Since the discovery of Christian Science in 1866, material limitations have disappeared at an ever-accelerated rate. Air transportation has developed, and through the invention of the telephone, radio, and television virtually instant communication over long distances has appeared. Added to this, mankind are now on the verge of interplanetary travel. We are about to break the bonds of ignorance that have chained us to this planet.

Christian Science is at work deep down in human consciousness, leavening the thought of mankind and bringing forth a freer sense of life. But regardless of the promising signs of progress in certain specific fields, much yet needs to be done in other segments of human experience. The ravages of war, disease, poverty, racial injustice, still take their toll. Humanity's technical progress has far outstripped its spiritual growth, and the continuing mission of Christian Science is to awaken the race more fully to the spiritually mental nature of reality and the immensely practical value of understanding God and the divine origin and nature of man.

Through healing the sick, cleansing the sinner, destroying poverty, hopelessness, loneliness, self-distrust, this Christlike Science proves its practicality to individuals in every walk of life. It heals their troubles by uplifting and harmonizing their inner thought-life. It leavens human consciousness with the divine qualities of love, purity, and integrity of purpose, and thus contributes mightily to the eventual evangelization and freedom of the entire human family. After all, humanity is a collective term, and it can be saved from evil only as each component—each man, woman, and child—becomes convinced of the validity and practicality of spiritual values and conforms his or her life to this high and happy standard.

Christian Science is a radical departure from conventional thought patterns. Through practical proof it reveals that matter is not actual substance at all, but is a mortally mental phenomenon, the subjective condition of the mind of mortals. Furthermore, this Science teaches that reality is spiritual, that God, Spirit, is All, the infinite Mind that constitutes the life, substance, and intelligence of all being. The real identity of man is the perfect spiritual image, reflection, or self-expression of this boundless God.

Health and harmony will inevitably appear as human thought accepts the true idea of God and man, perceives the unity of this divine Principle and idea, and then, on the basis of this potent truth, rejects the limited material view of man and all creation. In this regard Mrs. Eddy writes, "We must destroy the false belief that life and intelligence are in matter, and plant ourselves upon what is pure and perfect." ^{Science and Health, pp. 222, 223;} And farther on she continues, "Sooner or later we shall learn that the fetters of man's finite capacity are forged by the illusion that he lives in body instead of in Soul, in matter instead of in Spirit."

Christ Jesus' thought was fetterless, so free from materiality that he was able to sunder the bonds of time and space and move himself instantly from one place to another. He walked on the water, passed through an angry crowd unharmed, healed every type of disease, and raised the dead. He so markedly embodied the infinite attributes of Mind that the stubborn resistance, the inert ponderosity of finite sense, could not bind him. His limitless concept of spiritual man is implied in his words addressed to Nicodemus, "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit." ^{John 3:8;}

At this period one may not be prepared spiritually to emulate the Master's mighty mastery of material conditions, but he certainly can begin with lesser instances of control. One can always start with himself and learn to silence the limiting errors that seem to hem him in. As one begins the mastery of self-will, self-righteousness, self-importance, self-consciousness, and recognizes that God, the one Mind, supplies his every thought, the limitations of personal sense will drop away and a joyous sense of freedom appear.

The study and practice of Christian Science enable the earnest student to perceive, with ever-increasing clarity, the limitless freedom of man's real being in and of the enfolding presence of divine Love. As he grasps the infinitude of all reality, the boundlessness of the divine Ego, which he reflects, his experience will take on a broader and more satisfying depiction. Human capacities and abilities will develop, vigorous health and strength will be his, and wider opportunities will present themselves. Mrs. Eddy writes: "God's being is infinity, freedom, harmony, and boundless bliss. 'Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.' Like the archpriests of yore, man is free 'to enter into the holiest,'—the realm of God." ^{Science and Health, p. 481.}

Alan A. Aylwin

O satisfy us early with thy mercy;
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days....
Let thy work appear unto thy servants,
and thy glory unto their children.
And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us:
and establish thou the work of our hands upon us;
yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.

Psalm 90:14-17