A more precise title of this posting would be: “Becoming a Light of Truth to those in Spiritual Darkness.” When I obtained this website (UBLightofTruth.com) a few years ago it was because “Light of Truth” was already taken; I added the UB because the focus of my book (“Light of Truth, Anticipating the Triumph of Righteousness”) is The Urantia Book. It was some time before I realized it had another meaning: “U B Light of Truth,” in other words: “YOU can BE a LIGHT OF TRUTH.”
In this posting we briefly discuss the sad state of affairs in current society; this emphasizes society’s need for many lights of truth. We then outline how each of us can become a light of truth for our sisters and brothers, especially those who hunger and thirst for spiritual guidance.
Troubled Society
There are many troubling trends in society; our social fabric is starkly polarized in many ways. Among these stress fractures are political, economic, racial, labor, and religious tensions; add to this mix the rise of many hate groups and authoritarianism around the world.[1] How did these flash points arise seemingly arise all at once? Actually these stress issues were increasing throughout the twentieth century; they became suddenly conspicuous as a result of COVID-19. To understand what is going on we briefly examine world history, a 30 second version.
For most of the history of planet Earth, change was exasperatingly slow. True, communication was spotty at best, but there was just not much of long-term value going on. During the last 5,000 years only a few things stand out as making a lasting change; following is a short list of newsworthy events during this time period, selected at random.
BCE
Abraham: ~1900
Moses: 14-13th century
Buddha: 6-5th cent.
Muhammad: b. 570
Alexander the Great: b 356
Jesus: b. 7
CE
Norman Conquest of England: 1066
Genghis Kahn: b. ~1162
Magna Carta: 1215
Black Death (Bubonic Plague): 1347-1351
Gutenberg Bible: 1455
Martin Luther: 95 Theses, 1517
There were certainly other sudden events such as wars, plagues, and famines, but these generally had little impact on the gradual evolution of society at large. In spite of sudden upheavals, lives of the vast majority of people were little changed over time.
Things started to pick up in the last quarter of the 19th century, particularly with scientific advancements by Louis Pasteur and others.
20th Century “Progress”
Contrast this with the progress achieved during the twentieth century alone, which is mind boggling. My father, born in 1901, was a rural mail carrier; he started with a horse and buggy and lived to watch men walk on the moon. My wife’s grandmother, born at nearly the same time, arrived in Kentucky by covered wagon. Such a staggering level of progress in a short period of time places drastic stress on the fabric of society. It is like running downhill as fast as you can, there will come a time when you lose control and fall on your face.
It is important to consider what sort of progress was made in the previous century. All of these advancements were materialistic, based mainly on science; there was also progress based on the mind, for indeed this is where scientific gains originate. However, a third and equally important component of our being, spiritual reality, has been ignored while our materialistic society races madly downhill toward certain destruction.
There has been no significant advancement in the spiritual awareness of society since Jesus of Nazareth over two thousand years ago. We are about to pay the price for this spiritual neglect: the collapse of society as we know it.
We are already seeing the start of this collapse: in grocery stores there are empty shelves, our favorite brands may be missing; in July I ordered a book (“Please Scream Inside Your Heart” by Dave Pell) which was supposed to be shipped in September, but there was a delay in the book binding, it arrived in the second week of November. Ports in California are clogged with ships that cannot be unloaded because there are not enough truck drivers to carry the goods away; trucking companies have trouble hiring drivers because many applicants fail drug tests; many businesses are unable to hire enough qualified workers. And there is more: this year there has been large number of cases concerning violent passengers on airline flights, many more than previous years. A lot of people are just angry.
Our society is coming apart because it has no moral foundation; we desperately need a spiritual uplift.
We who study The Urantia Book have all the information we need to begin this spiritual renaissance. What are we going to do with this revelation? How can we use it to begin the spiritual transformation of planet Earth?
Lights of Truth
We have this revelation but many of its students do not fully appreciate it. Many treat it as if it were a textbook, perhaps a history textbook. I have attended study groups where it was read like a phonebook. This is the fifth epochal revelation of truth to our planet; {Epochal Revelations} only the fifth time in our planetary history advanced truth has been revealed to us. Treat it as such!
We begin this process of spiritual transformation by applying the teachings of The Urantia Book in our daily lives. The keys of the kingdom of heaven are: sincerity, more sincerity, and more sincerity. All men have these keys.[2] We use these keys of sincerity as we make decisions to do the will of God; in this way we grow stronger in the Kingdom of Heaven. Each decision we make can have an impact on our soul depending on how sincere we are; we cannot become a light of truth while harboring falsehoods and insincerity.
Spiritual progress is predicated on intellectual recognition of spiritual poverty coupled with the self-consciousness of perfection-hunger, the desire to know God and be like him, the wholehearted purpose to do the will of the Father in heaven.[3] We cannot make spiritual progress until we realize we are spiritually impoverished, that is when we develop perfection hunger, an indescribable reaching out for something above and beyond us.
As we reach out with perfection hunger we begin to manifest fruits of the spirit in our lives; it is at this point that we are beginning to become a light of truth. You who know these truths must yield the increase of the fruits of the spirit and manifest a growing devotion to the unselfish service of your fellow servants. And remember that, inasmuch as you minister to one of the least of my brethren, you have done this service to me.[4]
Those who are lights of truth care about each one of their sisters and brothers. They know as a truth everyone has within an actual spark of God, they know God respects everyone equally. We become a Light of Truth when every moment of our lives radiates our faith, our absolute certainty that life eternal is ours for the asking.
Being a Light of Truth means we exhibit our firm faith in every interaction with those around us. It becomes our way of life into eternity.
Being a Light of Truth does not necessarily mean doing anything flashy; the most valuable aspect is in the ordinary, everyday interactions with those around us. Perhaps any contact might ignite another light of truth. Being a Light of Truth is a fulltime endeavor.
Together we can light up our world, Michael’s world!
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For a look at how autocracy spreads see: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/12/the-autocrats-are-winning/620526/?utm_source=feed ↑
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Unless otherwise stated, all references are to The Urantia Book one column edition in the format page:paragraph 435.7 ↑
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1095.5 ↑
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1917.1 ↑