Forgiveness and Vision
by Tom Carpenter
As part of a dialogue I had with Jesus several years ago, he said: “Your function is to learn to see the face of Christ now hidden in the shadows of your dream. When you are tempted to judge what he does there, ask the Holy Spirit to see him free of the dream. You will see him then bathed in a light not of the world. And joy will return to your heart as you see that you stand there with him.
“The only thing that has hidden the truth of your brother is your denial of the light that is in you. This is the lesson of forgiveness. Learn it well, for you will here discover it is your vision that will change your world. Join with me that together we may be witness to this gift of vision that has been given us to share.”
Jesus has said that joining in a common purpose is, for the ego perception, as close an intention for experiencing union of which it is capable. It establishes a state of mind that is more susceptible to accepting the truer Vision of oneness held by our God Self. I am suggesting that we commit ourselves to sharing the purpose of forgiveness as the means for our joining, and with the full expectation that we are laying the foundation for the “real world” the Course describes, right now.
“It is your weakness that sees through the body’s eyes, peering around in darkness to behold the likeness of itself; the small, the weak, the sickly and the dying, those in need, the helpless and the afraid, the sad, the poor, the starving and the joyless. These are seen with eyes that cannot see and cannot bless. (God’s) strength overlooks these things by seeing past appearances. It keeps its steady gaze upon the light that lies beyond them. It unites with light, of which it is a part. It sees itself.” WB-92:3.4
Making forgiveness our common purpose, we each make the decision stronger in everyone. Sharing our success helps strengthen our resolve when it seems we have faltered. When things are not going well, someone’s positive experience can renew our own determination. We should keep in mind this is the movement of our entire consciousness toward the truth as directed by the Holy Spirit. He sees nothing that cannot be used to recognize our oneness. It is not just what we have previously thought of as our individual awakening process, but giving priority to our unity with this purpose. We can trust that when any part of “us” falters, there will be another part to hold the vision for the rest.
We do not need to wait. There is nothing more we need to learn. It is merely to accept what we have learned and welcome the Presence of the Teacher within that God has given us to make attainment of our purpose here a certainty. We do not need to wait until the world seems more ready to join us in our story. We are the world and all its stories are the same. There is nothing not a part of us, no one that will not respond to our honest desire to love them. Our choice to have a better world for everyone is a choice that will, be shared by everyone.
The purpose of our path is to remember our oneness. Truly accepting that everyone wants the same thing, no matter what they may feel necessary to do to achieve it, makes forgiveness possible. Recognizing that there is nothing happening in our world that does not move us toward our common goal, strengthens our trust that the Holy Spirit’s Vision will be realized. When truly understood and accepted, these two principles make it possible for us to feel a unity of purpose we have not known before. When we finally know no one opposes us with a different goal, then unity has found a place in our awareness and the foundation is laid for a harmonious world.