© 1977 Nicholas W. Scalzo
© 1977 The Urantia Book Fellowship (formerly Urantia Brotherhood)
“. . . a true family — a good family — reveals to the parental procreators the attitude of the Creator to his children, while at the same time such true parents portray to their children the first of a long series of ascending disclosures of the love of the Paradise parent of all universe children.” (UB 84:7.30)
We have often been perplexed by the problem of introducing our children to the love relationship we have with our Universal Father, our Creator Michael, and the many personalities within their universe family. We found that before we could teach our children how to pray and worship we had to understand these things for ourselves.
What is prayer? What is worship? These words refer to the personal and spontaneous expression of our attitude to our universe parents. Prayer is a spiritual talk with our Universal Father and his sons and daughters.
“Prayer is the breath of the soul and should lead you to be persistent in your attempt to ascertain the Father’s will.” (UB 144:2.3)
Worship is “… a natural and spontaneous reaction to the recognition of the Father’s matchless personality and because of his lovable nature and adorable attributes.” (UB 5:3.3)
The reason that it is so difficult for us to teach our children how to pray is simply because no such technique exists. What does exist is the personal relationship between each child and his universe family. Once this relationship is established in the minds of our children, then communication between them and our creator will automatically begin. The key to teaching our children how to pray is to establish that they are related to our Universe Father and his family.
We would never consider teaching our children how to talk with their grandparents. Children know how to talk naturally and spontaneously with them once they know this family relationship. Likewise, we would never consider teaching our children how to love their grand-parents. Their love is a spontaneous reaction to the loving nature of their parents’ parents.
Just as children may have a physical talk, with their parents and grandparents so they may also have a spiritual talk with their Universal Father and his universe family. Our children have a spiritual “hotline” to the Father in Paradise and to Michael in Salvington and to their seraphim here on Urantia. But first they must be shown that they are indeed related to our unseen Father and our unseen family. We as parents can aid in initiating these spiritual talks by introducing our children to their spiritual family and the loving relationship that exists. We should tell our children about our Father and his fragment, about Michael and his sons, about our local universe Mother Spirit and her angels.
We can tell our children that for their physical needs they should have a talk with us, their physical parents. When we are not near, the seraphim will provide them with the same watchcare as we do. They do this always and should be thanked for their loving service,
We can teach our children that, as their spiritual parent and the bestower of their personality, the Universal Father will answer all their spiritual needs. They may have a spiritual talk with their Father in heaven any time, any place, and for any reason. Whatever their needs, wishes, or dreams, the Father is always there to listen, and more importantly, to give them the wisdom and spiritual strength to work out the solution to their problems.
They must, however, be taught to seek and wait for the answer. Perfect solutions must await our own perfect understanding: and this can come only after a long period of growth and experience.
We can teach our children that Jesus is also with them to help them discover the truth of the Father’s will. He was a child once, too, and he truly understands their difficulties because he had the same kinds of problems in his earthly life. We can advise them to do as Jesus did, to talk things over with their heavenly Father, and then to go out and solve their problems in a way that they believe to be consistent with the Father’s will. We can urge them to search for that thought which possesses the highest qualities of truth, beauty, and goodness.
The Universal Father is their secret pal. He is their eternal companion, and he is always there. When our children gain the confidence of the knowledge of their friendship with the Universal Father and his family, they will surely love him for what they comprehend him to be. This is true worship.
Remember, in answer to our children’s questions about our Universal Father and his family, we should not hold back what we think we know. We should teach the highest concepts of truth that we know and let our children select the limits of that truth which they are able to comprehend. The more our children know of our Universal Father, the more they will love him. The more our children know about the Universal Father and his family, the more their Thought Adjuster has to adjust in their minds.
We may also introduce our children to our Heavenly Father by showing them his beautiful works: his butterflies, his puppies, his trees, his lakes and his stars. We should show them the wonders of his beauty. We can reveal his love and goodness by our own example and always share with our children all the truths of God that we know.
—Nicholas W. Scalzo