To gain the most from A Course in Miracles Lesson Insights, we recommend
that you read the corresponding lesson in the Workbook of the Second or
Third Edition of A Course in Miracles published by the Foundation for Inner Peace.
“I have a function God would have me fill.”
Forgiveness is letting go of illusions. Letting illusions be undone is my function here. To do this, I must be willing to step back from ego thoughts and create an open space where the Holy Spirit can shine a light on the illusions and show me they are false ideas. This helps me remove my belief from these false perceptions.
As my belief in the perceptions of the world are removed, I am able to see the eternal truth that lies beyond them. I am able to see nothing has changed. The Light of God is still there as God created It — pure, whole and complete. The Love and peace of God is still radiating, uninterrupted by the false stories of separation.
It is only when I am willing to let illusions disappear that the Holy Spirit can bring the Light of truth into my mind. That is why forgiveness is so important to me now and why it is my one function. I desire to return to the truth. I desire to let illusions go. And this desire, this openness to the Holy Spirit to let the Light of truth shine illusions away, is what brings me freedom from the bondage of the ego.
Because I have joined with the ego, the illusions have appeared very real and at times have been very fearful. Now I am open to a complete thought reversal. Time now is for the purpose of letting illusions go that I may be an instrument of freedom instead of bondage. Now is the time. I need not wait. Why prolong suffering? Why delay freedom? The time is now to open to the Holy Spirit to let illusions be undone. Forgiveness is my function here.
As the importance I place on things in this world diminishes, I experience greater and greater happiness and peace. Before I started working with the Course I thought happiness and peace came from having things like a secure job, a nice house and a loving relationship. Yet the secure job was never as secure as I wanted it to be which meant that the nice house might not always be available to me. The relationship had its ups and downs. Sometimes I was carrying a chip on my shoulder, which put the relationship on edge.
Now as I have softened the importance I place on these things, I feel more secure than I have ever felt. I live in a nice home, but I also know my home would be nice, no matter what its form. My loving relationships are more consistent, open and full. Occasionally I still put the chip back on my shoulder, but its smaller and easy to dust off. Without that defensiveness I can receive the love that is offered and appreciate it with gratitude and joy.
All this comes with letting illusions go, with forgiveness. And while my heart is filled with gratitude for the gifts I have received, I know there is much more that has been given me which I have not yet accepted. Forgiveness, letting illusions disappear, opens my mind to receive the treasures God has stored for me, awaiting my acceptance.
Thank You God, for Your grace and Your Love, which never ends and forever offers me Light to see my innocence and the innocence of everyone. Thank You for putting Your Light in my mind to help me dispel the darkness and find my way Home.
This is one of those lessons that has really stuck with me over the years, even from the first time I read it. What stands out to me is, “Using reason to justify our rage and attack.” (7:2) I can so identify with that. “A jailer is not free, for he is bound together with his prisoner.” (8:3) The first time I read that, it placed a clear picture in my mind I have never lost.
What has changed over the years is my understanding of what attack and rage are. I’ve learned that a slight irritation is just my attempt to mask the rage I feel, and as for attack… . There are so many ways to attack and so many ways to attack that I mask as love.
I never really understood what forgiveness meant and even now am refining my understanding of that action every day. I feel such gratitude for the Course, for Pathways of Light, and for the dear people I have met through it. My life has so changed and what I want most is the chance to give this to others through forgiveness and love. I thank God for every opportunity to teach forgiveness and I am so grateful He is patient with my errors and my lapses.
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