A close look at the record of impressive healings that took place in the early days of the Christian Science movement helps answer an important question: Is healing activity as substantial now as it was in earlier years? It's a fair question and deserves an answer. But an accurate answer requires a degree of spiritual discernment.
One gauge of healing activity is the influx of testimonies submitted to The Christian Science Publishing Society. We have looked candidly at the flow of contributions—both quality and quantity. The evidence plainly refutes skepticism about the strength and momentum of today's healing work. Sometimes there is a tendency to look to yesterday for better times. But the fact is that today has fully as much fulfillment and even greater promise than yesterday— whether we admit it or not.
Of course, there were healings years ago that would be considered remarkable. But there are healings today that in all honesty would have to be called outstanding. With the increasing interest in Christian healing we may well find that what would have been called outstanding healings in the past are no longer considered extraordinary. But that shouldn't close our eyes to the deep significance of every single healing. This has become an age when the unusual often becomes the usual. Perhaps a healing that would have stirred people widely in the past, has become the kind of event rather expected today—at least among those who know the power of the Christ.
