© 1992 Ann Bendall
© 1992 ANZURA, Australia & New Zealand Urantia Association
by Ann Bendall, Nambour, Queensland
“The apostles early learned that the Master had a profound respect and sympathetic regard for every human being he met, and they were tremendously impressed by this uniform and unvarying consideration which he so consistently gave to all sorts of men, women and children. He would pause in the midst of a profound discourse that he might go out in the road to speak good cheer to a passing woman laden with her burden of body and soul. He would interrupt a serious conference with his apostles to fraternize with an intruding child. Nothing ever seemed so important to Jesus as the individual human who chanced to be in his immediate presence. He was master and teacher, but he was more — he was also a friend and neighbor, an understanding comrade.” (UB 138:8.9)
A few pages later (UB 139:5.7), Philip, who had the habit of interrupting Jesus with foolish questions, while he was in the midst of discourse with the apostles, was never reprimanded because:
“After all, Jesus was really more interested in Philip’s foolish questions than the sermon he might be preaching. Jesus was supremely interested in men, all kinds of men”. UB 139:5.7
As a child, I delighted in the future dream of the numbers game — the entertaining of crowds, with hundreds understanding the wealth of strength and love enshrouding them, if only they could see with eyes similar to mine. I did not want to roll up to the pearly gates with credits for x$ number of souls saved, I wanted to arrive there with the whole gang. My ambition was in relation to the mass. By the time I was blessed with The URANTIA Book I had become somewhat disillusioned. My stumbling block to the fulfillment of my dream was the very individuals I was striving to ‘save’. The wretches appeared to be cursed with free will which successfully blocked my genuine, albeit disrespectful, ambitions for them. What a joy, at last, to get to know Jesus and to discover that, in wanting me to follow him, “Jesus was interested only in the individual, not the mass”. (UB 140:8.11)
Where did this idea of the masses develop in my mind? I suspect it came as a result of my formal religious upbringing plus my love of people, and my desire to share that which I was blessed with. My lack of wisdom stemmed from the fact that I underestimated the importance of the individual. He/she was lost in the crowd of my desire. Perhaps in a similar way, most religious organizations have played the numbers game. Statistics quote of the number attending services, the new converts or the loss of attendees. We seem all so interested in quantity rather than quality.
All that is asked of us is to value, love, understand and listen to that person.
With most religious organizations, it appears that the number of adherents symbolizes the potency of the religion expounded. And so we are anxious to get millions of URANTIA Books on domestic book shelves. It makes us feel good. We have done our bit for the revelation. Have we?
In our enthusiastic zeal have we offered the book to a person who has approached us like Philip, asking a foolish question? Have we loaded a sister, already heavy laden with her burden of body and soul, with another few pounds? Do we lack such confidence in Jesus Michael’s Spirit of Truth, that we cannot entrust him to guide us in the appropriate words of comfort and good cheer? Do we question our ability to assimilate the teachings of The Blue Book into our being so as to give of our religious knowledge, liberally interspersed with loving understanding of the individual who is currently in our presence? Do we question the great power of that person’s Thought Adjuster to transform them?
All that is asked of us is to value, love, understand and listen to that person. The confidence we can engender, providing we hold them in the same regard as Jesus does, could remove from their mind and heart the blocks of fear, anxiety and distrust thus providing an uncluttered channel through which their Thought Adjuster can contact their mind.
If we believe enough in our brothers and sisters, if we learn to love them with wisdom and understanding, then just maybe they will dare to believe enough in themselves that they will hear and know how very much loved they are by the “still small voice” of our Father.