FOR the beginner in Christian Science, demonstration is often easy; mountains of fear, disease, and sin are removed before the newfound faith in God which sees nothing as impossible. The result is such joyful wonder and thanksgiving at the perception of the real man, the image and likeness of God, as is expressed in the words, "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God." Yet experience, which should only confirm faith, sometimes dulls for a time the keenness of our perception and tempts us with a return to old beliefs under new names. It is easy to attribute failure to the opposition of animal magnetism; but is this not, after all, giving power to the same old evil in a new guise? It is easy to dismiss all problems with the plea that our present life is but a dream; but is not this neglecting to be properly grateful for the very real good and the opportunities for more good, which we already have? It is even comparatively easy to deny the reality of death, as a thing to be dreaded; yet can we say we have overcome it until this and all death's seeming evidences have vanished?
It is easy also to become over-cautious, to load ourselves down with a bundle of suffer-it-to-be-so-nows which are, after all, mere superstitions resulting from discouraging experiences. All of these things become fatally easy the moment we cease to progress. It is impossible to stand still without slipping backward. When we come to a seeming impasse and feel inclined to wait for the world to make the next move, we need to remember the words of the hymn (Hymnal, p. 195):—
Why is thy faith, O child of God, so small?
Why doth thy heart shrink back at duty's
call?
