Spiritual understanding brings to light the essence of all things real; it is the consciousness of the kingdom of God in all its glory, without beginning and without end. This spiritual consciousness is man's only true present and eternal state of being. It is not an ascetic, ineffective, isolated state, but is dynamic, vital, surging with the unobstructed power of divine right. It is the realm where man's one true, eternal existence is realized. Death is not one of the requisites for the attainment of this kingdom. It is reached through righteous living. The true sense of existence reveals here and now a spiritual kingdom in which not one quality unlike God is to be found.
Through the ages the better thinking of men has been searching for God's spiritual kingdom. The blessings of enlightenment have come in proportion to the sincerity of their quest. One of the much loved stories of the Bible tells of God's coming to Solomon in a dream by night. In reply to God's offer to grant his desire, Solomon asked for "an understanding heart." Because Solomon sought humbly and wisely, God granted his request and in addition gave him that for which he had not asked: riches, honor, and long life. Centuries later, Christ Jesus summed up the divine law underlying this prayer and its answer in words of childlike simplicity. He said, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."
Christ Jesus brought to humanity the glorious light of Truth to help it in its search for the real and eternal kingdom. The Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy, enables the student to gain a clear comprehension of what Christ Jesus has told mankind of this kingdom. It affords the reader an opportunity to prove for himself the truth of Jesus' words, "The kingdom of God is within you." It shows humanity that the spiritualization of thought is the only way to free itself from bondage to the material sense of existence and its false kingdom, mistakenly believed in by human consciousness. Thought, thus freed, rises naturally to find God's spiritual kingdom just at hand.
