Your Function in the Atonenment P 1
IV. Your Function in the Atonement
1. When you accept a brother’s guiltlessness you will see the Atonement in him. ²For by proclaiming it in him you make it yours, and you will see what you sought. ³You will not see the symbol of your brother’s guiltlessness shining within him while you still believe it is not there. ⁴His guiltlessness is your Atonement. ⁵Grant it to him, and you will see the truth of what you have acknowledged. ⁶Yet truth is offered first to be received, even as God gave it first to His Son. ⁷The first in time means nothing, but the First in eternity is God the Father, Who is both First and One. ⁸Beyond the First there is no other, for there is no order, no second or third, and nothing but the First. (ACIM, T-14.IV.1:1-8)
I will see what I look for.
When I accept a brother’s guiltlessness, I’m not doing something noble or generous—I’m letting myself see what is already true. I can’t see innocence in someone else while still believing guilt is real in me, because mind is one. If guilt seems real anywhere, it will show up everywhere. But when I truly forgive—when I stop insisting that guilt has meaning—I remember the truth about myself. That remembering is the Atonement. It doesn’t happen in stages or over time; it happens the moment I stop defending guilt. As I see my brother as innocent, I accept my own innocence, and the truth quietly returns to awareness.
I see this shift from guilt to guiltlessness happening as I read the news.
In retrospect, I see that it was in 2016 that everything began to change for me. Before that, I would read the news and notice my judgments of the people and situations. Then I could practice letting go of those judgments. In 2016, everything took on a more sinister note for me as I watched my country split into two opposing factions, with the gap between them growing larger every day. I found this alarming since unity was my goal. I know that it would have been helpful for me to simply continue seeing unity rather than separation, but I let fear take the reins for a while, and that was a miserable time for me. However, because I never lost sight of my real goal, it was also a profitable time for me.
I was able to use that time to do some deep healing within my own mind as I realized that while I had forgiven a lot of mistaken thoughts, I still held onto some unhelpful beliefs. The politics of this time showed me what still needed healing in my mind. I have to say that it was slow going for a while. But I did reach a higher vision and did some good work. Lately, it has become clear once again that there is more work to be done. I have been appalled at some of the things happening in my country, which means that, once again, I must look at my belief in guilt.
To be forever free, I only need to accept that guilt has never existed and does not exist now, no matter how convincing it appears
I must admit that I have been resistant to that simple truth. But I am also excited to see that it is changing. Each day, I read the news, at least the headlines, and I watch my mind for judgmental thoughts, my feelings for signs of hidden rage. I spend a little time scrolling through Facebook for the same reason. I’ve noticed changes in my reactions. It started as inner correction when I judged, and now that correction is so automatic and sincere that it is almost true forgiveness.
That is, recognition that there is no guilt to be found because guiltlessness is the only truth.
This morning, when I spent a few minutes scrolling on Facebook, I wasn’t drawn to the dramatic postings of doom. When I read some of the latest postings from Minneapolis, there was compassion but not anger or judgment. This is new, and I don’t know if it means this is a permanent and complete shift. But it does mean that my desire to free myself and my brothers from the belief in guilt is strong, which encourages me.
⁵Grant it to him, and you will see the truth of what you have acknowledged.
The only way for me to accept the Atonement for myself is to accept it for my brothers. Giving is receiving, and I want to receive this. Now that I fully understand that the only path to Atonement is to give it to my brother in order to know I have it for myself, I will use everything to achieve it. That path is paved with the acceptance of guiltlessness. I no longer want to judge anyone or any situation, and I will practice guiltlessness every day until it is so clear in my mind that I never again imagine guilt.