© 2000 Ken Glasziou
© 2000 The Brotherhood of Man Library
Little by little, as the years roll by, and we can stand back and look over past events, the real plan and purpose for the Urantia revelation may begin to become more clearly defined.
For example, it seems likely that the little book of Dr. William S. Sadler’s, entitled “Soul Winning Texts,” first published in 1909, reflected not only his own, but also the like-thinking of the group of his associates that became known as the “Revelatory Commission.”
If this surmise is correct, Sadler’s writing also revealed the enormous changes that these people would have needed to undergo during the period of their preparation to become recipients of the revelation.
But not only did this small group need much re-education. The much larger group, that was later concerned with the printing and distribution of the Papers, would have also needed re-education.
Seen in retrospect, we may begin to understand why Parts 1-3 of the revelation were provided over a period of about fifteen years or more, while Part 4, the “Life and Teachings of Jesus,” constituting one third of total revelation, was an overnight arrival.
Can similar reflective thinking help us to understand why Christianity appears to be as far away as ever from the real teachings of Jesus, despite the elapse of forty five years from when the Papers were first published?
Why is this so? The revelation itself provides one answer. As general policy, those who possess the Papers have tried to universalize Jesus’ revelation simply by making The Urantia Book more easily available. But this approach has no resemblance to what we were actually asked to do by one who, to all intents and purposes, is God to our universe. (UB 5:3.6; UB 33:2.3)
“That which my Father sent me into the world to establish belongs not to a race, a nation, nor to a special group of teachers or preachers. This gospel of the kingdom belongs to both Jew and gentile, to rich and poor, to free and bond, to male and female, even to the little children. And you are all to proclaim this gospel of love and truth by the lives which you live in the flesh. You shall love one another with a new and startling affection, even as I have loved you. You will serve mankind with a new and amazing devotion, even as I have served you. And when men see you so love them, and when they behold how fervently you serve them, they will perceive that you have become faith-fellows of the kingdom of heaven, and they will follow after the Spirit of Truth which they see in your lives, to the finding of eternal salvation.” (UB 191:6.2)
So contrary to the opinion held by most Urantia Book readers that Christianity has ignored or rejected Jesus’ revelation, the real truth is that the vast majority of us who study the revelation have simply failed to comply with Jesus’ instructions. Though most probably due to misunderstanding, the fact remains that the vast majority of us have simply failed to even try to live as Jesus lived.
Can we rectify our error? We could try by sincerely dedicating our wills back to the Father and seeking to live in obedience to his will. In which case we could also expect the fruits of the spirit to immediately show up in our daily lives, bearing witness to the fact that we no longer live in the pursuit of material and earthly goals—for now, we would hold spiritual attainment to be the true goal of living. (UB 170:2.5) The rest would then be in the dependable hands of the Spirit of Truth.
The new gospel held up spiritual attainment as the true goal of living. (UB 170:2.6)