A correct understanding of substance as Spirit, not matter, can lead to restoration on the human scene of whatever we genuinely need. The proposition that Spirit is the only substance was thoroughly proved by Christ Jesus and his disciples when they restored the sick to health by spiritual means alone.

Jesus declared, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." ^{John 10:10.}

If we are hoping for more abundant and enduring good—more substance—in our lives, we may be directed toward it through faith. The book of Hebrews says, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." ^{Heb. 11:1.} But to guide us aright, our faith must be placed in Spirit, not matter, and based on spiritual understanding.

Christian Science—the Science Mrs. Eddy discovered and demonstrated—explains that substance is all that omnipotent Spirit is: eternal Life, all-harmonious Mind, one all-inclusive Soul, perpetual Principle, perfect Truth, infinite Love. Because omnipotent Spirit excludes disease, substance is always sound and whole. It cannot be damaged. Because Life is eternal, substance is indestructible.

The abrasion of inharmony and the corrosion of time are unknown to intelligent substance. All-harmonious divine Mind assures the tranquil concord of substance. The oneness of Soul keeps substance intact, self-sustaining.

Because Principle is perpetually fixed, it doesn't wax or wane, come or go. Therefore substance can't be born or die; it doesn't grow or decay; it is permanently complete. Because Truth is perfect and Love infinite, substance is illimitable and without defect. Substance gives without depletion.

Substance is, in fact, God, the All-in-all. Mrs. Eddy writes in Science and Health, "As God is substance and man is the divine image and likeness, man should wish for, and in reality has, only the substance of good, the substance of Spirit, not matter." And further on she adds, "Delusion, sin, disease, and death arise from the false testimony of material sense, which, from a supposed standpoint outside the focal distance of infinite Spirit, presents an inverted image of Mind and substance with everything turned upside down." ^{Science and Health, p. 301.}

Perhaps things appear to be turned upside down in our lives. Maybe sin seems more attractive than holiness, and sickness more real than health. Maybe poverty seems to us more normal than plenty, and loss more likely than restoration. But in the fabric and fiber of our real being, we reflect the substance that is God. Therefore our health and integrity are undisturbed by the material appearance of things. And we can prove it.

Through study and practice of Christian Science, we can gain a better understanding of substance. Then, as we practice what we understand, we can turn our lives around and be what we actually are—God's perfect man. Healing by healing, we can demonstrate that we are impervious to temptation, unaffected by accident, unafflicted by suffering, undeprived by lack, undiminished by loss. God's man, reflecting unchanging, unchangeable substance, remains untouched, unharmed by error. As we practice what we understand of substance as Spirit, we are able to prove that man's true individuality, our very being, is sinless and safe—harmonious, secure, complete. The substance we reflect is invariably perfect. Its all-pervading presence permits no unmet need.

The material senses may report that there is substance in matter and that matter can sin, be sick, die, or be lost. But these senses, with their images of substance-matter, constitute a false sense. And a false sense of substance is not substance. It is a belief that God is not present.

Actually, there's no void to allow for a false sense. Immensity is always filled with real substance, since God is everywhere. Mrs. Eddy writes, "Christian Science is based on the facts of Spirit and its forms and representations, but these facts are the direct antipodes of the so-called facts of matter; and the eternal verities of Spirit assert themselves over their opposite, or matter, in the final destruction of all that is unlike Spirit." ^{Miscellaneous Writings, p. 55.}

The power of God to express His allness in His perfect reflection, spiritual man, is the power of substance to supplant the false, material sense called pleasure, pain, and treasure in matter. Such Christianly scientific knowing is the Christ, Truth, that represents real substance and meets our needs.

If we would arrive at a full realization of substance, we must be alert to follow Christ, Truth—as Christian Science teaches—in all our ways. Material or mortally mental self-help systems, however well-meaning, are inadequate to avail us of the spiritual power of true substance. Mrs. Eddy warns us, "Human reason and philosophy may pursue paths devious, the line of liquids, the lure of gold, the doubtful sense that falls short of substance, the things hoped for and the evidence unseen." ^{The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 260.}

Healing in Christian Science does not come about through human effort directed by mortal will. God Himself substantiates the teaching and practice of this Science with healing effects. Healing is the very hallmark of a demonstrable understanding of the substance of Science. In proportion as Christ, Truth, is made flesh through prayerful struggles to subordinate the mortal sense of self and to be truthful, Godlike substance is brought to light in our lives. As we love more inclusively and less partially, our natures express the amplitude of substance.

Spiritual awakening to understand and demonstrate divine reality brings the restorative power of substance to our lives. Christ, acting through Christian Science practice, redeems and heals us, supplying our every need and inspiring spirituality that looks beyond the loaves and fishes for evidence. Thus Christian Science mightily transforms us, gently teaching us that substance is neither "the great I want" nor "the great I have" but the great I am—God.

CAROLYN B. SWAN