[acimlessons_list] Lesson 61 - March 2

[Sue Roth]

Lesson 61 - March 2

"I am the light of the world."

PRACTICE SUMMARY

Purpose: "a beginning step in accepting your real function on earth" (3:2).
This lesson is a continuation of what began in Lesson 37 ("My holiness
blesses the world"), which contained "the first glimmerings of your true
function in the world, or why you are here" (37.1:1).

Exercise: as many as possible (suggestion: every hour on the hour), for no
more than 1 or 2 minutes
*	Tell yourself, "I am the light of the world. That is my only
function. That is why I am here."
*	Then think about these statements. Let related thoughts come. If you
can, close your eyes for this. If your mind wanders (rather, when it
wanders), repeat the idea. This is the same kind of practice that you did in
Lesson 50 and throughout Review I. By actively thinking about the idea, you
make it your own.

Remarks: Begin and end the day with a practice period. These can be longer
than the rest if you want. These practices will make your day one that
begins, ends, and is filled throughout with affirmation of the truth about
yourself. This is the day the Workbook is leading us into, one in which we
practice morning, evening, and throughout the day.
This is the first of the Workbook's seven "giant strides"-giant steps ahead
in your journey home. Try to make today exactly that. Use it "to build a
firm foundation" (7:4) for the giant strides to come.


COMMENTARY

Probably most days, if you're like me, you don't feel like the light of the
world. Some days I feel more like the last dying ember in the fireplace. But
this lesson isn't talking about how I feel; it is talking about what I am in
truth. "It does not refer to any of the characteristics with which you have
endowed yourself. It refers to you as you were created by God" (1:5-6). It
isn't about who I think I am; it is about my original design specs, straight
from the hand of the Creator.

In traditional Christian teaching, Jesus is the light of the world and the
rest of us are the blind people who need his light. To say, "I am the light
of the world," can seem like quite a stretch. It can seem arrogant, full of
pride, even egotistical. Perhaps even delusional. Actually, refusing to say
it is what is egotistical. What is more arrogant, when God has made you the
light of the world, to say, "Sorry, Boss, You were wrong. I'm really a poor
miserable sinner."

You and I are here to be conduits of God's light. Being the light of the
world is our only function, and the only reason we are here (5:3-5). We are
bringers of salvation; there is no other way for salvation to come into this
world except through us--all of us!

The lesson calls our acceptance and practice of this idea "a beginning step
in accepting your real function on earth" (3:2); "a giant stride" (3:3); "a
positive assertion of your right to be saved" (3:4). It isn't just another
lesson; this is a big deal! Getting off the "poor me, I need to be saved"
bandwagon and onto the "bringer of salvation" track can be a major turning
point for us. The general tenor of the idea is reflected in the old Sixties
saying, "Are you part of the problem or part of the solution?"

At first it may seem that this idea asks too much of you. "Who, me save the
world? Are you kidding? I can't even save myself!" But that belief about
ourselves is <exactly> where our problem lies. Try giving love to someone
today and you will find that you <can> bring light into someone else's life.
Do this enough times and your opinion about yourself will begin to change.
Your true sense of self-worth as a loving being will begin to blossom. In
giving help, you will be helping yourself. In recognizing that being
helpful, giving love, spreading kindness, and showing mercy is the very
reason you are here, you affirm the divinity of your Source, you acknowledge
yourself as a child of God.