ACIM Daily Lesson 224 God is my Father, and He loves His Son.
God is my Father, and He loves His Son.
Lesson 224
God is my Father, and He loves His Son.
1. My true Identity is so secure, so lofty, sinless, glorious and great, wholly beneficent and free from guilt, that Heaven looks to It to give it light. ²It lights the world as well. ³It is the gift my Father gave to me; the one as well I give the world. ⁴There is no gift but this that can be either given or received. ⁵This is reality, and only this. ⁶This is illusion’s end. ⁷It is the truth.
2. My Name, O Father, still is known to You. ²I have forgotten It, and do not know where I am going, who I am, or what it is I do. ³Remind me, Father, now, for I am weary of the world I see. ⁴Reveal what You would have me see instead.
I am so weary of the world and yet, I know that it is my thoughts about the world that weary me. I have moments of brilliant clarity about this and moments when my mind is not so clear. But I always know that I am not this body and not in this world because there is no world and no body. I am dreaming of a world of bodies, and the certainty that this is true helps me to clear my mind. The resultant clarity lets me experience the light again. In the light, I see a different world, and it is sweet and peaceful, and it gets clearer all the time. And I see myself differently as well.
I continue to remove the obstacles to this vision.
I do this every day. For instance, one time, while talking about politics, I saw that I was spreading the darkness. I regretted the temptation to slip into ego thinking and to encourage fear and resentment in others. I decided right then that this would end. This is my mind, and I decide what I will believe and what I will accept in my kingdom. As Jesus has told us:
³Let go all the trivial things that churn and bubble on the surface of your mind, and reach down and below them to the Kingdom of Heaven. ⁴There is a place in you where there is perfect peace. ⁵There is a place in you where nothing is impossible. ⁶There is a place in you where the strength of God abides. (ACIM, W-47.7:3-6)
I am dedicated to this decision to awaken to my true Self.
I intend to use the power of decision to be certain that I do not give fear and uncertainty because giving and receiving are the same. And I don’t want fear and uncertainty. Because I love all my brothers in Christ, I want for them what I want for myself.
My eyes, my tongue, my hands, my feet today have but one purpose; to be given Christ to use to bless the world with miracles. (ACIM, W-353) This is my decision, my commitment, and my dedication. In this way, the world I see will be a different world as the real world will be revealed to me.
Here is something from a few years ago that is is an example of forgiveness.
Because I want to know my Self, to really know it, to feel it in every fiber of my being, I watch closely for those indications that I have placed some false idol above this desire. I noticed a grievance yesterday and was surprised because I also noticed I had been holding it for a couple of days but had refused to look at it until yesterday. I didn’t say to myself, “I see this grievance, but I want to worship it awhile before I give it up.” But that is what I did.
Yesterday when it rose into my awareness again, suddenly I felt very “yucky” and wanted to forgive it. I don’t know why two days ago I was able to push the grievance to the back of my mind and yesterday, I was very clear that I had something to forgive. But I am grateful to be aware and grateful to forgive.
All grievances must be forgiven.
With that grievance held in my mind, I could not be fully aware of the love my Father has for me, nor could I fully express my love for my Father. In the Text is a passage that says: “You cannot enter God’s presence if you attack His Son,” and a grievance is an attack. This is why forgiveness is the cornerstone of salvation. Everything in the Course is leading me to forgive so that I can know that God is my Father and that He loves me.
I made a not so funny joke.
Yesterday I heard myself make a very unkind statement about someone. It was done in a joking manner, and I remembered the lesson from my ministerial courses that talked about the unkind use of humor. As is easy to tell from TV sitcoms and popular jokes, the ego uses this kind of humor to mask cruelty and legitimize judgment. I did not know why I made this sick “joke” about someone I know and care for.
Do nothing, then, and let forgiveness show you what to do.
I looked at the words and asked the Holy Spirit to look with me. And I asked for help to understand the energy behind the words. I quickly saw that this person’s behavior was bringing up a memory of my past. Though I no longer behave like that, I used to. I did not forgive myself for it, and so it was hanging around, creating a sense of self-loathing. Although I was not aware of it on a conscious level, it was nonetheless there. At the first opportunity, I was trying to hurl it out of myself and onto the closest victim. This time, it turned out to be this friend of mine.
I forgave myself for my past behavior. And forgave myself for feeling that I needed to project onto my brother what I did not want to look at in myself. Having withdrawn the projection, I was able to glimpse the Christ within my brother. It was truly a beautiful light. I felt such ease and comfort knowing that the same light is within me. It was then that I also felt that “yuckiness” lift from my mind. I congratulated myself on a job well done and on saving myself a thousand years of “yuckiness.” Not a bad day’s work!
Contemplation 2025
To enjoy the Pathways of Light Insights on ACIM Lesson 224 click here.
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