© 2006 Jean-Claude Romeuf
© 2006 French-speaking Association of Readers of the Urantia Book
| The Urantia Movement | Le Lien Urantien — Issue 36 — Spring 2006 | Who Am I? — Where Do We Come From? — Where Are We Going? What Is the Purpose of Life? |
In several places in the papers, the authors of the Urantia Book regret that early Christianity found its foundations in the life and teachings of Jesus rather than in the revelation that he was eager to share with men. The error, according to them, was not to insist on the fact that the religion taught by Jesus was based on the fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of men. “Love one another, as the Father loves you” often turned into religious quarrels, each religion, proud of its creed and uncompromising on the truth that it held or believed it held, always sought to assert the supremacy of its ideals over those of others.
The golden rule is still the same. Two thousand years later, if only one object had to be taken into consideration, it would be to recognize the spiritual sovereignty of God. It is on this that depend the brotherhood between humans and the religious unity without uniformity of the planet. This is the main message that The Urantia Book tries to develop.
Jesus knew that he was not the Messiah hoped for by the men of his race; he was not the one who was to reign over the Jews by bringing material prosperity, but he was the one who would be responsible for establishing a spiritual kingdom on earth recognizing as its only king: God, the Father of all!
What is the kingdom? We think we have suggested it: it is first and foremost the reign of God in the heart of each man, of each woman. By having the certainty of being ourselves the tabernacle of God, we recognize in all the same faculty. If God is our father, he is also the father of others.
The kingdom therefore presents a double aspect:
Being part of the kingdom requires three conditions:
Let us beware of saying that The Urantia Book is necessary! Let us beware of saying that it has made us citizens of the kingdom of Heaven! Before us and without The Urantia Book, multitudes of human beings have followed the directives of their Thought Adjuster and have had a foretaste on earth of the presence of God in time. Before us, multitudes of believers have entered the kingdom, have followed and are following the path of eternity. Before us and even now, men mark their short passage, by the use they make of the fruits that the spirit produces in them, in the disinterested service of their fellow men and thus demonstrate that they have already found on earth, the God that others are waiting to find in Heaven!
The Urantia Book is not necessary! It is more worthy of a reader to participate in the demonstration of the beauty and goodness of God through his actions and behavior, than to hastily present to third parties the object of his reading. It is more important to help someone enter the kingdom of God than to offer him a Urantia Book. Our eyes are the window to our soul; let us always keep them clear and benevolent: we will be productive!
Let us not be mistaken, we have a great advantage over other religions of the time: precisely, it is knowing that our creed is useful, but that it is not the only way that leads to God. Let each one pray within the church in which he is accustomed to pray, let him be a better Catholic, a better Muslim, but let him be able to adore God in his heart. It is there, inside our human heart, that we, the readers of The Urantia Book, dare to proclaim that God is to be found. This is the message that we transmit. Our religion is a revelation of supernatural values, the religion of the spirit of God within man, the religion of eternal progress.
When men live by love, it is because they will live according to the principles that Jesus taught two thousand years ago: “Love one another, as I have loved you.” This phrase is relevant today and will remain so until the end of time. The Urantia Book constantly reminds us of this and enhances its meaning.
Jean-Claude Romeuf
| The Urantia Movement | Le Lien Urantien — Issue 36 — Spring 2006 | Who Am I? — Where Do We Come From? — Where Are We Going? What Is the Purpose of Life? |