Lesson 77: I am entitled to miracles.
One of the things I learned growing up in the Southern Baptist tradition was about God’s grace. It was something that God freely gave to everyone, without condition. Grace was unearned and was bestowed on you just because you were here. However, there was one condition. You had to accept this grace before you die, or else, you would end up frying in hellfire for all eternity.
A Course in Miracles turns this piece of egoic theology inside out. Today’s lesson tells us that we are entitled to miracles just because of who we are. Not because of who we are in our body, but because of who we are in eternity. We are not these bodies so a “get-it-now-before-you-die-or-else” kind of grace is actually pretty useless. It’s the ego’s invention, meant to make us grateful to it as our god for saving us from whatever it has defined as “hell.” In Reality, the ego IS hell. It creates it for us in every moment of the day.
We, however, have a choice of whether or not we live in this hell of ego. We can choose to live in heaven right now by realizing we are entitled to miracles, “because of what you are.” And, this lesson says, “You will receive miracles because of what God is. And you will offer miracles because you are one with God.”
This is not something we have to do before the body dies – because our entitlement to miracles is an eternal thing – because of who we are, because of who God is and because we are one with God.
A miracle, the Course tells us, is a shift in perception, a new way of seeing the world. It is a shift in our lens – dropping the ego’s vision and seeing through the vision of God, which shows us a world of only peace and joy. A miracle happens when we see through this illusion, when we realize what we see around us are just clouds that can swept away for us to behold the blue sky of unity with God that we have never left.
When we understand that we are entitled to miracles, then we know that whatever is going on outside of us, no matter the fear and chaos, peace and Love reside within us waiting to be recognized and brought out into the world.
If we are entitled to miracles, then no fear can actually overtake us. We may experience those moments of overwhelm, moments of doubt, moments of uncertainty, but if we can remember that we are entitled to miracles, because we ARE miracles – we are God embodied – then we can find a way to relax, breathe and allow a miracle – a new perception of the world – to occur.
In this time of uncertainty, a miracle, a change in perception, is the knowledge that everything will work out perfectly for us, even if the ego tells us it will be painful, inconvenient, terrible and awful. That’s just the appearance of what’s going on in the world. We may go through some rough times, but we never have to lose our sense of Love and peace. We never have to give our allegiance to fear or despair.
In those times, Hafiz says, when we need a shift in perception so we can clearly see and feel God all around us, we need “a password, or let’s make that a pass-sentence.”
And here it is in all its glory and truth:
Love kicks the ass of time and space.
Upon hearing that God and I would look at each bewildered, but with delight. We would be glad someone had reached us… with the golden key of their tongue.
Though just to make sure we heard you right we might say in unison, Sing it loudly, baby! Cut loose! We need to double check!
And then if you did, a strength and smile might rise inside of you, and right next to my heart you might be for a moment… beaming like an eye that knows.
Don’t forget now: LKTAOTAS Maybe even tattoo that somewhere so you will remember.