THE call of hope born of divine Love and nurtured in spiritual faith rings clear and true to every listening ear and is essential to human progress. An exalted hope accompanied by expectation is the beginning of fulfillment. Confident and forward-looking are those whose hope is in God, with whom all good is possible.
To those unhappy individuals who have unwisely centered their trust in the things of this world, the call of hope has at first a hollow, uncertain sound, unable to lift them from doubt and despair. But this unhappy state of mind need not continue, for it is incompatible with the triumphant nature of God's man, God's perfect reflection. He who understands this fact in Christian Science moves forward with hopefulness and certainty from one achievement to another. Every righteous endeavor, every honest desire, is guided to fruition by the all-wise counsel of the Most High. If one is to benefit from this counsel, there must be, however, a change of listening habits from a material to a spiritual basis.
The early converts to Christianity heard the call of hope in the practical teachings of Jesus, which healed them of sickness and sin and guided them into useful and abundant lives. Believing implicitly in Jesus' doctrine of the allness of Spirit and the perfection of man, they parted company with many of their old beliefs and followed him. They were constantly inspired by the Master's great love for his fellow men and his divinely ordained promise of salvation to all who would harmonize their lives with his doctrine. And so the primitive Christian, like today's practicing Christian Scientist, could answer those who wanted to know the reason for the hope that was in him.
