IN God's infinite, perfect, and eternal universe, which is wholly spiritual, there has been no yesterday and there will be no tomorrow. God and His expression, man, are forever at the standpoint of now.
To the student of Christian Science, error or matter is readily recognized as the opposite of Truth, Spirit. Are we always equally aware of the unreal nature of time as the opposite of infinite, eternal, spiritual being? The concept of time, measured in terms of passing moments, is just as much a suppositional creation of mortal mind as is the concept of material substance. To Moses, God defined Himself as "I AM THAT I AM" (Ex. 3: 14), that is, infinite, eternal Being, comprehending within itself forever all conscious existence or reality. The understanding that man now is God's perfect expression annuls in human experience the effects of the limiting beliefs of time, such as age, lack of opportunity, remorse over the past, fear of the future, and delayed demonstration.
The unreality of time in no way precludes the desirability and necessity for progress. Mary Baker Eddy tells us in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 233): "Every day makes its demands upon us for higher proofs rather than professions of Christian power. These proofs consist solely in the destruction of sin, sickness, and death by the power of Spirit, as Jesus destroyed them. This is an element of progress, and progress is the law of God, whose law demands of us only what we can certainly fulfil." The progressive realization and manifestation of good—of health, happiness, affluence, and right accomplishment —depend not on the passing of moments, but on the unfoldment in consciousness of infinite, harmonious being. Dominion over all the earth belongs to man now. Steadfast adherence to this spiritually scientific fact will result in the solution of any human problem.
On page 595 of Science and Health Mrs. Eddy defines "time" as "mortal measurements; limits, in which are summed up all human acts, thoughts, beliefs, opinions, knowledge; matter; error; that which begins before, and continues after, what is termed death, until the mortal disappears and spiritual perfection appears." It is interesting to note how Mrs. Eddy links time with matter and mortality. In Science, time has no more reality than matter. Spiritual dominion involves the relinquishing of the limitation of the false concept of time just as surely as it means freedom from bondage to matter and all other forms of mortal error.
Christian Science is the Science of being, and being is now! What a comforting assurance it is to know that right now we are the perfect, harmonious, and spiritual children of God. We never have been and never shall be anything else. After working diligently on a physical problem without any apparent results, the writer was once told by a Christian Science practitioner, "What you need to do now is just be still and be." The healing then came quickly. Being is effortless, eternally perfect. Man does not need to become better, healthier, or happier. He is now and always the complete reflection of God's being.
Right accomplishment is unlabored when thought is steadfastly aware of man's eternal, unbroken relationship with his divine Principle, God. The solving of discordant conditions in human experience does not require the reaching out in time or space for a future healing. The instantaneous remedy is the acceptance in human consciousness of man's inseparability from omnipresent, divine Mind, Life, Truth, and Love. We need to reject vigorously the aggressive mental suggestion that demonstration is in any way dependent on time.
There is no actual basis for the belief that the length of time a chronic difficulty has claimed to have fastened itself on the human body has any effect on the power of Truth to heal the error both quickly and surely. Undesirable habits of long standing can be overcome easily and permanently when it is clearly realized that their past claim to seeming dominion has no power over man now or ever. Since God is the infinite I AM, eternally in the present, and man is His likeness, the past cannot touch man in the eternal now or affect his present perfection in any way.
How often we hear the remark, "I haven't time to do this or that," or, "I wish I had more time." Surely what we need is not more "mortal measurements" or limitations. Is it not rather that we need a calm, unhurried awareness that the unfoldment of a right and proper accomplishment in any aspect of our human experience can be subject to no limitation or hindrance? The truths taught in Christian Science, prayerfully and conscientiously applied, have given to many of its students dominion over the suggestions of "too much to do" and "not enough time." In demonstrating man's dominion it sometimes develops that the time previously thought to be required for a job is greatly shortened by more efficient methods, practical short cuts, and increased human capacity. In other cases the reflection of divine intelligence may reveal that the task, or certain portions of it, can be eliminated entirely or that it should be more properly done with the willing assistance of others. In any case right activity need never be a burden, for scientific right thinking and application of spiritual truths will provide a solution for a human sense of lack of time.
Man, the image and likeness of God, has no material history. When one understands this fact, he sees that in reality his present condition and experience are not dependent on heredity, previous environment, or the past actions of himself or others, either good or bad.
"God requireth that which is past" (Eccl. 3:15). A realization of this truth annuls the suggestion of predisposition to illness and undesirable traits of character.
The eternal now cannot be affected by supposed past misfortunes, injustices, mistakes, lack of opportunity, blighted hopes, and the like. There is no place for homesickness, nostalgia, or longing for "the good old days." The right-thinking individual will not glory in past accomplishments and rest on his laurels, so to speak. The good which he has previously experienced must be seen as part of the eternal now.
Since God's being is infinite and man is His child and express likeness, there is no place for worry and anxiety or even for anticipation of greater future good. All the good that there is, is ours now, without limit and never ending. Since God is good, omnipresent and omnipotent, there can be no basis for foreboding possible future evil. The conscious realization of these truths also eliminates fear of contagion, accidents, disaster, failure, loss, and lack.
As the human sense of the passage of time is replaced by the spiritual concept of the ever-unfolding, eternal now, mankind, both individually and collectively, casts off innumerable limitations. The present comprises the immediate oneness and allness of God and His creation. The increasing realization of this verity will progressively bring perfection and harmony to the affairs of men and nations. In the words of St. Paul (II Cor. 6:2), "Now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation."
Beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.—II Peter 3:8.
