I will not hurt myself again today.

In church this past Sunday, the morning after I heard that I can bring my cat Enzo to the Inn with me, Glad was reading from the bible in John 10 about The Good Shepherd.

I was really quite amazed. Because in the recognition that everything is an illusion, YOUR CARE INCREASES. You might think you would become indifferent, unemotional and unsympathetic when you realize that the world isn’t real, saying about everything “It’s only an illusion! It’s only an illusion! I can stay home and do nothing! It’s an illusion!” but in the acceptance of the Atonement it’s not that way at all! You become more active than ever, as you realize your deep responsibility for everything you see. Harm becomes impossible. Protection becomes your motivating guiding force in life. Your heart opens up, and an overwhelming love encompasses you. You fall madly in love with all your brothers, all the animals, all the children, and for every living thing … and you want to help them.

You become The Good Shepherd.

All your brothers are your sheep and they are in your care. If they are lost, you help bring them back.

You wouldn’t want harm to come to any one of them, and you, as the shepherd, certainly would not want to inflict pain upon them … your own sheep! You would love them, care for them, and protect them. You would lay down your life for them.

This is the role of the savior: to help your brothers find their way back to God.

There is something spectacular in the Urtext, the original ACIM manuscript, which surprisingly did not make it into the final published version, but look at this, Chapter 4, Section 9, Jesus to Helen Schucman about Bill Thetford:

The reason why Bill needs this experience is because he needs rehabilitating himself. How often have I answered “help him” when you asked me to help you? He, too, has asked for help, and he has been helped whenever he was truly helpful to you. He has also gained to whatever extent he could give. He will help YOU more truly by going, if he can remember all the time he is there that his ONLY reason for being there is to REPRESENT ME.

HA! If you are asking/praying for help from Jesus, then go be truly helpful to someone else. How simple! I am laughing out loud. If I am in a black cloud, with problems galore, then my solution is to go help my brother. Here is the entire solution and the whole way out of limitation and depression. Start extending your love. Your function is to represent Jesus on earth, through the body, representing the totality of the Love of God, right here. Heaven on earth.

Harm becomes impossible now.

John 10

¹Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

²But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

³To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.

⁴And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.

⁵And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

⁶This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them.

⁷Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.

⁸All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.

⁹I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

¹⁰The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

¹¹I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

¹²But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.

¹³The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.

¹⁴I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.

¹⁵As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.

¹⁶And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

¹⁷Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.

¹⁸No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 25th, 2008 at 6:58 am and is filed under Workbook Lessons, a course in miracles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.