Part 1 Undoing the Way We See Things Now
Lesson 83 Review Lessons 65 and 66
- (65) My only function is the one God gave me. I have no function but the one God gave me. This recognition releases me from all conflict, because it means I cannot have conflicting goals. With one purpose only, I am always certain what to do, what to say, and what to think. All doubt must disappear as I acknowledge that my only function is the one God gave me.
- More specific applications of this idea might take these forms: My perception of this does not change my function. This does not give me a function other than the one God gave me. Let me not use this to justify a function God did not give me.
- (66) My happiness and my function are one. All things that come from God are one. They come from Oneness and must be received as one. Fulfilling my function is my happiness because both come from the same Source. And I must learn to recognize what makes me happy, if I would find happiness.
- Some useful forms for specific applications of this idea are: This cannot separate my happiness from my function. The oneness of my happiness and my function remains wholly unaffected by this. Nothing, including this, can justify the illusion of happiness apart from my function.[1]
Notes and Personal Application: Morning meditation – We can look upon any situation and any persons, at war, at strife, at any kind of immorality and wrongdoing and say – “This perception does not change my function. I am the light of the world. Through my forgiveness I behold the glory of God’s creation. My perception of this does not change my function. Let me always remember that perception is not knowledge.”
Just because we seem to be in the middle of chaos, having a bad dream, does not give us a function other than the one God gave us! We can be in the middle of hatred and strife, we can be sitting in our office, taking calls from the troubled and distressed, or simply browsing through Facebook and that does not give us a function other than the one God gave us! When troubling thoughts are pulling us down, it is all the more reason to remember the function God gave us in the plan of salvation.
Our function as light of the world is to forgive. It is no longer looking to Jesus and pleading His blood to cover our sins – Jesus is asking us to join with Him. He calls for us to bring our light and shine it with Him, to forgive with Him, to stop sending people to hell and eternal condemnation because we refuse to forgive. It is through fulfilling our function, the only thing God asks from us at this time, that we can share the glory of God’s creation and the Love of our Father and take our place in the holy Sonship of God.
Let us not use anything to justify a function other than the one that God gave us. We will not justify any anger or unforgiveness by what we read in the news. We will not let politics justify our hatred. We will not justify cringing in fear by what goes bump in the night. We will not justify shame, sorrow, guilt, or despair by any thoughts or troubling deeds from our inglorious pasts! We will not allow those who would hide their shame behind our stories and continue in their hypocrisy and dishonesty to justify resentment or grudges, because we forgive! Nothing and nobody can justify our hiding our lights and not fulfilling our function.
God has called to us and given us this simple plan of salvation. We stand with Christ. We shine our light with His. We forgive along with Christ in order to bring salvation to the world. Let us make this real in our hearts and minds and apply this truth in our daily routines. Let us use all occasions to practice forgiveness.
Evening meditation – My happiness and my function are one. All things that come from God are one. They come from Oneness, they come from Wholeness, they are received as one. Fulfilling my function is my happiness because both come from God, my Father, my Source. I learn to recognize what makes me happy as I find happiness. Nothing can separate my happiness from my function. It does not make me happy or anybody else happy when I carry unforgiveness in my heart. Who wants to be around a griper, a complainer, a grudge keeper, and a person who has a chip on their shoulder? It is hard enough to be around such people, let alone be stuck 24/7 with a mind that cherishes grudges and holds on to resentments. A mind that is freed from such stupidity is happy; a mind burdened with such stupidity is not. When I realize that forgiveness is the only function that God asks of me, I no longer fear His will! I now know that God only wants my happiness. He is not asking me for blood. He is not asking me to give up my pleasures; He is asking me to give up that which makes me unhappy – the resentments I have toward those who have seemed to hurt me. He is asking for my forgiveness. He is asking to allow my forgiveness to reflect His love and set others free of what I would hold against them. How foolish I would be to cling to something that hurts me, that fills me with sorrow, that fills me with loneliness, despair, and fear!
When I forgive, the oneness of my happiness and my function remains wholly unaffected by any circumstance, any people, any upset, any inclusion or any exclusion. It is all the same. The oneness of my happiness and my function remains wholly unaffected by the words and deeds of others or their opinions of me. The oneness of my happiness and my function remains wholly unaffected by my neighbors, my friends, coworkers, and family.
Nothing that happens, no self-doubt, no shame, guilt, worry, laziness, ineptitude, illness, weakness, fatigue, pain, or despair can separate my function and my happiness. The oneness of my happiness and my function remain wholly unaffected by anything that the ego can throw at me. I gain all the glories of creation when I forgive.
My happiness depends upon forgiveness. I take forgiveness with me when I go out and when I stay in. God’s Will gives me love which I reflect when I forgive others. God’s will and my will are one! Thank you God for showing me that forgiveness is not a sacrifice, but a joy that reflects Your Love.
[1] A Course in Miracles. Workbook for Students. Lesson 83…Circle of Atonement, Complete and Annotated Edition, (2017). p. 1097.
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