By grace I live.
Grace is an aspect of the Love of God which is most like the state prevailing in the unity of truth. It is the world's most lofty aspiration, for it leads beyond the world entirely. It is past learning, yet the goal of learning, for grace cannot come until the mind prepares itself for true acceptance. Grace becomes inevitable instantly in those who have prepared a table where it can be gently laid and willingly received; an altar clean and holy for the gift.
Grace is acceptance of the Love of God within a world of seeming hate and fear. By grace alone the hate and fear are gone, for grace presents a state so opposite to everything the world contains, that those whose minds are lighted by the gift of grace can not believe the world of fear is real.
Grace is not learned. The final step must go beyond all learning. Grace is not the goal this course aspires to attain. Yet we prepare for grace in that an open mind can hear the Call to waken. It is not shut tight against God's Voice. It has become aware that there are things it does not know, and thus is ready to accept a state completely different from experience with which it is familiarly at home.
We have perhaps appeared to contradict our statement that the revelation of the Father and the Son as One has been already set. But we have also said the mind determines when that time will be, and has determined it. And yet we urge you to bear witness to the Word of God to hasten the experience of truth, and speed its advent into every mind that recognizes truth's effects on you.
Oneness is simply the idea God is. And in His Being, He encompasses all things. No mind holds anything but Him. We say "God is," and then we cease to speak, for in that knowledge words are meaningless. There are no lips to speak them, and no part of mind sufficiently distinct to feel that it is now aware of something not itself. It has united with its Source. And like its Source Itself, it merely is.
We cannot speak nor write nor even think of this at all. It comes to every mind when total recognition that its will is God's has been completely given and received completely. It returns the mind into the endless present, where the past and future cannot be conceived. It lies beyond salvation; past all thought of time, forgiveness and the holy face of Christ. The Son of God has merely disappeared into his Father, as his Father has in him. The world has never been at all. Eternity remains a constant state.
This is beyond experience we try to hasten. Yet forgiveness, taught and learned, brings with it the experiences which bear witness that the time the mind itself determined to abandon all but this is now at hand. We do not hasten it, in that what you will offer was concealed from Him Who teaches what forgiveness means.
All learning was already in His Mind, accomplished and complete. He recognized all that time holds, and gave it to all minds that each one might determine, from a point where time was ended, when it is released to revelation and eternity. We have repeated several times before that you but make a journey that is done.
For oneness must be here. Whatever time the mind has set for revelation is entirely irrelevant to what must be a constant state, forever as it always was; forever to remain as it is now. We merely take the part assigned long since, and fully recognized as perfectly fulfilled by Him Who wrote salvation's script in His Creator's Name, and in the Name of His Creator's Son.
There is no need to further clarify what no one in the world can understand. When revelation of your oneness comes, it will be known and fully understood. Now we have work to do, for those in time can speak of things beyond, and listen to words which explain what is to come is past already. Yet what meaning can the words convey to those who count the hours still, and rise and work and go to sleep by them?
Suffice it, then, that you have work to do to play your part. The ending must remain obscure to you until your part is done. It does not matter. For your part is still what all the rest depends on. As you take the role assigned to you, salvation comes a little nearer each uncertain heart that does not beat as yet in tune with God.
Forgiveness is the central theme that runs throughout salvation, holding all its parts in meaningful relationships, the course it runs directed and its outcome sure. And now we ask for grace, the final gift salvation can bestow. Experience that grace provides will end in time, for grace foreshadows Heaven, yet does not replace the thought of time but for a little while.
The interval suffices. It is here that miracles are laid; to be returned by you from holy instants you receive, through grace in your experience, to all who see the light that lingers in your face. What is the face of Christ but his who went a moment into timelessness, and brought a clear reflection of the unity he felt an instant back to bless the world? How could you finally attain to it forever, while a part of you remains outside, unknowing, unawakened, and in need of you as witness to the truth?
Be grateful to return, as you were glad to go an instant, and accept the gifts that grace provided you. You carry them back to yourself. And revelation stands not far behind. Its coming is ensured. We ask for grace, and for experience that comes from grace. We welcome the release it offers everyone. We do not ask for the unaskable. We do not look beyond what grace can give. For this we can give in the grace that has been given us.
Our learning goal today does not exceed this prayer. Yet in the world, what could be more than what we ask this day of Him Who gives the grace we ask, as it was given Him?
By grace I live. By grace I am released.
By grace I give. By grace I will release.
The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org
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Lesson 169
"By grace I live. By grace I am released."
This lesson reminds me to open my mind to the truth. It reminds me that I have more 'letting go' or forgiveness to do. My mind needs to be purified by the Holy Spirit of all false ideas, all belief in separation. As my mind gets cleansed of the false ideas of limitation and lack, fear and guilt, a clean and open space is made in my mind. In this clean and open space, the Holy Spirit brings my mind to the truth.
With the Holy Spirit's healing Light, my mind is transformed. The goals I had before are seen as meaningless. The feeling of God's peace and gentleness motivates my willingness to let go of the dream of separation more and more each day. The world of form and bodies is believed in a little less.
I ask for God's grace, knowing that what I ask for I will receive. I continue doing the work of forgiveness day by day. I continue handing over my perceptions to the Holy Spirit to receive a new perception. I continue taking every concern, every apprehension, to the Holy Spirit's healing Light. Opening to the peace of God becomes my one goal.
I am willing to play the part the Holy Spirit gives me in the undoing of the dream of separation. The Son of God is one. Every part of the Sonship must awaken for the Sonship to awaken fully. The way has been made. I focus on the present moment, and do the mind healing work that presents itself in this moment. Through this daily work, I prepare an open mind to receive the holy instant.
What stands out to me in this lesson is how important my part is in the plan for the salvation of the world. If there is one aspect of the Sonship that does not recognize that it shares God's Will completely, then there is still work to be done. I may think of that aspect as being in my own mind or perceive it as a brother in pain or fear. It does not matter because we are all part of the one Sonship.
The more I awaken to Love, the more I realize that I could no more leave a brother perceiving himself as lost and alone than I could leave my arm behind when I go off to work. And so as Love grows stronger in my heart, the desire to share that Love with everyone grows stronger, because that is what Love does.
To be truly helpful my job is to forgive, to let go of all attachment to any form in this world. My job is to let go of any belief that separation is real. This letting go comes with willingness. As I am willing to look at each limiting belief and bring it to the Holy Spirit, I receive His clear vision. That vision shows me what is real and what is not. As I recognize the unreal, I freely lay it down. Thus I prepare an open place in my mind to receive the gift of grace, the gift of unity and freedom from all limitation.
With this release, I walk with a lighter step and a quiet smile on my face and the Love in my heart draws me to share my joy and gratitude with all my brothers. The Light I receive I am compelled to share, not by obligation, but by hearts desire. Today I would again practice forgiveness that I might feel the release and live more fully in Light.
When I read this lesson the first time I did not feel that I really understood all it had to say. So I took it an idea at a time.
I think I understand that through forgiveness I prepare my mind for grace. Grace is a gift from God that allows me to see a world without fear, even as I live in a world of fear. Grace allows me to recognize I am not separate, even as I live a life based on separateness. Grace restores the memory of God.
The problem is, I can't imagine this. I can't think,"Oh, this is how it will feel!" I cannot imagine how it will feel to be without fear of any kind or to never worry about having enough money or whatever form fear takes at any particular moment.
I can imagine thinking that I need money for something and being afraid I will not be able to get it and then realizing that I want to forgive this thought of lack and fear. I can imagine giving this to Holy Spirit and allowing him to show me another way to see it. I can imagine doing this all day long, becoming aware of the need to forgive (myself and others) and giving it over. I can imagine that as time goes on I don't need to do this as often because I am slowly learning to live a forgiven life. I can even imagine that someday I will not need to forgive anything that day. (I don't see it happening today, but...
I am grateful for this process. Taking this one step at a time is something I can see myself succeeding at. I truly believe that as I continue to allow Holy Spirit to heal my mind, I go ever forward until, someday, I will reach a state that today,I can't even imagine.
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