A Course in Miracles,
Lesson 192 I have a function God would have me fill.
It is your Father's holy will that you complete Himself,
And that yourself shall be His sacred child forever,
Pure as He,
Of love created and in love preserved,
Extending love,
Creating in love's name,
Forever one with God and one with yourself,
Your higher self.
What can such a function mean within a world of envy,
Hatred,
And attack?
You have a function in the world in its own terms,
For who can understand a language far beyond His simple grasp?
Forgiveness represents your function here.
Forgiveness is not God's creation.
Forgiveness is the means by which untruth can be undone,
And who would pardon heaven?
Here on earth you need the means to let illusions go.
Creation merely waits for your return to be acknowledged,
Not for your return to be complete.
Creation cannot even be conceived of in the world.
Creation has no meaning here.
Forgiveness is the closest creation can come to earth.
For being heaven-born,
Creation has no form at all.
Yet God created one who has the power to translate into form the wholly formless.
What God makes are dreams,
But kinds of dreams so close to waking that the light of day already shines in them,
And,
Eyes already opening,
Behold the joyful sights that the offerings of God's dreams contain.
Say to yourself,
Say in your mind,
I have a function God would have me fill.
Forgiveness represents my function here.
Forgiveness is not God's creation.
Forgiveness is the means by which untruth can be undone.
Forgiveness gently looks upon all things unknown in heaven.
Forgiveness sees these things disappear and leaves the world a clean and unmarked slate upon which the word of God can now replace the senseless symbols written there before.
Forgiveness is the means by which the fear of death is overcome,
Because forgiveness holds no fierce attraction now,
And guilt is gone.
Forgiveness lets the body be perceived as what it is,
A simple teaching aid to be laid down when learning is complete,
Hardly changing the one who learns at all.
I have a function God would have me fill.
The mind without the body cannot make mistakes.
The mind without the body cannot think that it will die.
The mind without the body cannot be the prey of merciless attack.
Without the body,
Anger becomes impossible.
Where is terror then?
But fears could still assail those who have lost their body,
The body which is the source of all attack,
The core of anguish,
And the seed of fear.
Only forgiveness can relieve the mind of thinking that the body is its home.
Only forgiveness can restore the peace that God intended for his holy child.
Only forgiveness can persuade the child to look again upon their holiness.
With anger gone,
You will indeed perceive that for Christ's vision and the gift of sight no sacrifice was asked,
And only pain was lifted from a sick and tortured mind.
Is this unwelcome?
Is this to be feared?
Or is this to be hoped for,
Met with thanks,
And joyously accepted?
We are one,
And therefore give up nothing.
But we have indeed been given everything by God.
We do need forgiveness,
However,
To perceive that this is so.
Without the kindly light of forgiveness,
We grope in darkness,
Using reason to justify our rage,
To justify our attack.
Our understanding is so limited that what we think we understand is but confusion born of error.
We are lost in mists of shifting dreams and fearful thoughts.
Our eyes are shut tight against the light.
Our minds are engaged in worshiping what is not there.
Who can be born again in Christ but those who have forgiven everyone they see,
Everyone they think of,
Or everyone they imagine?
Who could be set free while they imprison anyone?
A jailer is not free,
For he is bound together with his prisoner.
He must make sure that the prisoner does not escape,
So he spends most of his time keeping watch on the prisoner.
The bars that limit the prisoner become the world in which the jailer lives along with the prisoner.
It is on the freedom of the prisoner that the way to liberty depends for both the jailer and the prisoner.
Therefore,
Hold no one prisoner.
Release instead of bind,
For thus are you made free.
Say to yourself again,
I have a function God would have me fill.
Forgiveness represents my function here.
I have a function God would have me fill.
Forgiveness is not God's creation.
Forgiveness is the means by which untruth can be undone.
Ponder on this.
I have a function God would have me fill.
Forgiveness represents my function here.
Forgiveness is not God's creation.
Forgiveness is the means by which untruth can be undone.
The way is simple.
Every time you feel a stab of anger,
Realize you hold a sword above your head,
And the sword will fall or be averted as you choose to be condemned or you choose to be free.
Thus,
Each one who seems to tempt you to be angry represents your savior from the prison house of death.
So you owe them thanks instead of pain.
Be merciful today.
The child of God deserves your mercy.
It is the child who asks that you accept the way to freedom now.
Deny the child not.
The father's love for the child belongs to you.
Your function here on earth is only to forgive,
That you may accept the child back as your identity.
The child is as God created,
And you are what the child is.
Forgive the child now their sins,
And you will see that you are one with them.
I have a function God would have me fill.
This represents my function here.
Nothing real can be threatened.
Nothing unreal exists.
Herein lies the peace of God.
