It is your Father's holy Will that you complete Himself and that your Self
shall be His sacred Son, forever pure as He, of love created and in love
preserved, extending love, creating in its name, forever one with God and with
your Self. Yet what can such a function mean within a world of envy, hatred and
attack? Therefore you have a function in the world in its own terms. For who can
understand a language far beyond his simple grasp?
Forgiveness represents your function here. It is not God's creation, for it is
the means by which untruth can be undone. And who would pardon Heaven? Yet on
earth you need the means to let illusion go. Creation merely waits for your
return to be acknowledged, not to be complete.
Creation cannot even be conceived of in the world. It has no meaning here.
Forgiveness is the closest it can come to earth. For being Heaven-borne, it has
no form at all. Yet God created One Who has the power to translate into form the
wholly formless. What He makes are dreams, but of a kind so close to waking that
the light of day already shines in them. And eyes already opening behold the
joyful sights their offerings contain.
Forgiveness gently looks upon all things unknown in Heaven, sees them disappear,
and leaves the world a clean and unmarked slate on which the Word of God can now
replace the senseless symbols written there before. Forgiveness is the means by
which the fear of death is overcome because it holds no fierce attraction now,
and guilt is gone.
Forgiveness lets the body be perceived as what it is; a simple teaching aid to
be laid by when learning is complete, but hardly changing him who learns at all.
The mind without the body cannot make mistakes. It cannot think that it will
die, nor be the prey of merciless attack. Anger becomes impossible, and where is
terror then? What fears could still assail those who have lost the source of all attack; the core of anguish and the seat of fear?
Only forgiveness can relieve the mind of thinking that the body is its home.
Only forgiveness can restore the peace that God intended for His holy Son. Only
forgiveness can persuade the Son to look again upon his holiness. With anger
gone, you will indeed perceive that for Christ's vision and the gift of sight
no sacrifice was asked, and only pain was lifted from a sick and tortured mind.
Is this unwelcome? Is it to be feared? Or is it to be hoped for, met with thanks
and joyously accepted? We are one, and therefore give up nothing. But we have
indeed been given everything by God. Yet do we need forgiveness to perceive that
this is so. Without its kindly light we grope in darkness, using reason but to
justify our rage and our attack. Our understanding is so limited that what we think we understand
is but confusion born of error. We are lost in mists of shifting dreams and
fearful thoughts, our eyes shut tight against the light; our minds engaged in
worshipping what is not there.
Who can be born again in Christ but him who has forgiven everyone he sees or
thinks of or imagines? Who could be set free while he imprisons anyone? A jailer
is not free, for he is bound together with his prisoner. He must be sure that he
does not escape, and so he spends his time in keeping watch on him. The bars
which limit him become the world in which the jailer lives, along with him. And
it is on his freedom that the way to liberty depends for both of them.
Therefore hold no-one prisoner. Release instead of bind, for thus are you made
free. The way is simple. Every time you feel a stab of anger, realize you hold a
sword above your head. And it will fall or be averted as you choose to be
condemned or free. Thus does each one who seems to tempt you to be angry
represent your Savior from the prison-house of death. And so you owe him thanks
instead of pain.
Be merciful today. The Son of God deserves your mercy. It is he who asks that
you accept the way to freedom now. Deny him not. His Father's Love for him
belongs to you. Your function here on earth is only to forgive him, that you may
accept him back as your identity. He is as God created him. And you are what he
is. Forgive him now his sins, and you will see that you are one with him.
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