When one views birthdays in the light of Christian Science, it becomes apparent that what on the surface appears as a nice custom has as its basis a false belief—the belief in mortality. In commemorating birthdays we may be unthinkingly paying homage to the misconception that at a certain point in what is called time a mortal came into being.
In Christian Science one learns that no mortal has ever come into being, for each individual has always been and always will be a spiritual idea—the timeless expression of divine Love, Spirit. No one has ever existed in matter and its continuum of time and space, both limited dimensions. If there is a beginning, there must be an end, whereas the dimension of Spirit has no border. Therefore, man, as the exact reflection of God Himself, is limitless—never beginning and never ending.
Our true identity and nature are found in the eternal Christ. Mrs. Eddy writes in Science and Health, "The advent of Jesus of Nazareth marked the first century of the Christian era, but the Christ is without beginning of years or end of days." Science and Health, p. 333; It was this spiritual nature, or Christ, that Jesus exhibited. His recognition of his sonship with God—his preexistence and coexistence with the Father—prepared him to overcome the belief in birth. Hence his statement: "O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." John 17:5;
