THOUGH written from a purely material viewpoint, there is nevertheless a valuable lesson in the statement by a noted English writer on political economy, that "the early steps of a student in almost every science are met by certain obstacles; if he succeeds in surmounting these obstacles, his future progress seems to be insured." The student of Christian Science is no exception to this rule, but he has the advantage of the physical scientist in that he has taken as his fundamental premise God's omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence, as declared in the Scriptures; accordingly he goes "from strength to strength," for he knows that anything which is opposed to good, or which sets itself up as a rival power, is a usurper from the beginning and therefore can be overcome and cast out.
It is not to be assumed, however, that this overcoming is always accomplished with ease, since the adversary with which mortals have to deal still plies its art as subtly and skilfully as when it sought to allure the Saviour of mankind from his heavenly mission with plausible promises of temporal pomp and power. The same cajolery does duty today, along with sundry other blandishments; but if the Scientist is alert to the hidden danger, and promptly and vigorously resists both the tempter and the temptation, his victory is assured. It is his privilege to know and declare, as did the Master, "Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve," and thus defeat the would-be invader of his peace, for evil is always a coward when it is confronted with Truth and the mask of plausibility stripped off.
Young Scientists, and sometimes more experienced ones, are quite likely to permit doubt and discouragement to creep into their mental stronghold when they encounter, as they are apt to do, tests of their faith in God and the power of Truth to overcome every form of evil. They may have been diligent in their study of the Lesson-Sermon and in their endeavor to put its teachings into practice,—to order their daily living by the golden rule,—yet to human sense misfortune seems to have marked them for its own. Losses come, sickness and sorrow exact tribute, their fellow students may even look askance at them, and hardest of all, hint at their lack of understanding, else why should these trials beset them! It does not follow at all that those thus put under the ban, as it were, are in any way reprehensible, since trials come oftentimes to those of unquestioned integrity of purpose. On the contrary, Christian Science teaches that "trials are proofs of God's care" (Science and Health, p. 66).
