Article April 16, 1984 Issue

Matter—it's not eternal

ELAINE E. ELLIS

We see evidence all around us of matter's decay, decomposition, and disintegration. Jesus spoke of "the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven."^{Matt. 6:30.} And Isaiah tells us, "All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field."^{Isa. 40:6.} But matter in many forms seems very permanent and real, even though it is essentially a false concept of an illusionary mortal mind, which Paul termed "the carnal mind."

We learn in Christian Science that only God, Spirit, Mind, and His creation are eternal. Only God and His universe are real and last forever. We are assured by Jesus that a correct understanding of God and of the Christ he so fully represented is life eternal (see John 17:3).

What resolves this paradox? On the one hand, "All flesh is grass," and on the other, we are promised eternal life. What is this "we"? It can't be the flesh that is eternal; it must be spiritual identity that is eternal.

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