Time seems to play an important part in our lives. Every household possesses a clock, and many have more than one. Most of us carry a watch which is consulted at intervals during the day. Time appears to be friendly on some occasions, particularly when one is having what is called a good time; but in the midst of one's enjoyment one may find himself asking, "How goes the enemy?" indicating that time has become sufficiently unfriendly as to be bringing the good time to a close. Time may seem to be an enemy indeed if one is having what is known as a bad time or if the passage of time is claiming to deprive one of health, of bodily activity, or of such faculties as seeing and hearing.

It becomes clear, then, that time viewed from the human standpoint, which presents it sometimes as a friend but often as an enemy, is associated with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil referred to in the second and third chapters of Genesis, whose fruit Adam and Eve were told to beware of. Mary Baker Eddy sums up the human sense of time very clearly in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," where she writes in part (p. 595): "Time. Mortal measurements; limits, in which are summed up all human acts, thoughts, beliefs, opinions, knowledge; matter; error."

In considering these terms in relation to our daily experiences we shall see clearly that time is a mental state, for time appears to pass quickly or slowly according to the way we are thinking and in proportion to the interest we have in what we are doing. During sleep our sense of time varies considerably. Sometimes we seem to pass through a long experience, then we awaken and find that it has occupied only a few minutes. On the other hand, man hours may elapse in what may seem a few moments of unconsciousness.

The question arises, Can we deal with and overcome the limitations which a human sense of time would claim to impose upon us? It will be noted that in her definition of time Mrs. Eddy mentions matter; and while we may not have been accustomed to associate matter with time, nevertheless events and happenings in our daily experience which constitute the passing of time are definitely connected with our sense of matter. It follows, therefore, that the less reality we give to matter and the more clearly we recognize Spirit as divine substance and the ruling factor in our lives, the freer we are likely to become from the burden and adverse influences of time.

If we turn again to Science and Health we find on page 584, under the definition of "day," a further and remarkable statement in connection with time. We read, "The objects of time and sense disappear in the illumination of spiritual understanding, and Mind measures time according to the good that is unfolded." If we go out of doors on a fine day and stand in the sunshine, we become aware of the light and warmth that pour upon us, and not only upon us but upon all, impartially, who are out in the open. So God, infinite divine Love, is ever pouring forth and unfolding good; and if we will open our hearts to this unfolding, we shall gain some knowledge of what God's time really is, for it is associated not with the passing of events and years, but with the unfoldment of good and of eternity here and now. In this recognition ordinary human events and the passing of years will become less apparent and less important to us; moreover, they will have less adverse effect upon us mentally and physically.

Some people enjoy celebrating birthdays and in consequence have a tendency to calculate their own and other people's prospects of health, activity, and even life by the number of years that have passed since birth, perhaps bearing in mind Psalm 90, verse 10, in which we read "The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow." If we turn to Isaiah, however, we find no such limit of time put upon mankind's health and strength, for we read (40:30, 31), "Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; ... they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Furthermore, it is recorded in the thirty-fourth chapter of Deuteronomy that Moses was one hundred and twenty years old at the time of his passing, and yet his eye was not dim or his natural force abated.

While it is generally conceded nowadays that the sum of threescore years and ten as the expected span of human life is out-of-date, nevertheless a student of Christian Science needs to be alert regarding general human beliefs associated with advancing years and to handle them from the standpoint that, far from living under any penalty of time and years, he is partaking of the unfoldment of good day by day; hence he is living in God's time and in eternity here and now. The student who is alert to this fact will avoid any tendency to stoop and will hold himself erect, walking with firm and upright carriage.

Moreover, he will put up a resistance against the necessity of taking to glasses as an aid to seeing. If he were faced, however, with the alternatives of wearing glasses and of being deprived of his reading or his work, the lesser course of two errors would undoubtedly be to use glasses. But if it seemed necessary to take to these appendages, he would be well advised to look upon such a course as a temporary expediency, remove the glasses when they were not actually required, and expect that the time would come when he would no longer require them, through his realizing that sight is a spiritual faculty which man possesses to perfection by reason of his unity with the all-seeing Mind which is God. This divine faculty is wholly unaffected by the passage of time.

In the course of our daily occupation we sometimes find ourselves short of time. It may be that there is much to be done but insufficient time, seemingly, to carry out our duties. In these circumstances it is well to turn aside for a few moments and realize that what really is needed is not more time but the consciousness of unfolding good.

God's time is always at hand, and in full abundance; so after claiming this divine fact and opening thought to the unfoldment of good we can turn with confidence to the task before us without worrying about the next duty. Thus will the law governing God's time and the unfoldment of good be brought into operation, and the orderly accomplishment of whatever it is our duty to do will come about quite naturally. It is helpful to realize also that the recognition of Mind's measurement of time will help us in such a contrary experience as seeming to have too much time on our hands.

During World War II the writer had to take a train journey from one large town to another in order to fulfill an engagement. The trains at that time were crowded, and he had been advised to join the queue at the station at an early hour if he wished to make certain of boarding the train. Although the train was not due to leave until ten thirty in the morning, he arrived at the station at eight o'clock. It was bitterly cold, and he contemplated the wait of two hours and a half with anything but pleasure. Suddenly he remembered Mrs. Eddy's words regarding time, and he realized that what he had to do was to turn his thought away from his material surroundings and to know that good was unfolding from God to him right where he was.

Then something happened: a man and his wife came up, asked if this was the right queue, and took up their stand behind him. Presently they inquired where he was going. When they heard that he was proceeding on work connected with Christian Science, they expressed interest and asked questions. The conversation that ensued meant to the writer that the cold was forgotten and the hours passed quickly and happily.

In the tenth chapter of the book of Joshua a remarkable incident of the overcoming of the limitation of time is recorded. Joshua had captured the city of Ai and had made peace with the large and important city of Gibeon. Whereupon the five kings of the Amorites gathered themselves together against Gibeon, and the men of that city sent to Joshua for help. Of the ensuing battle we read (verses 12, 13): "Then spake Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou. Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies." It would seem that in order to complete their task the Israelites needed more time, which meant on that occasion more light; and through the spiritual understanding of Joshua sufficient time and light were found available for the completion of their victory.

In Science and Health (p. 245) is quoted a case taken from the London medical magazine The Lancet in which time appeared to stand still. A woman of seventy-four, believing that she still lived at the time when in early years she had been disappointed in love, remained a young woman in appearance, for she was quite unchanged despite the passage of years. The writer met a Christian Scientist some years ago who told him that her mother remembered seeing this apparently young woman sitting at her window in Hyde Park Square, London, waiting for her lover.

Thus we see that time, like matter, is a human concept; and while it may appear friendly or injurious according to what we think or believe concerning its passage, nevertheless in order to gain dominion over time and set aside the limitations it claims to impose, we need to see that we are living not in a series of passing events and years, but in the unfoldment of good which reveals God's time. With this recognition we shall appreciate the practical wisdom of our Leader, Mrs. Eddy, whose advice is given in Science and Health in this beautiful admonition (p. 246): "Let us then shape our views of existence into loveliness, freshness, and continuity, rather than into age and blight."