Another eventful year has passed and the thoughtful are asking what the next will bring in the way of human progress,— emancipation from the bondage of ignorance, sin, and suffering. Of old the light of Spirit shone high above mortal darkness and chaos, and at the coming of Christ Jesus this light was manifested in "one lone, brave star" (Christ and Christmas by Mrs. Eddy). Again this light is shining through the dense clouds of human belief, and Science is revealing the divine law and order which are eternally the same. In Christian Science the reign of divine Principle is recognized, and seen to be the only foundation for progress and permanent harmony, either in the individual or nation; and the light of divine intelligence alone makes possible the working out of any and all human problems.
At the present time, as never before, the influence of Truth is in evidence in the uncovering of evils of every sort,— a process which undoubtedly points to their final annihilation. In hearing of the many upheavals which are taking place we may recall the parable of the lost piece of money. Here the woman, after discovering her loss, lighted a candle and began to "sweep the house, and seek diligently" till she found the lost coin. It is easy to see that in this parable the Master intended to show the great stir in materiality which must ever accompany the entrance of "the true light" to human consciousness,— a stir which the Greeks felt when they brought Paul and Silas before the rulers, complaining that they had "turned the world upside down." The stirring up of the "dust" undoubtedly produces much discomfort, but the search once begun must go on until its object is found; and thus the undesirable conditions which are concealed by the darkness are seen and remedied.
This parable illustrates the experience of thousands who come to Christian Science for healing. When hope is well-nigh dead they are led to think of the lost treasure,— the Christ-healing of which they had read in the Bible. Then when Christian Science lights for them the "candle" by which their mentality is to be searched, they sometimes murmur because the accumulations of error must needs be seen and removed,— an experience from which neither men nor nations can be exempted; but the signs of the times all point to the fulfilment of Jesus' prophecy, when he bade his followers "look up,"— saying, "For your redemption draweth nigh." We should not forget that this promise was given for a time when there was to be "upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; . . . men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth."
