Lesson 257 Let Me Remember What My Purpose Is

PART II.  SECTION 4:  WHAT IS SIN?

Lesson 257 Let Me Remember What My Purpose Is

1. If I forget my goal, I can be but confused, unsure of what I am, and thus conflicted in my actions.  No one can serve contradicting goals and serve them well.  Nor can he function without deep distress and great depression.  Let us therefore be determined to remember what we want today, that we may unify our thoughts and actions meaningfully, and achieve only what God would have us do this day.
2. Father, forgiveness is Your chosen means for our salvation.  Let us not forget today that we can have no will but Yours.  And thus our purpose must be Yours as well, if we would reach the peace You will for us.[1]

Notes and Personal Application The world is in a state of confusion.  It is unsure of what it is.  It is conflicted in its actions.  This morning I think of several situations which illustrate this point. We have God-loving, God-fearing people, for instance, who insist that abortion is murder, that once a woman is pregnant her body and what happens in her body and to her body is no longer of her concern alone.  That the fetus which she is carrying within her, belongs to the state, the government, to God.  In the eyes of many, the fetus is a viable human being from the time of conception whether or not it can exist independently outside the womb.  And yet many of these same people vocalize rabid resentment toward the government funds and welfare systems established to help poor families and single mothers raise their children.    

We have religious institutions that for hundreds and even thousands of years in some cases have perverted the gospel of Christ to suit their own greedy purposes.  Every good deed was offset by atrocity and cruelty.  Avarice, idolatry, and lust powered the spread of this twisted gospel around the globe.  Crimes against humanity, committed in the name of Christ, butchered the defenseless, tortured those who refused to bow down, and enslaved and raped the unfortunate boys and girls entrusted to their care.  And yet adherents to this ruthlessness would condemn and demonize a gospel that teaches love for God and for others, equality, forgiveness, sinlessness, holiness, freedom from shame and guilt! 

We have forgotten who we are.  It is to the best interest of the gods of this world that it remains so!  As long as we are trying to save humanity, we are serving contradictory goals.  As long as we are making rules for our bodies to live by so that we can all get along and live in peace and brotherhood here in the world, we are not cognizant of who we are and what we are about.  This world is not the place where we fight for our rights, force others to do things our way, get ourselves worked up into a lather over our political and religious beliefs, not to mention our favorite sports team or movie star. When we realize who and what we really are, there is no need to seek recompense for all the wrongs done to our people, bomb abortion clinics, or march for peace while screaming obscenities at those who promote war! 

This world is an illusion of madness.  All kinds of horrible things go wrong when we confuse our holy purpose with the body, with humanity, with this illusory kingdom.  While we think we are doing the work of Christ, we are contributing to the separation, we are supporting the futile attack on God, we are aligning ourselves with a miscreation that took what belonged to God and made something else out of it.  As long as we think our salvation can be found in this world, we are trapped in the cycles of time, the go-rounds of despair, disease, and death.  

Jesus was crucified for teaching this gospel.  He taught that all of us are Sons of God.  There is no special church or religion that has a special in with God.  He taught that we must lay down our humanity to truly live, to truly grasp the meaning of life.  He taught us that every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that He is Lord.  He taught us that God so loved the world, He gave His Son so that what went wrong can now be saved. 

Today we stand with Christ, in oneness with Him, we are that Son.  We practice our only function in this world.  We practice it wherever we are, whatever we are doing, no matter the color of our skin, the nature of our culture, the spiritual traditions of our family, tribe, or clan.  We unify from all over the world by simply remembering what we want today – we want the Will of God.  We want the peace of God.  We want salvation – not only for ourselves and our little band of believers, our little clan, our little bunch of those for whom we are especially fond – but for all. 

As we remember what we want, we are reminded that forgiveness is the chosen means for our salvation.  We forgive the world, we forgive ourselves, we forgive each other for thinking that there was another will than God’s.  We forgive our egos, the gods of this world, which would take that which belongs to God and make a lie, a fabrication, a nightmare.  

Today let our thoughts and actions be unified by devoting ourselves to what God would have us do and avoiding what God would have us not do!  We will speak words of forgiveness.  We will speak words of love.  We will not engage in corruption, finger-pointing, and blame.  We will not allow the world to distress us or depress us.  We will stand strong, single-minded, and committed lest we be conflicted in our aim and useless to His kingdom.    

Dear Father, Today we are determined to remember that we can have no will but Yours.  The gods of this world would convince us otherwise, but we belong to You.  You made us.  You made us like You to share Your glory and power and goodness with us.  Your purpose is our purpose.  Your peace is our peace.  Your mind is our mind.  Let this truth sink deep into our consciousness, Lord, so that we never forget who and what we are in You.  In the name of Jesus, with Whom we are one.  Amen. 

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[1] A Course in Miracles. Workbook for Students. Lesson 257. Foundation for Inner Peace, Second Edition (1992).

Audio credit: the friar patch @ http://www.eckiefriar.com