Many centuries ago, a comparatively small group of people were told that to know the truth was to be free. The great Teacher who uttered the simple, yet profound words, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32), had been born of a race that had experienced captivity at the hands of its enemies and was at the time under the government of imperial Rome. Yet his words bore a far greater significance than the promise of political or physical freedom.

Through spiritual discernment Jesus saw that humanity was in bondage to its belief in the power of sin with its attendant suffering. He knew that God had created man free—the perfect expression of spiritual freedom and supremacy—and, being conscious of this truth about man, he knew no bondage for himself or for others.

Long before the advent of Jesus mankind had been seeking an answer to the question, 'What is truth?'" but except on the part of a comparative few, whose thoughts were receptive and inspired, the search was conducted mainly along the material lines of human philosophy. In most instances God was glimpsed but faintly until our Master, through the clarity of his own pure thought, was able to demonstrate the living presence of the omnipotent Father. With Jesus' realization of God's supremacy, sin and suffering vanished from the consciousness of those who appealed to him for help. In this way he showed clearly to those who were present that to know the truth about God and man is to liberate the individual from false beliefs about himself.

However, there is no record that Jesus left either a system or a definite rule for demonstrating the Science of healing. It remained for Mary Baker Eddy, in our own time, to discover the unfailing practical law which governs Christian healing. Diligently searching the Scriptures, she became convinced that freedom from sickness and sin is possible. Through weary years, she had longed for the deliverance from suffering promised by Jesus to those who followed in his footsteps. Meekly she endeavored to be obedient, but the way was not clear. The directions had been misinterpreted through the centuries which had elapsed since the Master had talked to his disciples on the shores of Galilee and in the precincts of the temple at Jerusalem.

Then, in the extremity caused by a severe accident, Mrs. Eddy in childlike faith turned to God and was healed. With this proof of the power of God she determined further to search the Scriptures until she should find the law that had governed the many healings brought about by Jesus. With utter selflessness she turned away from society and gave herself to the search, with the result that today humanity is enriched by her discovery of Christian Science. In her textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," she writes (p. 227): "Citizens of the world, accept the 'glorious liberty of the children of God.' and be free! This is your divine right."

What a wonderful message to be proclaimed at this time when so many seem to be held captive, suffering the anguish of imprisonment in one form or another.

When Peter, believing himself to be held in prison at the mercy of Herod, slept between two soldiers, bound with chains, it must have been just such a rousing' message that came to him as one' of God's angels, for we are told that the messenger smote him on the side. It would appear that for the time being Peter had forgotten the words of his beloved Master, had forgotten his divine right, and so it seemed necessary for him to be stirred from his apathy in order to realize his freedom. Then he was loosed from his bonds and found his way no longer barred.

The writer once knew a lad who was accused of a crime he did not commit. Although he had been a Sunday school pupil, he had allowed himself to drift away from the teachings of Christian Science, and later found himself in the bondage of bad companionship, until at last he knew the hardships of being in prison. His sentence was a particularly heavy one, and at the end of three years his thoughts were filled with bitterness and resentment. It was pointed out to him that liberation must come mentally before the physical freedom could be manifested; that his own thoughts were holding him captive.

He was told that in order to be free he must know the truth about himself, that he must realize man can neither hate nor be hated, that he cannot be unjust, nor the victim of injustice. Eventually he turned again to the truth he had forgotten and became an earnest student of Christian Science. All the bitterness and resentment disappeared, and one day a letter was received from him in which he expressed gratitude for the fact that he had been given work in one of the prison gardens. He wrote happily, saying that he had enjoyed the warmth of the spring sunshine, and had been able to identify the notes of the birds as he worked among the flowers. The letter contained no allusion to the wrongs he had suffered, and as the recipient read she knew that the lad was already released, that his fetters were loosed, and that the prison bars were down. A few weeks after this letter was written, he was liberated.

In this case it was the bitter, resentful thoughts that had to be put out of consciousness, whereas in the experience of Peter it would seem that the mesmeric effects of apathy had caused this disciple to forget man's true being, for we are told that he came to himself and realized that it was indeed God that had set him free.

We may not at first recognize what it is that confuses, pains, and fetters us. We do not always discern what it is that binds mankind to various forms of sickness and sin, but if we search the Scriptures and study the textbook of Christian Science we shall indeed learn more of the truth that makes free. We shall avail ourselves of our heritage—"the glorious liberty of the children of God."

Today men are meeting to consider the rights and privileges of the human race. Much has already been accomplished towards establishing a wider sense of freedom for all, and the world turns with renewed hope to the future. Let us all prayerfully consider the farseeing wisdom contained in the words of our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy (The People's Idea of God, p. 11), "Above the platform of human rights let us build another staging for diviner claims.—even the supremacy of Soul over sense, wherein man cooperates with and is made subject to his Maker."