There is no matter!


References and Class Notes: Sept 10, 2000 "There is no matter."

"Spirit is infinite; therefore Spirit is all. "There is no matter" is not only the axiom of true Christian Science, but it is the only basis upon which this Science can be demonstrated." My 357:22

In this week’s lesson is the sentence:

"Arctic regions, sunny tropics, giant hills, winged winds, mighty billows, verdant vales, festive flowers, and glorious heavens, — all point to Mind, the spiritual intelligence they reflect. The floral apostles are hieroglyphs of Deity. Suns and planets teach grand lessons." (S&H 240:4)

When you see a beautiful sunset do you see matter? Do you see God? Can you ever see God in matter?

Several weeks ago we talked about form, outline, beauty, color, quantity and quality and I asked if these were material or not. MBE states that they are "emanations of Mind and are mental". (S&H 512:21). That would imply we are seeing God. Not quite, though.

The theme of Science and Health is the allness of God versus the nothingness of matter. Nearly every paragraph contrasts the two. This weeks lesson also contained the citation - "understanding is the line of demarcation between the real and unreal." That is what we need to do to answer the above question about the sunset.

When we see the sunset we do not see God. We couldn’t see God in matter. Why? Because, there is no matter. So what is it that we are seeing. We are seeing God’s dominion over matter. We are seeing matter’s complete submission to and dominion by Spirit. Thus there is no matter, but instead a material view of life. We have a choice in everything we view. Thus if we want if we want to improve our condition we need to change our viewpoint not the person, place or thing we are dealing with. Either we see an "object of sense" or an "idea of Soul".

One of you asked, "if there is no matter then why do we think we see matter?" Well, the answer lies in the fact that progress is a law of God and everyday we must progress. That means we will know more tomorrow than today, and more today than yesterday. And, we progress forever. We are progressing out of a material belief of life into an understanding of our true spiritual nature. Don’t start with matter. Start with God. The Bible starts with God, the Lord’s Prayer starts with God. Always start with the absolute and make progress every day toward that absolute Truth. Let the majority of your thoughts, speech and actions reflect a spiritual influence. Continually work toward seeing spiritual qualities and not material corporeality or personality.

We can go out of our way to seek beauty in matter but the substance of an idea is much more important. It touches the heart. How many hearts have you touched? You have a choice. You can have people recognize your clothes, sex appeal, smile, etc or you can feel you love. That is when beauty becomes "grace". That is the same love that heals. "-that perfect sense of divine power that makes healing no longer power but grace." -WKMBE, SECOND SERIES, PAGE 25.

The theme of this class is found in Mrs. Eddy’s statement, "We must form perfect models on thought and look at them continually or we shall never carve them out in grand and noble lives." S&H 248 Is there any of you who do not want a grand and noble life? Lets look together at concepts that help us grow in grace. Not for moral or religious reasons or because some authority figure tells you to. Grow in grace because it is the most beautiful thing there is and it is what you want people to feel when you walk in and out of a room. It will touch them like nothing else, they will feel your love and you will learn to heal!


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