Why smile?

To let others know that the Christ in you loves them.

Welcome to Daily Miracles, a running commentary on the 365 lessons of A Course in Miracles, an influential spiritual text from the 1970s. I am James Leroy Wilson and I invite you to join me as I go through this material for the first time.

Lesson 161

Give me your blessing, holy Son of God. (ACIM, W-161)

The people we see regularly seem to remain the same. If we don’t enjoy their presence, we see their flaws and foibles. If we do enjoy their presence, we see their uniqueness and their charming idiosyncrasies. But the uniqueness in the one we like might be the flaw we see in one we don’t like. The same styles and manners we enjoy in the one we like are annoying in the one we dislike.

But Christ is in everyone we see. They are not the cause of our hatreds and fears. When we dislike someone, what we think we see in them is something we dislike about ourselves. But we forget that Christ is in us, too.

When others smile at you, you know your own “sins” are forgiven, and when you smile at others, they can know that theirs are forgiven too.

James Leroy Wilson writes Daily Miracles, The Daily Bible Chapter, JL Cells, and The MVP Chase. Thanks for your subscriptions and support! You may contact him for your writing, editing, and research needs: jamesleroywilson-at-gmail.com.

(Photo credit: Ivoronwik)