Sunday, April 5, 2015
Lesson 95: “I am one Self, united with my Creator.”
The Course teaches us that all of us humans are equally worthy of the love of God. When we realize God has no favorites, then we don’t have to worry about anything, so we can sit back and calmly develop ourselves. We don’t have to squirm around within, hoping to catch a break and get on God’s good side. I think ego’s and all kinds of people get lost in this sense of urgency, and in essence- war- to get God’s favor. People bend over backwards and push each other around to try to influence to be in the good graces of God.
The Course brilliantly erases this need for the embattlement over who gets what from God. The Course teaches us not to be in battle with our brothers and sisters- even if it looks like we have seemingly opposite beliefs. What is the sustained connecter between us is the unshakable power of God’s love and perfect acceptance of us no matter what. The love that we all share as compassion for all experiencing the common existence of love on earth is the one thing that carries us as one, wholly connected always.
When we know that this is the power that binds us we can stop trying to get everyone to behave in this way or that way. We can let go of our expectations about how we perceive our brothers and sisters, forgive them for being different and share the love amongst us. This is the union amongst all who are in this world just now. We are all made from God’s perfection so we can simply stop trying to be anything else or stop trying to get other people to stand within our image of who we think they should be.
All we need to do is know that every person is a perfect reflection, in essence a drop in the ocean of God. We are all ever blessed because God spares absolutely no expense to give us the best of all worlds, the perfect salvation instantly and everlasting peace through all time. We simply have to remember the extent of our good fortune because God so loves us.
When we say ‘I am one Self,’ it’s helpful to note that this is a positive and most ideal thing. When we live as God’s creations, we can also know that we are one with everyone else who is loved by God and graced with the very best love and abundance. We can relish in this union with all others. A lot of us grew up thinking if God loves everyone, maybe the person next to us will in the end get a better deal from God so we may on some level get nervous about joining with others. We may be afraid we will lose our identity in this union with others because this is something some people might struggle with. We can have such a strong propensity to join with others, we may forget how to stay grounded in our own lives and in the splendid uniqueness of our souls. Then we can lose sight of our own extraordinary contributions because we are busy connecting with others as our primary task.
I think Jesus wants us to watch what is the appropriate boundary for us within God’s kingdom, with all beloved others. We might want to find out what feels like the healthiest and happiest line for us between merging with people’s minds and staying always united and on the other hand, staying within our own space, and developing all of our extraordinary traits in our humanness. Both are equally important energies to carry. Just appreciate the importance of both energies to carry and develop each when it feels like the perfect time with the Holy Spirit’s lead.