© 2020 Chris Wood
© 2020 International Urantia Association (IUA)
A Solitary Messenger tells us that:
The doing of the will of God is nothing more or less than an exhibition of creature willingness to share the inner life with God… [UB 111:5.1 emphasis added]
In that spirit, I would like to share a little story about my life.
My time with the Association has run parallel with my time as a parent. I ask a lot of questions of parents who have raised children with The Urantia Book. I prioritize first and foremost that my boys do not grow up resenting the Urantia Community for taking away their father’s attention. For seven years, I have tried to apply many of Jesus’ approaches when it comes to these two responsibilities. In Paper 138, we are told that Jesus would “…interrupt a serious conference with his apostles to fraternize with an intruding child” [UB 138:8.9]. I try to make sure that the kids feel comfortable interrupting any video conference I am participating in. We are also told that, as a child, Jesus “…accumulated a vast body of knowledge; as a youth he sorted, classified, and correlated this information…” [UB 127:6.14]. And so, whenever the opportunity arises, my wife and I will try to fill my kids with knowledge, hoping that they will be able to organize this knowledge into a true philosophy of living as they age.
A few weeks ago, it was a Saturday and I had the day off work. It was my birthday and there would be an evening game for the American Football playoffs. Since it was my day and I am not usually able to watch these games, I decided that this would be our evening plan. That afternoon, my wife, children and I went to lunch with a couple of other Urantia Book students. Talk naturally turned to The Urantia Book for most of the meal, and the kids just sat quietly eating, but it turned out they were listening to, and absorbing, the adult conversation. Later that evening when we gathered to watch the game, the kids started talking and asking question after question about science and religion and Urantia and they even devised a complicated system between them about whose turn it was to ask a question and how follow up questions would affect whose turn it was, and it became a full evening. It was a spontaneous birthday gift. We missed the game.
If you would like to join with my family and discuss Urantia matters, we will be at the Vancouver “Urantia Global Experience” this summer!
In service,
Chris Wood
President, Urantia Association International