© 2010 Guy de Viron
© 2010 Association Francophone des Lecteurs du Livre d'Urantia
Trust consists of adopting this general attitude which will determine our behavior on the basis of a feeling then reasoning and finally a real partnership. It remains the basis of all relationships between individuals, specifically in family and friendly ties, like the cement or lime which unite the stones of a building. As a result, it is omnipresent and essential for our relational construction.
A fortiori, a mortal ascender will know and acquire this value which will make him a being of relationship to the Father, via his Thought Adjuster, but also to his fellow men. Throughout his ascension, he will have to produce the fruits of trust which are: loyalty, sincerity, courage, fidelity, perseverance, integrity, self-control, character, humility, responsibility, dignity, inner peace, enthusiasm and the joy of living! His attitude will resemble that of a child who marvels at the eternal play of divine life. His confidence will then be perpetually growing, subjected to a good number of trials, missions and credits. It will be combined under the terms of mutual trust, reciprocal trust, self-confidence, intimate, fraternal or friendly trust…
In an associate relationship with the personality of the Father, faith is confidence in His goodness. It is always our confidence in Him that will make Him known to us and strengthen our personal participation in the divine manifestations of His infinite reality. This religious experience involves an attitude of positive and living faith toward the highest realms of universal objective reality. Indeed, the ideal of religious philosophy is a faith-confidence capable of bringing man to depend without reserve on the absolute love of the infinite Father of the universe of universes.
Since the adventure of attaining divinity lies before us, the race for perfection is fully engaged in a race of faith and trust, that is, of trust in our success! Certain victory will crown our efforts provided that we rely at every step on the guidance of the indwelling Adjuster and on the guidance of the good spirit of the Universe Son. Our Thought Adjuster would like to change our feelings of fear into convictions of love and trust, but he cannot do this arbitrarily or mechanically; it is up to us. We need only prove ourselves worthy of the trust placed in you by the divine spirit, which is searching our minds and souls for an eternal union, for this perfect and definitive unity of existence to finally be established. Now the Universal Father desires to trust liberally—as an Adjuster—in this association with man. So what are we waiting for?
Only religious confidence, living faith, can sustain man in the midst of the difficult and troubling problems inherent in his universal career. Our sonship has its foundation in faith, and we must remain insensible to fear. Our joy is born of confidence in the divine word; we will therefore not be led to doubt the reality of the Father’s love and mercy. It is his very goodness that leads men to sincere and authentic repentance. For us, the secret of self-control is linked to our faith in the Spirit who dwells within us and who always works through love. And even this saving faith we do not have of ourselves; it too is a gift from God.
A childlike confidence assures man’s entrance into the kingdom of heaven’s ascension, but progress depends entirely on the vigorous exercise of the robust and confident faith of the accomplished man. The best way to realize the kingdom of heaven is to acquire the spiritual attitude of a sincere child, that spiritual simplicity of a little one who easily believes and has full confidence; to come as a little child, receiving the benefit of sonship as a gift; to accept to do, without questioning, the will of the Father, with full and sincere confidence in the wisdom of the Father; to enter the kingdom, free from prejudice and preconceived ideas; to be open-minded and teachable like an unspoiled child. It is less important for us to know the fact of God’s existence than to acquire an increasing ability to feel God’s presence.
Since we know God and live in the spirit and for the Father, we have already received the assurances of eternal life and nothing can seriously worry us. Even our civilization will improve if it is based on mutual trust.
Religion is intended to find in the universe the values that evoke faith, trust and assurance.
Jesus inspired deep self-confidence and solid courage in all who enjoyed his company. He maintained this confident attitude because of his unwavering faith in God and his unfailing trust in men. He always showed touching consideration for all men because he loved them and believed in them.
His sense of dependence on the divine was so complete and confident that it gave him the joy and assurance of absolute personal security. There was no hesitant pretense in his religious experience. In this giant adult intelligence, the faith of the child reigned supreme in all matters pertaining to religious consciousness. Although his faith was childish, it was by no means infantile. It was confident as a child’s, but without the least presumption. He made firm and manly decisions, bravely faced manifold disappointments, resolutely overcame extraordinary difficulties, and met unflinchingly the harsh demands of duty. It required a strong will and an unwavering confidence to believe what Jesus believed and as he believed it.
Jesus asks us to believe with him, like him, in the reality of God’s love, to accept with confidence the assurance of our filiation with the heavenly Father and to share fully his transcendent faith. This is the full meaning of his one supreme demand: “Follow me.”
(to be continued)
Guy from Viron