28. What is the Resurrection?
1. Very simply, the resurrection is the overcoming or surmounting of death. It is a reawakening or a rebirth, a change of mind about the meaning of the world. It is the acceptance of the Holy Spirit’s interpretation of the world’s purpose, the acceptance of the Atonement for oneself. It is the end of dreams of misery, and the glad awareness of the Holy Spirit’s final dream. It is a recognition of the gifts of God. It is the dream in which the body functions perfectly, having no function except communication. It is the lesson in which learning ends, where it is consummated and surpassed with this. It is the invitation to God to take His final step. It is the relinquishment of all other purposes, all other interests, all other wishes and all other concerns. It is the single desire of the Son for the Father.
2. The resurrection is the denial of death, being the assertion of life. Thus is all the thinking of the world reversed entirely. Life is now recognized as salvation, and pain and misery of any kind perceived as hell. Love is no longer feared, but gladly welcomed. Idols have disappeared, and the remembrance of God shines unimpeded across the world. Christ’s face is seen in every living thing, and nothing is held in darkness, apart from the light of forgiveness. There is no sorrow still upon the earth. The joy of heaven has come upon it.
3. Here the curriculum ends. From here on, no directions are needed. Vision is wholly corrected, and all mistakes undone. Attack is meaningless and peace has come. The goal of the curriculum has been achieved. Thoughts turn to heaven and away from hell. All longings are satisfied, for what remains unanswered or incomplete? The last illusion spreads across the world, forgiving all things and replacing all attack. The whole reversal is accomplished. Nothing is left to contradict the word of God. There is no opposition to the truth. And now the truth can come at last. How quickly will it come as it is asked to enter and envelope such a world!
4. All living hearts are tranquil with a stir of deep anticipation, for the time of everlasting things is now at hand. There is no death. The Son of God is free. And in his freedom is the end of fear. No hidden places now remain on earth to shelter sick illusions, dreams of fear and misperceptions of the universe. All things are seen in light, and in the light their purpose is transformed and understood. And we, God’s children, rise up from the dust and look upon our perfect sinlessness. The song of Heaven sounds around the world, as it is lifted up and brought to truth.
5. Now there are no distinctions. Differences have disappeared and Love looks on Itself. What further sight is needed? What remains that vision could accomplish? We have seen the face of Christ, His sinlessness, His love behind all forms, beyond all purposes. Holy are we because His Holiness has set us free indeed! And we accept His Holiness as ours, as it is. As God created us so will we be forever and forever, and we wish for nothing but His Will to be our own. Illusions of another will are lost, for unity of purpose has been found.
6. These things await us all, but we are not prepared as yet to welcome them with joy. As long as any mind remains possessed of evil dreams, the thought of hell is real. God’s teachers have the goal of awakening the minds of those asleep and seeing there the vision of Christ’s face to take the place of what they dream. The thought of murder is replaced with blessing. Judgment is laid by and given Him whose function judgment is. And in His final judgment is restored the truth about the holy Son of God. He is redeemed, for he has heard God’s Word and understood its meaning. He is free because he let God’s Voice proclaim the truth. And all he sought before to crucify are resurrected with him, by his side, as he prepares with them to meet his God.[1]
Today in our devotional text, we learn the meaning of resurrection. Resurrection is not reserved for the time of our body’s death – the resurrection of Christ within begins now as we learn of, accept and share the gifts of God’s love and peace and joy. Our return to the oneness and unity of Spirit is not a future event. It is not reserved for only a few that walk the earth – it is for all of God’s creation now and forever.
When we give up our affection for violence, for specialness, for sin and shame, for slaughter and sacrifice – the thought of hell is no longer real to us. Our love for one another and our love for God becomes one in Sonship; we are resurrected from the dark and dusty realm of form and division to the beautiful and everlasting light of brotherhood in Christ. In resurrection there is no place for sin and shame, for disease and death, for sadness and sorrow. In resurrection God judges us as His Son and welcomes us to our Home – the temptations of lies, the dreams of evil, the seduction of magic – cleansed from our consciousness forever.
To learn and teach of God, we learn and teach resurrection – the joyful, peaceful, gentle Return of the Prodigal. Hence, the meaning of the world changes from one of fear of God to the love of God. As we turn from the alternate universes of flesh, fiction, and faction to the reality of Sonship, we are no longer afraid of the stunning and beautiful truth of God and His Kingdom. To be resurrected, is to be lost and then found; to be resurrected is to replace all doctrines of pain and sorrow with the truth of God’s eternal love and undying devotion for every single part of Creation.
Today in your personal devotional practice, welcome the resurrection with joy. Refuse to believe the evil report, the vicious taletelling, the taking of sides, the clamors for war – put all thoughts of the devil out of your mind. The devil is a lie; there is no truth in any belief system that would endow this fiction with power to keep you from the Love of God, to steal possession of what can only belong to God, to leave empty the eternal place you have in God’s Kingdom. Resurrection is what we learn and teach for only in resurrection can our altered consciousness be healed, can we see our enemies as brothers, can we prepare to meet our God.
[1] A Course in Miracles. Manual for Teachers. 28. What is the resurrection? Foundation for Inner Peace, Second Edition (1992).
For daily 2021 Workbook lessons visit www.i-choose-love.com courtesy of Linda R.
Audio credit: www.eckiefriar.com
the friar patch 
I like your alliteration here: “the alternate universes of flesh, fiction, and faction” (body, illusion, and separation). You might have also added “failure”. There is no loss in God’s universe. In reality, we can only gain.