© 2016 Olga López
© 2016 International Urantia Association (IUA)
The fourth epochal revelation—the one brought by our Creator Son to his world under the human identity of Jesus of Nazareth—is very closely related to the next one, the fifth epochal revelation contained in The Urantia Book. That may be why, when we read Part IV of the book, we cannot help feeling the midwayers in charge of the revelation of the life and teachings of Jesus are not just describing the facts of the seventh bestowal of Michael of Nebadon, but also conveying very valuable insights for the success of the fifth epochal revelation.
More precisely, there is a section in Paper 159—The Decapolis Tour—titled “Instruction for Teachers and Believers” that is worth a thorough study. These instructions were a part of a speech that Jesus gave to “guide those who preach truth” and to “activate all who teach the gospel of the kingdom” [UB 159:3.1]
Therefore, I invite you to reflect with me on each one of these paragraphs containing these deep teachings. Probably many other meanings, other thoughts, will come to your minds, and I would love you to share them with me. The most important thing here is to grasp the truth, beauty, and goodness in these teachings, and to convey them in our daily living.
Let’s start with these teachings of Jesus, summarized and stated 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]
The late Spanish philosopher Jose Luis Aranguren, said in his essay Ética (Ethics): “We should never fight in an unfair way, not even against unfairness.” And this is completely true. We cannot use illicit methods to convey what is licit to us. And the use of force is, indeed, an illicit method that does not respect at all the unique personality of each one of our fellows.
No matter how much we think the book’s teachings are very superior compared to any other doctrine, religion, or thinking; we should never impose them on anyone, in doing so 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 were we compelled to feel superior just to know a revelation that is very little known in the world today? And how many times have we felt the urge of using sarcasm or hurtful comments in front of people that don’t believe or think the same as we do?
… While emotion as a factor in human decisions cannot be wholly eliminated, it should not be directly appealed to in the teachings of those who would advance the cause of the kingdom… [UB 159:3.2]
This insight is most valuable to me. It reminds me immediately the Christian churches and their use of human emotions, in order to strengthen the bonds among the members of the community of believers and—above all—between the members and the religious teachers. I think we should be alert and careful and follow the guidelines the Master gave to us.
… 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 above mentioned are just the most used by institutionalized religions, among which Christianity—the religion about Jesus—is not an exception. How many times were we threatened to the eternal punishment of hell if we “commit sin?” How many times did we feel pity when told about the benefits of penitence, emphasizing for example the suffering experienced by martyrs in the early Christianity?
Since we are in charge of disseminating the glad tidings, we should take into account always that our fellows have also a divine spark within, their Thought Adjusters. Just for that they deserve our respect and consideration. Let’s think of them as pilgrims of time and space, because this is just what they are. They, and us.
… 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]
This is the attitude! We should not come into a house if its owner does not give permission to us. People value very much that their freedom of thinking—and acting—is to be respected. This is the red line we must never cross when disseminating the revelation; otherwise we wouldn’t be consistent with the teachings of true freedom that the fifth revelation offers to us.
Have you noticed how many good, beautiful, and true teachings are in this paragraph? And this is only the first one!
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 159:3.2]
Even though it may sound commonplace, it’s fundamental to love oneself first in order to love and serve the others. As one of my favorite quote says, “Love is the desire to do good to others,” and to do good to others means help them to progress, to become more than they are now, and for that end, it’s fundamental to keep their self-esteem high enough. We should take into account these people may love and serve the others in turn, so that they can spread the benign virus of love. This is what Jesus’ gospel is 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 behavior, and we should do that too. How many times do we regret or criticize what we think other people do in a wrong way! We are too generous with criticisms and too greedy with compliments! It’s not that we have to praise every trifle, but everybody has their good points to recognize and we should make our fellows feel appreciated and valuable. Who could resist a sincere compliment? Thus people will have a more receptive attitude immediately.
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 how difficult is for timid people to express their ideas and thoughts in front of others. If we, on top of that, wear them out emotionally and intellectually using sarcasm, not only their self-esteem would be damaged, but also they will be even more reluctant to open their hearts, by fear of being hurt. That’s why it’s so important to listen and to have a loving attitude so that they feel confident. Sarcasm and irony are very appealing resources, because they put the person who uses them in a position of intellectual superiority, but it’s not about feeling superior, but helping others to see the treasures of the temple by 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]
Even though we may think it’s better to live doing nothing, work really dignifies people, and there is no more destructive thing for self-esteem than being unemployed. That’s why one way to help the others is to help them in finding a way to keep them busy – a job that makes them happy and useful for their families and society.
It’s good to make The Urantia Book teachings known, but we should not forget that they are about helping the others in what they may need. Even if these needs are mundane, they are also necessary and we should not ignore them.
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 more, we should not use illicit tactics to achieve licit ends, because this invalidates our good intentions automatically. Fear never is or can be a licit tactic and, if the Father does not use it with us—since he is a loving Father—then we should not use it with our brothers and sisters. No one should be forced to enter the kingdom, no matter how good this would be for them. The free will of our fellows is sacred, as is ours. As the Master said a few paragraphs before, we have to show them the door and invite them to come in, never to drag them in. The respect towards the free will of the others is an act of love to 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]
Too often this is really hard to tell. We feel many times urges within us that we assume are coming from the leading of our Thought Adjusters, but to what extent is this true? It’s very easy to attribute the impulsive urges driving us to act on the leading Thought Adjuster. How can we know if these urges come from the divine spirit within? In this case, we must use our own insight and – if this is not enough—ask our Father for discernment to identify the leading of the Adjuster among all our 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]
Now I would like to invite you to reflect on what has been and is your experience concerning the conflict between material and spiritual life. I believe all of us, since committed to the spreading of the fifth epochal revelation, wish to give more importance to spiritual life and we strive for living in its kingdom and being farther and farther from material life, but this struggle is not easy. We live in a material world with all its demands pushing us, whether real or fictitious. Life is a continuous and tiresome horse-trading but—if we want and by communing with our Father—we can make struggle less intense so the spiritual side of life will eventually win.
We all have to go through that, because it’s part of the condition of mortal creatures of time and space, and we should not feel discouraged if the material part wins the battle in a certain moment of our lives. The most important thing is to be aware that we must work hard and are not alone in this, because the divine guide is within our minds just to spiritualize us. We must not be too hard with ourselves!
… 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 the task of spreading of the fifth revelation—people who want to be part of the kingdom which the Master spoke of—we are aware that ignorance is not an excuse for us. We know who we are, where we come from, and where we go—and the dual fact of the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man makes our lives consistent with this. The Master does not ask for our intellectual consent towards this dual truth, but he asks for living this truth each and every moment in our lives. It’s not easy, but it’s not impossible either, as long as we make this truth ours in a way that living accordingly it becomes as natural and automatic as using our native language. It’s true that we had learned it as children, but we did it in a natural way and now we use it more than satisfactorily to express our ideas and feelings. Our progressive spiritualization works in a very similar way as learning our native language. We have to practice daily, using the reinforcement of a regular connection with our Adjuster by prayer and meditation, and one day our reactions will be automatic, we won’t even be aware of thinking “I have to do this because this is the right thing to do.” Furthermore, we won’t feel as restrained or deprived. The Master does not ask for self-denial or sacrifice, but making the kingdom real within us and putting it in 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 159:5.8]
These words reminded me the episode in which Jesus and Ganid helped a lost child to find his mother. Let’s remember here the words of the Master:
“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 are we, human beings, so stubborn, and insist on searching outside what we already have inside? Maybe because the inner search is the most difficult one, as paradoxical it may sound. But I add the other idea appearing in this paragraph of Paper 132: to those who know God, it must be a privilege and a duty to help the others to know God. This is just 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 159:5.8]
Faith provides the conviction that there is a higher reality, and the hope which gives to us provides also the energy to face the life hardships. Of course, there are always moments in which faith may weaken. We live in a world where there is too much unfairness, life can be very hard sometimes, and it’s very easy to feel discouraged, to fall into pessimism, and to question ourselves whether what we believe is real or just a beautiful tale to make our life easier to bear. But, if our faith resists doubt and disbelief, nothing can defeat us: we will be able to fly higher and beyond all the mud of the mundane existence. And misfortune, if we ever experience it, is not going to get to us because faith makes us stronger. Faith is our distinguishing mark as agondonters!
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 159:5.8]
I want to highlight here how original and new were the Master’s words concerning the idea of God at that time. The Jews—the people with the most progressive religion then—thought of Yahweh, their God, as an Almighty Being who they must fear in order to not to be victims of his anger. Here, the Master is saying that preaching the gospel is “teaching friendship with God”—no more, no less. Therefore, our Father is not only our Creator but our friend, someone who knows us better than we do ourselves, and someone to trust in. Because he loves us and wants the best for us. Jesus brought God closer to us than any other person did. Who can be closer to us than a friend—Father? Thinking of God this way gives us strength to think that no matter if the rest of humanity leaves us: there is someone that never will, and in addition, he will make us be more than we are now.
… Tell my children that I am not only tender of their feelings and patient with their frailties, but that I am also ruthless with sin and intolerant of iniquity. I am indeed meek and humble in the presence of my Father, but I am equally and relentlessly inexorable where there is deliberate evil-doing and sinful rebellion against the will of my Father in heaven. [UB 159:5.8]
One thing is the attitude that divine beings have before personal beings, and another thing is the attitude towards a deliberate transgression to the Father’s will. As a Divine Counselor says in Paper 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 the sin… [UB 2:6.8]
Rodan of Alexandria said about the Master:
“He strongly loves goodness and equally hates sin” [UB 161:2.6].
That’s why the reaction of divine beings is always firm against sin, even though it’s also true that they always keep a merciful and loving attitude towards creatures, being led 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 buoyancy 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. Increasing happiness is always the experience of all who are certain about God. [UB 159:3.10]
How far is joy from the religion which claims to be the bearer of Jesus’ message! How much emphasis is made in the suffering of crucifixion, in the importance of penitence, sacrifice, and self-denial to gain salvation, and how little importance is given to the joy of resurrection! Resurrection that all of us—not only Jesus—will experience one day, sooner or later. In this speech, the Master mentions joy many times as a life attitude before hardships. And this has to be our attitude! If we know as we do that death is not the end, that the lack of justice and the evil on this world are little black stains on a white canvas, then how could we not be joyous? If we see black stains too big, then we must look at them from a bigger distance. Thus we will see that living is not only easier to bear, but also material existence does not look a heavy burden to us anymore. It’s important to insist on what is really important: attitude, and how you look at it.
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 talks about avoiding false sympathy as well as self-pity. I think this deserves a bit more of discussion.
What is the meaning of “sympathy?” According to the Merriam-Webster, one of its meanings is “the character or fact of being sensitive to or affected by another’s emotions, experiences, or especially sorrows.”Concerning false sympathy, we may say this sensitiveness toward sorrows is false, it is just for show and it’s not truly felt. But this paragraph also talks about poorly understood sympathy, that is, when we felt pity towards someone who does not deserve it.
But who deserves sympathy? We may mean those who experience difficult situations and do something to solve them. People who wait for others to solve their problems, people who do nothing more than complaining and blame everything and everyone for their misfortune just don’t deserve sympathy.
As of self-pity, what do we really intend by pitying ourselves? Maybe that the others pity us? Maybe do we want to justify our limitations or to blame the others for our failures? What do we want the others pity us for? Maybe this way we become something better, or this makes the others want us more? Or is it just to get the perfect excuse for not progressing, not growing?
A true believer in the kingdom—a follower of the religion OF Jesus—will never fall into self-pity. How could they do it since they live life with joy, they do their best to be strong before hardships?
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 the believers in the religion of Jesus—and, of course, in the fifth revelation—must have in mind the benefits of having a divine spark within us—a little piece of the Universal Father inside our minds:
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a) Faith expands our minds: we are not talking about blind faith, the impulsive consent to statements made by other people or holy texts. Living faith —reasoned faith—makes us more open-minded always, because Truth can be everywhere. Those who have faith in realities beyond human existence are seekers by definition.
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b) Faith ennobles the soul: we are sons and daughters of God by faith, and therefore we see the others as sons and daughters of God as well, as our brothers and sisters.
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c) Faith reinforces our personality: faith makes us face life better, for we know there are better things to expect than what we are experiencing now in this life.
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d) Faith augments our happiness: The hope that faith gives to us makes us happier even in objectively hard situations. It’s not about the happiness that money or other material things supposedly give, but a more profound and lasting happiness which does not depend on something as volatile and fleeting as our material welfare.
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e) Faith deepens our spirit perception: learning by faith that we have within us a Father fragment makes us be alert towards its divine guidance, strive for keeping in tune with it. This makes us more receptive to spiritual values.
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f) Faith enhances our power to love and be loved: how could we not love someone having a divine spark within? All humans with normal minds are endowed with this divine gift of the heavenly Father. We may be different, physically and intellectually, but we have the same spiritual endowment, the same potential to reach Paradise and to stand at the very presence of God.
Now, let’s go to the last paragraph of Jesus’ teachings 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 159:5.13]
We tend to believe that having the privilege to know the marvelous teachings of The Urantia Book makes us “the ones,” or the chosen people with a special mission, and this implies to have some kind of immunity against the hardships of human existence, either natural or provoked by humans. And this is true… but only partially.
In my opinion, it’s not by chance that we and not others have found this book. In these early years of the dissemination of the fifth revelation teachings, I have the feeling that someone “up there” fostered that a group of truth-seekers—initially small—found these teachings. In all the years that I have been in contact with other readers, I read—and listened to—many stories about readers finding the book in very odd situations—even supernatural. On other occasions, this discovery happened after a strong crisis, after asking mentally for help, or after long years searching everywhere. Some knew of the book but they left it on a shelf for years. And one thing is true: everyone finds the book in the right moment: not before, not after.
So I think it’s true we were chosen, but it does not imply we belong to some privileged elite, meaning that life hardships are not going to knock our door anymore. For example, I remember Dr. Lena Sadler, Dr. Sadler’s wife. She believed in the veracity of the Urantia revelation since the very beginning, but she died from cancer and even suffered the amputation of one arm years before due to a medical error. She also suffered the loss of a daughter, and this is the worst experience one can have as a parent. I would not qualify her personal life as easy, regardless her success in his family and professional life.
I truly believe that if we were chosen it’s because we have the ability to feel the impulse of the glad tidings of the revelation, that our minds are fertile ground so teachings can blossom and bear fruit. So yes, we were chosen, but to work hard, not to gain public fame and recognition.
But I would dare to nuance these statements: we are not immune to hardships, true, but our attitude towards them and the fact to see them as they are, fleeting setbacks that visit us in time and space, makes that these setbacks are becoming less and less frequent. Somehow it’s like we have already learned that lesson. And what is the point in repeating a lesson that we have already learnt?
… Believing the gospel will not prevent getting into trouble, but it will insure that you shall be unafraid when trouble does overtake you. If you dare to believe in me and wholeheartedly proceed to follow after me, you shall most certainly by so doing enter upon the sure pathway to trouble. I do not promise to deliver you from the waters of adversity, but I do promise to go with you through all of them. [UB 159:5.13]
Here, the Master makes a remark that we should not overlook: the way to the kingdom is not a bed of roses, not only due to the difficulties inherent to it, but also because we take the risk to become an inconvenience to other human beings, to be in the eye of the hurricane in front of all those who want to subdue the others by fear and blind consent to their truths. Jesus of Nazareth lived firsthand the outcome to preach the truth of the gospel and, even though no one dies on the cross nowadays or is burnt in a bonfire, there are many ways to harm people: mocking, discredit, social isolation, etc.
In this stage of the dissemination of the revelation, all those who believe in the truth contained in The Urantia Book teachings pass more or less unnoticed. We are still very few. But there will be a time when we will be under the public eye, and we should be prepared by then.
But we should not be discouraged by these present and future setbacks. When we use cosmic perspective, temporal disgraces shrink, they become relative. Spiritual progress of mankind may be slow and winding, but it’s on its way. We may take two steps forward and one step back, but eventually the final outcome will be positive. Furthermore, we are not alone; we have many celestial beings and many other spiritual aids walking with us: the Thought Adjuster, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, the adjutant mind-spirits… Not even one human being on this planet is totally and completely alone, no matter all their fellows have left them on their own.
¶ Summary
Once we got here, and after analyzing the Master’s words on this section, I would like to synthesize the most important ideas—in my opinion—about what Jesus said to the teachers and believers of his time, in order to apply this to the fifth revelation and its teachers and believers here and now.
1. Making the teachings known is not enough: we must have the teachings within us.
If there is something which automatically discredits people claiming themselves as religionists is doing just the opposite to what they claim to believe. If we commit ourselves to make The Urantia Book teachings known, it’s useless to give impressive speeches or write long essays about the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of men if we don’t make this dual principle the foundation for our daily living. If there is something that people tell immediately is the inconsistency between our words and our doings, and those listening to us will think—with good reason—it’s useless to devote their attention to teachings that have not transformed their interlocutor.
As believers in the fifth revelation teachings, we cannot fall into the same errors as institutionalized religions have. While it’s true, good and desirable to have a deeper understanding of the book’s teachings, it’s not about becoming book scholars or experts. The Urantia Book has such a depth and density of concepts that its study can take a lifetime, but we should not lose sight of the fact that our final goal is to progress spiritually.
2. The ends don’t justify the means, no matter how noble they are. People are never means, but ends.
It would be preferable to fail in the dissemination of the revelation than to succeed by deceiving other people, manipulating other people or using them somehow. When we see people as mean, we are denying they are our fellows; we don’t honor the indwelling divine spark. We are all endowed with free will, and this gift is sacred for all the celestial personalities. So this must be it to us too.
It’s pointless to force the dissemination of the revelation or try to speed it up artificially. Always we have to keep in mind “the Most High rule in the kingdom of men” they are wise enough to spread an idea whose time has come. When time is come for the fifth revelation—in a probably not very distant future, even though we don’t really know when—there won’t be any force in heaven or earth able to stop its progress. In the meantime, we have to work and prepare the soil for that moment. And don’t expect to see some progress in our short sojourn on Urantia. Let’s remember that many generations of humans worked in the first Garden of Eden, and they didn’t even see Adam and Eve coming, because they appeared on Earth thousands of years after.
3. Building, never destroying.
Remember that Jesus never undervalued or made fun of others’ beliefs, no matter how ridiculous they seemed. He just extracted the best in their beliefs and enhanced them, and thus he helped people to get higher truths. What could we get if we undervalue or make fun of someone? As I said before, what we get is their hearts getting locked to our words. And it’s impossible to convey glad tidings to locked hearts.
Materialism, in spite of losing its importance—at least revelators tell us the worst of it is in the past—makes that many people are suspicious of things like God and religion, and even more if they are told about a revelation outside the institutionalized religions. This is even more disconcerting to them! So we have to be very careful about the way we deal with these matters. The best thing to do is to try to look for points in common, something to agree with, even though it’s about the most basic ethic principles. Although some may say they don’t believe in anything, everybody believes in something. And it’s also true that there are much more good people than bad ones; and the first ones grasp truth immediately.
4. Being aware that we should not expect public fame and recognition, but silent and anonymous work.
The Urantia Book was published in 1955 in English. In spite of progress has been made in the dissemination of the teachings, it’s clear there are still very few people in the world knowing there is a book called The Urantia Book. Sometimes I think that if we readers had created a secret organization, then The Urantia Book would have been more publicly known, because human beings feel an irresistible attraction to secret and forbidden things. But this is not the goal we should follow.
We don’t want to attract a sudden popularity that would be eventually harmful to the spreading of the revelation. It’s not wise to give wide publicity. We are not here to satisfy people’s superficial curiosity. What we want is to make teachings known so that they transform people little by little and thus making the world a better place, generation by generation. First in our most immediate environment and then, if occasion arises, in wider ones.
This is the way: silent and constant work. In this society, where looking for the immediate and the fast consumption is the norm, we should strive for standing and creating something durable and good in our children, our family, our friends, our neighborhood, our city, our country, and our dear planet Urantia. Probably our names will be forgotten by history, but celestial beings and our Father in heaven recognize our efforts right now. And the day we will be able to communicate with them, they will express this recognition in words that we’ll be able to understand, no doubt about it.
5. Let’s make joy our distinguishing mark
Remember what revelators said about Jesus: he was a man of joy, not of sorrows. Don’t walk in life with a sad face, thinking you are sacrificing yourselves for the others. Service is not about self-denial or sacrifice, but doing good to others with a sincere smile in our faces! We must not serve others just because this is our obligation, but we want to do it and, furthermore, we are pleased to serve, for the pleasure we feel giving is much better than the one we feel taking. Service must be our natural reaction toward life. It must be part of our character.
If there is something that The Urantia Book teachings give to us, is just hope for a brighter future, not only for us but also for mankind. Who would not be happy with this perspective?
6. Faith is the best fuel for our inner machine.
Faith as described in The Urantia Book—faith-trust, reasoned faith, faith in harmony with science and philosophy—is an endless generator of inner strength. Life circumstances challenge faith countless times and we, as human beings, lose our hope sometimes or question if everything happens for the sake of a greater good. On these occasions, there is no better recharge for our faith than prayer. Remember that Jesus used to go away to a quiet place from time to time just to be in communion with his Father. Likewise, we also need to recharge our spiritual batteries from time to time, even if it’s just some minutes a day. It’s important to get away from the quotidian whirlwind on a regular basis and to live the present time consciously. Otherwise, the demands of daily life make us lose direction – make us forget our purpose in life and why we are here.
7. Believing in the fifth revelation does not make us free of all harm, but chosen people to work hard. But this will be the sweetest gratifying work ever.
As human beings, it’s easy to fall into temptation and to feel ourselves as special people because we have found The Urantia Book revelation. But don’t get it wrong: in these times that we are living, we are going to find rejection or something even worse than that: indifference. Compared to other similar movements, The Urantia Book readers are still an insignificant community that very few people know. This has some disadvantages, of course, but it also has an important advantage (in my opinion): being anonymous puts us in a very effective position to make lasting changes in the society. If we are far from the public eye, then we can devote more of our energies to an effective dissemination work and less to a defensive one. But we must be prepared for the day we will be exposed to public opinion—since this day will come, sooner or later.
In the meantime, as believers in the fifth revelation, let’s live our life in joy; let’s be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves. And, above all, let’s spread the benign virus of love, so that all the mankind will be infected by it. This is what our Father undoubtedly wants us to do. And it’s our will that his will be done.
Thank you so much for your attention.