We had worked so late into the evening. Scattered papers across the table told of Dad's patient efforts to convey some basic trigonometry concepts. And then, suddenly, I saw them. A certain kind of illumination took place and everything fitted together. The problem, and its solution, came clearly into focus. The confusion, the uncertainty and frustration, seemed literally to rush away.

You've probably experienced similar enlightenment. In an instant the location of a misplaced item came to mind; or the route out of some difficult circumstance emerged brightly in thought. In a way, such inspirations hint at a deeply spiritual event that takes place in consciousness when, in the midst of a staggering problem, the light of the Christ, revealing man's true relationship to God, suddenly dawns and the trouble vanishes.

There may be patches of life when existence appears to be more an experience of darkness than of spiritual illumination. Yet we shouldn't settle into the belief that our path in outgrowing mortality must be strewn with the wreckage of hopeless struggles. It is true that all of us must undergo a full redemption, a complete transformation from materiality to spirituality. We are called on to sacrifice whatever is ungodlike, to wrestle free from illness and immorality.

But our efforts to leave materiality behind can be brightened with such strong appearings of the Christ that facets of evil actually flee before this light. And how thoroughly such an abrupt flight strengthens our hope! If we get too bogged down in viewing life as insurmountable combat with evil, it may seem that troubles never break away in a stampede; they only gradually crawl away.

While Jesus showed the need we all have for carrying the cross, he also demonstrated clearly the decisiveness and effectiveness of the healing Christ. Time and again his cure of the sick and reformation of the sinner remind us of the scriptural promise, "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." ^{James 4:7.} Mrs. Eddy gives a usefully descriptive phrase to evil in her echo of the Bible's call to action: "Resist evil—error of every sort—and it will flee from you." ^{Science and Health, p. 406.}

There's something marvelously encouraging about experiencing the light of Christ, followed by the flight of evil. This is not some sort of magical combination. It is the supreme power of Truth naturally and instantly dispelling facets of the carnal mind. The Christ in its healing, purifying effect is constantly knocking at the door of consciousness; and as we respond thoughtfully, we experience God's sacred message, revealing our true nature to be the eternal emanation of divine Being.

Daily, hourly, we can cultivate and deepen our love for the Christ and its irresistible truth. And inspired by this faithful yielding to Christ, we'll be less and less intimidated by evil. Our spiritual growth is a continuing baptism. It is a cleansing process that enhances our receptivity to the Christ and enables us, when challenges appear, to bathe in the light—to gain the victory. Christ Jesus' example leads the way.

We are not naive about the claims of sickness and sin; but neither are we willing to build them into huge realities that must be coped with forever. Evil, whatever form it takes, is a myth; it vanishes in the presence of divine light, the presence that wakens us to glorify God's allness. Mrs. Eddy perceived the defeat of "error of every sort." She encourages us: "Speak the truth to every form of error. Tumors, ulcers, tubercles, inflammation, pain, deformed joints, are waking dream-shadows, dark images of mortal thought, which flee before the light of Truth." ^{Ibid., p. 418.} (See also her statements in Science and Health 215:15 and Miscellaneous Writings 251:29-30; and Isa. 35:10.)

The light of Christ, Truth is unrivaled. Error does flee before it. There is good reason why fear or ignorance, disease or discouragement, can dissipate instantly; it is because Truth is true and evil is false. Truth is perpetual, and evil is temporal. Truth brings light; and evil's darkness, its pretense to place and substance, dissolves when we are so imbued with the Christ that we face error fearlessly.

But if an individual has been struggling with some disease or fear or sin for a time—even a long time—he can still be healed in an instant. We never need to concede a long-drawn-out battle with any error. We can so continue reaching out for the Christ, opening thought to its presence, that those special events occur: the light, the flight.

NATHAN A. TALBOT