Only through the light which Christian Science throws on the Scriptures can the importance and the value of patient waiting be understood and appreciated. The Apostle Paul said, "If we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." Nothing that is seen or cognized by the material senses is of itself worth seeking or waiting for, since matter is unreal. Spirit constitutes all reality, and divine ideas alone are changeless and permanent. Through spiritual discernment we shall see the glorious perfection of God's creation, and it is well worth our while to wait patiently and joyously for the unfoldment of this perfection in human consciousness.
The belief that life and intelligence are material is persistent and tenacious, and true patience is needed to lift human thought above sense testimony to the spiritual height wherein one recognizes and demonstrates his God-given dominion and freedom. On page 515 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, writes, "Patience is symbolized by the tireless worm, creeping over lofty summits, persevering in its intent." True patience lifts the earnest seeker to a spiritual altitude of thought marked by increased receptivity to true ideas, and a diminishing of material desires and fears, of self-will, self-righteousness, self-love.
Patience is a term frequently misunderstood. It is sometimes thought of as an uncomplaining state of thought maintained during some trial until affairs take a turn either for the better or for the worse. Such a concept is based on the belief that man is material; it is negative, and would postpone joy and well-being, and claim that happiness is dependent on chance and circumstance. But this concept has no basis in Truth, wherein man's perfection is established and unimpeachable. Man is pure and free; neither change, chance, nor passage of time can interfere with or diminish his completeness. Mrs. Eddy says in "Unity of Good" (p. 11), "Jesus required neither cycles of time nor thought in order to mature fitness for perfection and its possibilities." The Master had a clear sense of man's perfection as God's child, and he was conscious of his own ability to demonstrate that perfection in human experience; therefore his healings were natural and instantaneous.
