XI. The Peace of Heaven, P 3
3 When we are all united in Heaven, you will value nothing that you value here. For nothing that you value here do you value wholly, and so you do not value it at all. Value is where God placed it, and the value of what God esteems cannot be judged, for it has been established. It is wholly of value. It can merely be appreciated or not. To value it partially is not to know its value. In Heaven is everything God values, and nothing else. Heaven is perfectly unambiguous. Everything is clear and bright, and calls forth one response. There is no darkness and there is no contrast. There is no variation. There is no interruption. There is a sense of peace so deep that no dream in this world has ever brought even a dim imagining of what it is.
Journal
I’ve been sitting with this idea of value. The definition of value is to consider (someone or something) to be important or beneficial; have a high opinion of. So to value wholly is to see someone or something as wholly important? Would it mean that there would be no thought of it that was less than important or beneficial? I thought about this and wondered if Jesus is right? Is there anything in my life that I value wholly?
I have a very nice luxury car and I appreciate the comfort and dependability. But do I value it wholly? I can easily imagine living without it, so how valuable could it be to me? I value my home. It is paid for and is in pretty good condition. It is not perfect but very satisfactory. I don’t sit around thinking how much I love it, though I do appreciate it. I have some thoughts about things I would like to change about it. So clearly, I don’t value it wholly.
Things have never been terribly important to me, so how about relationships. I value my children a great deal. I love them and like them and enjoy their company. I appreciate them. I would be devastated to lose any one of them. In fact, the thought of losing one of them breaks my heart and sends me into great fear. Can I wholly value something that creates fear in me? Can I wholly value something that is so fragile it could be lost to me? How about when one of them behaves in a way that causes me distress. Do I value that relationship a little less when that happens?
What would it be like to value something wholly? To know that it is forever what it has always been? That there is no chance of loss? To experience nothing from it except total unending peace and love? What must that be like? This is my true existence, I am told. I have no memory of it, but I do trust Jesus and I trust that this Course is from him, so I believe in total value even though I don’t experience it now. I also accept that partial value doesn’t count for much, and certainly isn’t worth defending.
I am not going to try to achieve this state of total value here in the world because I don’t think it is possible. But I am going to continue to do everything I am guided to do, knowing that eventually I will reach the state of Heaven. Actually, I think that accepting that I am not experiencing anything of true value now will help me in the long run. If I stop trying to find value where there is none, then I will be open to finding it where it is to be found.
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