Lesson 168
Your grace is given me. I claim it now.
Grace,…”How sweet the sound.” A rare word that you can’t help but feel it as you say it, describing a moment that falls upon us that renders us speechless. It is the moment when we become completely aware of the perfection of our Creator. It is the moment when we are given the glimpse into Who we are, the purpose of the Universe, and the Love that transcends all. Grace gives us the gift of the knowing that heaven is a string of grace-filled moments. It is where we find our gratitude meets the perfection of our Divinity.
When the topic of “grace” comes up in a gathering, often it is described using imagery, leaving it a tough word to clearly pinpoint and define. Grace can feel like sacred water being poured over you. It can feel like the deepest exhale as one fully releases into what Is. It can feel like the comfort of a blanket. It can feel like a soft wind that blows whispering only words of your holiness and love.
Grace is very unique and personal to each of us. It is our own personal experience of the revelation of God. Many say they see grace in the eyes of a child; the playfulness of our four-legged friends; sunsets or sunrises; Nature and the change in seasons; in silence. Once again, our limited language cannot suffice in describing something so limitless as grace. It is almost like trying to contain God in the three letters we use to label Her Presence.
One definition of grace is the feeling of the “bestowment of blessings.” This chosen wording is very similar to the sentiments from Lesson 168 in the Course. As we explore grace, we find that it is the remembrance of the gifts of God, which are already ours. It is not an “action” but rather something that is bestowed upon us, as we are receiver of the gift. Nothing is ever hidden from God’s Sons and Daughters: “I once were lost, but now I’m found. Was blind but now I see.”
“He makes no attempts to hide from us. We try to hide from Him, and suffer from deception. He remains entirely accessible. He loves His Son. There is no certainty but this, yet this suffices. He will love His Son forever” (ACIM Lesson 168 1:4-9).
We have previously discussed that there is nothing that we need to do to receive this Love. In grace, we allow what Is to freely flow. We step aside and let grace move through us. We need not even take the final step.
“This the gift by which God leans to us and lifts us up, taking salvation’s final step Himself. All steps but this we learn, instructed by His Voice. But finally He comes Himself, and takes us in His Arms and sweeps away the cobwebs of our sleep. His gift of grace is more than just an answer. It restores all memories the sleeping mind forgot; all certainty of what Love’s meaning is” (ACIM Lesson 168 3:2-6).
Grace can only be amazing. How wonderful is our Creator, ever seeing us as Her holy creation? No matter what games we have played or what steps we have taken to hide our Light, Our image has never been tarnished in Her eyes. This grace is beyond what know as unconditional love. It is the Love of all there Is.
“Your grace is given me. I claim it now. Father, I come to You. And You will come to me who ask. I am the Son You love” (ACIM Lesson 168 6:5-9).
As we repeat the words given us today in our lesson, we recognize that it is not our will, nor our voice that claim these words but the One Voice through us. It takes not our effort to claim what is already there and what is already ours. Listen to this Voice that speaks to us always. “How sweet is the sound!” Namaste.