The Inner Meaning of Christmas

This Christmas season as we feel incredible gratitude and happiness over the birth and ministry of the historical ... and still ever-present ... Jesus Christ, let us also be grateful and joyous about what the Christmas story is telling us about ourselves.

In his modern-day revelation, A Course in Miracles, Jesus tells us Christ is our divine nature, a nature which is infinitely vaster in scope than what we imagine our nature to be as human beings.  Jesus tells us he was a man who opened fully to his Christ nature.

There is nothing about me that you cannot attain. I have nothing that does not come from God. The main difference between us as yet is that I have NOTHING ELSE. This leaves me in a state of true holiness, which is only a POTENTIAL in you.  (ACIM Text Chap. 1)

In A Course in Miracles, Jesus explains it is as if our Christ nature is hidden from our awareness so long as we focus on and believe so strongly in our seeming separation as human beings. But when we change our focus, when we change our way of seeing, our hidden Christ nature comes to life ... is "born" in our awareness.

But what are the conditions leading to this "birth" of our Christ nature?  The biblical Christmas story gives us hints.

Our Christ nature is conceived and gestated in part of our mind which is virgin, in other words part of our mind which has not yet convinced itself that we are only human, only of mankind.

Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” (Luke 1:34)

The angel Gabriel has delivered this message to Mary. In Hebrew, the names of all archangels end with the "el" suffix. "El" meaning "in God" "Gabriel" means "Strength in God," and is the part of our mind which is in constant awareness of universal and infinite strength. "Fear not! You are infinitely more than a human being."

Gabriel, who delivers a much stronger message than merely there is no need for fear, strengthens the message by telling the part of our mind which is Mary that another part of our mind, cousin Elizabeth (meaning "God's promise") has also conceived a child.

"For with God nothing will be impossible.”  (Luke 1:37)

This second child, John, meaning "graced by God," is the awareness even in our human ego mind that the experience of being the Christ is possible for us ... and will arrive soon.

Then when the time is right Mary delivers Jesus.

And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.  (Luke 2:7)

What part of our mind is the inn?  Our intellectualizing?  Our preconceived ideas. Our past learning?  The part of our mind which would have no room to accept our Christ nature?

In the blessed instant, you will let go ALL your past learning, and the Holy Spirit will quickly offer you the WHOLE lesson of peace.  (ACIM Text Chap. 15)

We can then see that the manger would be the part of our mind which is humble and open and more peaceful.

The arrogant must cling to words, afraid to go beyond them to experience which might affront their stance. Yet are the humble free to hear the Voice Which tells them what they are and what to do. (ACIM Lesson 186)

The meek shall inherit the earth because their egos are humble, and this gives them better perception. The Kingdom of Heaven is the right of the Soul, whose beauty and dignity are beyond doubt, beyond perception, and stand forever as the mark of the love of God for His Creations, who are wholly worthy of Him and ONLY of Him.  (ACIM Text Chap. 4)

Maybe we have much more reason to celebrate Christmas this season than ever before.  Maybe this Christmas season we can celebrate our humility, our open-mindedness and our inner peace.  For in a humble, open, and peaceful manger in our minds the Christ is born.

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 kingdom of God is within you. (Luke 17:21)

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