The right step to take? To most people this question is oftentimes of great importance. The unprogressive life is one which runs around in small circles of gossip, idleness, or amusement. Indicating goodness to be the means by which one is enabled to advance spiritually, the Bible declares (Ps. 37: 23), "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way."

In "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" our beloved Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, writes (pp. 253, 254), "The divine demand, 'Be ye therefore perfect,' is scientific, and the human footsteps leading to perfection are indispensable." Thus in Christian Science, instead of our being misled into the bondage which comes from accepting material evidences as true, or from entertaining a sense of personal goodness, the reverse is the case. For, in this Science, thought is rightly directed towards acceptance and demonstration of the Christ-idea of divine sonship, even the perfection of man in God's image. In human experience such perfection is attained not by bounding in one moment from the mortal to the immortal, but by thought progressively giving place to the understanding of man's wholly spiritual status as the reflection of Spirit, God. Thus in Christian Science, steps leading to liberation from the material body call for the abandonment of the false sense of material existence. Thought is turned in a new direction—towards the recognition of evil as unreal, matter as nought, and Spirit, God, as All-in-all.

In this line of spiritual advancement no departure from normal living is required. On the contrary, orderly progress is the divine demand. To those who have entered this path of Life, there can be no standing in a mental rut of inaction and delay. They have heard Truth's call to leave behind old standards of conduct and physical concepts of existence. The fresh standpoint, looking away from the body and the things of the world, is to seek and find health, happiness, freedom—all that is good—at its source, in Soul.

Increased spirituality widens our activities; a broader field for Love's labor opens up; the Ten Commandments, the Golden Rule, the standard of conduct laid down in the Manual of The Mother Church by Mrs. Eddy, are obeyed. As a result, whether the way is rough or smooth, we find that it leads to God and to the practice of Christian Science healing, which glorifies Him as All.

In this advance towards spiritual freedom there is no walking backwards, talking the right and living the wrong. Neither is there any place therein for slackness, apathy, recourse to material means for healing, or mere abstractions. True mental stepping forward leads towards the demonstration of ever-present Truth, the one perfect God and His reflection, man, which Christian Science reveals. It has to do with the practice of unselfishness, wisdom, purity, the exercise of spiritual love, the manifestation of that strength of mind and energy of spirit which marks the perfect man and confers the Christ-healing power. In this connection we find that reading and studying our textbooks, the Bible and Science and Health, affiliating with The Mother Church and one of its branches, having class instruction, attending the church services and meetings, and accepting office or appointment in a branch church are important steps towards liberation.

The next step required of us is to climb the heights of Mind in demonstration. The call upon us all in this, our finest hour, is to practice in the home, and at business, and for the world the truths we have been taught. On the subject of this essential onward march of mankind, Mrs. Eddy writes (Science and Health, p. 242): "Through repentance, spiritual baptism, and regeneration, mortals put off their material beliefs and false individuality. It is only a question of time when 'they shall all know Me [God], from the least of them unto the greatest.' Denial of the claims of matter is a great step towards the joys of Spirit, towards human freedom and the final triumph over the body."

Christ Jesus' denial of material self and sense was complete. He recognized the Christ as his immortal selfhood, God's reflection, incapable of mortal existence with its sin, suffering, and death. The Way-shower's thought was always turned towards Spirit, God, and the demonstration of man's unity, or oneness, with Him. When, on Lake Gennesaret, he calmed the storm, it was the Christlike understanding of God's allness and the spirituality of God's universe which did this. In the consciousness of Truth there is no evil mind, no physical force, which can work through nature or act in any way to convulse, intimidate, or mesmerize a world, or a single individual, for Spirit, divine good, is the only power. Despite the buffetings of hostility which his understanding of Spirit, God, as the only substance brought upon him, the great Exemplar continued his onward way towards the demonstration of the true idea of God and the healing power which it conferred. We have the injunction in I Peter (2:20, 21) to emulate the Christ-example and to "follow his steps."

With no private income, and at a time when his financial position was at a low point, a student of Christian Science took steps to enter the public practice of this religion of Love. Most essentially, the motive for such forward stepping was to prove, for the glory of God and for the benefit of others, the healing power of this Science which had been convincingly proved to him. It must be admitted that after he had taken this step the way was rugged and uphill. But this attempted obstruction of mortal sense was day by day proved powerless to hinder the development, supply, or application of a right activity born of Truth and Love. Finally, through the abandonment of material sense and through growth in the demonstration of spiritual individuality which this practice conferred, a further step was taken, under the direction of Mind, which led to wider scope for the healing work and brought a sense of abundance in all things.

Do our steps heavenward seem painful and slow? In such a case our need may be to recapture the freshness and fragrance of the spiritual idea of God which we enjoyed in our earlier experiences in Christian Science. Instead of struggling to possess in a day the whole of this Science, which is infinite, let us hourly take at least one step towards comprehending, loving, and utilizing the fact of God's omnipotence and the present perfection of our true selfhood as His manifestation. As we make divine Love the basis of thought, and express warmth, gentleness, and spirituality, we brighten the day and sweeten the way for others as well as for ourselves.

Our Leader writes (Science and Health, p. 513), "Advancing spiritual steps in the teeming universe of Mind lead on to spiritual spheres and exalted beings."