© 2021 Enrique Traver
© 2021 International Urantia Association (IUA)
| Tidings — June 2021 — Content | Tidings — June 2021 — Index | 2024 Urantia Association International Conference in USA |
In April 2021, I started my activity as President of Urantia Association International—the beginning of an incredible experience, full of challenges and opportunities with plenty of joy.
The Association’s challenging mission of disseminating The Urantia Book teachings all over the world to people from different cultures and languages creates an incredible learning environment. What a blessing to be part of this!
It is impossible to live such experiences without adopting the wise teachings of the revelation and without noticing the beauty, the truth, and the goodness present in all the situations encountered on this path.
Of course, it is a matter of the perspective we apply in each of these situations.
It is like a thunderstorm. When you find yourself in the middle of it, seeking refuge, frightened by the wind, lightning, and thunder, everything seems threatening or scary and, in fact, it can be.
But it is a matter of looking, of perception, sometimes of trust and faith.
On the other hand, imagine yourself watching the storm from the outside, watching it happen in front of you at a distance. It is impossible not to marvel at the spectacle and force of nature with its raw manifestation of energy. Even so, your perception could be that of an observer of the beauty of nature or that of an observer of its destructive force, or even all of this together and much more.
It is always a matter of looking, of perception, of faith.
Trust tells us the storm will be over soon, and that its instability and menace will be replaced by a calm and peaceful period. Trust also assumes that damages will be repaired and the suffering will be forgotten; even so, it will not fail to account for the storm’s effects and to raise alarming concerns.
It is always a matter of looking, of perception, of faith.
Faith, however, brings us the certainty that challenges are fleeting and that we build our learning and wisdom on them. It will assure us that, no matter what happens, everything will be fine. If we wish, we will continue to be supported by God’s hands. He will stand with us in all our joys and in all our afflictions and together we will hopefully reach a safe port.
It is always a matter of looking, of perception, of faith.
God is our safe port. We are in him, or we are not. We have faith or we do not. If we have faith, we have reached safe port: we are in him.
Faith will not remove the challenges we need to overcome, but it will allow us to overcome these challenges with more love, greater serenity, more wisdom, and the confidence that everything will work out.
Wonderful things have happened in these days of learning. All of them inspiring us to create an opportunity for unity, fraternity, friendship, and inclusion.
Interacting with people is magical, it is divine.
It is a matter of looking, of perception, of trust and of faith.
Jesus told us:
“What I require of you, my apostles, is spirit unity—and that you can experience in the joy of your united dedication to the wholehearted doing of the will of my Father in heaven. You do not have to see alike or feel alike or even think alike in order spiritually to be alike. Spiritual unity is derived from the consciousness that each of you is indwelt, and increasingly dominated, by the spirit gift of the heavenly Father. Your apostolic harmony must grow out of the fact that the spirit hope of each of you is identical in origin, nature, and destiny.” [UB 141:5.1]
It is a matter of looking, of perception, of trust, and of faith.
Isn’t it magical, beautiful, true, and good?
Enrique Traver
President, Urantia Association International
¶ References
| Tidings — June 2021 — Content | Tidings — June 2021 — Index | 2024 Urantia Association International Conference in USA |