© 2018 David Linthicum
© 2018 Association Francophone des Lecteurs du Livre d'Urantia
| Being Sensitive to the Personality Circuit | Le Lien Urantien — Issue 82 — June 2018 | The International Meeting in Amsterdam |
David Linthicum
Presentation given at the IUA International Conference in Amsterdam, Netherlands on April 14, 2018
Welcome everyone, my name is David Linthicum and it’s an honor to be with you today.
As you know, the theme of this year’s conference is “Jesus as Teacher.”
Jesus was a Master Teacher, he was a perfectly balanced personality, perfectly blending his humanity with his divine nature, he lived in accordance with the will of God. He lived a perfect life.
The teachings of Jesus changed the world. His teachings eventually led to the creation of the Christian church which continued to spread his teachings throughout the world.
Jesus was able to change Moses’ perception of God from an angry and vengeful God to a God of Love, a loving Father who adores His earthly children. Jesus taught us about the Kingdom of Heaven and the Brotherhood of Man, that men and women are “saved” by their faith alone.
Be not discouraged; human evolution is still in progress, and the revelation of God to the world, in and through Jesus, shall not fail. ([UB 196:3.33)
These simple messages of love, faith, and family served to change people’s perceptions of God and their relationship with Him. God became a kinder, more understanding, and compassionate person to our earthly struggles.
Jesus’ message was not complicated, it was ideally suited to the times in which he lived. Jesus was able to skillfully weave his superior ideas into the fabric of beliefs of that time, over 2,000 years ago. He was adept at determining what to say and what not to say.
But what about the times we live in today? What can we learn from Jesus’ teachings that they can instruct us as we reach out to our family and friends with our new understanding of the Master’s “true” teachings?
When we examine the teachings of Jesus, we wonder how we can incorporate all that we have learned from reading/studying this book, into our efforts to share these things with those we love, our family and friends.
Are we going to try to spread the truth in parables like Jesus did? Let me ask you, how many of you have ever tried to write a parable? It is not an easy thing to do! And, even if we were good at writing parables, would we be effective in delivering them, would our “message” reach our target audience?
Are Jesus’ parables effective today and in our time? Perhaps…if anyone has an ear to hear.
There is a LOT of new information in The Urantia Book, the fifth epochal revelation to humanity!
By a show of hands:
How many of you have not read The Urantia Book in its entirety, but have been introduced to it to some extent?
I suspect many of you have had the same experience I had when trying to interest my family and friends in Revelation.
I found the book in 1996. I am two-thirds of the way through my 12th reading of the text.
Like many of you, I couldn’t wait to share this wonderful book with those closest to me, my family and friends.
I couldn’t wait to tell my best friend the good news! I had discovered a real treasure, something beyond my wildest imagination.
I bought him a book and held out my hand to him and said, “My friend, you have to read this!” I was excited! I hoped my best friend would be as excited as I was, and I wanted him to read it, so we could share our thoughts like we had when we read the books of Carlos Castaneda and J.R.R. Tolkien—in years past.
Let’s just say things didn’t work out as I had hoped, my friend never read the book. My effort was a dismal failure.
In my own defense, keep in mind that at that time I knew nothing about Urantia Foundation, the history of the book, or study groups, and I had not met anyone else who had read the book.
Over the years I have tried different methods to get people to read the book, each time I failed. It was time to rethink my approach.
Now, when people ask me what the book is about, I simply tell them that The Urantia Book answered the most pressing questions I had about religion, God, creation, angels, the devil, and especially life after death.
I had always thought there was more to heaven than sitting around and playing a harp, for all eternity. No matter how perfect heaven was supposed to be, it would be boring after a hundred, a thousand, or a million years.
There must be much more for us to do, eternity is long, long, very long!
Surely God has a plan for us to stay concerned, grow in spirit and seek new opportunities that we cannot imagine today.
In this book I learned that God has a plan for us, He is our Father and He has made provisions for continued growth and adventure in His limitless creation. And I leave it at that. If they ask for more, I simply suggest that if they have similar questions, they might also find the answers they are looking for.
A few years ago I was asked to facilitate a workshop. The theme of the conference was “Jesus as Teacher.”
So I decided to take a closer look at the teachings of Jesus. That’s when my topic came to me, which I called, “Dropper, Spoon and Shovel.”
The concept came to me when I considered how Jesus taught the people and his apostles. What really stood out in my mind was not so much “what” Jesus taught, but “how” he taught and, just as importantly, what he “didn’t” teach.
For example, Jesus repeatedly commented, “In my Father’s house are many mansions. On other occasions he said, “Other sheep I have which are not of this fold.”
These statements are not surprising to us, we know what he was talking about.
But can you imagine the confusion on the apostles’ faces? What was he talking about?
Picture this—Jesus and the apostles are on the Mount of Olives and Philip asks Jesus what he means about the Father’s house and this business about other sheep who are not of this fold?
Jesus takes a stick and begins to draw in the sand and says:
Satania, as in Satan? That would have upset the minds of the apostles. They would surely have thought "that he was no longer in his right mind and it is doubtful that they would have followed him further.
They would have thought he was crazy!
Instead, Jesus tempered what He said to others, using a “dropper” of truth here and there to illustrate His teachings.
He would give them revealed truth by the spoonful, when they were ready for more.
He didn’t try to shovel in too much truth; that would have overwhelmed them.
We can learn much from Jesus’ method of teaching using the dropper, spoon, and shovel when we desire to reveal the truths contained in The Urantia Book.
We can learn much from Jesus that will help us become better teachers and leaders in our daily lives.
As we explore “Jesus as Teacher,” let’s keep in mind the things Jesus did not teach and let that guide us.
In your travels, remember to bring the dropper and spoon, and leave the shovel at home. If you find anyone who desires a book by any means, give them one and let them get their own shovel and dig for the truths it contains.
Thank you and God bless you all…
| Being Sensitive to the Personality Circuit | Le Lien Urantien — Issue 82 — June 2018 | The International Meeting in Amsterdam |