Time and Daily Affairs
One of the devil's greatest inventions is "Do it tomorrow." Just what is time? It appears to be a dictator. The hour is constant, with no variation day or night.
Or is it? We've all experienced a speedy hour of fun. We've all endured a dreary, dragging delay. Time involves qualities of both rushing and plodding, depending on whether one's outlook (or in-look?) is happy or miserable. Why can't one dictate to time, demand each of its minutes to be progressive, each hour to be a blessing?
The Holy Bible provides answers to all daily problems. Several Bible references that relate to time question its authority. One I find helpful from the book of Joshua says, "The sun stood still, and the moon stayed" (10:13). Another from Revelation declares, "There should be time no longer" (10:6). These ideas provide a path. They are practical. They reveal an inspired thesis on which to build a foundation for control over daily affairs.
Consider that Christ Jesus' first miracle disproved time to be a rigid force (see John 2:1-11). To supply an immediate need, he changed many gallons (twelve or more firkins, each about ten gallons) of water into "good wine" (the trustworthy opinion of the governor of the marriage feast that required the libation). Time was not needed for fermenting. Jesus' further proofs of God's power-feeding multitudes, obtaining tax money, having immediate transportation across great distance, and healing disease in an instant-substantiated the fact that time does not have the final word. In all these instances it is implied that both sun and moon did stand still!
Christian Science is rooted in the teaching of Jesus. It shows that minutes are manageable. Mary Baker Eddy termed time as "mortal measurements" and "limits" in the textbook of Christian Science, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (p. 595).
Understandably, God, eternal good, cannot be bound by limits or measurements. His tenure is eternal. Science and Health says, "Eternity, not time, expresses the thought of Life, and time is no part of eternity" (p. 468). As God's (Life's) reflection, we each include His blessings, forever unlimited. When speaking of heavenly bodies standing still and the abolishment of time, the Bible exemplifies God's practical relation to human affairs.
An illustration, possibly not equal to making water into wine, nevertheless indicates that the same Principle is operative today. When I was in college, I needed several hours of credit beyond what the current spring semester would give me in order to graduate. I was low on finances and needed my degree to get a job.
Knowing that through God no problem is without a solution, I first reasoned that my education was good, inspired by God. I prayed for humility to receive the enlightenment I needed-ideas from God. Christian Science offers solutions that are first found mentally; fruition in daily life follows. I gained assurance that God is ever present, and this eliminated my concern that an answer would not be readily available.
I knew that a previous course of study had given me seventeen credit hours that were no longer valid. But it occurred to me that prayer had been what led me to change my studies. And it was clear that this past decision could not be a present limitation. The idea came to me to request a transfer of credit hours for the ones I currently needed.
Although the initial decision was that this transfer was impossible, the decision was later reversed. The "water" was somehow changed, and the "vintage" is noted on my transcript; I graduated with a successful career in view. Several months of time and money were saved-sun and moon, in effect, standing still for me.
To me Science and Health elaborates on this for all time: "This Science of being obtains not alone hereafter in what men call Paradise, but here and now; it is the great fact of being for time and eternity" (p. 285). God is more powerful than sun or moon. God helps us in our daily affairs-now!
Look for other articles about the power of God in a weekly magazine, the Christian Science Sentinel.
