In a Course in Miracles (ACIM) and A Course of Love (ACOL), Jesus serves as the Teacher of teachers, with the implication that we are to become teachers (this is particularly apparent in the Manual for Teachers in ACIM). We are to teach not in a lecturing type of way, but by demonstrating ego-free responses.
Now obviously we can only demonstrate ego-free responses if we are ego-free at the time! This is another example of our Master Teacher of teachers bringing us to major crossroads and then standing at the far side of the heavenward direction and saying, “Follow me.” If a person is able to follow him through this tremendous crossroad, she will then be a Teacher of God (ACIM) to those who have not yet reached that crossroad as well as those tarrying there.
It is wonderful that in the ACIM Manual for Teachers Jesus acknowledges that actually even Teachers of God are wobbling in and out of the ego-free state often. But they are able to catch themselves at temporarily choosing the ego again and re-open themselves to the miracle through prayer, bringing Atonement. Then the grace of God can be received and flow through to the other people involved.
In our actual experience in our lives here we are most probably not “full-time Teachers of God” yet. But we have grown sufficiently through divine grace and incredible teaching from the Teacher of Teachers that we do actually now know that our ego pole is negative. But we have also been shown clearly that forgiveness is the way beyond ego, and we are increasing able to forgive ourselves (primarily!) and others (secondarily).
One great aid to spending less time in our ego pole is the phrase “all are chosen.” This is the title of Chapter One of “A Treatise on the New” in ACOL.
All are chosen. Jesus leads us in that amazing chapter to the unavoidable conclusion that God is available to all of us all the time, and that, further, as we move into the time of Christ, more and more children born into this time will grow up able to see the ego and not wanting it. In 1.26 it says “Those born into the time of Christ will settle for nothing less than the truth and will soon begin earnestly looking for it. Even the ego-self will be perceived clearly by these, and they will not want it for their identity but only will accept it until another identity is offered.”
So the newest generation will be more open the choosing God which is truth and just waiting to make that choice directly. How wonderful for them and for our world–to have so much more spiritual opportunity for God-realization and for living more in Unity. And what does that mean for us older ones? Jesus in the same chapter does say that in the time of the Holy Spirit, which the older of us grew up in, the approach to God was primarily indirect, through contrast. We learned by choosing love over fear, kindness over attack, good over evil. There was implicit conflict between opposites here. So we moved directionally toward unity consciousness, but the influence of the separate ego-consciousness was so dominant that it was hard for us to live all the time in Revelation, the ongoing ego-free state. We were calibrated more for the indirect approach.
In the Second Treatise Jesus therefore directly addresses the need to forgive God for allowing such a state that we find ourselves in! It’s like we are frightened by how much free will we’ve always had, and maybe wishing that God had given us less of that choice to rush into separation state! Then Jesus tells us that it would also behoove us to forgive the world we made for being a place “that has taught you to want to be other than who you are.” So we grew up thinking that we needed to build ourselves up, make something of ourselves, get ahead, compete with other egos for scarce resources, etc.
But now we are in a time of more spiritual opportunity to be more divinely aware more of the time. And the newly born or those soon to be born will be even more favorably gifted with predisposition toward the truth.
I really don’t think that Jesus is saying here that the world will suddenly vault into Heaven, all of us instantly and permanently enlightened at the same time. But he is saying more will choose God and more will choose God directly, with less need for an ego pole. What a blessing!
If we can remember that all are chosen at all times then it will be easier for us. All are chosen because God never throws anybody out of Heaven, and never barred the door either! We can take huge reassurance that God has and is always choosing us–that we could be in a Heavenly state of awareness anytime and eventually all the time. And that further everyone else is also chosen also, completely resolving for us the sin consciousness the ego pole wants to use to reserve goodness just for us and ours but no one else.
So as we go through life and work through difficult special relationships, we can remember that all are chosen. We are, they are–all chosen! We can never permanently lose God. We can remain indirect through exercising our free choice, in which case we put ourselves in the school of hard knocks–conflict/contrast, only gradually realizing that kindness and forgiveness are the way to Heaven, or we could open up to the direct experience of that love quickly–even much more quickly.
Here’s Jesus in 1.5 of All Are Chosen:
A question has been asked and a response is awaited. Are you willing to be chosen? Are you willing to be chosen of God? All are asked. What is your answer?
MIRACLES EACH DAY 