Lesson 74: There is no will but God’s.
I have often seen this lesson expressed as “There is no will but Love,” and I think that helps to clarify the point of today’s lesson. As a recovering Southern Baptist, when I encounter sentences such as “There is no will but God’s,” I recoil a little bit inside. That kind of sentence was used, in my experience, by leaders who wished to exercise their control over others. “God’s will,” then, was whatever they said it was.
For example, I was told it was definitely NOT God’s will that I embrace my lesbianism. I was told that God’s will was for me to meet and man, marry him and have many babies. This is something that went completely against every fiber of my being. I have known from a very early age that my sexual orientation was toward women, but as anyone who has struggled with this can tell you, my “orientation” isn’t just about sex – it’s about who I emotionally and spiritually, as well as physically, tend to form deep intimate bonds with. That has always been women.
For someone to tell me it’s not God’s will for me to deeply love another human being simply because we are the same gender is pretty insane. I’ve seen many people embrace the idea that their innate sexuality was an affront to God’s will and then live against who they truly are. It has destroyed many of them. Many realize later that they have to embrace who they truly are to do God’s will in their lives.
“There is no will but Love” makes it clear what our purpose is here in the world, not just in our romantic relationships, but in all relationships – those with family, friends, strangers and even those we consider enemies. “There is no will but Love” means that whenever we look upon another human being, we refuse to discount them, we refuse to hate them, we refuse to dismiss them or demonize them. Instead, we seek to live according to the will of Love that commands us to see them as they truly are – innocent spirits on their own journey of learning who they truly are.
We are here to assist one another on that journey by following only one will – the will of Love – and aligning our own will with it. Today’s lesson is a step toward that. In every moment where we feel like we want to tear another person down, dismiss them or hate them, we are to pause and remember “There is no will but Love” and look again at our discomfort. None of it is real – we are creating it by our thoughts of fear, hate or anxiety.
Once we wipe away those thoughts that cloud our vision, we can see through the eyes of the Holy and see that those before us are also made in Love’s image, even if they themselves cannot yet see it. We see it for them and hold space for them to become who they truly are – just as we hold space for ourselves to do the same.
This is not a call to “into withdrawal” as this lesson says. This is not an excuse to check out of the world. It is a call to be ever more involved in the world – to be and bring the light of Love into any situation where suffering is happening. Those who cause the suffering of others are suffering, too, or else they would only bring peace. Our task is to bring whatever’s missing to any situation – be it love, peace, joy, compassion or anything else that will realign our will with God’s.
“There are so many ways to touch the world,” that mystic poet Hafiz reminds us.
“If you sing, your sounds will press against
my cheek in a way I desire
if you dance, I will become the ground you bless
as happiness does for this world
if you make love with another form and can satisfy it
any sighs of respite are also mine.
This is just the way things have become
waltzing towards the heart’s passions
one day, my dear, you will realize you
can accomplish everything
just by appearing among us.”
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