© 2014 David Glass
© 2014 The Urantia Book Fellowship
| Urantian Language and the Preservation of Meaning | Volume 14, Number 1, 2014 (Summer) — Index | Spiritual Unity |
_The following was presented at the TOKAN Conference in Irving, TX, on March 8, 2014 _
Greetings sons and daughters of God! And salutations to each of you from one of your spirit-indwelt faith-brothers. I am delighted to welcome you into the companionship of a representative band of your spiritual siblings in God’s great family of love. Look around you! Meet some of your fellow Urantians, your long-term, future-agondonter friends-to-be; your participating Paradise-bound partners, your ascensionassociates on the long, long journey to perfection! The ascension career is a stupendous and thrilling undertaking. But remember, my fellow-Paradise pilgrims: we are already on our way—so buckle up!
In reality, we are all honored to be in God’s presence and to be hosts to the Father’s divine spirit indwellers, our Paradise-particles, our fragments of infinity and embers of eternity, our pre-personal pieces of the First Great Source and Center—the Paradise Thought Adjusters! By virtue of being such treasure-filled temples of God—since we are the divinity dwelling places for these infallible spirit entities from on high, we have become—both in truth and in fact—the sons and daughters of the living God. We are God’s deathless divine daughters and the Father’s future faith sons—forever, if we so choose and so strive!
Gradually or suddenly as we became more familiar with the astonishing contents of The Urantia Book, we became increasingly aware that we have some pretty wonderful friends in high places, and a magnificent heavenly helper right within us from the exalted sphere of Divinington. A Solitary Messenger tremendously emphasizes this truth. He writes: “There are no created beings who would not delight to be hosts to the Mystery Monitors, but no orders of beings are thus indwelt excepting evolutionary will creatures of finaliter destiny.” [UB 107:7.7]
We may ask, “Why is this so? What makes being host to a Thought Adjuster such a special and desirable blessing?” We will look at many aspects, features, and facets of our faultless and faithful friends and consider them one by one. This presentation is derived from all six of the Thought Adjuster Papers as well as from many other places in The Urantia Book.
“The Adjuster is the divine reality which factualizes the truth that God is man’s Father.” [UB 107:0.6] It is only in this spiritual sense that God is man’s Father. We all know that a father’s sons and daughters begin life as children. And we are all “the children of God.” God loves us as his children; and we can love God in a similar fashion—as Jesus did—with “childlike” trust and affection.
Many, perhaps most, of us have been Urantia Book students for some time, and we may have attained a certain level of spiritual and intellectual sophistication. And perhaps we should give ourselves credit for having responded to the revelation to the extent we have.
However, we might also recall that all mortal growth and finite accomplishments are relative. We might recollect that, in our prayerful communion before Michael, the Sovereign of Nebadon, or in our worshipful adoration of the infinite God, our Father—we find that we, too, are simply his “little children,” gazing up wonderingly at the expressive features of his animated face and listening to his intriguing cosmic stories.
I hope each one of us will remember to reflect on the truth that this same transcendent God who dwells beyond even this inconceivably vast and far-flung, star-spangled cosmic creation—the universe of universes—that infinite God has a Fatherly heart and a loving personality. He is YOUR FATHER—HE created YOU—and HE LOVES YOU!—individually, personally, and uniquely!
It is precisely because of your Father’s infinite affection for you that your Paradise Parent freely chose to detach a particularized fragment of his deity reality—a portion of his Paradise perfection—a piece of his eternal and absolute self—and then he trained it, taught it, and tutored and prepared it intentionally to be bestowed upon YOU and YOU ALONE!
God has given you one such unique deity fragment to be your guide and your partner throughout all your cosmic adventures and experiences of time, and then to go with you into the discovery of the unrevealed realities of eternity! This Paradise Adjuster directly links and relates you to God. You and your Adjuster shall always be experiential associates.
What is more, your Adjuster and your immortal soul are destined to achieve increasing intimacy—to draw closer and closer together—until ultimately your surviving soul and your eternal Adjuster will combine in factual unity. You and your Adjuster will attain a two-in-oneness of being through the spectacular universe phenomenon of Thought Adjuster fusion. We will have more to say about that later.
But long before fusion, even here and now, at this moment and in our current state, it is highly important that we bring frequently to mind the truth that each normal-minded man and woman now living on this planet—or on any of the trillions of planets of the Father-fusion series spinning throughout the heavens—each one of them is a unique and infinitely valuable individual. Each one of them is an eternally irreplaceable being. Each was selected by God to be the recipient, the host, and the fusion-partner of a divinely selected, carefully trained, and eternally suitable deity fragment.
You, yes, you—my brother or my sister, you are just such an infinitely loved and limitlessly valuable son or daughter of God. You are kin to the Creator—a child of Eternity. You are the living offspring of creative infinity, and as such, you are personally related to every other being in the wide-spreading universes—near or far. You are a real, bona fide cosmic citizen in good standing in the grand universe.
Christ Michael of Nebadon—the Uversa Ancients of Days—the perfect natives of Havona—even the Eternal Son of Paradise—all of these personalities and countless others are your elder brothers and elder sisters in the universe of universes—in this unspeakably ancient, but always-youthful, elliptically whirling family of the Universal Father.
Such a truth is just one preeminent aspect of the universe significance of being a host to a fragment of the eternal God. And by indwelling you, the Designer of Galaxies is now seeing through your eyes, hearing through your ears, tasting and touching material reality through your own personal senses—experiencing emotions and encountering life events through your experiences—and seeking your soul. Mysteriously, he is monitoring your life from within, and—what is more—he is able to serve others through your actions.
You are in very truth a divinely conceived creation— marvelously made and wondrously endowed. You are a free will son of the God of free will. And as such, you are even now and evermore the liberated architect of your own personal destiny!
That destiny will take shape and will be lived out within this great and grand and growing cosmos. The expanding universe will forever be your home and mine. When we turn our eyes to the observable stars at night, or train our thoughts upon the expansive dimensions of the universe, we always find the spectacle to be awe-inspiring—vast, stunning, and stupendous.
Moreover, the living universe is a purposeful creation, a dynamically thriving enterprise. This created cosmos is evolving as a self-developing organism—a being possessed of will, love, energy, ideals, motivations, and goals of its own. And, as the created offspring of that same Creator God, we too are enriched by such meanings and values—we too possess power and purpose. We have a divine direction, Godly goals, and eternal ideals. Each of us has our unique part to play in the universal symphony! We each represent a unique and living piece in the vibrant cosmic mosaic!
This finite God, this over-soul of the evolving creation— the “Supreme Being”—is expressing itself and actualizing itself in, through, and as us. Our decisions and our actions have repercussive overtones in the growth of the Supreme. At the same time, this consciousness-of-the-cosmos aligns us with a far-reaching and progressive trajectory, beginning from an absolute Source and stretching toward an infinite Destiny. And each one of these eternal life-lines traces out a glorious future scenario of triumphant and never-ending spiritual attainment for every one of us—as we continue on forever, eternally exploring the reality of God with our faithful partner—the Adjuster.
A Mighty Messenger reveals: “There is in the mind of God a plan which embraces every creature of all his vast domains, and this plan is an eternal purpose of boundless opportunity, unlimited progress, and endless life . . .yours for the striving.” [UB 32:5.7] (Emphasis mine.)
Yes, my friends, make no mistake, our strenuous climb from chaos to glory will certainly entail striving; for “Mankind does not ascend effortlessly in the universe.” [UB 117:4.7] (Emphasis mine.)
As Jesus expressed this idea: “The Paradise ascent is the supreme adventure of all time, the rugged achievement of eternity.” He added, “The service of the kingdom on earth will call for all the courageous manhood that you and your coworkers can muster.”[UB 143:1.6] (Emphasis mine)
Next, Jesus addressed both the peoples of his day and of ours, saying: “…you are the first volunteers of a long line of sincere believers…who will astonish all mankind by their heroic devotion to these teachings. No armies of the world have ever displayed more courage and bravery than will be portrayed by you and your loyal successors who shall go forth to all the world proclaiming the good news—the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man.” [UB 143:1.7] (Emphasis mine)
Why shouldn’t we dedicate ourselves to actualizing the Father’s kingdom on Urantia, and allow our devotion to become “astonishing” to all mankind, even to our universe supervisors? How pleased Michael would be to know that this is the goal we have chosen for ourselves.
Today, and in our world, the presence of billions of Thought Adjusters indwelling the peoples of our planet form the basis and establish the reality of Jesus’ “kingdom of heaven on earth.” The spiritual brotherhood of man is a factual, present-day reality NOW. Our task is to join with the forces and ministers of the planet and the universe in the conjoint effort to awaken all mankind to their divine heritage as children of Universal Father.
The teeming populations of our planet, said Jesus, need most to know that they are the sons and daughters of an all-loving, all-wise, and eternally purposeful God—a God who takes them seriously and who desires that they take him seriously. There is an overall plan and an individual task for each one—something for everybody to do. What shall we do?
Thought Adjusters also play a vital role in the realization of Jesus’ divine kingdom on earth—in reality, they are the secret to its actualization. Jesus taught that when we share the glad tidings with our fellows, we should address ourselves directly to that inner spirit—the indwelling Adjuster—deeply submerged within the mind and soul of each of our kingdom candidates.
Furthermore, Adjusters can even provide us with the appropriate words and verbal skills to communicate this saving gospel effectively and understandably. Such a task may seem daunting, but all the celestial hosts join a Divine Counselor in saluting those who “dare to” affirm: “Even if I cannot do this, there lives in me one who can and will do it, a part of the Father-Absolute of the universe of universes.” [UB 4:4.9] And that “part of the Father-Absolute” is your Paradise Thought Adjuster—connecting you with the omnipotence and the omniscience of the God for whom nothing is impossible.
Now—it is profitable to bear in mind that this kingdom can be actualized not only with power and boldness, but with understanding, mercy, and wisdom, even with tenderness— with winsomeness and attractiveness—with grace. For this kingdom of which we speak is a dominion of love.
Again, the Adjusters are our helpers. “Adjusters are saturated with that beautiful and self-bestowing love of the Father of spirits.” [UB 107:6.2] Our spirit friends teach us, “God IS love.” They testify that divine love is “infectious— contagious—that love is inherently more catching than hate.”
The infinite affection of God is like a limitless reservoir of liquid love just waiting for human openings through which to pour into our world—just waiting for us to become conduits of God’s affection into the world.
If only we allow God’s love to emanate through us, “this benign virus of love would soon pervade the sentimental emotion-stream of humanity to such an extent that all civilization would be encompassed by love, and that would be the realization of the brotherhood of man.” [UB 100:4.6]
So, we have discovered two ways that Adjusters can assist us as we strive to attain our triune goal: to convert the individual, transform the world, and actualize the kingdom of God. Number one, by providing the inspiration and power for the proclamation of truth and, two, by limitlessly re-supplying our inner resources of love. Therefore, cultural progress can be enhanced, human society can be advanced, and evolution can proceed! The potentials for the making of a better world are alive and available right now within us.
Jesus said, “Our religion is throbbing with new life and new meanings. Those who accept this teaching are filled with joy and in their hearts are constrained to rejoice evermore.” [UB 159:3.10]
If we profess that we wish to do the Father’s will, we know of at least two ways of doing it: by proclaiming the Master’s gospel and by loving and serving mankind. And even as we seek to know the Father’s will in specific life situations, let us consult our inner resources. For our revelators tell us “Adjusters are the will of God.” [UB 108:4.2]
The aligning of the human will with the divine will results in the birth, growth, and eventual survival of the morontia soul. Whereas, the final and unconditional alignment of man’s will with God’s will eventually results in spirit fusion— the making of an immortal soul and a divine Adjuster one being. Such a freshly emerging reality comprises a new and unique order of sonship—an ascending son of God.
Fusion with a Thought Adjuster guarantees a mortal’s eventual arrival on Paradise: his triumphant appearance on Paradise is thereafter regarded as a supreme inevitability. Through fusion, a faith son of God gains: immortality, divinity, the beginning of an appreciation of the eternal past, and a phase of qualified absoluteness.
And beyond that, a Messenger writes: “In the last analysis, the Father fragments must be the gift of the absolute God to those creatures whose destiny encompasses the possibility of the attainment of God as absolute.” [UB 107:1.6] (Emphasis mine.)
Through irrevocable union with God, man secures a destiny which aims and orients him forever towards infinity. “When mortal man fuses with an actual fragment of the existential Cause of the total cosmos, no limit can ever be placed upon the destiny of such an unprecedented and unimaginable partnership.… Always will the Adjuster be revealing to the mortal personality the wonder of God, and never can this supernal revelation come to an end.” [UB 107:4.7] (Emphasis mine)
Now, however, this mortal’s presentation must come to its end. So let’s just take a moment to think about what we have learned: Adjusters are actual fragments of God. And what do we know about God? God is love. God is spirit. God is perfect. God is divine. God is will. God is eternal. And God is infinite.
Our indwelling God-fragments similarly possess and in turn bestow upon us—in miniature we might say—all those same God-attributes: love, spirituality, divinity, immortality, will, perfection, eternity, a destiny of absolute value, and a purposeful existence which never comes to an end.
The Adjusters are the “kingdom of God within you.” [UB 170:2.24] Your Adjuster is the secret of your ascension to Paradise, the illuminator of your path to God, your guarantee of perfection attainment, your living hope forever, your inexhaustible wellspring of joy, and your eternal passport to infinity. “The quest for God is endless!” [UB 106:7.5]
David Glass found The Urantia Book in 1972 in California, but while living in Florida. He immediately became involved in Urantia Book-related study groups and activities all over Florida, later in the Fort Worth/Dallas metroplex, and from 1997–1999 in the Portland, Oregon area. David is a frequent speaker at Urantia conferences, and serves as an instructor in Urantia University, on the Publications Committee of the Fellowship, and as President of the Urantia Society of North Texas.
| Urantian Language and the Preservation of Meaning | Volume 14, Number 1, 2014 (Summer) — Index | Spiritual Unity |