II. SECTION 14. What am I?
Lesson 354. We stand together, Christ and I, in peace and certainty of purpose. And in Him is His Creator, as He is in me.
- My oneness with Christ establishes me as Your Son, beyond the reach of time, and wholly free of every law but Yours. I have no self except the Christ in me. I have no purpose but His Own. And He is like His Father. Thus must I be one with You as well as Him. For whom is Christ except Your Son as You created Him? And what am I except the Christ in me?[1]
In our fourth lesson that addresses the question “What am I,” we are reminded that we stand with Christ. We come like Wise Men everywhere and bring Him gifts – not of gold, frankincense, and myrrh but of ourselves. We give our eyes, our hands, our mouths, and our feet to Him. We give them to Him, and in the giving we remember who and what we are in Him and He in us. We complete Christ as Christ completes us – it is a mutually beneficial relationship as giving and receiving are one.
As we learn who we are in Christ, our standing with Christ frees us from thoughts of separation, loneliness, and despair. Knowing ourselves as God’s Son frees us from the ongoing concerns that would center around gratifying that which is never satisfied and raises our consciousness beyond the reach of time. Becoming one with Christ frees us of every law except the Law of Love. Remember the Law of Love? What I give my brother is my gift to me. Whatever I want in my life, I give and keep giving.
As we become one with Christ, we share in His strength of purpose. We are not in a state of continual need for salvation. We do not sit on the bleachers and watch Him do all the work. We are not on the sidelines rooting for Christ, eating hot dogs and slurping down Cokes, waving our denominational banners. Salvation is not a spectator sport. We stand with Him by pitching in where needed. We stand with Him by avowing our love and devotion, walking in truth, and correcting our mistakes. His purpose is our purpose – we speak the truth about our Father; we awaken those who are dead in the flesh and bring the scattered Sons of God back where they belong. In other words, we do only what we are told to do, and we do it to the best of our ability.
As Christ is made one in us, we know our Selves as God knows us. We still look like we always did. We still sound like we always did. We still enjoy much the same things we always did. But we know the difference for now we gave Him our all. Our eyes and ears, our hands and feet – His! We go nowhere without an awareness of His presence; we think no thoughts, we say no words. Christ’s vision has replaced our sight; the Law of Love is now our standard.
When we make room for Christ, we make room for who and what we really are. Unlike the ego which exists only in separation, we find all that has meaning and purpose within the loving brotherhood of Christ. Before oneness – we have many adventures; we make friends, and we make enemies; we celebrate triumphs, and we suffer sorrows; we do our blasted best at times; we do our dastardly worst at others – yet none of it matters. Like the body we abide in, it is a fleeting moment, over before it began.
We find our Self, then, only through the ideal Christ represents: God is our Father. His love bestows upon us mercy, joy, and peace even as we learn to love, accept and forgive each other. While we wrap presents and put them under the tree, do not forget to give Him what was really ever His own – our hearts and mind, our love and devotion. When we stand with Christ, we have peace and certainty of purpose. For only in Christ do we recognize what we are – at one with God and with each other.[2]
[1] A Course in Miracles, Workbook for Students, Lesson 354. Foundation for Inner Peace, Second Edition (1992). p. 481.
[2] Portions of this post were reprinted by permission from Lesson 354 – (December 20, 2019) at www.eckiefriar.com
Audio credit: www.eckiefriar.com
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