Since the beginning of time, mankind have believed matter to be substance. They have trusted in it and sought it for sustenance, as well as for security and satisfaction. They have gathered materially.

But since it is undependable, changeable, and destructible, matter disappoints mortals. It can never be depended upon, for it is a temporal, unintelligent concept of the human mind, wholly unreal and delusive. The effort to gather more and more matter in some form or other never satisfies, for it makes men helplessly dependent upon uncertain riches that can be wiped out overnight through financial crises or by the evil elements of nature.

It was revealed to Mary Baker Eddy that God is infinite Love, incapable of causing evil in any form, that He is All-in-all the only true substance, and that He is ever present and eternal. Thus with a clear vision of reality, Mrs. Eddy saw matter as a mythological state or mode of consciousness, not as something outside thought.

This realization that matter and error are unreal was a vital point in our Leader's discovery. She presented to the world the complete revelation of the truth uncontaminated by evil.

In the first verse of her poem entitled "'Feed My Sheep,'" Mrs. Eddy says (Poems, p. 14),

The scientifically divine method of demonstrating the Science of being is found in one's beholding the perfect man of God's creating instead of accepting the falsity of material sense. The gathering of spiritual, right ideas from God, infinite Mind, the source of everything that is real, gives one the spiritual ability to sow them, to use these right ideas to heal and save mortals. This is in direct contrast to the methods of the carnal mind, which first sows into matter and then attempts to gather or get from this unreliable material sowing.

Christ Jesus implied the nothingness of matter and material things when he said (John 6:63), "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life."

Jesus quickly satisfied the hunger of the multitudes without mortal mind's processes of planting and waiting for grain to grow and ripen or for fish to multiply and mature. He knew that God's law of infinite good is always providing everything needful for His children; and this love of God was proved available right when it was needed to supply necessary food.

For many years certain economists have forecast that there will be so many people upon the earth in the distant future that there will not be enough food to supply them all. How comforting it is to know that there need be no such fear about the future, for spiritual, right ideas will always supply the needs of the human family, as Jesus proved.

There will never be a shortage of true ideas, for divine Mind is infinite. Our gathering of these right concepts and utilizing them will care for every essential need. Mrs. Eddy says (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 307), "God gives you His spiritual ideas, and in turn, they give you daily supplies."

Jesus healed all manner of diseases, raised the dead, and calmed a raging storm at sea by discerning the perfection of God and His spiritual universe. When confronted by the material thinking of the Pharisees, Jesus said (Matt. 16:3), "O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?" Jesus was ever conscious of the spiritual evidence of health and holiness, although the material attitude of the Pharisees testified oppositely to falsities of material sense.

How vitally important it is to turn unreservedly to divine Mind and to listen for God's voice when we are confronted by differing phases of the Adam-dream. We must rely on spiritual sense, and we hear God's voice only when we silence the material senses. Gathering divine concepts from Truth, we shall banish the evidence of mortal mind's sowing, and our victory over error will be assured.

At one time I was confronted by what seemed to be a serious shortage of funds with which to meet a very pressing need. The money was due and had to be paid, and to human sense there seemed to be no way to pay it. I applied to the banks for a loan, but my requests were denied.

At this juncture I asked a Christian Science practitioner for treatment, and my thought was awakened from the mortal dream of darkness and doubt to the great possibilities of God's law to supply my need. I became increasingly grateful for the many blessings already supplied by divine Love.

I knew that there was no impasse in God's plan. I saw that God's children are loving, generous, and co-operative, and I knew that in reality I was not a creature of luck or fate. My business was to reflect the qualities of God and not to temporize with the distorted illusions of the senses.

The following statement on page 494 of the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mrs. Eddy, was a great help to me: "Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need." I was awakened to realize that my primary need was for greater spiritual understanding, not for more money or more matter. Almost immediately an adjustment was presented which included a big reduction in the claim. The debt was paid, and harmony ruled for all concerned.

Jesus said (John 4:35), "Say not ye. There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you. Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest."

As we gain in spiritual stature, we shall garner right ideas from Truth, in which there is no material element to prevent a glorious harvest of permanent spiritual riches to share with all mankind.