 We continue today with chapter 25, the special function. The grace of God rests gently on forgiving eyes and everything they look on speaks of Him to the beholder. He can see no evil, nothing in the world to fear and no one who is different from Himself. And as He loves them, so He looks upon Himself with love and gentleness. He would no more condemn Himself for His mistakes than damn another. He is not an arbiter of vengeance, nor a punisher of sin. The kindness of His sight rests on Himself with all the tenderness it offers others, for He would only heal and only bless. And being in accord with what God wills, He has the power to heal and bless all those He looks on with the grace of God upon His sight. Eyes become used to darkness and the light of brilliant day seems painful to the eyes grown long accustomed to the dim effects perceived at twilight. And they turn away from sunlight and the clarity it brings to what they look upon. Dimness seems better, easier to see and better recognized. Somehow the vague and more obscure seems easier to look upon, less painful to the eyes in what is wholly clear and unambiguous. Yet this is not what eyes are for and who can say that he prefers the darkness and maintain he wants to see. The wish to see calls down the grace of God upon your eyes and brings the gift of light that makes sight possible. Would you behold your brother? God is glad to have you look on him. He does not will your Savior be unrecognized by you, nor does he will that he remain without the function that he gave to him. Let him no more be lonely, for the lonely ones are those who see no function in the world for them to fill, no place where they are needed, and no aim which only they can perfectly fulfill. Such is the Holy Spirit's kind perception of specialness, his use of what you made to heal instead of harm. To each he gives a special function and salvation he alone can fill, apart for only him, nor is the plan complete until he finds his special function and fulfills the part assigned to him to make himself complete within a world where incompletion rules. Here where the laws of God do not prevail in perfect form can he yet do one perfect thing and make one perfect choice and by this act of special faithfulness to one perceived as other than himself he learns the gift was given to himself and so they must be one. Forgiveness is the only function meaningful in time. It is the means the Holy Spirit uses to translate specialness from sin into salvation. Forgiveness is for all, but when it rest on all it is complete and every function of this world completed with it. Then is time no more, yet while in time there is still much to do and each must do what is allotted him, for on his part does all the plan depend. He has a special part in time for so he chose and choosing it he made it for himself. His wish was not denied but changed in form to let it serve his brother and himself and thus become a means to save instead of lose. Salvation is no more than a reminder this world is not your home its laws are not imposed on you its values are not yours and nothing that you think you see in it is really there at all. This is seen and understood as each one takes his part in its undoing as he did in making it. He has the means for either as he always did. The specialness he chose to hurt himself did God appoint to be the means for his salvation from the very instant that the choice was made his special sin was made his special grace his special hate became his special love. The Holy Spirit needs your special function that his may be fulfilled. Think not you lack a special value here you wanted it and it has given you all that you made can serve salvation easily and well. The Son of God can make no choice the Holy Spirit cannot employ on his behalf and not against himself. Only in darkness does your specialness appear to be attack. In light you see it as your special function in the plan to save the Son of God from all attack and let him understand that he is safe as he has always been and will remain in time and in eternity alike. This is the function given you for your brother. Take it gently then from your brother's hand and let salvation be perfectly fulfilled in you. Do this one thing that everything be given you and from the workbook lesson 196. It can be but myself I crucify. When this is firmly understood and kept in full awareness you will not attempt to harm yourself nor make your body slave to vengeance. You will not attack yourself and you will realize that to attack another is but to attack yourself. You will be free of the insane belief that to attack a brother saves yourself and you will understand his safety is your own and in his healing you are healed. Perhaps at first you will not understand how mercy limitless and with all things held in its sure protection can be found in the idea we practice for today. It may in fact appear to be a sign that punishment can never be escaped because the ego under what it sees as threat is quick to cite the truth to save its lies. Yet must it fail to understand the truth it uses thus that you can learn to see these foolish applications and deny the meaning they appear to have. Thus do you also teach your mind that you are not an ego for the ways in which the ego would distort the truth will not deceive you longer. You will not believe you are a body to be crucified and you will see within today's idea the light of resurrection looking past all thoughts of crucifixion and of death to thoughts of liberation and of life. Today's idea is one step we take in leading us from bondage to the state of perfect freedom. Let us take this step today that we may quickly go the way salvation shows us taking every step in this appointed sequence as the mind relinquishes its burdens one by one. It is not time we need for this it is but willingness for what would seem to need a thousand years can easily be done in just one instant by the grace of God. The dreary hopeless thought that you can make attacks on others and escape yourself has nailed you to the cross. Perhaps it seemed to be salvation yet it merely stood for the belief the fear of God is real and what is that but hell who could believe his father is his deadly enemy separate from him and waiting to destroy his life and blot him from the universe without the fear of hell upon his heart such is the form of madness you believe if you accept the fearful thought you can attack another and be free yourself until this form is changed there is no hope until you see that this at least must be entirely impossible how could there be escape the fear of God is real to anyone who thinks this thought is true and he will not perceive its foolishness or even see that it is there so that it would be possible to question it to question it at all its form must be first be changed at least as much as will permit fear of retaliation to abate and the responsibility return to some extent to you from there you can at least consider if you want to go along this painful path until the shift has been accomplished you cannot perceive that it is but your thoughts that bring you fear and your deliverance depends on you our next steps will be easy if you take this one today from there we go ahead quite rapidly for once you understand it is impossible that you be hurt except by your own thoughts the fear of God must disappear you cannot then believe that fear is caused without and God whom you had sought to banish can be welcomed back within the holy mind he never left salvation song can certainly be heard in the idea we practice for today if it can be but yourself you crucify you did not hurt the world and need not fear its vengeance and pursuit nor need you hide in terror from the deadly fear of God projection hides behind the thing you dread the most is your salvation you are strong and it is strength you want and you are free and glad of freedom you have sought to be both weak and bound because you feared your strength and freedom yet salvation lies in them there is an instant in which terror seems to grip your mind so holy that escape appears quite hopeless when you realize once and for all that it is you you fear the mind perceives itself as split and thus this had been concealed while you believed attack could be directed outward and returned from outside to within it seemed to be an enemy outside you had to fear and thus a god outside yourself became your mortal enemy the source of fear now for an instant is a murderer perceived within you eager for your death intent on plotting punishment for you until the time when it can kill at last yet in this instant is the time as well in which salvation comes for fear of God has disappeared and you can call on him to save you from illusions by his love calling him father and yourself his son pray that the instant may be soon today step back from fear and make advance to love there is no thought of God that does not go with you to help you reach that instant and to go beyond it quickly surely and forever when the fear of God is gone there is no obstacles that still remain between you and the holy piece of God how kind and merciful is the idea we practice give it welcome as you should for it is your release it is indeed but your mind can cry to crucify yet your redemption too will come from you amen