LESSON 63
March 4

"The light of the world brings peace to every mind through my forgiveness."

PRACTICE SUMMARY

Exercise: as often as you can for 1 or 2 minutes.

Close eyes, if possible, and tell yourself: "The light of the world brings peace to every mind through my forgiveness. I am the means God has appointed for the salvation of the world." Think about these statements.Let related thoughts come.

Remarks: Begin and end the day with a practice period. Throughout the day do not wait for a time when you can close your eyes.

COMMENTARY

Have you ever been the recipient of real forgiveness? There is nothing quite so liberating, nothing that eases the mind, so much as being truly forgiven. If I think I may have hurt someone or injured them by what I have said or done, and they turn around and truly forgive me, letting me know that they were not hurt, that they understand me and see me in a light perhaps even better than I could see myself, it brings incredible peace to my mind. It relieves the pangs of guilt. There is a sense of love for the other person, a joy that our intimacy has not been impaired but perhaps even improved.

You and I have the power to bring that kind of peace to every mind.That is what our function is. We can allow this to be done through us (1:2).What a marvelous purpose this gives to our lives--bringing peace to every mind through our forgiveness. We can liberate everyone around us from the hell of their own guilt.

"Accept no trivial purpose or meaningless desire in its place, or your will forget your function and leave the Son of God in hell."(2:4) When we accept a lesser purpose, we inevitably forget the primary one. Trying to get someone to act in a way that pleases us, for our personal pleasure, for instance, --having expectations--can cause us to completely overlook many opportunities for forgiveness, and instead to heap more guilt upon the person if they fail to meet our expectations.

We need to practice this idea diligently, as often as we can, to reinforce it in our minds. "I am the means God has appointed for the salvation of the world." Forgiveness flows through me and brings peace to every mind I encounter today; let me remember not to block the flow.