Article September 22, 1980 Issue

Every day a "birth" day

PEGGY PERCIVAL

As I was pondering the significance of birthdays one summer, I found myself wondering what value they really had. In Christian Science we learn that we are never born into a material existence and can never die out of it, because we exist constantly and forever with God, Life, Spirit. God's man—the only kind of man there is—is completely spiritual. "To him belongs eternal Life," writes Mrs. Eddy. "Never born and never dying, it were impossible for man, under the government of God in eternal Science, to fall from his high estate." ^{Science and Health, p. 258;}

Then, since man is, and always has been, spiritual, it would be pointless for us to celebrate something—material birth—that never really happened. But I still wasn't satisfied. As I thought further, I suddenly realized that actually, every day is a "birth" day, or at least every day can be a day of new birth. This possibility stems from our endeavor each day to gain new inspiration and revelation through study of the Bible and the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy. The inspiration we derive from study leads to the "birth" of new understanding—to be developed, cherished, and nurtured. Certainly this blossoming of spiritual concepts is well worth celebrating. However, we don't need to rejoice in this birth anywhere but in our own consciousness. Mrs. Eddy writes: "Earth has little light or joy for mortals before Life is spiritually learned. Every agony of mortal error helps error to destroy error, and so aids the apprehension of immortal Truth. This is the new birth going on hourly, by which men may entertain angels, the true ideas of God, the spiritual sense of being." ^{ibid., p. 548;}

Someone who has not recognized moments of divine revelation may wonder if there is such a thing or if he has the ability to experience inspiration. Both doubts are false because they are based on the conclusions and evaluations of mortal mind. Accepting this limited mortal outlook would leave us ignorant of our possibilities. We might be fooled into believing in a mortal, material sense of life. Ultimately we will have to see through this false sense of existence, which has no reality and is, in the words of Christ Jesus, "a liar, and the father of it." ^{John 8:44;} Recognizing one God, one Mind, to be true and ever present opens the door to inspiration. As we realize our inseparability from the one Mind and have, as the first commandment requires, "no other gods before me," ^{Ex. 20:3;} the resistance to Truth—the so-called laws of mortal mind—disappears. Then we are ready to listen to God's message. Our daily study will be more fruitful, and we will see the light of Truth more readily and fully.