© 1999 Dorothy Elder
© 1999 International Urantia Association (IUA)
Dorothy Elder
Los Angeles, California, USA.
I have been impressed for many years by “The Divine Plans of Perfection.” Not a day passes without a glimpse of its grandeur crossing my mind for a moment. Just imagine! This whole vast, whirling superuniverse has a divine purpose, and we—mere finite creatures of time—are the sought-after treasures of the age.
In the beginning of time God the Father said, “Let us make man in our image”; God the Son partnered with the Father in his Bestowal Plan. God the Spirit, alone and of Himself, planned and carried out this tremendous undertaking. (UB 7:4.6) The mandate, “Be ye perfect” was proclaimed, and from that almost eternal moment the gifts of the Gods have been distributed to every corner of the universe for the sole purpose of bringing man to God.
God the Father has already claimed us for himself. So great is his love that he has given us a personality of our own and a personal pilot light to show us the way. The greatest revelatory undertaking of God the Son is to send forth his co-ordinate Sons to demonstrate and make real to us the love of the Father and the mercy of the Son. The very minute this plan was conceived, God the Spirit became the administrator of the plan. He devoted all his resources to the Father and the Son in the carrying out of their eternal and unified purpose; he has all dedicated to the stupendous plan to exalt all surviving will creatures to the divine heights of Paradise perfection. [UB 8:3.5]
I think I am dreaming—at least in my mind. At night I gaze at the stars and try to imagine how the plan is evolving on all these unseen planets. I imagine my place in it, and my first thought is one of humbling recognition of the gift of God’s luminous fragment. Then I think of the stupendous event that took place on little Urantia just a few moments ago in universal time—the bestowal of Michael—and I feel honored to know that its significance is part of the divine plan. Then I think of those rare but thrilling moments when my human mind grasps a tiny new insight into spiritual reality, and I know that I am at the receiving end of the manifold influences of the Infinite Spirit—all part of the plan.
I feel that my life is real simply in the knowledge that in an infinitesimal degree I am part of the plan. On page UB 111:7.1 we are informed that: Uncertainty in security is the essence of the Paradise adventure—and it is so true. There is uncertainty in this life, but there is always the security of knowing that we are His ascending sons and daughters.
William Sadler, Jr., in his Study of the Master Universe describes Havona in the Second Universal Age as the divine thesis of perfection—the challenge of
God to the imperfection of the evolutionary universes surrounding it. Our present age is the antithesis of perfection, and the challenge of all this imperfection is growth. This vast creation is populated with imperfect creatures, but each of them is endowed with the priceless power of free will, a gift from God (part of the plan). With this gift of free will we can choose to grow.
The Plans of Divine Perfection embrace and dominate this vast scene of evolutionary growth whose ministry guides us in love and mercy to the shores of Paradise. The “Father idea” and the family concept is a good observatory from which to study the Divine Plans. It seems natural to contemplate the love, harmony, respect, and cooperation displayed by the three persons of Deity in working together as the highest human concept of Family.
What, then, must be our response to the challenge of this age? First, our inner decisions turn us toward our Thought Adjuster, and in doing this we find ourselves in a position to seek the will of God in our lives. With this seeking, such a mature person becomes wise, sympathetic, and understanding. Such sympathetic understanding could serve as the foundation of true mercy. (UB 28:6.8) Mercy is not a simple thing. Mercy grows out of justice, fairness, patience, and kindness; such mercy is truly applied love. This applied love is love made wise by the insight of experience. Love applied is mercy, and mercy applied is ministry (UB 6:3.5; UB 8:4.2).
It seems that our answer to the challenge of this age is to try to repeat exactly the Plans of Divine Perfection in our lives. Let love, mercy, and ministry be our calling cards “in passing” (UB 171:7.1).
For me, the greatest thing is knowing that we are safe and living in a friendly universe, and that this universe has put together a magnificent plan for our success.