I have always been a fan of Bob Dylan’s music—especially his lyrics. Recently I read that in this economic climate economists have been using a line from his song “Like A Rolling Stone” more than ever before: “When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose.” That got me thinking about how many times Mary Baker Eddy mentions the word “nothing” or “nothingness” in Science and Health. The words are always used to describe what does not belong to us—what is not of our heavenly Father-Mother God. She gives us her definition of God: “The great I AM; the all-knowing, all-seeing, all-acting, all-wise, all-loving, and eternal; Principle; Mind; Soul; Spirit; Life; Truth; Love; all substance; intelligence” (p. 587).
And what does she have to say about “nothing” and “nothingness”? A great deal. She uses those words often, but there is one sentence that has meant so much to me over the years: “But why should we stand aghast at nothingness?”(p. 563).
Once at a time in my life when it seemed that “nothingness” was saying I wasn’t worthy of God’s Love—that I had all kinds of physical problems, relationship problems, financial problems (the list went on and on)—I decided to phone a Christian Science practitioner for prayerful support. He patiently listened to me as I poured out all these troubles in a “woe is me” tone. Then, in one of the most tender loving voices I ever heard he asked, “Is any of what you just told me more real than God, good?”
