© 2020 Olga López
© 2020 Urantia Association of Spain
The fourth epochal revelation, the one brought by our Creator Son to this world in the human identity of Jesus of Nazareth, bears a very close relationship to the immediately succeeding fifth revelation contained in The Urantia Book. Perhaps for this reason, when we read the fourth part of the book, we cannot help but feel that the midwayers charged with revealing the life and teachings of Jesus are not merely describing the events of Michael of Nebadon’s seventh bestowal, but are also conveying invaluable teachings for the successful dissemination of the fifth epochal revelation.
More specifically, there is a section of Paper 159 (The Decapolis Tour) entitled “Instructions for Teachers and Believers” that is well worth studying. These instructions were part of a talk Jesus gave intended to express “the principles that should guide those who preach the truth” and “incentivize” all who teach the gospel of the kingdom UB 159:3.1.
Therefore, I invite you to reflect with me on each paragraph of these profound teachings. You will probably come up with many other nuances, other ideas, which I would love for you to share after this presentation. What is truly important is that we grasp the truth, beauty, and goodness of these teachings and that we transmit them in our daily lives.
Let us begin then with these teachings of Jesus, summarized and presented in modern language:
Always respect the personality of man. Never should a righteous cause be promoted by force; spiritual victories can be won only by spiritual power… UB 159:3.2
José Luis Aranguren, the late Spanish philosopher, said in his essay “Ethics”: “One should never fight unjustly, not even against injustice.” And it’s absolutely true. We cannot use illicit methods to transmit what is legitimate for us. And force, of course, is an illicit method that in no way respects the unique personality of each of our fellow human beings.
No matter how much we think the teachings of the book are far superior to any other doctrine, religion, or school of thought, we should never impose them on anyone because then we are not respecting their personality, their path, their free will.
… Overpowering arguments and mental superiority are not to be employed to coerce men and women into the kingdom… UB 159:3.2
Let’s be honest. How many times have we been tempted to feel superior for knowing a revelation that is still very little known in the world today? And how many times have we felt the impulse to use sarcasm and hurtful comments toward people who don’t believe or think the same way we do?
… Although emotion, as a factor in human decision-making, cannot be entirely eliminated, those who would advance the cause of the kingdom should not make direct appeal to emotion in their teachings… UB 159:3.2
I find this reflection invaluable. It immediately reminds me of the use of emotion by many Christian churches to strengthen ties within the community of believers, especially with religious leaders. I believe we must be very alert and vigilant in this regard and follow the instructions left to us by the Master.
… Make your appeals directly to the divine spirit that dwells within the minds of men. Do not appeal to fear, pity, or mere sentiment… UB 159:3.2
These resources mentioned here are precisely the ones most used by institutionalized religions, and Christianity (the religion of Jesus) has been no exception. How many times have we been threatened with eternal punishment in hell if we “sinned”! How many times has pity been used in an attempt to instill in us the virtues of repentance, showing us, for example, the torment suffered by the martyrs of early Christianity!
As those charged with transmitting the good news, we must always keep in mind that our fellow human beings also have a divine spark within them, their Thought Adjuster. For this alone, they deserve our respect and consideration. Let us think of them as pilgrims of time and space, which is what they are. They and we.
… In appealing to men, be fair; exercise self-control and exhibit due restraint; show proper respect for the personalities of your pupils. Remember that I have said: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock, and if any man will open, I will come in.” UB 159:3.2
That’s the attitude: we shouldn’t enter a house unless the owner has invited us to. People greatly value respect for their freedom of thought and action. That’s the red line we must never cross when we share the revelation, because otherwise we would be inconsistent with the teachings of true freedom offered by the fifth revelation.
Did you notice all the good, beautiful, and true teachings in this paragraph? And we’ve only skimmed one of the many in this section!
In bringing men into the kingdom, do not lessen or destroy their self-respect. While overmuch self-respect may destroy proper humility and end in pride, conceit, and arrogance, the loss of self-respect often ends in paralysis of the will. It is the purpose of this gospel to restore self-respect to those who have lost it and to restrain it in those who have it… UB 159:3.3
Although it may sound like a cliché, it is essential to love oneself in order to love and serve others. As I like to remind you, “Love is the desire to do good to others,” and doing good to others involves helping them progress, to become more than they are. To achieve this, maintaining the self-esteem of our fellow human beings at its proper level is fundamental. Let us keep in mind that these people can, in turn, love and serve others, thus spreading the benign virus of love. This is what the Gospel of Jesus is all about.
… Make not the mistake of only condemning the wrongs in the lives of your pupils; remember also to accord generous recognition for the most praiseworthy things in their lives. Forget not that I will stop at nothing to restore self-respect to those who have lost it, and who really desire to regain it. UB 159:3.3
The Master applied this rule of conduct, and we must apply it as well. How often do we reproach or criticize others for what we consider objectionable in their lives! We are too generous with criticism and too stingy with praise. It’s not about praising every trifle, but everyone has good points that we should acknowledge and let our fellow human beings know that we value them positively. Who can resist sincere praise? It immediately makes them more receptive.
Take care that you do not wound the self-respect of timid and fearful souls. Do not indulge in sarcasm at the expense of my simple-minded brethren. Be not cynical with my fear-ridden children. UB 159:3.4
I know very well that shy people have a hard time expressing their ideas and thoughts in front of others. If you also overwhelm them emotionally and intellectually with sarcasm, not only will their self-esteem be hurt, but they’ll also have an even harder time opening their hearts, even to others, for fear of being hurt again. That’s why it’s important to listen and have a loving attitude that builds trust. Sarcasm and irony are very appealing resources because they immediately place the person using them in a position of intellectual superiority. But the point isn’t to feel superior to others; rather, it’s to help them see the riches of the temple for themselves.
… Idleness is destructive of self-respect; therefore, admonish your brethren ever to keep busy at their chosen tasks, and put forth every effort to secure work for those who find themselves without employment. UB 159:3.4
Although one might initially think it’s better to live without working, work truly dignifies people, and there’s nothing more destructive to self-esteem than being unemployed. Therefore, one way to help others is to help them find ways to stay busy and find work that makes them happy and makes them feel useful to their family and society.
Sharing the teachings is fine, but let’s not forget that it’s about helping others with whatever they need. Just because these are worldly needs doesn’t mean we should ignore them; these too must be met.
Never be guilty of such unworthy tactics as endeavoring to frighten men and women into the kingdom. A loving father does not frighten his children into yielding obedience to his just requirements. UB 159:3.5
Once again, we must not use illicit tactics even if the ends are legitimate, for that automatically invalidates our good intentions. Fear is never a legitimate tactic, and if the Father doesn’t use it with us as the loving Father that He is, we shouldn’t use it with our brothers and sisters either. No one can be forced to enter the kingdom, no matter how good it would be for them to enter. The free will of our fellow human beings, like our own, is sacred. As the Master said a few paragraphs earlier, we must show them the door and invite them in, but never take them by the arm and drag them along. Respecting the free will of others is an act of love toward them.
Sometime the children of the kingdom will realize that strong feelings of emotion are not equivalent to the leadings of the divine spirit. To be strongly and strangely impressed to do something or to go to a certain place, does not necessarily mean that such impulses are the leadings of the indwelling spirit. UB 159:3.6
This is often difficult to distinguish. We often feel impulses within us that we attribute to a manifestation of divine guidance, but to what extent is this true? It is very easy to confuse the thoughtless impulses that drive us to act with the guidance of the Adjuster. How can we truly distinguish the guidance of the divine spirit? In these cases, we must draw on our perspicacity and, if we feel it is not sufficient, ask the Father to help us discern the guidance of the Adjuster from our own impressions.
Forewarn all believers regarding the fringe of conflict which must be traversed by all who pass from the life as it is lived in the flesh to the higher life as it is lived in the spirit. To those who live quite wholly within either realm, there is little conflict or confusion, but all are doomed to experience more or less uncertainty during the times of transition between the two levels of living. … UB 159:3.7
I now invite you to reflect on what your experience has been and is regarding the conflict between material life and spiritual life. I understand that all of us who have committed ourselves to spreading the fifth revelation desire to give greater importance to the spiritual life and strive to live in its kingdom and to distance ourselves ever further from material life, but this struggle is not easy. We live in a material world with demands that, whether real or imaginary, rapidly push us toward it. Life is a continuous, exhausting tug-of-war, and only through desiring it and entering into communion with the Father does the struggle become less and less intense, and ultimately the spiritual side of life wins out.
We all have to go through this because it’s part of our condition as mortal creatures of space and time, and we shouldn’t be discouraged if material things sometimes seem to win at some point in our lives. The important thing is to be aware that we must keep trying and that we are not alone, for divine guidance is within our minds precisely to spiritualize us. Let’s not be too harsh judges of ourselves, either!
… In entering the kingdom, you cannot escape its responsibilities or avoid its obligations, but remember: The gospel yoke is easy and the burden of truth is light. UB 159:3.7
As people committed to spreading the fifth revelation, who want to be part of the kingdom the Master refers to, we are aware that we can no longer plead ignorance. We know who we are, where we come from and where we are going, and that the dual fact of the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man compels us to be consistent with this fact in our lives. The Master does not ask us for intellectual assent to this dual truth but rather asks that we live it every moment of our lives. It is not easy, but it is not impossible either, if we make it so our own that acting according to this principle is as automatic as when we use, for example, our mother tongue to communicate. It is true that as children we had to learn it, but we did so naturally and now we use it more than satisfactorily to express our ideas and feelings. Our progressive spiritualization works in a similar way to learning our mother tongue. We must practice daily, utilizing the reinforcement of the periodic connection with our Adjuster through prayer or meditation, and there will come a time when our reactions will be automatic; we won’t even be aware of thinking, “I have to do this because it’s what I have to do.” Furthermore, we won’t have the feeling of sacrificing ourselves or repressing any part of ourselves. The Master doesn’t ask us for self-denial or sacrifice, but rather to internalize the kingdom of heaven and put it into practice with joy.
The world is filled with hungry souls who famish in the very presence of the bread of life; men die searching for the very God who lives within them. Men seek for the treasures of the kingdom with yearning hearts and weary feet when they are all within the immediate grasp of living faith… UB 159:3.8
This part reminds me of the episode in which Jesus and Ganid helped a lost child find his mother. Let’s recall the Master’s words here:
… “You know, Ganid, most human beings are like the lost child. They spend much of their time crying in fear and suffering in sorrow when, in very truth, they are but a short distance from safety and security, even as this child was only a little way from home. And all those who know the way of truth and enjoy the assurance of knowing God should esteem it a privilege, not a duty, to offer guidance to their fellows in their efforts to find the satisfactions of living. Did we not supremely enjoy this ministry of restoring the child to his mother? So do those who lead men to God experience the supreme satisfaction of human service.” UB 132:6.1
Why do we human beings so intent on searching outside ourselves for what we already have within? Perhaps it’s because the inner search is the most difficult, although it may seem paradoxical. But I add another idea that appears in this paragraph from Document 132: for those who know God, it should be a privilege and a duty to help their fellow human beings come to know God. That is precisely what service is about.
… Faith is to religion what sails are to a ship; it is an addition of power, not an added burden of life. There is but one struggle for those who enter the kingdom, and that is to fight the good fight of faith. The believer has only one battle, and that is against doubt—unbelief. UB 159:3.8
Faith gives us the conviction that higher realities exist, and the hope it provides gives us the energy to face life’s vicissitudes. Of course, there are always times when faith can falter. We live in a world where there is so much injustice, life is sometimes very hard, and it is very easy to become discouraged and fall into pessimism, questioning whether what we believe is real or simply a nice story to help us get through our existence. But if our faith resists doubt and disbelief, nothing will be able to defeat us: we will be able to rise above all the mud of worldly existence, and misfortunes, if they come to us, will barely affect us because faith makes us strong. Faith is our hallmark as Agodontians!
In preaching the gospel of the kingdom, you are simply teaching friendship with God. And this fellowship will appeal alike to men and women in that both will find that which most truly satisfies their characteristic longings and ideals… UB 159:3.9
I want to emphasize here the novelty of Jesus’ words with respect to the idea of God held at that time. The Jews, who at that time were the people with the most progressive evolutionary religion, thought of Yahweh, their God, as an all-powerful being who had to be feared if one did not want to fall victim to his wrath. Here, the Master is saying that preaching the gospel is nothing more and nothing less than “teaching friendship with God.” The Father is, therefore, not only our Creator but also our friend, someone who knows us better than we know ourselves and in whom we can trust completely because he loves us and wants the best for us. Jesus brought us closer to God like no other. Who can be closer to us than a Father-friend? Thinking of God in this way gives us the strength to know that, no matter if the rest of humanity abandons us: there is Someone who never will and who will also lead us to become more than we are.
… Tell my children that I am not only sensitive to their feelings and patient with their weaknesses, but I am also merciless toward sin and intolerant of iniquity. Truly, I am meek and lowly in my Father’s presence, but I am also relentlessly inexorable when there is deliberate evil action and sinful rebellion against the will of my Father who is in heaven. UB 159:3.8
The attitude of divine beings toward people is one thing, and the attitude toward deliberate transgressions of the Father’s will is quite another. As one Divine Counselor says in Document 2:
God loves the sinner and hates the sin: such a statement is true philosophically, but God is a transcendent personality, and persons can only love and hate other persons. Sin is not a person. (…) The love of God saves the sinner; the law of God destroys sin… UB 2:6.8
Rodan of Alexandria said of the Master: “He loves goodness with all his heart and detests sin with equal intensity.” UB 161:2.6. Hence, the divine beings’ reaction is always firm against sin, although they also maintain a loving and merciful attitude toward creatures, whether they have gone astray or not.
You shall not portray your teacher as a man of sorrows. Future generations shall know also the radiance of our joy, the buoyance of our good will, and the inspiration of our good humor. We proclaim a message of good news which is infectious in its transforming power. Our religion is throbbing with new life and new meanings. Those who accept this teaching are filled with joy and in their hearts are constrained to rejoice evermore. UB 159:3.10
How far removed joy often is from the religion that claims to be the bearer of Jesus’ message! How much emphasis has been placed on the suffering of the crucifixion, on the value of penance, sacrifice, and self-denial to earn salvation, and how lightly it tiptoes around the joy of the resurrection! Which, I insist, is not exclusive to Jesus, but rather one that we all must experience sooner or later. In this talk, the Master often mentions joy, rejoicing, as a vital attitude toward the vicissitudes of life. And that must be our attitude! If we know, as we do, that death is not the end, that the injustices and evil of the world are small black spots on a white canvas, how can we not be joyful? If we see the black spots as too large, it is a sign that we should broaden our perspective and try to see as much of the white canvas as possible. We will then see that living not only becomes more bearable, but that material existence ceases to seem like a heavy burden. It is important to emphasize that what matters is the attitude, “the lens through which you look,” as the well-known saying goes.
Teach all believers to avoid leaning upon the insecure props of false sympathy. You cannot develop strong characters out of the indulgence of self-pity; honestly endeavor to avoid the deceptive influence of mere fellowship in misery. Extend sympathy to the brave and courageous while you withhold overmuch pity from those cowardly souls who only halfheartedly stand up before the trials of living. Offer not consolation to those who lie down before their troubles without a struggle. Sympathize not with your fellows merely that they may sympathize with you in return. UB 159:3.11
In this paragraph, Jesus speaks about avoiding both false compassion and self-pity. I think it’s worth expanding a little on what this paragraph suggests to me.
What does “compassion” mean? According to the DRAE (Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy), it is defined as “a feeling of commiseration and pity felt toward those who suffer hardship or misfortune.” In the case of false compassion, we could say that this commiseration and pity are feigned; they are simply displayed for show without being truly felt. But this paragraph also alludes to misunderstood compassion, when we feel pity toward someone who is unworthy of it.
But who is worthy of compassion? We could say that they are those who go through difficult situations and do something to remedy them. People who expect others to solve their problems, who do nothing but complain about what happens to them, and who blame everything and everyone for their misfortunes, are not exactly worthy of compassion.
As for self-pity, what are we really trying to achieve by feeling sorry for ourselves? Is it to make others feel sorry for us? Is it to justify our limitations or blame others for our failures? What good does it do us when others feel sorry for us? Does it make us better, make them love us more? Or is it simply the perfect excuse not to move forward, not to grow?
A true believer in the Kingdom, a follower of the religion of Jesus, will never fall into self-pity. How could he, if he lives life with joy, if he does everything possible to be strong in the face of adversity?
When my children once become self-conscious of the assurance of the divine presence, such a faith will expand the mind, ennoble the soul, reinforce the personality, augment the happiness, deepen the spirit perception, and enhance the power to love and be loved. UB 159:3.12
All believers in the religion of Jesus (and, by extension, of the fifth revelation) must keep in mind these benefits of having within us a divine fragment, a piece of the Universal Father lodged in our mind:
Let’s go to the last paragraph of Jesus’ teaching that appears in this section:
Teach all believers that those who enter the kingdom are not thereby rendered immune to the accidents of time or to the ordinary catastrophes of nature… UB 159:3.13
We often tend to believe that having had the privilege of learning the wonderful teachings of The Urantia Book automatically makes us chosen for a special mission, and that this gives us a kind of immunity from the hardships of existence, whether natural or man-made. And it’s true… but only partially.
In my opinion, it’s no coincidence that we, and not others, discovered this book. In these early years of the dissemination of the teachings of the Fifth Revelation, I have the feeling that someone “up there” has encouraged a group of truth seekers (initially small) to encounter these teachings. In all the years I’ve been in contact with readers, I’ve read and heard countless testimonies from readers who found the book in circumstances that were at least picturesque, even supernatural. On other occasions, it’s been after a severe crisis, or after seeking help mentally, or after years of searching here and there. Some knew about the book but put it aside for years. Because one thing is certain: the book “comes to us” at just the right moment; neither before nor after.
So I think it’s true that we are indeed chosen, but that doesn’t imply belonging to a privileged elite in the sense that life’s hardships will no longer visit us. I remember, for example, Dr. Lena Sadler, wife of Dr. Sadler and a believer from the beginning in the veracity of the Urantia revelation. She died of cancer and even had her arm amputated years earlier due to a medical error. She also suffered the loss of a daughter, which is the most painful experience one can have as a parent. I wouldn’t exactly describe her personal life as easy, no matter how successful she was in her family and professional life.
I sincerely believe that if we have been chosen, it is because we have the capacity to spread the good news of revelation, that our minds are fertile ground for teachings to germinate and bear fruit. So we have been chosen, yes, but to work hard, not to achieve public fame and recognition.
I would, however, venture a qualification to these statements: we are not immune to misfortunes, but our attitude toward them and the fact that we see them as what they are—fleeting setbacks that visit us in time and space—means that, in the long run, these setbacks visit us less and less. In a way, it’s as if we’ve already learned that lesson. And what’s the point in repeating a lesson we already know?
…Belief in the gospel will not keep you from trouble, but it will ensure that you will not be afraid when trouble comes. If you dare to believe in me and begin to follow me wholeheartedly, you will surely enter the very path that leads to trouble. I do not promise to deliver you from the waters of adversity, but I do promise to walk through them all with you. UB 159:3.12
Here, the Master makes an observation that should not be overlooked: the path that leads to entering the kingdom is not a bed of roses, and not always because of the difficulties that the kingdom itself entails, but also because we run the risk of being inconvenient for other human beings, of being targeted by those who wish to subjugate others through fear and unthinking assent to their truths. Jesus of Nazareth experienced firsthand the results of preaching the truth of the gospel, and although today no one is crucified or burned at the stake, there are many ways to harm people: mockery, discredit, social isolation, etc.
At this stage of the dissemination of revelation, those of us who believe in the truth of the teachings of The Urantia Book go more or less unnoticed in society. We are still very few. But there will come a time when we will have to put ourselves under the scrutiny of the media and the general public, and we must be prepared for that.
But all these present and future setbacks should not discourage us. When we apply the cosmic perspective, temporary misfortunes become small and relative. Humanity’s spiritual progress may be slow and tortuous, but it continues inexorably on its path. We may take two steps forward and one step back, but the long-term outcome will be positive. Furthermore, we are not alone; we have many celestial beings walking beside us and other spiritual aids: the Thought Adjuster, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, the adjutant spirits… Not a single human being on this planet is totally and absolutely alone, even though the rest of their fellow human beings have abandoned them.
At this point, and after analyzing the Master’s words in this specific section, I would like to summarize the ideas that, in my opinion, were the most important of what Jesus said to the instructors and believers of his time, to apply it to the fifth revelation and to the instructors and believers of here and now.
If there’s one thing that automatically discredits someone who defines themselves as religious, it’s doing the opposite of what they claim to believe. If we’re committed to spreading the teachings of The Urantia Book, it’ll be of little use to give thoughtful talks or write long texts about the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of human beings if we don’t make this dual principle the pivot around which our lives revolve. If there’s one thing people quickly detect, it’s the inconsistency between our words and our actions, and those who hear us will think (rightly) that it’s not worth their while to devote their attention to teachings that haven’t transformed their interlocutors internally.
As believers in the teachings of the Fifth Revelation, we cannot fall into the error of institutionalized religions. While it is certainly good and desirable to delve deeper into the book’s teachings, it is not a question of becoming scholars or experts. The Urantia Book has such depth and density of concepts that its study can take a lifetime, but let us not lose sight of our ultimate goal, which is to progress spiritually.
It is better to fail in disseminating revelation than to succeed by lying to others, manipulating others, or using them in any way. By viewing someone as a means, we are denying them the status of our sister, failing to honor the divine spark within them. We are all endowed with free will, and that gift is sacred to all celestial personalities. Therefore, it should be sacred to us as well.
There is no point in forcing the dissemination of revelation or attempting to artificially accelerate it. We must always keep in mind that “the Most Highs rule in the kingdoms of men”; they have sufficient wisdom to propagate an idea for which its time has come. When the time of the fifth revelation arrives (perhaps in the not-too-distant future, although we don’t know that yet), no force in heaven or on Earth will be able to stop its advance. In the meantime, we must work and prepare the ground for that time when it comes, without holding out too much hope that we will see any progress during our short stay on Urantia. Let us remember, for example, that many generations of humans worked on the construction of the first Garden, and they didn’t even see Adam and Eve arrive, as they appeared on Earth thousands of years later.
Let us remember that Jesus never belittled or ridiculed anyone’s beliefs, no matter how ridiculous they seemed. He simply brought out the best in them and enhanced them, helping those he spoke to attain higher truths. What can we achieve by belittling or ridiculing someone? As we said before, it can cause their hearts to close to our words. And it is impossible to convey good news to closed hearts.
Materialism, even though it’s on the decline (at least the Revelators tell us the worst of it is over), makes many people suspicious of anything to do with God and religion. This is even more true if we talk to them about a revelation that lies outside the orbit of institutionalized religions. That unnerves them even more! So we have to be very careful how we deal with these matters. It’s best to try to find common ground, something we can agree on, even if it’s just the most basic ethical principles. Even if people tell us they don’t believe in anything, everyone believes in something. And it’s also true that there are many more good people than bad, and for those people, the truth resonates immediately.
The Urantia Book was published in 1955 in English, and in Spanish in 1993. Despite the progress made in disseminating the teachings, it is clear that few people in the world know that there is a book called The Urantia Book. Sometimes I think that, if we readers had formed secret brotherhoods, perhaps The Urantia Book would have been better known, because human beings feel an irresistible attraction to the secret and the forbidden. But that is not the goal we should pursue.
We don’t want to attract sudden popularity, which would be detrimental to the spread of the revelation. It’s unwise to spread indiscriminate publicity. We’re not here to satisfy people’s superficial curiosity. What we want is to make the teachings known so that they gradually transform people, and that this will gradually lead, generation after generation, to making the world a better place. First in our immediate surroundings, and then, if the opportunity arises, in broader settings.
That’s the way: quiet and constant work. In this society, which seeks immediate and rapid consumption, which is discarded just as quickly, we must strive to endure, to create something lasting and good: in our children, our family, our friends, our neighborhood, our city, our country, our beloved planet Urantia. The history written in the future will probably forget our names, but the celestial beings and the Father in heaven recognize our efforts right now, and the day we can communicate with them, they will undoubtedly express it to us in words we can understand.
Let us remember what the Revelators told us about Jesus: that he was a man of joy, not of sadness. Let us not go through life with a serious countenance, thinking that what we do is a sacrifice for others. Service is not about self-denial or sacrifice, but about doing good with a sincere smile on our faces! We should not serve others because we have to, but because we want to, and, moreover, we are delighted to serve, for the pleasure felt in giving is much greater than that felt in receiving. Service should be our natural reaction to life; it should be part of our character.
If there’s one thing the teachings of The Urantia Book give us, it’s hope for a bright future, not only for us but also for humanity. Who can fail to rejoice at that prospect?
Faith as described in The Urantia Book—faith-trust, reasoned faith, faith that is not at odds with science or philosophy—is a tireless generator of inner strength. Life’s circumstances test it countless times, and as human beings, we sometimes lose hope or doubt that everything will ultimately happen for the greater good. On those occasions, there is no better recharge for faith than prayer. Let us remember that Jesus himself occasionally retreated to a remote place to commune with the Father. Like him, we too need to recharge our spiritual batteries from time to time, even if it is just for a few minutes a day. From time to time, it is important to step back from the daily hustle and bustle and live consciously in the present. Otherwise, the demands of everyday life cause us to lose our bearings, make us forget our life’s purpose and why we are here.
As humans, it’s easy to fall into the temptation of feeling special for having experienced a revelation like the one contained in The Urantia Book. But let’s not fool ourselves: in these times we live in, we’re going to encounter rejection or even worse: indifference. Compared to other similar movements, we Urantia Book readers are still an insignificant community that very few people know about. That has its disadvantages, of course, but it also has an important advantage (in my opinion), and that is that this anonymity puts us in a very effective position to make lasting changes in society. Working outside the public eye allows our energies to be dedicated more to effective dissemination work than to defensive work. Of course, we must prepare for that day (which will come sooner or later) when we are exposed to public opinion.
In the meantime, as believers in the fifth revelation, let us live our lives joyfully; let us be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. And above all, let us spread the benign virus of love, so that all humanity may eventually be infected with it. This is undoubtedly what our Father desires for us to do. And it is our will that His will be done.
Thank you all very much for your attention.