Recently the world was thrilled with the momentous news that two men had scaled Mount Everest and stood upon its crest for a few moments. This Himalayan peak stood grand and unconquerable, challenging mankind to try to attain its utmost pinnacle, till these courageous men, with the aid of modern scientific devices, finally achieved the goal. The accomplishment must have brought them great personal satisfaction, and they have received many worldly honors.
How much more should we admire those intrepid climbers who have scaled the heights of Mind, the solid and grand mountains of holiness, and from the lofty summits have returned to benefit all mankind with the fruitage of their experience. Study of the Gospels tells of five specific times that Jesus ascended a mountain, each ascent being followed by significant results which were to affect mankind for generations to come. According to the Biblical record, the Master delivered his immortal sermon upon a mountain. Another time he ordained his disciples atop a mountain. It was after he returned from a mountain that he walked upon the waters, and the division of the loaves and fishes among the multitude took place upon a mountainside. Finally, the Bible states, he was transfigured before Peter, James, and John after he had taken them up a mountain with him. It is obvious that it was not because Jesus ascended a mountain that each of these experiences took place. It was because of the spiritual elevation his pure Christ-consciousness attained that he reached the summit where God is revealed.
How blessed are we today that through the study of Christian Science we have the fruitage of Mary Baker Eddy's spiritual ascent of the mount of revelation. Her ascent has not achieved mere personal honors. She says in "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 369), "Metaphysics, not physics, enables us to stand erect on sublime heights, surveying the immeasurable universe of Mind, peering into the cause which governs all effects, while we are strong in the unity of God and man." She realized her need to grasp God's hand as she mounted the spiritual path. She wrote the remarkable textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," as a guide to all who wish to follow her. She reveals the true nature of God and of man's relationship to Him, so that to all humanity the fruitage of her ministry is made available and understandable, as well as practical.
