© 1990 Ann Bendall
© 1990 ANZURA, Australia & New Zealand Urantia Association
Well, sit down, open up your heart and pour it all out to Michael! Open up the channel to his Spirit of Truth and he can act as he desires, as the most sympathetic, empathetic friend you have in the universe and he knows what it is all about, so the two of you can compare notes.
There has never walked this earth, and there never will walk this planet another individual who has experienced the loneliness and shattering of every conceivable dream, such as Jesus experienced. Every other planet in his local universe benefited from his bestowal but potentially, none so much as ours.
As a result we are released from all of the deleterious effects of being quarantined, all the damage done by the Caligastia rebellion, and the Adamic default. That is, providing we wish to take advantage of The Spirit of Truth. All of the revelators refer to The Spirit of Truth as an impersonal channel. It is carefully explained that it does not provide a one-to-one communication link, that is everyone, except Jesus. He refers to it as “he”. Note whenever he refers to the coming of the Spirit of Truth of “myself and my Father” he unfailingly says and “when he comes” and “he” will do this and that!
Michael regards the Spirit of Truth in very personal terms. And in reading The Urantia Book – which we are blessed to discover is a wondrous source of information – we discover our links to the Creator of this Universe, who has walked every inch of the pathway we will ever traverse, before us. Michael knows the power of fear, the danger of pride. He worked with people, trying to help them overcome these characteristics/traits. He knows all about lost dreams, the trauma of all plans being shattered in a split second of tragedy. He knows what it is like to plan to buy a little farm as an idyllic lifestyle in which to rear his family, and have the funds wrongfully refused by a “fox”. He also knows the pleasure of cuddling and playing with a puppy dog (as soon as finances permitted, the Nazareth family purchase a dog. [UB 126:5.11])
He knows what duty and responsibilities are all about, and how, at times, we are confronted with conflict in being torn between two loves. He knows the power of persuasion of a human love, and the extreme battle in opting for God’s will, and the attendant sadness at the eventuation of the anticipated rejection. He knows the hurt of injustice plus incredible sadness, on the human level.
Recall the night in Gethsemane (read his hour before the crucifixion) the sadness before going on his last important preaching tour – no one will ever endure what he endured as part of his life in human flesh. And yet, so many of us sadden him by not taking his proffered hand in our periods of loneliness. How that must hurt him!
Loneliness has been defined as a negative state experienced when there is a discrepancy between an individual’s desires and achieved interpersonal relationships. There are two types – emotional loneliness which is related to the lack of close, intimate attachment to another person; and social loneliness, which results from lack of friendship with people who share common interests and activities.
Providing we do not have any low self-esteem problems in believing that we are unlovable, social loneliness is overcome by seeking groups and clubs with like-minded people. And so with us Urantia Book readers, we mix with fellow readers and form study groups which help overcome our feeling of social isolation as people with strongly held beliefs and faith. Study groups can also be of assistance to our spiritual growth, depending upon our group interaction and the aspirations of each of the members of the groups.
But emotional loneliness is beyond our control to satisfy, for it requires the decision of another person and this is where Michael is at his most understanding, for it appears to me, practically all of the sadness he experienced to the point of crying, was associated with his loneliness. There was no human being whom he could pour out his heart to, no one who could listen and understand. Great lover as he is, he refused to marry, for he knew the intolerable grief that Rebecca would experience. He had the opportunity and refused in the purity of his loneliness, his unselfish heart.
And for some of us today, we are not presented with the opportunity of a loving companion, someone to share our tears and laughter with. The Urantia Book tells us of God’s plan, that man and woman are not meant to be alone. We totally agree with God, but where is our mate? For my part I went through a dreadful state whilst I felt incomplete without a partner. I would be alone and my laughter would echo and unnerve me. I felt that God maybe thought no man was safe near me, that a little more socialization may have to be undertaken, a few more edges knocked of my rugged individuality, and at times, I would cry to him to speed up the process. Every poor unsuspecting man who stumbled across my pathway was put under the microscope of my need. I had no check list, no essential attributes, and seeing I loved him before I met him, as I do all my brothers and sisters and as I also had the delightfully simplistic philosophy of ‘love conquers all’, I was on the pathway to disaster.
And then one day, I grew a little and sadly left behind my illusions. I was wrong in my belief that life was incomplete without a mate, that I needed a companion by my side. I do not need such a companion, for in any situation God provides me with all that’s necessary. He may also want to provide me with a few non-essentials, but when it comes to a mate, all he can do is, assuming we are both responsive to guidance, put the right people in the right place at the right time and let their free will do the rest.
I read the chapters of The Urantia Book on the benefits of a partnership, how men and women can and do complement each other, gain all the advantage of companionship and know one day that I will experience this. What does it matter if it is not until the mansion worlds, Uversa or Paradise? God has promised that none of us will reach Paradise with a sense of deprivation. Those of our heart’s desire, in accordance with his wish (and relationships of a twosome nature are most definitely his plan) will be enjoyed to the full by all of us, if not on Urantia, then at some point in our ascension career.
Life is no longer sad. Now I accept reality. I think of Grandfanda, he made the trip to Paradise alone. There was no Mrs Grandfanda accompanying him. Maybe she flunked the last leg of the trip and had to sit the exam once again, in which instance they would be reunited on her successful second attempt. But maybe, Grandfanda did the whole trip alone, apart from seraphim, guides, well wishers, pupils and teachers!
Michael has promised that none of us will ever experience personality isolation if we turn to him, and although the warnings about the dangers of such a state in the book are potentially real, if God cannot organize for human companionship because humans refuse to come close to anyone of us, then God and Michael will fill in the personality interaction gap. Their promise!
Marriage – what is the idea in this local universe? When I get to the mansion worlds I am sure that there will be a video of the “jubilee of jubilees” as described on page 368 and I am going to watch that emotional show again and again, with the romance and beauty of the ceremony never failing to bring tears to my eyes.
I often wonder at the intensity of suffering of our Divine Minister as she followed Michael’s last bestowal. What a homecoming! And what a wonderful marriage ceremony!
Next time you feel really lonely and have no one to talk to, remember that, although there is no substitute for the loving companionship of another creature of our own kind, that Michael knows the feeling and he also knows our personal loneliness. Let him and your Thought Adjuster lovingly guide you through the period in the knowledge, that to he or she who experiences deprivation beyond God’s control at this point in time, has the blessed experience of contrast. So when companionship finally is yours, how much more treasured it will be because of the life of walking the pathway alone.
Ann Bendall, Nambour, Queensland