steady beam of omnipresent Truth which melts away the fog of sense testimony, and reveals the things which have always been true—even our eternal relationship with the Father and the completeness of His creation.

To hold firmly to these facts in the midst of seeming loss, lack, confusion, or disease requires courage and steadfastness, and the reward is sure; for when established in our consciousness they are inevitably manifested in outward circumstances. Let us, then, rejoice continually in the great blessing of spiritual illumination, for, as the Bible tells us, "We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts."