Through the ages mankind have been searching for substance—some for material wealth, others for gain along various lines; but the more general search is for worldly security. Believing that matter is real and accepting the false picture of the physical senses, mortals create for themselves periods of abundance and then of its antipode, lack, and also believe falsely that substance is both mental and material.
In the Bible we read David's song to God (Ps. 139:15), "My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret." In Christian Science we learn that being is spiritual, never in nor of matter; that man is God's image and likeness; that spiritual understanding is true substance. We must rise above the false belief of a mortal as real and know that true being exists unseen by the physical senses. If thought is held steadfastly to the completeness and perfection of God's spiritual creation, abundance will be made manifest in human affairs.
Some years ago the writer believed that she lacked substance. In working out her problem she sought the definition of "substance" given in the textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy. It reads in part (p. 468): "Substance is that which is eternal and incapable of discord and decay. Truth, Life, and Love are substance, as the Scriptures use this word in Hebrews: 'The substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.' Spirit, the synonym of Mind, Soul, or God, is the only real substance." The writer also sought the help of a Christian Science practitioner, who impressed upon her the importance of holding fast to this statement in Science and Health and of refusing to see as real the picture presented by the physical senses.
