Lesson 331. There is no conflict, for my will is Yours.
How foolish, Father, to believe Your Son could cause himself to suffer! Could he
make a plan for his damnation, and be left without a certain way to his release?
You love me, Father. You could never leave me desolate, to die within a world of
pain and cruelty. How could I think that Love has left Itself? There is no will
except the Will of Love. Fear is a dream, and has no will that can conflict with
Yours. Conflict is sleep, and peace awakening. Death is illusion; life, eternal
truth. There is no opposition to Your Will. There is no conflict, for my will is
Yours.
Forgiveness shows us that God's Will is One, and that we share it. Let us look
upon the holy sights forgiveness shows today, that we may find the peace of God.
Amen.
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Commentary on this lesson is by Kenneth Wapnick, from his book set, called:
"Journey Through the Workbook of A Course in Miracles," and may be purchased at
the following site: ~ M. Street.
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Lesson 331. "There is no conflict, for my will is Yours."
*In this lesson Jesus focuses on the prominent role conflict plays in the ego
thought system. The ego believes it has defied God's Will and remains in
opposition to It. That is the basis of all conflict, manifest in the split mind
between the ego and the Holy Spirit. This of course is not how He thinks, but is
at the core of the ego's thought system that established our identities through
conflict, opposition, defiance, and murder -- reflected in a world that thrives
on conflict, opposition, defiance, and murder. The ego thus proclaims that
conflict is alive and well -- we took from God, Who now will take it back from
us -- witnessed to by its worldly shadow of conflict and war. This necessitates
our doing something about the imminent threat to our existence, and the end
product of this "doing" is the world of attack.*
(1:1-5) "How foolish, Father, to believe Your Son could cause himself to suffer!
Could he make a plan for his damnation, and be left without a certain way to his
release? You love me, Father. You could never leave me desolate, to die within a
world of pain and cruelty. How could I think that Love has left Itself?"
*The ego tells us that God abandoned us. He created us in bodies and then left
us in this world to fend for ourselves, suffer, and finally die. It never tells
us that <we> abandoned God, nor the ultimate truth -- there was no abandonment
at all, for how could Love leave Itself?*
(1:6-9) "There is no will except the Will of Love. Fear is a dream, and has no
will that can conflict with Yours. Conflict is sleep, and peace awakening. Death
is illusion; life, eternal truth."
*You may remember that Lesson 190, "I choose the joy of God instead of pain,"
concludes with a similar rhythm. The words are different, but the meaning and
presentation are the same:
"This is the day when it is given you to realize the lesson that contains
all of salvation's power. It is this: Pain is illusion; joy, reality. Pain is
but sleep; joy is awakening. Pain is deception; joy alone is truth."
(W-pI.190.10:3-6) *
(1:10-11) "There is no opposition to Your Will. There is no conflict, for my
will is Yours."
*Our lives as physical, psychological beings -- shadows of the authority problem
with God -- are based on opposition and conflict. If we do not defend ourselves,
others will attack us and end our existence, and thus we always need to be
engaged in self-protection. Finally, however, we realize there is something
wrong with this life of attack-defense, and we can choose again, as Jesus now
tells us:*
(2) "Forgiveness shows us that God's Will is One, and that we share it. Let us
look upon the holy sights forgiveness shows today, that we may find the peace of
God. Amen."
*Forgiveness undoes the false perception of conflict by ending the dream that
you and I are separate, kept apart by thoughts of guilt and judgment, pain and
sorrow. True perception reveals a world washed clean of sin, as we remember our
shared interest of finding the peace of God and returning home:
"A vision of a different world, so new and clean and fresh you will forget
the pain and sorrow that you saw before." (T-31.VIII.8:4) *
