Article December 29, 1956 Issue

"THERE SHOULD BE TIME NO LONGER"

ARTHUR PERCY BUBB

In the illuminating chapter entitled "Glossary" in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" Mary Baker Eddy gives the definition of "time," which reads in part, "that which begins before, and continues after, what is termed death, until the mortal disappears and spiritual perfection appears" (p. 595). Pondering this transcendent statement, one student was led to ask the questions: "How far have I traveled toward this goal of spiritual perfection? Does the journey from sense to Soul seem a long one?"

One way to shorten the journey is to obey our Leader's counsel (ibid., p. 246), "Never record ages." And she gives the reason for her counsel in the following sentence: "Chronological data are no part of the vast forever." The student of Christian Science is taught that because individuality is spiritual, the real man never started to live with material birth, nor is he subject to death. As the individual idea of God, man lives in eternal unity with his Maker, forever reflecting the qualities of the divine nature. To associate the belief of time with the divine Mind, the ever-present I AM, is illogical. It is equally illogical to associate the belief of time with man, Mind's idea.

Then do Christian Scientists ignore what is termed time? Christian Scientists are orderly; in their appointments, prompt; in their statements, precise. Mrs. Eddy's household was run with clocklike precision (see Twelve Years with Mary Baker Eddy, by Irving C. Tomlinson, pp. 165, 166). Scientists find that being methodical contributes to the smooth running of daily affairs. However, submitting to human order and routine does not hinder Scientists from holding their thought to spiritual perfection, to the clear realization that in the eternal now of God's allness, time does not enter.

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