Our ranch was located high on a hill where it seemed the land met the sky; we called it Sky Ranch. Sounds could be heard from miles around. Every afternoon at five, we could hear a neighbor, who lived across the canyon, calling the cows home—a long, clear call. A moment afterward there would be the response, the ringing of the lead cow's bell as she started for home. I never had the opportunity to meet this particular neighbor, but I liked him. His call conveyed a love for those cows. It was distinct, strong, and it rang out with purpose and direction. His care had much in common with the Biblical shepherds whose sheep never mistook the voice of the one who watched over them.

The voice of Christ Jesus must have been filled with love and strength when he called forth his friend Lazarus from the grave. The Master's understanding of God, infinite Life, enabled him to awaken Lazarus from his belief in death. The Master overcame so-called material laws and demonstrated Spirit's power by healing the sick, walking on the water, feeding the five thousand with a few loaves and fishes, and rising from death after his crucifixion and burial. He proved for mortals the supremacy of Spirit over matter. The penetrating call to thought that roused many from material beliefs during Jesus' time can be heard today. It is God's message to each of us, the timeless Christ, stirring us to elevate our understanding of the nature of man, to see man as the son of God, whole, pure, harmonious.

In one of Jesus' parables, a young man, sometimes called the prodigal son, was in a desperate strait (see Luke 15:11-24). Having blown his inheritance by living in a rash way, he was reduced to hunger and desolation. Then, the Bible says, "he came to himself" and remembered his father's house where he would be cared for—even if only as a hired servant. The account concludes with his being received as a much-loved son. What a realization when we come to ourselves—perceiving what we already have, what we already are! "You can never demonstrate spirituality until you declare yourself to be immortal and understand that you are so," writes Mary Baker Eddy. She continues later in the same commentary, "Unless you fully perceive that you are the child of God, hence perfect, you have no Principle to demonstrate and no rule for its demonstration" (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 242).

No matter how useless we think we are, how incurable a disease we think we may have, or how bad we think the stench of our actions may be, the voice of Truth urges us to acknowledge our true being in God's image and His likeness and dispels the darkness so we can find our way home. That home is our true being as the pure reflection of God, good.

This realization brings with it tangible effects. New, spiritual perceptions and desires so change our outlook that we see even the evidence on which our conclusions are based in a new light. This was my experience after a car accident in which my husband and I were involved.

Although the accident left me with painful problems at first, through prayer I listened to the Christ, voicing the truth of my spiritual sonship as a child of God. I felt it. I knew it. It was that tangible a presence.

The spiritual perception of myself as governed by divine laws enabled me to see that in reality there is no law, whether called material or medical, to sustain pain or support injury. Divine Principle, God, maintains my health. Divine Mind, God, unfolds only what is intelligent and good in my life, and Truth, God, preserves the indestructibility of my being as His spiritual creation. This was so clear that within a short while all symptoms of pain and injury left. Also, I expressed to a greater degree accurate memory, eloquence, peace, and confidence. Before this, these qualities and abilities had seemed such a struggle for me to express. Of course, there's always opportunity for more progress along this line, but now it's coming more effortlessly. The understanding and healing gained in this experience remain with me as proof of the spiritual reality of man and of the divine laws that govern him.

St. Paul writes, "Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" (Rom. 12:2). In the story of the prodigal son we can see how this occurs. Humility, self-immolation, forthrightness—these qualities enabled him to turn away from selfishness, willfulness, and disorder, which had deceived him and finally left him with nothing.

We are not left wandering aimlessly with nothing to guide or help us in our journey Spiritward. The way is mapped out for us in example and detail throughout the Bible. The direction in which to look, the manner in which to walk, all are outlined in this book. The spiritual meaning of the Bible is unlocked by the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy. These two books, voicing the truths to be demonstrated, show us how not to be "conformed to this world." They also teach us the impersonal nature of evil, that it is the supposed activity of the mortal or carnal mind, a claim that there is intelligent, living, and substantive matter that can heal us, kill us, or give us happiness. With this claim come confusing directions, frustrating misconceptions, and self-recrimination. But the divine commission of the Bible and the Christian Science textbook is to reveal the falsity of this claim. They are the chart and compass because no other written works have pointed out or will point out the path of salvation in this specific way.

The first few words of Mrs. Eddy's poem entitled "Communion Hymn" read: "Saw ye my Saviour? Heard ye the glad sound?" (Poems, p. 75). Such seeing and hearing involve the spiritual intuition to know and understand what is true and to respond to it. As the prodigal son returned home, we can turn from the pull or sway of whatever would lead us away from the good that is God and from the life that is Christlike.