God's defining of reward comes early in the Scriptures. After Abram had refused to take from a vanquished enemy "a thread even to a shoelatchet" (Gen. 14: 23) instead of demanding the customary spoil, God said to him, "Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward."

Surely God is reward enough for any right doing. To know Him, to reflect His power, and to be conscious of at-one-ment with Him exceed any material benefits one might wish for; and the divine reward can never be withheld, for it accompanies God-impelled action.

The prophet Isaiah must have understood that the highest reward one can obtain is spiritual, for he said (40:10), "Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him."

The history of the Hebrews shows that prophets received scant material reward for their efforts to keep a pure sense of God alive in the hearts of their people. Stoned and martyred, according to Christ Jesus (see Matt. 23: 35-37), they had to look for a reward in their unity with God's purpose. But the ideals they inculcated persisted; always there was a remnant who maintained the flame of spiritual vision—the consciousness of Spirit—regardless of the resistance of evil they encountered.

The Master perpetuated the high ideal of reward glimpsed by the early prophets. In the Sermon on the Mount we find him reiterating their lesson: to be satisfied with increased spirituality. He said (Matt. 5:10), "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

Jesus asked only oneness with the Father as his reward for his lifework. In deep satisfaction he said to God near the end of his ministry (John 17:4), "I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do."

Christian Science explains that the Master's mission was to reveal the truth of being and to rise above and to show others how to rise above the mist of physical sensations which claims to hide the spiritual offspring of God. Jesus was looking for no material compensation. Mary Baker Eddy says of him in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 34), "As the reward for his faithfulness, he would disappear to material sense in that change which has since been called the ascension."

Our objective in demonstrating Christian Science must be kept sharply in view—to overcome material sense by becoming progressively conscious of the kingdom of heaven, the spiritual state where God reigns. The purer our objective is, the faster our human problems will be solved, our characters regenerated, our immediate discomforts dismissed. For errors of sense will disappear as we give up that false sense.

But if we forget what our true reward is, then we must reexamine our motives and correct them. Not that we should ignore right recompense for prayerful metaphysical work or for other tasks well done, for this is evidence that the just Principle of being is in control; and such recompense should be included in our demonstration of the truth. The individuals blessed by our efforts would only be harmed if they were permitted to neglect a debt of gratitude. But we should never forget that God's reward is with Him and that nothing material or personal can compare with the spiritual ideas which have unfolded as we worked. No human ingratitude or depravity can rob us of this recompense.

Material sense, from which we withdraw in a degree with every glimpse we get of Spirit's universe of ideas, always presents limited views of God's creation. In fact, matter is the very essence of limitation. Then, as we overcome the material sense of life in any measure, the result is a removal in that measure of the limitations expressed by material sense. We might even appear to possess more and better matter, but this would only be evidence of fading materialism on our part and should be seen in this light.

The reward of our spiritual labors remains a better understanding of Spirit and an increasing power to destroy the limitations which material sense would impose upon the abilities, the talents, the character, and the health of mankind.

Anyone who is personally ambitious to hold prominent positions in his business or profession or even in his church should remember that the true objective in life is to attain a closer unity with God through work capably done. Not positions of importance but released intelligence, a better grasp of spiritual values, and a higher level of accomplishment define the sure reward of God. When inward contentment with spiritual recompense is achieved, just human advancement always results.

Clearer views of reality, a deeper retreat into the consciousness of Spirit, and the overcoming of material sense satisfy the spiritually-minded Scientist. Mrs. Eddy says in "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 206): "Beloved students, you have entered the path. Press patiently on; God is good, and good is the reward of all who diligently seek God."

Helen Wood Bauman