I was feeling old. I had been slowing down for some time, both mentally and physically, feeling more limited and less interested in activity, in learning, even in life itself. It was as if I were gradually going to sleep. It was subtle, so for a while I didn’t notice it. Then one day I became aware of this trend and recognized it as an imposition—a challenge to my ability to demonstrate Christ Jesus’ promise of eternal life.

Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer of Christian Science, writes about this promise in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: “ ‘This is life eternal,’ says Jesus,—is, not shall be; and then he defines everlasting life as a present knowledge of his Father and of himself,—the knowledge of Love, Truth, and Life” (p. 410).

Jesus’ remark was not only a promise but also a statement of fact—of the fundamental nature of reality and the eternal relation between God and His children. In the science of mathematics, can numbers come one year and leave the next? Was there a time when certain numbers came into being? And do they eventually wear out or lose value? No! As long as the principle of mathematics exists, so does each number, unchanged and perfect. This is likewise true of man, whose existence is also inextricably bound to his divine Principle, God. As long as God, the infinite, eternal Principle exists, so do we as God’s image and likeness. The author of the Epistle to the Ephesians refers to this eternality when he speaks of God having “chosen us in him before the foundation of the world” (1:4). And since God has no expiration date, neither does His likeness.