© 1999 Merlyn Cox
© 1999 The Christian Fellowship of Students of The Urantia Book
| Science and Theology | Fall 1999 — Index | The Quest for Spiritual Culture: Toward a New Paradigm of Spirituality |
Jesus was a masterful teacher who was always aware of the teachable moment of his listeners. He realized most of the people who followed him were not always able to grasp the import of his message; even the disciples at times struggled mightily with his words.
He occasionall yused terminology which heacknowledged was not the best way to describe the reality he sought to convey, i.e., the “Kingdom of God.” It was a necessary compromise, given the mind set of the time. He accepted the compromise, but proclaimed the day would come when the more accurate terminology of “God’s family” would rightly be used.
In addition, as his popularity grew and large crowds began to follow him, there were always detractors and enemies on hand who sought to entrap him.
So Jesus taught in parables. By so doing, he said, those who sought the truth would find it, and find it on their own level, while those who were not honest of heart would simply be confounded. To the disciples he said: “In patience have I instructed you all this time. To you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to the undiscerning multitudes and to those who seek our destruction, from now on, the mysteries of the kingdom shall be presented in parables. And this we will do so that those who really desire to enter the kingdom may discern the meaning of the teaching and thus find salvation, while those who listen only to ensnare us may be the more confounded in that they will see without seeing and will hear without hearing.”(UB 151:1.4).
However, Jesus added, “Let me tell you that nothing is hid in the kingdom of heaven which shall not be made manifest; neither are there any secrets which shall not ultimately be made known.”(UB 151:3.1).
When he was preparing the disciples for his departure, he said “It was for this purpose that I have been talking so plainly to you from the very beginning… as one friend to another…”(UB 180:6.1)
“Down here I have taught you in proverbs and spoken to you in parables. I did so because you were only children in the spirit; but the time is coming when I will talk to you plainly concerning the Father and his kingdom. And I shall do this because the Father himself loves you and desires to be more fully revealed to you.”(UB 180:6.8)
God always seeks to reveal as much as we, individually, and as a people, are able and willing to accept. Thus Jesus came “in the fullness of time.” The same desire of the Heavenly Father to be ever more fully revealed to his mortal creatures has led to the Urantia Papers, albeit through a remarkably varied assembly of intelligent beings who do his bidding and share this passion.
It is time for the church, and the world, to grow up. It is time to speak plainly of the realities of the greater family of God on earth, as well as in a vast, almost unlimited, universe.
Recently, I shared The Urantia Book with a former parishioner with whom I have kept in touch. Seeking to be patient and wait for the right time, I finally gave him a copy and, with some anxiety, waited to hear his response.
His response was, “It will take me a while to put all this in perspective … but it’s a wonderful book and I thank you for it.” After 200 pages of reading, mostly in The Life and Teachings of Jesus, he said, “This book has already changed my life so much, I can hardly imagine what it will be like when I’ve read the whole thing.”
It reminded me, even in a moment of caution and chastened enthusiasm, of just how many people are seeking what The Urantia Book has to share. A great harvest surely awaits our efforts in the future, because God has prepared the field and given us the task and privilege of sharing the message.
Let us not out of fear or uncertainty fail to seek wisely to share such a gracious gift, because “the Father himself loves you and desires to be more fully revealed to you” — in the plain speech of The Urantia Book.
“Mistake not! there is in the teachings of Jesus an eternal nature which will not permit them forever to remain unfruitful in the hearts of thinking men. The kingdom as Jesus conceived it has to a large extent failed on earth; for the time being, an outward church has taken its place; but you should comprehend that this church is only the larval stage of the thwarted spiritual kingdom…The kingdom of the divine brotherhood is still alive and will eventually and certainly come forth from this long submergence, just as surely as the butterfly eventually emerges as the beautiful unfolding of its less attractive creature of metamorphic development.” (UB 170:5.21)
| Science and Theology | Fall 1999 — Index | The Quest for Spiritual Culture: Toward a New Paradigm of Spirituality |