Day 259

Today's Lesson:

Let me remember that there is no sin.

Sin is the only thought that makes the goal of God seem unattainable. What else could blind us to the obvious, and make the strange and the distorted seem more clear? What else but sin engenders our attacks? What else but sin could be the source of guilt, demanding punishment and suffering? And what but sin could be the source of fear, obscuring God's creation; giving love the attributes of fear and of attack?

Father, I would not be insane today. I would not be afraid of love, nor seek for refuge in its opposite. For love can have no opposite. You are the Source of everything there is. And everything that is remains with You, and You with it.

Miracles I'm noticing:

I must admit, guilt has been a big part of my religious upbringing. Everything I ever learned about God and the church had sin and guilt as the foundation. Feeling guilty for my sins was really the justification I had for being a sinner. They just went hand-in-hand, and forgiveness for those sins was something someone else could grant me, whether that be God or someone whom I had wronged by my sin. I remember never feeling good enough because I was, by nature, sinful and unclean, according to the creed we said in church every single Sunday.

Today's lesson is so freeing and so joyful for me. What can I be allowed to be and do when I am freed from the burden of sin and guilt? I don't think today's lesson is asking us to just blow off "bad behavior" (I had a hard time coming up with what to call that) ... but as we fight against anything, what we resist persists.

I'm reminded of something one of my spiritual teachers said one time about right and wrong, good and bad. She said if we judge actions - by ourselves and others - as right or wrong, good or bad, we then become people who believe there is right and wrong, good and bad in the world instead of just seeing everything as just what it is, without a label. The only person I can choose for is me, so instead of judging what others do, I can make choices for myself. If I deem another's actions as bad or wrong, then I attract into my space people to whom those types of actions happen.

If we can simply keep in mind today's lesson, "Let me remember that there is no sin," it will be much easier to remain joyful and focus on abundance and love. God does not want our lives to be difficult and guilt-ridden!