It Is Well With My Soul

A couple years ago I sang in a concert with Forte: Toronto Gay Men’s
Chorus, of which I was a member. The concert was titled, “My Story, My
Song” and the conceit of the evening was members of the chorus brought to
the mix a song that had deep resonance for them. One of the songs that we
sang was a hymn called, “It Is Well With My Soul.” Some of the lyrics were,

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to know

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

TODAY’S READING:
382.4-384.1

A couple years ago I sang in a concert with Forte: Toronto Gay Men’s Chorus, of which I was a member. The concert was titled, “My Story, My Song” and the conceit of the evening was members of the chorus brought to the mix a song that had deep resonance for them. One of the songs that we sang was a hymn called, “It Is Well With My Soul.” Some of the lyrics were,

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to know

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Now the hymn, of course, is steeped in Christian theology and dualism. Later verses speak of the trails we face because of the influence of Satan and the salvation we receive through Christ. I don’t believe these things explicitly or literally, but they touch on what today’s reading is all about.

Sin.

It’s simple, really, sin is missing the mark. We are not punished for our sins, but we experience the consequence of erroneous thinking (which is missing the mark). We are, therefore, punished BY our sins.

If I have an experience of being unhappy in my life (which DOES happen), it is not because something “out there” has “made me” unhappy, it is the consequence of forgetting who I am. I am a perfect expression AS GOD. Joy is an attribute of God, therefore it is an attribute of me. If I don’t feel joy, then I experience the form of a joyless life. I am in charge. I get to make the decision.

To move way from joy is the use of my thinking capacity in an erroneous way, and I experience the consequence—that is sin.

One of the great difficulties we have taken on in our culture (and although I was not brought up in a traditional path of faith, I was still steeped in this consciousness) is the idea that our good will be awarded to us in heaven, and that happens only after we die. Conversely if we live a life of sin, we suffer in hell after we die.

Neither of those constructs makes sense to me! Why should I suffer now to receive a reward in heaven later? That doesn’t seem to me to be in line with a benevolent and loving God.

Oh, wait, just like everyone else, I am God… so I guess suffering is my choice. And my choices are all unfolding in my present moment. So there is no heaven or hell except the experience I am having in this present moment. Heaven is not someplace I am headed toward, it is now. Hell is not something I am trying to avoid later, it is something that I choose NOT to live now.

So no matter what, when I choose for it to be, It Is Well With My Soul.

That’s a relief!