I have a function God would have me fill.
It is your Father's holy Will that you complete Himself, and that your Self shall be His sacred Son, forever pure as He, of love created and in love preserved, extending love, creating in its name, forever one with God and with your Self. Yet what can such a function mean within a world of envy, hatred and attack?
Therefore, you have a function in the world in its own terms. For who can understand a language far beyond his simple grasp? Forgiveness represents your function here. It is not God's creation, for it is the means by which untruth can be undone. And who would pardon Heaven? Yet on earth, you need the means to let illusions go. Creation merely waits for your return to be acknowledged, not to be complete.
Creation cannot even be conceived of in the world. It has no meaning here. Forgiveness is the closest it can come to earth. For being Heaven-born, it has no form at all. Yet God created One Who has the power to translate in form the wholly formless. What He makes are dreams, but of a kind so close to waking that the light of day already shines in them, and eyes already opening behold the joyful sights their offerings contain.
Forgiveness gently looks upon all things unknown in Heaven, sees them disappear, and leaves the world a clean and unmarked slate on which the Word of God can now replace the senseless symbols written there before. Forgiveness is the means by which the fear of death is overcome, because it holds no fierce attraction now and guilt is gone. Forgiveness lets the body be perceived as what it is; a simple teaching aid, to be laid by when learning is complete, but hardly changing him who learns at all.
The mind without the body cannot make mistakes. It cannot think that it will die, nor be the prey of merciless attack. Anger becomes impossible, and where is terror then? What fears could still assail those who have lost the source of all attack, the core of anguish and the seat of fear? Only forgiveness can relieve the mind of thinking that the body is its home. Only forgiveness can restore the peace that God intended for His holy Son. Only forgiveness can persuade the Son to look again upon his holiness.
With anger gone, you will indeed perceive that, for Christ's vision and the gift of sight, no sacrifice was asked, and only pain was lifted from a sick and tortured mind. Is this unwelcome? Is it to be feared? Or is it to be hoped for, met with thanks and joyously accepted? We are one, and therefore give up nothing. But we have indeed been given everything by God.
Yet do we need forgiveness to perceive that this is so. Without its kindly light we grope in darkness, using reason but to justify our rage and our attack. Our understanding is so limited that what we think we understand is but confusion born of error. We are lost in mists of shifting dreams and fearful thoughts, our eyes shut tight against the light; our minds engaged in worshipping what is not there.
Who can be born again in Christ but him who has forgiven everyone he sees or thinks of or imagines? Who could be set free while he imprisons anyone? A jailer is not free, for he is bound together with his prisoner. He must be sure that he does not escape, and so he spends his time in keeping watch on him. The bars that limit him become the world in which his jailer lives, along with him. And it is on his freedom that the way to liberty depends for both of them.
Therefore, hold no one prisoner. Release instead of bind, for thus are you made free. The way is simple. Every time you feel a stab of anger, realize you hold a sword above your head. And it will fall or be averted as you choose to be condemned or free. Thus does each one who seems to tempt you to be angry represent your savior from the prison house of death. And so you owe him thanks instead of pain.
Be merciful today. The Son of God deserves your mercy. It is he who asks that you accept the way to freedom now. Deny him not. His Father's Love for him belongs to you. Your function here on earth is only to forgive him, that you may accept him back as your Identity. He is as God created him. And you are what he is. Forgive him now his sins, and you will see that you are one with him.
The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org
-
Lesson 192
"I have a function God would have me fill."
Forgiveness is letting go of illusions. Letting illusions be undone is my function here. To do this, I must be willing to step back from ego thoughts and create an open space where the Holy Spirit can shine a light on the illusions and show me they are false ideas. This helps me remove my belief from these false perceptions.
As my belief in the perceptions of the world are removed, I am able to see the eternal truth that lies beyond them. I am able to see that nothing has changed. The Light of God is still there as God created It -- pure, whole and complete. The Love and peace of God is still radiating, uninterrupted by the false stories of separation.
It is only when I am willing to let illusions disappear that the Holy Spirit can bring the Light of truth into my mind. That is why forgiveness is so important to me now and why it is my one function. I desire to return to the truth. I desire to let illusions go. And this desire, this openness to the Holy Spirit to let the Light of truth shine illusions away, is what brings me freedom from the bondage of the ego.
Because I have joined with the ego, the illusions have appeared very real and at times have been very fearful. Now I am open to a complete thought reversal. Time now is for the purpose of letting illusions go that I may be an instrument of freedom instead of bondage. Now is the time. I need not wait. Why prolong suffering? Why delay freedom? The time is now to open to the Holy Spirit to let illusions be undone. Forgiveness is my function here.
As the importance I place on things in this world diminishes, I experience greater and greater happiness and peace. Before I started working with the Course I thought happiness and peace came from having things like a secure job, a nice house and a loving relationship. Yet the secure job was never as secure as I wanted it to be which meant that the nice house might not always be available to me. The relationship had its ups and downs. Sometimes I was carrying a chip on my shoulder, which put the relationship on edge.
Now as I have softened the importance I place on these things, I feel more secure than I have ever felt. I live in a nice home, but I also know that my home would be nice, no matter what its form. My loving relationships are more consistent, open and full. Occasionally I still put the chip back on my shoulder, but its smaller and easy to dust off. Without that defensiveness I can receive the love that is offered and appreciate it with gratitude and joy.
All this comes with letting illusions go, with forgiveness. And while my heart is filled with gratitude for the gifts I have received, I know that there is much more that has been given me that I have not yet accepted. Forgiveness, letting illusions disappear, opens my mind to receive the treasures God has stored for me, awaiting my acceptance.
Thank You God, for Your grace and Your Love, which never ends and forever offers me Light to see my innocence and the innocence of everyone. Thank You for putting Your Light in my mind to help me dispel the darkness and find my way Home.
This is one of those lessons that has really stuck with me over the years, even from the first time I read it. What stands out to me is, "Using reason to justify our rage and attack." (7:2) I can so identify with that. "A jailer is not free, for he is bound together with his prisoner." (8:3) The first time I read that it placed a clear picture in my mind I have never lost.
What has changed over the years is my understanding of what attack and rage are. I've learned that a slight irritation is just my attempt to mask the rage I feel, and as for attack... . There are so many ways to attack and so many ways to attack that I mask as love.
I never really understood what forgiveness meant and even now am refining my understanding of that action every day. I feel such gratitude for the Course, for POL, and for the dear people I have met through it. My life has so changed and what I want most is the chance to give this to others through forgiveness and love. I thank God for every opportunity to teach forgiveness and I am so grateful He is patient with my errors and my lapses.
©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
-
-
