Have you ever looked back at the past with regret? What can we gain by looking backward when what we most need to do is take the next step forward? Why not do as Mary Baker Eddy suggests in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, “The discoverer of Christian Science finds the path less difficult when she has the high goal always before her thoughts, …” (p. 426). You really wouldn’t want to look back from this position of responsibility, would you?
Mrs. Eddy further advises, “The purification or baptismals that come from Spirit, develop, step by step, the original likeness of perfect man, and efface the mark of the beast” (Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, p. 18). We can look forward to the next step in our spiritual progress from a foundation of spiritual understanding. As we recognize that “every step of progress is a step more spiritual” (Mary Baker Eddy, The People’s Idea of God, p. 1), we will look ahead to the good we know can be attained. Spiritual progress is always attained by marching forward with God.
