The unfolding drama of the nations is bringing far-reaching changes in the social, economic, and political affairs of men. Many peoples are moving or are being moved to new and strange lands. Armies are sailing the seas to distant and little known countries. The strange sound of other tongues comes to our hearing. The impact of ideas—some arresting, some trite—startles and occasionally may dismay. The tempo of daily life is quickened. Tradition is losing its hold and customs are being refurbished and adapted to the demands of the hour. What is the meaning of it all, and what answer does Christian Science give to the thoughtful inquirer?

Christ Jesus, in predicting the coming of wars and commotions, and the signs, distresses, and perplexities which are incident to those material conditions, said. "When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads: for your redemption draweth nigh."

Do we always look up when changing conditions or circumstances compel us to face the unknown? Are not the advancing steps accompanied too frequently with backward glances of fear or the burden of discouragement? A wavering attitude is not promotive of spiritual progress. Our response to the call of these times should be in the spirit of the words of Isaiah: "I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I: send me." A spontaneous compliance with the will of God begets the confidence that will carry on and carry through.

In "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (pp. 323, 324), Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, has written, "Willingness to become as a little child and to leave the old for the new, renders thought receptive of the advanced idea." The study and practice of Christian Science give one an understanding that God, good, is the only power. In this understanding we can always move forward in line with that which is right, confident of His protection and provision. Christian Science reveals God the divine Mind, as infinite, hence universal in His presence and immediate in His availability. Mrs. Eddy states unequivocally (ibid., pp. 518, 519): "Nothing is new to Spirit. Nothing can be novel to eternal Mind, the author of all things, who from all eternity knoweth His own ideas." It is obvious that God knows His own handiwork—is acquainted with His own ideas. The minutiae of His infinite manifestation are comprehended and understood by Him in all their perfect detail; each lesser idea has its individual and permanent place in the spiritual cosmos. We read in the fifteenth chapter of Acts, "Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world."

It is plain, then, that there is nothing new to Spirit, and it logically and scientifically follows that there can be nothing new to Spirit's reflection, man. God knows and man perceives, discerns. Mind directs, and man is obedient to the divine direction. Love constitutes the heavenly order, and man abides in the orderly atmosphere and environment of uninterrupted harmony—perpetual peace. Life is the sum of all action; hence man is constructively and usefully active, his individual demands are satisfied, and the purpose of his high destiny is fulfilled. Divine Principle is the basis of all true law and government, and man reflects and embodies its impartial and righteous sovereignty. All that is actual, real, or true is included in Truth, and man consciously reflects the divine qualities. He reflects the indivisibility of Truth, its integrity, wholeness, and entireness.

So it can be seen that man, reflecting God, is like Him, untouched by change, untroubled by the convulsions, evolutions, and distortions of material sense. That which is unlike God, unlike Truth, could not be true. Opposites have nothing in common, do not blend nor harmonize; neither do spiritual reality and material sense mingle. When the sun rises, the darkness no longer holds sway. As we appreciate and understand Spirit and its creations, the false sense of things disappears—reverts to its original nothingness. Man can know only what God knows, and express only what is in the eternal Mind. Hence the utter impossibility of a material condition, an untoward circumstance, an unpleasant or unhappy situation in Science.

Now the practical application of these ideas to human problems is no doubt already appreciated by the thoughtful reader. If newness is the ceaseless unfoldment of God's purpose, it could never hold anything for us but good. In the realization of this truth we can meet the demands of our present responsibilities with equanimity and composure. There can be no fear in either cause or effect, for cause and effect belong to God, and through the study of Christian Science they are revealed as wholly spiritual and spiritually whole, including no element to threaten or jeopardize. As we move forward, then, to accomplish our respective tasks, let us recognize that divine Love is moving with us; in fact, precedes us, and will be found forever at our destination, wherever that may be. The understanding and demonstration of this truth is a law of adjustment to the belief of inadequate housing and all phases of lack and limitation. It carries with it and includes a normal sense of companionship, a time for quiet reflection, and a useful contribution on our part to the welfare of our fellow man.

Many instances could be cited as proof of the practicability of Christian Science in meeting the problems incident to the loosing upon the world of those supposititious forces which claim to produce war and its effects. There was the case of the enlisted man suddenly called upon to take charge of his platoon. Drawing upon his knowledge of Christian Science, he realized that "nothing is new to Spirit. Nothing can be novel to eternal Mind." and he unhesitatingly accepted the responsibility and acquitted himself with credit.

Another case was that of a young officer on maneuvers in a swampy section of a southern state. Faced with a night in the open and the necessity of sleeping upon the damp ground, he turned to divine intelligence as presence, and, utilizing the materials at hand, he constructed an ingenious contrivance that would serve to keep him off the ground and thereby protect him from the hazards incident thereto. His companions quickly followed his example and were likewise included in this provision of Mind for its ideas, by reason of this student's capacity for spiritual thinking.

Likewise a civilian, interested in and desiring to contribute to the inevitable victory of Christian teachings, accepted a post which took him to a strange city a thousand miles from his home. There, despite the crowded war conditions and the prevailing beliefs about housing and shortages, he became a member of an active and happy household of Christian Scientists and was enabled to go about his work in an atmosphere of cordiality and interested cooperation, with all needs amply provided for.

These are not isolated instances of Christian Science practice. "God is no respecter of persons," and such experiences are the rule rather than the exception.

Our Leader tells us that "each successive stage of experience unfolds new views of divine goodness and love" (Science and Health, p. 66). We may well be confident, then, that whatever we are called upon to do, or wherever our work takes us, the experience in prospect will unfold to us nothing but new views of the changeless, indestructible, and eternal One, for it is given unto those who discern the Christ to "know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven."