(From a presentation given a the 2018 UCNOW Gathering at Lake Wallowa by Michael Hill) For more information on the Urantian Communities Northwest see https://www.ucnow.net/
Relationships are the threads on the loom of time that weave the tapestry that is the Supreme.
UB 117:6.24 The Supreme Being is our deity – the Deity of evolutionary experiential perfection attainment. He is the culmination of the “exhaustion of all finite potentials” and “the attainment of perfected equilibrium throughout the universes”
UB 22:7.11 The Supreme Being is the unification of three phases of deity reality: God the Supreme, the Almighty Supreme and Supreme Mind
UB 0:9.2 “The Supreme is the Trinity unification comprehended by finite beings”
UB 0:7.9 When finally actualized, this evolutionary Deity will constitute the eternal fusion of the finite and the infinite — the everlasting and indissoluble union of experiential power and spirit personality.
UB 117:7.16 …Certainly, though, the personality of the Supreme Being will be definitely contactable at some specific locality, although the ubiquity of his Deity presence will probably continue to permeate the universe of universes.
Reality of the Supreme - UB 130:4.2 “Causation in the physical world, self- consciousness in the intellectual world, and progressing selfhood in the spirit world — these realities, projected on a universal scale, combined in eternal relatedness, and experienced with perfection of quality and divinity of value — constitute the reality of the Supreme.”
¶ Growing The Supreme – Relationship With God What We Need To Do
UB 115:0.1 With God the Father, sonship is the great relationship. With God the Supreme, achievement is the prerequisite to status — one must do something as well as be something
UB 116:1.1 The experience of every evolving creature personality is a phase of the experience of the Almighty Supreme. Our decision-actions either impede or further the actualization of the Supreme.
UB 116:0.3 And such experiential growth implies creature-Creator partnership — God and man in association.
a. And that partnership is represented in the adjuster and us
-i. We seek to know the will of God and partner with him in forming how we live our lives - this is our relationship intention with Deity
b. UB 0:8.9 Additionally it is through God the Sevenfold that we mortals can attain the presence of God which begins with our recognition of the divinity of our Creator Son, Michael and our Divine Mother Spirit
c. So there are two avenues for us to grow our relationship with God – with the adjuster and with our Creator Son, Michael who is the first rung on the ladder of God the Sevenfold as well as with our Divine Mother Spirit.
d. UB 110:6.4 To grow our relationship with the Supreme, we need to have lives with a
i. mind of perfect poise,
ii. housed in a body of clean habits,
iii. stabilized neural energies,
iv. and balanced chemical function —
v. for it is when the physical, mental, and spiritual powers are in triune harmony of development — that a maximum of light and truth can be imparted to us
UB 100:1.5 And this forms the foundation for our religious growth. And we know that the behaviors essential for religious growth are
a. progressive life of self-realization,
b. the co-ordination of natural propensities,
c. the exercise of curiosity and the enjoyment of reasonable adventure,
d. the experiencing of feelings of satisfaction,
e. the functioning of the fear stimulus of attention and awareness,
f. the wonder-lure, and a normal consciousness of smallness, humility.
g. Growth is also predicated on the discovery of selfhood accompanied by self- criticism — conscience, for conscience is really the criticism of oneself by one’s own value-habits, personal ideals.
UB 100:1.8 We are also told of the religious habits of thinking and acting [which] are contributory to the economy of spiritual growth. And they are:
i. cultivated sensitivity to divine values,
ii. recognition of religious living in others,
iii. reflective meditation on cosmic meanings,
iv. worshipful problem solving,
v. sharing one’s spiritual life with one’s fellows,
vi. avoidance of selfishness,
vii. refusal to presume on divine mercy, living as in the presence of God.
And we know that our success in growing our relationship with God is the degree to which we manifest the fruits of the spirit in our lives.
a. UB 117:6.17 The fruits of the spirit are the substance of the Supreme as he is realizable in human experience.
And those fruits are:
a. UB 34:6.13 love, joy, peace, long- suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance
c. UB 115:7.2 The Father’s plan for us has mandated
i. finite progress upon effort,
ii. creature achievement upon perseverance,
iii. and personality development upon faith.
UB 110:6.17 Faith makes sonship with God real; action – completion of decisions – is required for consciousness of kinship with the Supreme Being, an essential component for circle attainment.
¶ Growing The Supreme – Relationships With Others What We Can Do
Michael in his bestowal as Jesus showed us all how to relate with others.
It is how we are with others that either adds to or retards growth of the Supreme.
a. It is in our relationships with others that we may show forth the fruits of the spirit.
b. Our ability, choices and actions in expressing the fruits of the spirit is that measurement of our success at becoming God-like as mortals.
c. And success in this effort defines our mortal divinity; in doing so we make will of God real
It is our success at self-mastery and the keeping of spiritual habits that make up the soil for spiritual growth that aids us in shining forth the fruits of the spirit in our relationships with others which concomitantly nourishes the actualization of the Supreme.
So what do we do to achieve this growth within ourselves, growth in our relationship to the Supreme and growth in improving our relationships with others?
I believe that process begins with self- mastery.
a. Jesus told the apostles, UB 143:2.3 Verily, verily, I say to you, he who rules his own self is greater than he who captures a city. Self- mastery is the measure of man’s moral nature and the indicator of his spiritual development.
b. UB 28:6.13 And we are told that Trustworthiness is the true measure of self- mastery, [it is] character.
UB 133:6.5 It is our soul that is the self- reflective, truth-discerning, and spirit- perceiving part of us
UB 132:3.5 We are told that true faith is predicated on profound reflection, sincere self- criticism, and uncompromising moral consciousness
a. We can each grow our side of our relationship with God as we practice reflection, self-evaluation and sustained moral consciousness. Our achievement of these efforts grows the Supreme and conditions the growth of our relationships – human and divine.