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.
