Clarification of Terms 3. 4 – 8. Jesus: “The ‘face of Christ’ has to be seen before the memory of God can return. The reason must be obvious. Seeing the face of Christ involves perception. No one can look on knowledge. But the face of Christ is the great symbol of forgiveness. It is salvation! It is the symbol of the real world. Whoever looks on this no longer sees the world the ego made. He is as near to Heaven as is possible outside the gate. Yet from this gate it is no more than just a step inside. It is the final step. And this we leave to God.
Forgiveness is a symbol, too, but as the symbol of His Will alone it cannot be divided. And so the unity that it reflects becomes your recognition of His Will. It is the only thing still in the world, in part at least, yet still the bridge to Heaven.
Ultimately, God’s Will is all there is. We can but go from nothingness to everything; from hell to Heaven. Is this a journey? No, not really; not in truth, for truth goes nowhere. It simply is! But illusions shift from place to place; from time to time. The final step is also but a shift. As a perception it is part unreal. And yet this unreal part will vanish. What remains is peace eternal and the Will of God.
There are no wishes now, for wishes change. Even the wished-for can become unwelcome. That must be so because the ego cannot be at peace. But Will is constant, since it is the gift of God. And what He gives is always like Himself. This is the purpose of the face of Christ. It is the gift of God to save His Son. But look on this and you will know you have been forgiven.
How lovely does the world become in just that single instant when you see the face of Christ, the truth about yourself, reflected there. Now you know you are sinless and behold your sinlessness. Now you are holy and perceive it so. And now the mind returns to its Creator; the joining of the Father and the Son, the Unity of unities that stands behind all joining but beyond them all. God is not ‘seen’ but only understood. His Son is not attacked but recognized as what He is!”