In Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy, we find a rule that demands the earnest and prayerful consideration of every conscientious Christian Scientist. This rule is (p. 246), "Never record ages." Elsewhere on the same page Mrs. Eddy points up the desirability of working assiduously toward the goal of obedience to this rule.
When in the humanly normal course of events we are required to state the figure which, according to the calendar, represents our age, we should do so honestly; but we would do well never to think of this figure as having anything to do with age or maturity in their true signification.
In the light of Christian Science, one might say that his age is the stage of his growth in spiritual perception and the consequent elevation of individual character. To a Christian Scientist, maturity is a condition of spontaneity and steadfastness, of wisdom and fidelity. But in this sense, maturity is not a stage of development; it is an eternally intact state of spiritual completeness, which the real man in God's image and likeness ceaselessly possesses. In this completeness the processes of mortal belief, from infancy through old age, are unknown.
