People everywhere are laboring under the conviction that substance is finite and that it appears as a part of life only during the span of earthly existence. This limited view stems from the belief that substance is material rather than spiritual.
Christian Science teaches that Spirit, God, is the only real substance and the only Life. Life and substance are, therefore, perpetually intact and inseparable. This Science shows that substance is wholly good, vitally active, unlimited; it denounces matter as delusive, inert, substanceless. As we rise above the material, or mortal, sense of things, this substance of all-inclusive good becomes spiritually discernible and, for practical purposes, manifests itself in our daily experience in accord with Christ Jesus' saying, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."Matt. 6:33;
Substance actually inheres in thought. In Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy writes, "God's thoughts are perfect and eternal, are substance and Life."Science and Health, p. 286; Divine thoughts, diversified in quality, comprise the all of true—of living—substance. Even from the human standpoint, what we experience as substance is the outward manifestation of thought. Our thoughts determine what our lives will be. It is vital, therefore, that we choose our thoughts wisely, discriminating between erroneous, restrictive beliefs, such as discord and strife, and substantial spiritual ideas, such as harmony and peace.
