© 1976 Wesley James
© 1976 The Urantia Book Fellowship (formerly Urantia Brotherhood)
When Flip Wilson’s routines that used the phrase “the devil made me do it” were so popular, the phrase seemed to sum up the willingness of so many of us to blame outside influences for the problems and troubles in our lives, problems we create for ourselves. Since that time, the reaction of many of my friends and co-workers to the book and movie The Exorcist has reminded me how many people really believe there is an evil force in the universe that can make people react against their will. Without getting into deep theological explanations, I have tried to explain that we live in a well-ordered universe where our Universal Father’s love and spiritual presence make it impossible for such things to happen.
Of course we all have our own ‘devils’ to blame for our everyday problems; the teacher or the boss doesn’t like me; I’m too young or too old; the wrong race, wrong sex; I’m not smart enough; I’ve never done that before; I can’t do it, to name a few. With the application of a little of the faith we should be acquiring, we realize that while any or all of these excuses might be true for each of us alone, we are actually not alone. In other words, if I can’t solve the problems that confront me, there lives within me one who can, and will, if I sincerely seek his co-operation.
This is also a reassurance we can offer our friends and acquaintances on a casual basis without getting too deeply into cosmology, theology, or cosmography. I have found over a period of time that not everyone is ready for the full impact of a 2097-page book or even for my halting interpretations of it. This doesn’t mean that I should be afraid to let my light shine where needed, and as needed. I’m trying to learn to illuminate without blinding. In the simplest, most understandable terms, the truth expressed in The URANTIA Book’s 2097 pages is that God is our Father, we are his children, and our Father will not forsake us. To those who wish to know more about their Father, I have tried to be ready, willing, and able to introduce further truths from The URANTIA Book.
Over the years I’ve been connected with The URANTIA Book and URANTIA Brotherhood, many people, myself included, have often wondered how am I going to do this? What will I say if somebody asks me about The URANTIA Book or about something to do with the truths it contains? I think the answer we all end up with is that that is another worry, another anxiety that must be abandoned. When the time is right, I’ve come to believe we will know what to say, even if it’s only to echo the words of Philip, “Come and see.” (UB 137:2.6)
—Wesley James