Who hasn’t felt, at some moment at home or at work, a need for more time? Perhaps we’ve felt harried, self-doubtful, or even desperate about mounting deadlines. An advertisement I saw recently advised that time is the only truly scarce resource, and therefore we need to mete it out wisely.
But is time really our ultimate need?
The Bible offers a different perspective. For instance, there’s the story of a man who’d been unable to walk for 38 years (see John 5:1-9). It was commonly believed that an angel periodically disturbed the water of a particular pool in Jerusalem, and that the first person to step into the pool after a disturbance was healed of any disease.
This man, like others, had been waiting at the pool for quite some time. Yet someone else always got into the water more quickly. He explained this to Jesus, who simply said to him, “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.” The man was instantly healed.
So was the man’s healing dependent on having more time? Apparently not.
Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer of Christian Science, defined “time” in part as “mortal measurements; limits, in which are summed up all human acts, thoughts, beliefs, opinions, knowledge,” and also wrote, “Time is a mortal thought …” (“Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” pp. 595, 598).
What are mortal measurements to God, who is eternal Spirit? God could never be incapable of doing something because He lacked the time. The omnipotent, infinite Divine Being could never have limits or any element of mortality.
And as God’s children – His spiritual image and likeness – we could never lack something we need. As the reflection of our infinite Father-Mother God, Spirit, our capabilities are sustained by God, not dependent on mortal measurements, including time.
Mrs. Eddy made a clear distinction between man (a term that includes everyone) as the spiritual, eternal, perfect idea of God as described in the first chapter of Genesis, and the mortal, material, imperfect man suggested in the second chapter. They are antithetical; we cannot be both. The first description is good and true, representing our true nature – a fact that can be demonstrated through prayer to better understand what we really are as God’s children.
Once during a graduate exam I faced a computer programming problem that seemed impossible to code within the exam time left. This particular problem was worth 20% of the exam grade. I felt a bit frantic.
Yet I knew from past experience that pausing to pray would be time well spent. So I put down my pencil, closed my eyes, and prayed. It wasn’t a pleading prayer for God to grant me something, but a mental affirmation that as a child of God I express His qualities, including intelligence. That we have inherent dominion over supposed human limitations. That we cannot be separated from God, the one divine Mind. That God as Love doesn’t cause us to fail at what we need to do. That He treasures and cares for us.
As I prayed, an idea came to mind for a programming shortcut that would solve the problem much more quickly than the options I’d come up with earlier. I wrote the code, handed in my exam with some time to spare, and received full credit for that answer.
The lesson I learned was that what I needed the most wasn’t time, but inspiration – which I received quickly through prayer. The Bible says, “There is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding” (Job 32:8). Christian Science expands on this, showing how inspiration from Spirit replaces false beliefs about man as mortal and limited with an understanding of the true, spiritual man.
Instantly, always, God’s angels bring us the timeless truth about the eternal God and who we are as God’s spiritual offspring – Christly inspiration that impels healing.
