© 2000 Philip Taylor
© 2000 Urantia Association International (IUA)
| The Acme of Religious Living | Journal — September 2000 — Index | Sharing God, the Sublime Consciousness of Knowing God |
Philip Taylor, U.S.A.
Peace be with you my brothers and sisters. I am glad to have this opportunity to speak with so many God-knowing men and women, and it gives me great pleasure to be able to share these words with you. Know this, I pray often for the spiritual progress of this movement, and so too, do I pray for the spiritual progress of each and every one of you. I say this to express my love for you, my brothers and sisters, who I sincerely hope will achieve that divine greatness to which you are all entitled.
I commence this speech with this expression of my love for you, as I know it is the desire of our brother Michael to have love as the keynote to everything we do. If this organization is not heralded by love, then it has not the blessing of our creator and it has not the strength to continue. I say this because this conference is dedicated to doing the will of our Father in heaven, and his will can only be achieved through the desire of love-saturated souls. This requirement is not to be taken lightly. We must truly and genuinely love one another for the Urantia movement to be a success.
Gathered before me are the leaders of a great spiritual movement—one that is intended to usher in a new age. But we can only become great leaders if as spiritual pioneers we put love first in our hearts.
When I speak of ourselves as leaders, I mean just that. We are leaders of a new age, the beginning of light and life. We can no longer discredit ourselves. There are very few men and women on this planet who are capable of comprehending the magnitude and spiritual import that is contained in The Urantia Book. But you my brothers and sisters have recognized its greatness. And so into our hands falls the joyful burden of taking this message to our fellows, The Urantia Book states that the average mortal cannot hope to attain the perfection of Jesus of Nazareth. But then how many here choose to be average? How many in this room dare to take that challenge? If these words inspire you, if the spiritual challenge to live to the glory of God rushes into your hearts, then listen further: To take on this challenge is simple. There is only one thing that we must do and that is to seek the will of our Father in heaven. In partnership with our Adjuster, we must amass all our spiritual effort into the wholehearted desire to do his will as it is done in heaven. But listen to these words: “wholehearted desire”—we must do anything and be anything to attain his plan of mortal perfection. Half-hearted desire will be of no avail.
I would like to quote from 111:5.4:
Peace in this life, survival in death, perfection in the next life, service in eternity — all these are acbieved (in spirit) now when the creature personality consents—chooses— to subject the creature will to the Father’s will. [UB 111:5.4]
This is all that is required of us. There are no sacrifices to be made, no oaths to be taken. Simply must we desire his plan of perfection. If this is true, if we so desire this perfection, then at every moment of spiritual import and at every episode of human frailty, when love resides deep in our hearts, will we stop and ask, “Father, what is your will?” If this desire is truly resident, then the Father will be at the center of our lives, and on his guidance we will depend. This is not the mystery of God. It is quite simple. The greatest effort that a God-knowing man or woman can make is the wholehearted desire for perfection and the dependence on divine guidance.
Once this decision has been made (and there is no doubt as to our dependence on God as Jesus was dependent on God), then the Father is at the center of our lives, and no more will we need to seek the outward guidance of friends, associates or spiritual organizations.
For those of you who have been frustrated by the lack of genuine spiritual leadership — whether it came from a local church, a colleague or the various factions of the Urantia readership — recognize that your frustration comes from the failure to recognize true spiritual leadership and where it comes from. There is only one source for true spirit guidance and that is the Father in heaven. When the Father is the center of our lives, when we have become spirit-led, then will we recognize that there is only one spiritual organization—and that is the spiritual brotherhood of men and women, where our Father is centered and over which Michael presides, and in which love prevails. This is the spiritual protocol of the universe; it is how the age of light and life is ushered in and how the universe is administered.
Has it occurred to us why the past and present movements proclaiming the teachings of Jesus have been mired in factioning and infighting? Even today, is it not the will of the Father in heaven for the Urantia movement to flourish? We know it is his will, but why has this not happened? Why has it been so difficult to advance the teachings of a book which every reader holds close to his or her heart? I can only answer this question with another question. Have we honestly attempted to find the Father’s will in these matters? Have we sought in our minds the Father’s plan for this revelation, or have we sought to implement our own ideas? I will leave this question unanswered, and let the results speak for themselves.
There are many mortal plans for this Urantia movement, but there is only one divine plan for the era of light and life. Which of these plans do we wish to choose? The plans of mortal origin may be exclusive, available only to the leaders of one organization or another. But the divine plan of light and life is available to all who would seek to do his will. This plan of the Father is available to us now. What we can do to realize this plan is available to us now. And our participation in this plan is perfectly coordinated with every other God-knowing man and woman who chooses to do the Father’s will. Make no mistake: there is a place for us in God’s plan. All we need is to say: “Father, I want to be of service to you and Michael.” In fact this plan relies heavily on us and our brothers and sisters. This plan cannot be executed by a few individuals. For this plan to be effective it relies on broad-based participation. All who know God are needed to be of service in realizing this plan. This is a new era in which spiritual movements will no longer be administered by mortal leadership; direction will come from within, from the spirit of God that resides in our minds. The ground will swell from the broadbased participation of men and women in service to God. And they will recognize the only true leader of their movement as Michael of Nebadon. And there will be unity of purpose.
Ponder this thought: If we find difficulty in attempting to unify the actions and ideas of a reasonably small group as the Urantia readership, then how infinitely greater is the challenge to unify and coordinate the actions and efforts of a trillion inhabited planets in this universe! But this daunting task is achieved because the will of God governs this universe.
In discussing the nature of the kingdom of heaven, Jesus portrayed two phases of universe administration.
First. The kingdom of God in this world, the supreme desire to do the will of God, the unselfish love of man which yields the good fruits of improved ethical and moral conduct.
Second. The kingdom of God in heaven, the goal of mortal believers, the estate wherein the love for God is perfected, and wherein the will of God is done more divinely. [1860.13-1861.1]
As you can see, doing the will of our Father in heaven is the backbone of the Supreme. It is the channel through which this cosmic orchestra is conducted.
In recognition of this fact, then, is it not reasonable to expect that when we conduct the affairs of our daily lives, when we ponder the best course of action, that we rely on the guidance of our heavenly Father? Is not our dependence on him critical to the affairs of the kingdom? It is not enough to simply acknowledge his supreme rule? The belief in the doing the Father’s will does not translate into living the Father’s will. For his plan to be effective we must participate. In fact, the only manner in which the Father’s plan may prevail on earth is through our active participation. Truly, we are all agents of God, and it is through us that the kingdom of heaven becomes a reality. Without our assistance, the age of light and life must await the coming of another day.
But how is it that we are able to live by the will of our Father? How do we attain this level of communion? In my attempts to discern the Father’s thoughts in my mind, I still find great difficulty, but in time I know it will come. What I found important is to know that in all our attempts to serve him, the Father and his Son will be there with us. They will guide us and let us know what to do and what to say. In the beginning what is important is that we desire to do his will —that is, that we desire to be of service. By this I mean: we make ourselves available to him to do his work for others. We become love in action. This is where we become very conscious of the situations he has put us in. We are aware that there is someone in our presence whom we may be of assistance to. Once we become aware of this, we say, “Father, I desire to do your will,” and then think of the thing he would have us do.
I would speak right now of my own personal experience in living the will of the Father. I share these experiences in the hope that they will better assist you in communing with the Father. Understand that I am not an exceptional person. I possess no special gifts. I am very much like the rest of you. I am certainly a beginner in this approach. Understand also that I have only recently begun this adventure, and I do not wish to claim any extraordinary experiences in these matters. Some of my initial attempts resulted in some form of failure, but in between these failed attempts I have experienced the miracle of sharing the truth with my fellows.
I can recall one experience in which I was walking the streets of Georgetown in Washington, D.C. I had gone to school in Washington some years back, and as I was alone, I desired to revisit some of the areas I had once been familiar with. As I entered onto M Street, the main strip in Georgetown, I was thinking of the Father, and I said to him: “Father, I desire to be of service.”
Upon saying this, my mind turned to other things: how beautiful the city was, how exciting the night life, and also how hungry I was. After a block or so, I came across a sandwich shop, and looking for something quick to eat, I decided to stop in.
The store was empty, except for the man behind the counter, whom I greeted with a smile and then gave him my order. I picked up my sandwich and sat down at a table by the door. Halfway through my dinner, the man behind the counter came to the door to smoke a cigarette. I looked over to him and noticed above his head, over the doorway, was a sign in Arabic. Immediately the sign commanded my attention. I had no idea what was spelled out in Arabic, but I had a hunch that it was spiritual in nature, and the thought came to my mind that I should ask the Father if I could be of service. So I quieted my mind and posed the question, “Father, what is your will?”
I’d like to pause here for a moment and share with you the thinking process that occurred in determining his will. In my mind there were many thoughts. There was the thought that I should mind my own business: “Keep quiet and don’t bother him.” Another thought: “How can I start up a conversation when I’m eating.” Or, “What if my sudden interest in this man’s religion makes me look like a freak?” All of these thoughts went through my mind, but the thought that seemed to be the Father’s will was simply “Ask him what the sign says.” This thought seemed most likely to be his will because it was devoid of fear, but genuine, and most important, it would likely draw me into a conversation with one of my fellows, something that I knew Jesus was always fond of. So it was, and with this decision, I asked him what the sign said.
“The sign?” he said “Oh, well it is the word for God in Arabic. I just have it there so I keep him on my mind throughout the day.”
“I like that,” I replied. “I too like to keep the Father in heaven on my mind. I understand you are Muslim. Perhaps you could tell me more about your religion. I have read much of the Koran, but I haven’t had the opportunity to talk with many Muslims.”
“Well, we are very much like you Christians,” he said. “We believe in God, we pray, and we learn to do right from him.”
The conversation continued from there with a beautiful exchange of ideas and truth about Islam, the Father in heaven, the spirit within, and the brotherhood of man. Truly it was a great exchange, one in which two children of God shared each other’s experiences. And what we experienced was two people revealing to each other a higher level of truth, beauty and goodness. I taught of the spirit of God and he taught of the goodness of Islam.
Not every one of my experiences with the Father has produced such fruitful results, but these few experiences have made me hunger for another soulsatisfying encounter wherein I approach a level of near-perfect genuineness that doesn’t often exist between children of God. What occurs is an exchange of truth that is tempered with loving-kindness. I have always desired these experiences with my brothers and sisters but was often prevented by the poison of my fear or some prejudicial point of view. All too often this is a degree of spiritual intimacy that one cannot attain. But with the help of the Father and his Son, such experiences are truly possible. Such exchanges of genuineness—really love—can and do occur.
When this experience of genuineness takes place, what really is happening is that in a subtle but very loving and honest manner, the Father is speaking in partnership with me, but doing so in such a way that I am quite unconscious of it. In fact, the only truly conscious effort I am making is a concerted effort to do the Father’s will and searching in the conversation I am having with this individual for that gem of truth that I can expand upon until it dominates the conversation. I am fully aware of the discussion and what is being said, only I am constantly amazed at how the discussion arrived at this expression of truth. I am amazed at the ideas that are being expressed. It is not that these truths are new, but never before have I been able to express these truths so beautifully.
When you have thus chosen to serve, the Father then makes you available to his other children, so that you may reveal to them his truth, beauty and goodness. Doubt not that this occurs. Those who have experienced this recognize the divine coordination that takes place. Through the partnership that has occurred, between man and God, others will be drawn near to you, so that you may share in his love. This is my experience in living the will of our Father. All that is needed is an awareness of the opportunity to serve him. Servants of God are continually on the lookout for situations where they can be of service. Whether you are on a bus, walking into a store or going to work, enter into the Father’s service by saying these words: “Father, I make myself available to do your will.” And then remember what Jesus instructed us to do.
“Become interested in your fellows; learn bow, to love them and watch for the opportunity to do something for them which you are sure they want done” [1439.0]. Truly the best advice he gave for being of service was his quotation of the Jewish proverb: “A man who would have friends must show himself friendly” [1439.0].
It is by just this sort of friendly, wholesome human interaction that we can begin to serve the Father, by helping, teaching and loving others, and by so doing, people will begin to see a new revelation of Jesus as it is lived in the lives of his followers. And it is just this kind of commitment and dedication that leads to the moral choosing and spiritual development that yields a greater level of Adjuster communion, that which brings us closer to discerning the Father’s thoughts in our own mind.
But for the meantime, during our interaction with our fellows, we should not be so concerned with the direct levels of Adjuster contact-searching for the right words to say, eventually this will come. Merely openly cooperate with the Father in an open, genuine and fearless expression of love towards your fellows and speak freely. I tell you this from my own experience, that by so doing I have been amazed by the degree of truth, beauty and goodness that has filled my words. In a most subtle and unconscious manner I have felt that the Father was speaking through me.
Another experience I would share with you occurred in San Francisco. I was staying in a hotel at the time and again was walking the streets of the city, again, looking for a place to eat. I realize that both my previous story and this story revolve around my desire to eat and my desire to do the Father’s will, but I assure you there really is no connection between the two. That is, I suppose, unless you read in The Urantia Book where they tell us that primitive man only thought when he was hungry. I didn’t realize this until I wrote this, but it sounds pretty incriminating. But such was my experience, and so as I walked down the colorful streets of San Francisco, I said to the Father that I wish to be of service to you and Michael. I also asked if he would guide me to where I needed to be.
Now at this point in my life I had experienced a few rewarding experiences in serving the Father, and desiring more of these, I began to wonder to myself how the Father and our unseen friends guide us to where we should be. I thought of how Jesus, when he was in Rome, personally came into affectionate and uplifting contact with upwards of five hundred mortals of the realm [UB 132:4.3]. This occurred in a period of six weeks. How was it that he was so effective? That is almost three a day. I know that Jesus desired to be of service and that always he sought the Father’s will. Because of this, angels must have guided many people to him, or him to others.
But how do I know that I can be of service to the numerous individuals in my presence, I thought. There has to be some, tactful, kind, loving way of approaching people. The answer I thought to myself was that Michael will provide me with an “in.” That is, a way “in” to the conversation. Perhaps it is by performing some act of kindness for the person, perhaps a smile, or maybe just a question.
With this in mind I found a deli tucked away in a building that looked quite appealing. And I remember thinking to myself, “I wonder if there is someone here I can help.”
After selecting my meal, I took my tray and sat down at a table. Halfway through my meal, I noticed an older man sitting across the table from me. He appeared rather lonely and not particularly happy, and I searched my mind if there was something I could say or do that would uplift this man. I searched and searched in my mind for something to do. But nothing came to me. Then I became frustrated: why was there nothing for me to say? “I really would like to help this man,” I thought. I was particularly confused because I felt that part of the reason that I could not find an answer was that I was fearful of the situation. That is, I was afraid of approaching a complete stranger and starting up a conversation. “I don’t want to make a fool out of myself,” I thought, “especially in front of the other people in the room. What if I scare him off?” Then as if catching my mistake, I stopped and said “Father, what is your will?”
No appealing thought came to my mind.
So after being much perturbed, I relaxed and returned to my thoughts before I entered the deli. I remember how I thought that Michael would give me an “in” if I was needed to be of service. But I could not perceive one in my mind. Perhaps I cannot be of service. Frustrated, I got up to dispose of my paper plate. I realized that I was, in a way, trying to force the Father’s hand into finding a situation where I was not needed.
As I was leaving, however, I noticed another younger man sitting alone, working on his laptop. On his table, next to his coffee, I noticed a copy of the book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. My eyes were drawn to that book, and I almost instinctively asked, "Father, what is your will?
I searched in my mind for the range of my options. The first thought, which often occurs was the fearful thought: “Get out of here. Normal people don’t talk to strangers, especially about religion.” The second was “This person looks busy, don’t bother him.” The third thought, however, had a glimmer or truth and goodness to it:“ I’ve always been interested in that book. I wonder what he thinks of it, and I wonder what kind of person strives to be highly effective.” The obvious thought which seemed most like the Father’s thought, the thought that perhaps my Thought Adjuster put into my mind, was this last thought. It was the most loving, in that it gave me the opportunity to know one of my fellows—and, I had an “in.” I had a friendly way to enter into the conversation.
And a wonderful conversation it was. We discussed the habits of highly effective people, which then led to a conversation about education. And from there, after searching in the conversation for those gems of truth which appear in every hearty discussion, my Adjuster and I found a way to bring about a discussion of the Father in heaven and his spirit within every man. I don’t remember many of the words in the conversation except for one special moment which I believe was in partnership with my Adjuster where I said:
“I don’t consider myself a Christian; rather I would prefer to be seen as a follower of Jesus. That which impresses me most about Christianity pertains to his life. I say this because I understand you are Jewish, and it pains me that so many Jews cannot appreciate his life simply because of the demands put upon you by the so-called Christian religion. But if you would only look at his life, his personal relationship with the Father, and how he sought to do God’s will, I think it would help you become a better Jew and an even greater son of God.”
After further discussion and questions we parted company with kind words, leaving me with the satisfaction of doing the Father’s will and him with a piece of paper on which was written the title of a great book I had read, about the one habit of a highly effective religionist.
By desiring to be of service to others I have found that the Father has become the center of my life. I have certainly recognized my dependence on him. But I share these experiences in the hope that others will come forth and share their experiences with others—so that we may better learn more effective ways of Adjuster communion and of doing the Father’s will. Or if they have not experienced this partnership with God, I hope they will do so and, again, share their stories for the benefit of the community of spirit-led men and women.
Such insightful exchanges of experience are the means by which this brotherhood will grow in its relationship with the Father. But we must be wary of the cynicism that still persists in this world about discerning the thoughts of God in our own minds, a process which is entirely normal. This spirit-led brotherhood requires an open culture of sharing and free exchange of experiences in order that we all may grow. The full revelation of doing the Father’s will is not revealed in The Urantia Book. Rather, it is required that God’s children reveal the nature of understanding his will to one another.
Is this not an act of the Supreme wherein the children of time have the divine experience of revealing God’s divine nature to one another? Should we not derive as much pleasure from exhibiting the aspects of the Father’s personality in our own lives as we do in helping others find truth, beauty and goodness in their lives? Such, I believe, is the Father’s will. But again I must emphasize that we must provide a spiritual culture where others feel free to share their experiences of communion with the Father. Not only do we derive the benefit of hearing other experiences, but we can have the assurance that through sharing, our spiritual lives will remain in check and free from those freakish, erratic and eccentric tendencies [UB 100:7.3] that can often result from spiritual isolation. Such interchange provides the real vehicle by which we can all develop a strong and unified personality along the perfected lines of the Jesus personality [UB 100:7.1].
I recall sharing some of my experiences with one reader, and afterwards being warned that there was great danger in discerning the Father’s thoughts in my mind. I believe she was right: we do need to be careful. There is a danger of elevating our thoughts to the status of divinity where we can err in believing that all our thoughts are God’s thoughts. But we cannot be intimidated by this; we should proceed with caution and discern carefully the thoughts in our minds. But to ignore this guidance that is being offered would deprive me of these experiences, and in effect negate the Father’s will.
I look at this planet and this organization and ask myself: isn’t there a greater danger in ignoring the Father’s plans? By ignoring his guidance do we force ourselves to rely wholly on our own guidance? This is what I am afraid of. I feel much more secure in my spiritual life when it relies on the Father’s direction rather than on my own guidance.
I know I am on to something. How do I know? By the fruits of the spirit. From these experiences and a few others, I have actually cooperated in the creation of something truthful, beautiful, and good, and even more—I participated in a greater revelation of love. I actually went through an experience which our Creator goes through all the time—I was given the gift of being able to create, an experience which I believe has been contributed to the Supreme.
While there is reason to guard against the dangers, I believe this can be compensated by creating a spiritual culture of normal-minded, down-to-earth, approachable, sharing, loving, spirit-led believers. This brotherhood should be responsible for realizing that end. I have mentioned this earlier, but I’ll say it again: what the world needs now is to see Jesus on earth, living in the lives of mortal men and women, who have decided to seek the Father’s will.
| The Acme of Religious Living | Journal — September 2000 — Index | Sharing God, the Sublime Consciousness of Knowing God |