Part 1 Undoing the Way We See Things Now
LESSON 191 I am the holy Son of God Himself.
- Here is your declaration of release from bondage of the world. And here as well is all the world released. You do not see what you have done by giving to the world the role of jailer to the Son of God. What could it be but vicious and afraid, fearful of shadows, punitive and wild, lacking all reason, blind, insane with hate?
- What have you done that this should be your world? What have you done that this is what you see? Deny your own Identity, and this is what remains. You look on chaos and proclaim it is yourself. There is no sight that fails to witness this to you. There is no sound that does not speak a frailty within you and without; no breath you draw that does not seem to bring you near death; no hope you hold but will dissolve in tears.
- Deny your own identity, and you will not escape the madness which induced this weird, unnatural, and ghostly thought that mocks creation and that laughs at God. Deny your own identity, and you assail the universe alone, without a friend, a tiny particle of dust against the legions of your enemies. Deny your own identity, and look on evil, sin and death, and watch despair snatch from your fingers every scrap of hope, leaving you nothing but the wish to die.
- Yet what is it except a game you play in which Identity can be denied? You are as God created you. All else but this one thing is folly to believe. In this one thought is everyone set free. In this one thought are all illusions gone. In this one fact is sinlessness proclaimed to be forever part of everything, the central core of its existence and its guarantee of immortality.
- But let today’s idea find a place among your thoughts and you have risen far above the world, and all the worldly thoughts that hold it prisoner. And from this place of safety and escape you will return and set it free. For he who can accept his true Identity is truly saved. And his salvation is the gift he gives to everyone, in gratitude to Him Who pointed out the way to happiness that changed his whole perspective of the world.
- One holy thought like this and you are free; you are the holy Son of God Himself. And with this holy thought you learn as well that you have freed the world. You have no need to use it cruelly, and then perceive this savage need in it. You set it free of your imprisonment. You will not see a devastating image of yourself walking the world in terror, with the world twisting in agony because your fears have laid the mark of death its heart.
- Be glad today how very easily is hell undone. You need but tell yourself: I am the holy son of God himself. I cannot suffer, cannot be in pain; I cannot suffer loss, nor fail to do all that salvation asks. And in that thought is everything you look on wholly changed.
- A miracle has lighted up all dark and ancient caverns, where the rites of death echoed since time began. For time has lost its hold upon the world. The Son of God has come in glory to redeem the lost, to save the helpless, and to give the world the gift of his forgiveness. Who could see the world as dark and simple, when God’s Son has come again at last to set it free?
- You who perceive yourself as weak and frail, with futile hopes and devastated dreams, born but to die, to weep and suffer pain, hear this: All power is given on to you in earth and Heaven. There is nothing that you cannot do. You play the game of death, of being helpless, pitifully tied to dissolution in a world which shows no mercy to you. Yet when you accord it mercy, will its mercy shine on you.
- Then let the Son of God awaken from his sleep, and opening his holy eyes, return again to bless the world he made. In error it began, but it will end in the reflection of his holiness. And he will sleep no more and dream of death. Then join with me today. Your glory is a light that saves the world. Do not withhold salvation longer. Look about the world and see the suffering there. Is not your heart willing to bring your weary brothers rest?
- They must await your own release. They stay in chains till you are free. They cannot see the mercy of the world until you find it in yourself. They suffer pain until you have denied its hold on you. They die till you accept your own eternal life. You are the Holy Son of God Himself. Remember this, and all the world is free. Remember this, and earth and Heaven are one.[1]
Notes and Personal Application: Even though I understand that I am a holy son of God Himself, and I know that Jesus really wants us to get this so that we no longer identify with the miscreation, I still feel a twinge of embarrassment to say it. It is true. We are as God created us, not the thing that evolved here in time, but when I read our lesson today with my husband and grandson, there was a part of me that shrunk back inside. They hear me say bad words! They hear me gripe and complain. They know how bossy I am and how I can stomp about when I do not have my picture met. Saying that I am not “a” holy Son of God, but the Son of God is even more cringeworthy to my ego which is far more comfortable being a splintered self, full of opposites, addicted to darkness, doomed to death and despair.
Here in the world living in my flesh and blood body, being prone to temptation by the very ego that would tempt me to deny my eternal Self while spoon feeding my habit of succumbing to its lies, it seems a far stretch that I am the holy Son of God Himself. And yet Christ has made me one with Him, just as you are one with Him and all of creation is one with Him. Asleep in the world of time, it may seem as if this is something in store for us at a much later date when we manage to get all the kinks worked out of our humanity and clean ourselves up to become acceptable to God’s Kingdom. But today’s lesson states otherwise.
In paragraph 10 Jesus calls for us to waken from our sleep, open our holy eyes, return again to bless the world we made. We who have been taught about the second coming of Christ, take heed. We are the second coming of Christ. We who have been asleep, identifying as sons of man are to accept the call of Christ and recognize that we are one with Him. Jesus calls to us: “Join with me today. Your glory is the light that saves the world. Do not withhold salvation longer. Look about the world and see the suffering there. Is not your heart willing to bring your weary brothers rest?…”
Jesus reminds us of who and what we are and until we are willing to accept our true identity in Him, we are not saving the world. We are in chains; we find no mercy, we suffer pain, we die, and the cycles of time keep spinning until we accept our eternal life, our holy Son of Godship. When we remember this, the world is set free and becomes one with Heaven.
Let us practice today with this prayer:
Dear Father, I am one with Christ. I am Your Holy Son. I do not believe in suffering; I do not believe in pain. I cannot lose or fail to do all that salvation asks. I am not a prisoner here, persecuted, fearful, afraid of death and disease and discomfort because I am one with Christ; I am the holy Son of God. All power is given to me in Heaven and on the earth and there is nothing I cannot do. I am not helpless in the face of my earthly nature; I am not at the mercy of the merciless ego. I forgive all the lies, unmet promises, and dashed hopes found in everything and everyone who would take the place of You. I no longer crave the lifeless trinkets of the world or the satisfaction of vain drives and desires – because all of my love, my trust, my devotion belong to You. In Jesus name. Amen.
[1] A Course in Miracles. Workbook for Students. Lesson 191. Foundation for Inner Peace, Second Edition (1992).
Audio credit: http://www.eckiefriar.com
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