Not the least of the blessings which attend the study of Christian Science is the improvement wrought in our thought concerning time, that ebb and flow of life, as we have always regarded it. A popular expression such as "the prime of life" will gradually fall into disuse as the understanding of the eternal source of life develops and leavens the materialism of human theory. A careful study of certain Bible texts reveals the fact that the mental condition of the individual has much to do with the duration of his earthly existence. For example, "Ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him," "To be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." Life and its duration are not determined by time nor by matter, but by the degree of sin or sinlessness, materialism or spirituality, ignorance or knowledge possessed by each individual. Christian Scientists look upon the passing of time with different eyes from their fellows, because it represents to them ever fresh opportunities for progressing out of the negative conditions of ignorance and sin, and advancing towards truer modes of thinking and living.
Says Mrs. Eddy, "Earth's preparatory school must be improved to the utmost" (Science and Health, p. 486). It is not necessary to leave this earth, nor to have so-called young blood in our veins to do this, for thousands of students of Christian Science are proving that the active demonstration of spiritual good, involving ceaseless toil for humanity, prolongs bodily vigor and mental alertness, so that longevity is no longer synonymous with degeneration, but with dominion and harmony. In Deuteronomy we read that when Moses was an hundred and twenty years old "his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated." The faith and understanding of Moses led him to turn from the evidence of the five senses and to appeal at all times to God, omnipotent good, and so he was chosen to lead multitudes out of bondage towards the promised land. He was a worthy forerunner of Jesus the Christ, whose purity and spirituality completely eclipsed the material sense of things.
Christian Science is, in this age, inaugurating that knowledge of eternal Life which enabled the Wayshower to triumph over death. Mrs. Eddy says, "Sin brought death, and death will disappear with the disappearance of sin"(Science and Health, p. 426). Christian Science is advancing into the very citadels of sin, unmasking and disarming it, and thus undermining the universal effect of a universal belief. Years are the steps by which we may rise to a clearer view of the divine demands, and in this mental ascent we can make time an ally instead of an enemy.
