There can be no greater joy to the Christian Scientist than the experience of progress. Problems which have presented themselves for solution—religious, national, or individual—may seem to have come at a time when circumstances have been such as to raise, in belief, an insurmountable barrier against further progress. Opposition, belief in minds many, destructive criticism, have emitted their harsh noises in the attempt to stifle legitimate development and ideal unfoldment.
On page 565 of the textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mrs. Eddy writes, "After the stars sang together and all was primeval harmony, the material lie made war upon the spiritual idea; but this only impelled the idea to rise to the zenith of demonstration, destroying sin, sickness, and death, and to be caught up unto God,—to be found in its divine Principle." It has many times been proved that faithfulness to an ideal overcomes all obstacles, and that it has God's blessing and protection all along the way. When all has seemed dark and chaotic, faithfulness has persistently looked above and beyond the appearance to the harmony and perfection of Mind's creation.
What is progress but the unfolding to human consciousness of already created blessings? Progress means that the individual has mentally risen to discover a wider vista of Mind's universe—greater ability, more expansive thinking, purer mental atmosphere. "Progress takes off human shackles," writes our Leader (Science and Health, p. 256); and she adds: "The finite must yield to the infinite. Advancing to a higher plane of action, thought rises from the material sense to the spiritual, from the scholastic to the inspirational, and from the mortal to the immortal." Thus progress discloses in ever increasing ratio creation's record as complete and good. That which may seem hidden in what we call the future is already known to God. All the developments towards higher mental altitudes, all the discoveries which have come to humanity down the ages, have symbolized and indicated Mind's divine realities.
