Christian Science brings out the truth that no condition is more fixed than our relationship to God. Wherever we go, geographically or mentally, that relationship remains intact. Each of us is His child, with an everlasting purpose and the God-given power to fulfill it. When perceived and put into practice even in a degree, this relationship becomes an unfailing, manifold help to us—a refuge from stress and fear; a healer of sickness, loneliness, and gloom; a source of strength and guidance.

For many, their years at college are an important vestibule, a time of valuable achievement and immense hope. Too often, though, hope seems almost to vanish behind a gray wash of loneliness, depression, and despair. But this doesn't have to happen. Or, if it already seems to be the case, it can be turned around completely and made to give way to progress and fulfillment. Spiritual understanding enables us to throw off depression and maintain a healthy, happy perspective—not a Pollyanna viewpoint but a well-founded trust in good.

The Bible shows us that God is infinite Life, Mind, and Truth and that God is One, indivisible. Therefore Life and Truth are One. Truth cannot become untrue and cease to be; likewise, Life cannot cease and become untrue. Truth and Life are infinite, changeless, and eternal, constituting and comprising all reality. God is also Mind, the supreme source of all being, the creator of man and the universe. Mind imbues all creation with intelligent purpose. Because God is Love, that purpose is good. Because God is Life and Truth, that purpose stands. The Bible depicts God as saying, "My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: ... yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it." ^{Isa. 46:10, 11;}

So purpose is not actually something we have to create or anxiously look for. It is already included in our true being. Fundamentally, the purpose of man is to express infinite good, to manifest the allness of Soul. Being God's likeness, man eternally—already—expresses Him, consciously radiates the love of Love in all its hues and facets, the activity of Life, the indestructibility and power of Spirit, the unchanging goodness of Principle, perfect health, unlimited intelligence, and so on. In the full manifestation of good, no individual spiritual idea can ever take the place of another. Each is distinct, unique, and loved. The power that impels the fulfillment of God's purpose is not man but God Himself. Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, writes, "Spirit, God, gathers unformed thoughts into their proper channels, and unfolds these thoughts, even as He opens the petals of a holy purpose in order that the purpose may appear." ^{Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 506;}

In divine Life there is no failure. There is only the irresistible opening of God's already infinite purpose, and man reflects this ceaseless expansion. So pressure, loneliness, inability, and dead ends are not hard realities; they stem from what Christian Science terms mortal mind. St. Paul called it "the carnal mind," which "is enmity against God." ^{Rom. 8:7;} The essence of mortal mind is ignorance— ignorance of God's allness, goodness, and harmony. Unaware of the infinite good sweeping forth endlessly everywhere—abundantly manifesting itself in spiritual ability, purpose, joy, and perfection— mortal mind sees the opposite and claims this misconception is real.

Insofar as we accept the carnal, or material, view and let its misconceptions outline themselves in our thought and experience, we tend to see ourselves as separated from good, cordoned off from life and love, on our own to succeed. At colleges or universities this general outlook is often magnified and intensified, and unless we know better we may find ourselves feeling the collective mentality and mistaking it for our own thoughts.

The remedy for such mesmerism is spiritual clarity. Denying the material picture and affirming the spiritual fact of man's unity with God, we begin to destroy the material beliefs that produce fear and depression. But in Christian Science this process of denial and affirmation—a form of prayer—isn't merely a mental exercise. It is clear, logical, spiritual reasoning that breaks through hypnotic material belief and makes thought receptive to the Christ—Truth's ever-present idea, which, through touching and uplifting human consciousness, brings healing. The result of consistent prayer is not a hazy belief in God but a clear-eyed love for God and man, a humble, intelligent faith in His care for all. Persistent prayer wipes away fear, opening the way, mentally and practically, for progress.

Here are a few of the spiritual facts that undergird our right to progress.

Ability. Man's ability is unwaning. It isn't in matter; it's in spiritual qualities, which Spirit forever causes man (everyone) to express. Therefore man's intelligence, strength, and capabilities are not determined by brain, muscles, or genes but by Spirit. Man's ability is unlimited, because Spirit's love for man is unlimited.

Companionship. Each of us in reality exists even now in the universe and consciousness of Love. In this universe, isolation and loneliness are impossible. Divine Love is reflected everywhere, and its goodness is the true substance of being. Each one of us is complete, capable of spiritually knowing, feeling, and expressing the love that comes from God. Divine Love is not remote or abstract, but here, now, manifesting itself in tangible ways. "Always bear in mind that His presence, power, and peace meet all human needs and reflect all bliss," ^{Miscellaneous Writings, p. 263;} writes Mrs. Eddy.

Happiness. Joy is inseparable from Life. It is eternally active and forever expressed in man. Material conditions and circumstances cannot stimulate true joy, nor can they squelch it. Phases of animal magnetism—such as collective currents of fear and despair—cannot push joy from individualized spiritual consciousness; therefore, they cannot actually rob us, or anyone, of joy. Joy is ours, because it comes from God. It never fades, because it is eternal and everywhere.

Health. The harmony of our being is spiritual. It isn't fragile, and it doesn't abide in or depend on psychophysical processes. Every function and action of man is harmonious, without a trace of discord. Vitality, loveliness, perfection, are eternal and cannot change into their unreal opposites. This truth is a law of God. So-called material health laws are not law at all but the action of belief, which, through spiritual understanding, gives way to God's law of harmony.

Guidance. Spirit knows each of its ideas and governs them all perfectly. Mind is ever watchful, its care for man unceasing. Mind eternally causes man to know what he needs to know—to reflect spiritual intelligence. Confusion and fear are unreal, since they have no basis in Mind, true consciousness. They cannot block or divert the activity of divine Principle, in which we all are lovingly held. Humanly, we may not always know the road to take, but God knows all good, and He moves precisely to make His way known to us.

To make our college years a time of fulfillment it's necessary consistently to refute mesmeric material belief, claim our God-given ability and completeness, and acknowledge His ever-operative law of harmony. By rightly identifying ourselves as His children, His expressions, we shrug off the illusive shackles of material belief and discover that God's purpose is being fulfilled eternally—and now. Christ Jesus told his followers, "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." ^{Luke 12:32;} Think of it: not just a piece of a materially circumscribed pie but the kingdom—all spiritual good!

How long do we have to wait for this good? St. Paul's words can be seen as an answer. He quotes, from Isaiah, God's comforting words to His servant, "I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee." Then Paul adds his emphatic comment: "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." ^{II Cor. 6:2.}

God knows our needs and has already supplied them; spiritual good is here to be discerned and experienced. As we find out who we really are, we stop regarding college as a necessary period of competing to somehow push, jostle, or slither our way into an elusive niche. Instead, we begin to accept these years—and every year—as a time of dynamic, gentle emergence into fuller understanding and proofs of our divine sonship.

In proportion to our genuine perception and living of our relationship to God come expanded achievement, intellectual and moral maturity, an enlarged sense of companionship and completeness, better health, and perfect opportunities to use our God-given talent. The task of growing spiritually is joyous and unending, and the rewards begin pouring in immediately.