What is the Second Coming?
Our special theme says, “The Second Coming is one event in time which time itself can not affect. For every one who ever came to die, or yet will come or who is present now, is equally released from what he made. In this equality is Christ restored as one Identity, in which the Sons of God acknowledge that they are all one.”
This is a statement that says we cannot fail to awaken to consciousness.
Admittedly, it is possible that our awakening to consciousness will not happen in this lifetime. However, the special theme says, “For every one who ever came to die, or yet will come…”
That means that if awakening does not occur in this lifetime, it will occur in another lifetime. Awakening is guaranteed!
When we think of this lifetime as the only time we have, we are looking at this person as who we are. We are not this person.
To see that we also have other lifetimes in which we can accomplish this goal broadens our perspective of our self as more than this time-limited being with a particular name and history. It’s helpful to see that we are beyond that limit, because that is true.
At the same time, this lifetime is a perfect time to make every stride that we can in the direction of awakening. Maybe this will be the lifetime in which we awaken!
Whether this is the lifetime in which we awaken or not, as we saw in our contemplation yesterday, “this instant is the only time there is. … The only interval in which I can be saved from time is now.” Let’s use now well.
I will not fear to look within today
The lesson says, “Within me is eternal innocence, because it is God’s Will that it be there forever and forever. … I fear to look within because I think I made another will that is not true, and made it real. Yet it has no effects. Within me is the Holiness of God. Within me is the memory of Him.”
If you have listened to my teachings much at all, you have heard me speak of the ‘I am bad’ thought. This fear—the fear that ‘I am bad’—is one of the greatest obstacles to awakening. It keeps us stuck in the belief that we are something other than God. As NTI puts it:
You believe you have stolen yourself from God. That is to say, you believe you have made yourself separate from God’s Will. You believe it is your choice to follow God’s Will or your own, and you feel guilty for this choice, because you believe it is a sin to have made a will that is separate from God’s.
Your guilt, born of the choice to have a separate will, leaves you feeling unworthy of God’s Will. And so, out of your guilt and sense of unworthiness, you deny God’s Will by not hearing it, or by hearing it, but by not believing you are deserving to follow it.
There are several things you must look at here. First, you do have the desire to know and follow God’s Will. Hold that up as a beacon. That is your willingness. Let it guide you to your true Heart’s desire.
Secondly, the feeling that seems to be an obstacle to knowing and following God’s Will is the belief that you are unworthy of God’s Will. This is like a crafty trick. It is a loop that keeps you trapped within an illusion of yourself.
You think you are guilty because you want to serve a will other than God’s,
and
Your true desire is to serve God’s Will,
but your sense of unworthiness is an obstacle to that desire.
Do you see the loop in which you are snared? Can you see how your own belief in your guilt and unworthiness seems to lead you onto the path of increased guilt and additional unworthiness?
This is why I have come, to help you look at the upside-down reasoning within the mind that keeps you feeling trapped. And also to help you see that you are not trapped, because you can lay down this reasoning that makes no sense. When you lay it down and put it aside, you are free to know the reasoning of the Holy Spirit, which is right-reasoning and is joy.
If you are in the purification stage, spend today noticing the thoughts in your mind that continually tell you that you are ‘bad’ (guilty, unworthy, not good enough, etc.) Each time you notice one of these thoughts, realize that it is an ego preservation strategy and nothing more. Put faith in the fact that you are eternally innocent. Rest for a few moments as you hold that faith in your mind and heart. You don’t need to understand how you are innocent. You simply need to trust that it’s true.
If you are already purified from the ‘I am bad’ belief, let today’s lesson be a reminder of your desire to surrender completely, and therefore merge fully with consciousness.
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