A good middle-distance runner can cover a mile in less than four minutes. Christ Jesus could literally have done it in nothing flat had he so wished.

Jesus was the supreme exponent of spiritual power. He was the complete master of the human body and its environment. Although it requires time and effort for us to move from place to place, he could do it instantly without human process. It is reported that he walked over the water to the boat that his disciples were rowing, and when they had taken him aboard, "immediately the ship was at the land whither they went."^{John 6:21;}

At present this achievement may be far beyond our reach. But we can begin now by taking note of the quality of thought that underlay Jesus' mastery of material conditions, and try our best to conform to it. The Bible record points to his deep humility. He never acted to glorify himself. He never allowed egotism to darken his thought and thus interfere with his reflection of divine power. He said, "The Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works." ^14:10;

In reality, all power and activity belong to God, who is the creative Principle, or divine Mind. This Mind is All, and is the animating Life of all creation. Its image or expression, individual man, lives in the divine allness and reflects its boundless energy. Every movement of the real man emanates from God, and the humble, prayerful acknowledgment of this fact imparts the confidence, alertness, coordination, stamina, and relaxation so essential in the world of sports.

The athlete who has learned to claim his unity with God both before and during a game or athletic event will find that he has tapped the very source of refreshment and vitality. In the words of Isaiah, God "giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength."^{Isa. 40:29;}

The Apostle Paul was not an athlete, but in his arduous journeys for the cause of Christ he exhibited the courage and stamina of a champion. Under the most trying conditions, his understanding of man's unity with God sustained him. He wrote, "Thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeyings often, in perils of waters, ... in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness."^{II Cor. 11:25-27;}

The student of Christian Science who is an athlete can rely with complete confidence on the same spiritual understanding that strengthened and inspired the apostle to finish his course. He has learned something of the fact that strength, flexibility, and endurance are not dependent upon the size and muscularity of the physical body. In Science, the body is seen to be a mental phenomenon, the visible expression of human thinking, and therefore amenable to the conscious and latent beliefs of the human mind.

Mrs. Eddy illustrates this decisive mental influence when she writes: "Had Blondin believed it impossible to walk the rope over Niagara's abyss of waters, he could never have done it. His belief that he could do it gave his thought-forces, called muscles, their flexibility and power which the unscientific might attribute to a lubricating oil."^{Science and Health, p. 199.}

Anyone interested in athletics will find these basic facts helpful in any sport in which he is engaged. He will understand that he is the master of his body because it is the subjective state of his own thought, and that as he spiritualizes his thought this mastery becomes more and more apparent.

Of course, in the realm of sports, as in anything else, Christian Science is not a lazy way out, a substitute for honest human effort. In one's preparing for an athletic event normal training routines should be followed, intelligent attention be given to learning the special techniques, and clean, disciplined living must prevail. However, because Christian Science is a practical religion, it can help an athlete both train and perform more effectively. The scientific knowledge that man is spiritual and perfect, wholly controlled and activated by God, uplifts and inspires human consciousness and imparts the strength of character to stay with a training regimen. And if honestly and persistently applied, it will enhance one's performance in the heat of competition.

But no matter how pleasurable and invigorating physical activity may be—and regardless of how much his spiritual understanding has helped him in his chosen sport—the earnest student of Christian Science remembers that this Science has a higher mission. It is here to awaken us all to spiritual reality, to lead us step by step from material interests and concerns and their limitations into that higher awareness of God and man that heals the sick and reforms the sinner.

A wise amount of athletic activity can be one way to learn to express the excellence and self-discipline that make us living witnesses to the power of Truth. Seen in this light, it takes an honorable place in the company of positive human interests—interests that awaken and employ qualities of thought that lead to spiritual being.

Alan A. Aylwin