I've sometimes wondered what it might have been like to grow up in another age. To head west on a wagon train in conquest of the American wilderness; to sign aboard Columbus's ship and discover the New World; especially to work alongside the early Christians who devoted their lives to spreading Christ Jesus' message of salvation and healing. Although such opportunities belong to the realm of imagination, there is something that we can experience with those who have gone before us: the pioneering spirit.
And to be a student of Christian Science is to be a pioneer. Those who seek the Science of the Christ are engaged in exploring new territory of thought; they are spiritual adventurers in what the world mistakenly considers the unknown. Actually, they are discovering the spiritual nature of God's creation in all its beauty and variety and completeness. In the process, like the pioneers of old, they may encounter hardship, fear of the unknown, even hostility; but, impelled by spiritual conviction, they go forward until they reach their goal.
Recently I met a hardy band of "pioneers" while touring a densely populated third-world country. There I found the growth of Christian Science accelerating through the dedication of faithful church workers most of whom knew nothing of Christianity, much less Christian Science, just a few years ago. They seemed to have grasped intuitively the fact that true Christianity does not depend on outward worship or familiar forms of devotion, but that it comes from within and is outwardly expressed in scientific demonstration of Truth.
