In his Epistle to the Romans, Paul said that "the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God" (8:19). A constant expectation of seeing God's goodness expressed and blessing all humanity is the opposite of that vague optimism, more or less mechanical, which is destined by its very nature to remain sterile. Because of this "earnest expectation," the Christian Scientist understands that it is to him— to each individual—that God's promise applies (Jer. 29:13), "Ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart."
There are many who will recall the pleasure they took in their first bicycle. Each of my brothers had his own bicycle. When my turn came to have one, I could scarcely believe it, my expectations were so high. The great moment arrived, and I was pushed ahead, held up, guided by one or the other of my brothers. For a while I had to undergo a sort of training or apprenticeship, which helped me gain the desired balance. Once this was attained, it seemed to me that I had wings, that I was at last free, and that my emancipation from fetters put me in that category where time, bounds, and distances disappear.
Similarly, on a spiritual plane, Christian Science teaches the student who would be free how to attain the state of being in which the limits of mortal sense disappear little by little. To attain this state, two points are important: to maintain an unfailing expectancy of good and then to learn to go forward through prayer to the demonstration of scientific Christianity.
The expectancy of good—waiting for God—is not in the least a passive state, an attitude in which human belief is divided between expectation of good and of evil. Rather it is knowing that God and His perfect creation cannot do other than appear to our eager apprehension. Christ Jesus assured us of the satisfying of fervent anticipation when he said, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you" (Matt. 7:7).
One does not ask God as one asks a person. Mrs. Eddy tells us in Science and Health (pp. 2, 3): "Asking God to be God is a vain repetition. God is 'the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever;' and He who is immutably right will do right without being reminded of His province."
Thus our anticipation of enduring good does not consist of begging for something doubtfully, without too much faith, but rather of realizing that which is already established in our favor from all eternity. It does not at all consist in knocking timidly at the door of spiritual intelligence. This door is hermetically sealed to the lying personal sense and wide open to spiritual understanding, as the Bible states, "I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it" (Rev. 3:8). The treasure is there, at hand; we cannot miss finding it, for we are not groping uncertainly, but seeking with understanding assurance.
Since God is infinite good, He cannot include anything evil, and consequently man, who is His manifestation, expresses by reflection all the divine qualities. The demonstration of this truth enables us to participate in the divine plan, in the nature of ever-present Love. This participation, based on man's origin in God, divine Principle, is expressed in our active submission to His laws and in our refusal to believe in or accept a creation other than His. Even if we have formerly known of or gone through painful or regrettable experiences, the expectancy of certain good turns us from the unreal and places us in the presence of the Father.
In Christian Science one does not demonstrate material conditions, situations, or things. It is in our consciousness that we anticipate the total good which our Father-Mother God always has in reserve for His dear children. Then we take part in the spiritual activity which His beneficent ideas express. These in turn emancipate us.
The Christianly scientific thought is well prepared to receive the individual revelation of the good always present and operating. "God is not separate from the wisdom He bestows," Mrs. Eddy tells us (Science and Health, p. 6). There is no long road to travel from scientific anticipation of good to its manifestation.
As effortlessly as the dawn turns back the night, we can take advantage of each new experience to apprehend better the manifestation of the children of God and to retain the vision of man's original and eternal liberty. To this end we claim and share in the everlasting gift of divine Love, which Mrs. Eddy describes on page 505 of Science and Health, "Spirit imparts the understanding which uplifts consciousness and leads into all truth."
O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath
done marvellous things: his right hand, and
his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.
The Lord hath made known his salvation:
his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the
sight of the heathen. He hath remembered his
mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel:
all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.—Psalm 98:1-4.
