It's well known today that time is a relative concept—the difference between now and then when reckoned from here or there—but Christian Science views time as relative in a far more basic way. As any of us grasp in some measure this relativity and see that time is not fixed or absolute, we are able to become better, healthier, more effective, more loving— all more quickly.
Listeners for new ideas have always been eager to pursue new possibilities. So they look willingly beyond time's limitations. In Christian history one of the most stirring records of such listening and looking occurs in the very beginning of the gospel story. Luke, speaking about the shepherds' response to the angelic announcement of Christ Jesus' birth in Bethlehem, tells us, "And they came with haste."Luke 2:16;
These Judean shepherds, seeking the babe in the nearby village, were simple men. Doubtless they were unlettered. They held no high position in society. They kept watch over their flocks by day and night. They were alert guardians, awake and aware.
