[acimlessons_list] LESSON 362 - DECEMBER 28

[Sue Roth]

LESSON 362 - DECEMBER 28

"This holy instant would I give to You. 
Be You in charge. For I would follow You, 
Certain that Your direction gives me peace."

PRACTICE INSTRUCTIONS

See Practice Instructions for Lessons 361-365.

COMMENTARY

The Workbook leads us to this point: "to Him we give our lives henceforth"
(W-pII.fl.1:4). If the idea of giving our lives to God seems unappealing,
consider the alternative: "For we would not return again to the belief in
sin that made the world seem ugly and unsafe, attacking and destroying,
dangerous in all its ways, and treacherous beyond the hope of trust and the
escape from pain" (W pII.fl.1:5).

The idea that we want something other than God is what made all this mess.
There is nothing other than God. "The belief in sin" referred to is nothing
more than our belief that we succeeded in making something separate from
Him. We don't really want this, although we have believed we did. This
belief is the source of all our pain, so let us return our lives to the
Source of all joy instead. Let us give our lives to be directed by His
Voice, the Holy Spirit.

Let us give this holy instant and every instant into His hands. 

	His is the only way to find the peace that God has
	given us. It is His way that everyone must travel in
	the end, because it is this ending God Himself appointed.
	(W-pII.fl.2:1-2)

Don't let those words "the only way" scare you off. This isn't saying A
Course in Miracles is the only way to God; it is saying that the route of
forgiveness, the truth that we are all innocent before God, is the only way,
whatever the form it may take. God created us all to be His expression, and
His Will will be done in the end. As it says in the Text introduction, we
don't have any choice about the content of the curriculum, just about when
we learn it.

	In the dream of time it seems to be far off. And yet, in
	truth, it is already here; already serving us as gracious
	guidance in the way to go.	(W-pII.fl.2:3-4)

Robert wrote an article for our newsletter on the topic "How Long Until We
Are Out of Here?" or in other words, "How long until we reach the end of the
journey?" The Course is full of the paradox stated baldly in this sentence:
The truth is already here, and yet-in time-it seems to be far off. Both are
true, each in its proper context. A dream that lasts only a few seconds can
seem, within the dream, to last for years. Isn't it possible that a dream
that lasts only for a "tiny tick of time" (T-26.V.3:5) can seem to last
billions of years? Within the dream of time, our journey home seems to be
taking a very long time. In reality it is already over, and the power of its
ending is present now, guiding us through the dream.

So what should we do? How, then, should we live? Should we proclaim, "It's
all over!" and just kick back and relax? No; to us the dream is still real.
Therefore: 

	Let us together follow in the way that truth points out to 
	us. And let us be the leaders of our many brothers who are 
	seeking for the way, but find it not.	(W pII.fl.2:5-6)

In his article, Robert reaches the conclusion that "how long" is an
irrelevant question, and that we should be equally content whether we go
home tomorrow or in 10,000 AD. Our function in the meantime is to be the
light of the world as long as we are in it. We are to lead home all our
brothers who are still lost, still floundering. We are to forgive the world;
to bring the message of guiltlessness to everyone; to extend the peace and
love we have found to all the world.

This is what we do when we say, "For I would follow You, certain that Your
direction gives me peace." What direction? The direction of forgiveness, the
direction of forgiving the world. That is the direction which "gives me
peace." Working out our forgiveness of the world becomes the content of our
days. It is when we have accepted this as the one function that we want to
fulfill that the Holy Spirit will arrange everything for us, providing
everything we need as we go.