Jesus Christ Does Not Teach Sacrifice
But did Jesus really sacrifice? In modern day revelation, Jesus tells us that sacrifice is a meaningless term arising from mental error: "Never believe that you can sacrifice. There is no place for sacrifice in what has any value. If the thought occurs, its very presence proves that error has arisen, and correction must be made."
Sacrifice is typically defined as destruction or surrender of something for the sake of something else. But the idea carries with it an implication of loss.
Is it possible to give up something of higher value for something of lower value? If it were, then the idea of sacrifice might not be meaningless. But wouldn't the giving up of a first value for a second value mean the second value is in our minds a higher value?
And it is not really a loss to give up something of lower value for something of higher value, is it?
If it is pointed out that Jesus gave up his earth life to return to life in heaven, then his giving up earth life was not much of a sacrifice, was it?
If it is argued that Jesus gave up heaven in the first place to come to earth for a while to teach us that death and taxes are totally unnecessary ego devices, then there are those who might be tempted to view his mission as a sacrifice.
On the other hand, if it is seen that the life of Jesus in heaven is not complete until we are all living in heaven, then his coming to earth makes a lot of sense without introducing the idea of sacrifice.
To gain real clarity on the issue of sacrifice, let's turn to the words of Jesus himself as given in his revelation for the 21st Century, A Course in Miracles:
"Although in truth the term sacrifice is altogether meaningless, it does have meaning in the world. It takes great learning both to realize and to accept the fact that the world has nothing to give. What can the sacrifice of nothing mean? It cannot mean that you have less because of it."
So if we are to be God's teachers, we must first learn deeply that the world as experienced by human ego consciousness offers nothing of value.
"God's teachers can have no regret on giving up the pleasures of the world. Is it a sacrifice to give up pain? Does an adult resent the giving up of children's toys? Does one whose vision has already glimpsed the face of Christ look back with longing on a slaughter house? No one who has escaped the world and all its ills looks back on it with condemnation. Yet he must rejoice that he is free of all the sacrifice its values would demand of him. To them he sacrifices all his peace. To them he sacrifices all his freedom. And to possess them must he sacrifice his hope of Heaven and remembrance of his Father's Love. Who in his sane mind chooses nothing as a substitute for everything?"
As God's teachers, we learn there is something much more important than the world we see, something which must not be sacrificed.
"You may believe this course requires sacrifice of all you really hold dear. In one sense this is true, for you hold dear the things that crucify God's Son, and it is the course's aim to set him free. But do not be mistaken about what sacrifice means. It always means the giving up of what you want. And what, O teacher of God, is it that you want? You have been called by God, and you have answered. Would you now sacrifice that Call? Few have heard it as yet, and they can but turn to you. There is no other hope in all the world that they can trust. There is no other voice in all the world that echoes God's. If you would sacrifice the truth, they stay in hell. And if they stay, you will remain with them."
We are being taught by Jesus to recognize clearly the difference between what we really want and the kinds of things our ego wants. And we are being guided to never sacrifice what we really want.
To aid us with our spiritual understanding, let us each day this month say many times over the following mantra from the Course's Lesson 343:
To find the mercy and the peace of God.”
Each month our Holy Spirit gives a message of prophetic revelation which helps individuals open spiritually and understand Jesus' teaching.
If you would like to receive an email each month containing a link to the latest message from our Holy Spirit, please email us with "ADD" in the subject line: holyinstant@aol.com
"...nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdomLuke 17:21)
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