Part 1

Undoing The Way We See Things Now

Lesson 163

There Is No Death.³¹² The Son of God Is Free.

Death is a thought which takes on many forms, often unrecognized. It may appear as sadness, fear, anxiety, or doubt; as anger, faithlessness, and lack of trust; concern for bodies, envy, and all forms in which the wish to be as you are not may come to tempt you. All such thoughts are but reflections of the worshipping of death as savior and as giver of release.

2. Embodiment of fear, the host of sin, god of guilty, and the lord of all illusions and deceptions, does the thought of death seem mighty. For it seems to hold all living things within its withered hand, all hopes and wishes in its blighting grasp, all goals perceived but in its sightless eyes. The frail, the helpless, and the sick bow down before its image, thinking it alone is real, inevitable, worthy of their trust. For it alone will surely come.

3. All things but death are seen to be unsure, too quickly lost however hard to gain, uncertain in their outcome, apt to fail the hopes they once engendered and to leave the taste of dust and ashes in their wake, in place of aspirations and of dreams. But death is counted on. For it will come with certain footsteps when the time has come for its arrival. It will never fail to take all life as hostage to itself.

4. Would you bow down to idols such as this? Here is the strength and might of God Himself perceived within an idol made of dust. Here is the opposite of God proclaimed as lord of all creation; stronger than His will for life, the endlessness of love, and Heaven’s perfect, changeless constancy. Here is the will of Father and of Son defeated finally, and laid to rest beneath the headstone death has placed upon the body of the holy Son of God.

5. Unholy in defeat, he has become what death would have him be. His epitaph, which death itself has written, gives no name to him, for he has passed to dust. It says but this: “Here lies a witness God is dead.” And this it writes again and still again, and kneeling down with foreheads to the ground, they whisper fearfully that it is so.

6. It is impossible to worship death in any form and still select a few you would not cherish and would yet avoid, while still believing in the rest. For death is total. Either all things die, or else they live and cannot die. No compromise is possible. For here again we see an obvious position, which we must accept if we be sane: What contradicts one thought entirely cannot be true unless its opposite is proven false.

7. The idea of the death of God is so preposterous that even the insane have difficulty in believing it. For it implies that God was once alive and somehow perished—killed, apparently, by those who did not want Him to survive. Their stronger will could triumph over His, and so eternal life gave way to death. And with the Father died the Son as well.

8. Death’s worshippers may be afraid. And yet can thoughts like these be fearful? If they saw that it is only this which they believe, they would be instantly released. And you will show them this today. There is no death, and we renounce it now in every form, for their salvation and our own as well. Whatever form it takes must therefore be illusion. This is the stand we take today. And it is given us to look past death and see the life beyond.

9. Our Father, bless our eyes today. We are Your messengers, and we would look upon the glorious reflection of Your love, which shines in everything. We live and breathe in You alone.^316. We are not separate from Your eternal life. There is no death, for death is not Your will. And we abide where You have placed us, in the life we share with You and with all living, things, to be like You and part of You forever. We accept Your thoughts as ours, and our will is one with Yours eternally. Amen.^[1].

^{[1]. A Course in Miracles Complete & Annotated Edition.}

^{Footnote 312. Proverbs 12:28 (KJV): “In the way of righteousness is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death.”}

^{Footnote 316. Acts 17:28 (RSV): “In him we live and move and have our being.” The reason the course substitutes “breathe” for “move” here may be to emphasize the theme of life, since breath signifies life.}

Personal Notes:

“There is no death. The Son of God is free.” I ask My Heavenly Father to let me see with the eyes of Christ to not be deceived of the many forms’ death appears in, to remember and not doubt the fact of who I am, the holy, righteous, and redeemed son of God that death and decay does not touch. I will remember this today to walk in this truth that I can light the way for those who forgot. I renounce this false belief in death for salvation of all my brothers and myself. God did not make death. Whatever form it takes must be an illusion. It is given us to look past death and see the life beyond. I pray for all my brothers and myself for continued guidance, wisdom, discernment, protection, and illumination of The Way, The Truth, The Life in Christ Jesus, Amen. Thank you for sharing with me. Walk in Love my friend!

God is Love

Love is God

I choose Love