I did not plan to post this blog describing how we can attain Peace on Earth on Christmas Eve; that is just how it worked out.

Life for the majority of our sisters and brothers is a mad rush into an unknown future. People in our secular society rarely consider any meaning or purpose for their lives unless they seek materialistic gains: money and power. Also, those disadvantaged by society are faced with a desperate struggle for existence and have no energy left for thoughts about any meaning for their miserable reality.

In this posting we consider our current situation, recognize each thinking mortal has a spark of God within, present the true meaning of life, and explore implications of this meaning. Our society is on a slippery slope toward destruction if we continue to ignore spiritual reality: our Heavenly Father, creator of all things and beings.

Current situation

Animals respond nobly to the urge of life, but only man can attain the art of living, albeit the majority of mankind only experience the animal urge to live. (Urantia Book 1773.2) Mankind is so wrapped up in the incessant pull of day to day living they feel they have no time left over for any contemplation of a wider reality. They fail to see value in churchifying; many faiths appear more interested in perpetuating dogma rather than giving their followers a faith based foundation which would support them in their life struggles. The majority of mankind indeed has the urge to exist but they are closer to the lower animals because they have no higher aspirations, they are not seeking anything above and beyond the here and now; they do not heed the call of eternity.

Our society has been drifting toward secularism for hundreds of years. Previously the church gained too much control over humanity resulting in the dark Middle Ages in Western lands. The breath of fresh air emanating from the reformation (Martin Luther) and scientific advancements of the Renaissance was necessary at the time, but today these trends have gone too far. Society has ignored God for too long; we absolutely need to recognize the vital necessity of having a moral foundation, we need to base our lives on spiritual reality: our Heavenly Father.

This lack of purpose, this mad rush for materialistic greed and the aimless thrust of society will end in total collapse of our society because there is no moral force upholding it. We certainly cannot build a house on unstable ground, we cannot build a skyscraper on a loose foundation; similarly we cannot build our lives, or our society, on anything other than the certainty of the guidance Heavenly Father gives us. Architects who design our buildings are well aware of the vital importance of a strong foundation, why is this vital truth ignored in our daily lives and by our society?

God within

The cornerstone of the living message of Jesus is the truth that God is literally present within every thinking mortal on this planet; “this kingdom of which you preach is God within you.” (Urantia Book, 1569.2) This spark of God within is mentioned briefly in the Bible (Bible, I Corinthians 3:16) but Christianity does not emphasize this truth. The value, the eternal value, of this precious gift cannot be overstated. We are constantly being gently guided by this internal spark of God; all we need do is follow this voice of wisdom. Not only is this spark of God internal, it is also eternal; when we totally follow His advice we eventually fuse with this divine fragment and will exist into all future eternity.

The recognition of the truth that God is within each of us must be the foundation of our life. When we really believe this we recognize each one of our brothers and sisters has this spark of God; each one of us stands equal before God who respects everyone equally (Bible, Acts 10: 34). Our Heavenly Father deeply loves each one of us, His presence within is proof of this.

Our sisters and brothers mainly live in spiritual darkness because they are not aware of this spark of God within; they have no concept of their eternal value. Eternity is ours for the asking, all we need do is follow His guidance. We may not be aware of this spirit guidance because it is so subtle, but if our faith in Heavenly Father’s guidance is firm we will KNOW the way. The love of God is so strong we cannot fail if we choose to do His will at each decision point.

Meaning of life

For brothers and sisters in our largely secular society there is no thought about a goal or purpose in life; there is just a maddening sequence of everyday events. I was that way before The Urantia Book found me; as my understanding of this revelation increased, my viewpoint widened and my desire to do the will of my Heavenly Father gradually grew. I became aware of the call of eternity. My life took on new meaning.

How can individuals not familiar with our revelation find meaning in their life? Since we know each of us has within a spark of God, the meaning of life is simply to cooperate with this God fragment within, drawing closer to Him. Materialistic goals might bring a momentary thrill but they will be meaningless after our short life in the flesh. It is imperative that we seek meaningful long-term goals; what good would a shiny new car be even a hundred years from now? The purpose of our life is to seek out this internal God presence, choose to do His will, and draw closer to Him.

Once we fully accept the truth that God is present within each of us, the purpose of our life becomes doing the will of our Father in Heaven. (Urantia Book, 1602.6) There could not be a higher life goal; nothing else could give our life a higher meaning. One might ask if finding a meaning for our life has any practical value here and now. Seek the greater thing, and the lesser will be found therein; ask for the heavenly, and the earthly shall be included. The shadow is certain to follow the substance. (Urantia Book, 1823.3) May the substance of our life be seeking our Heavenly Father.

The revelation sums it up this way: If we know God, our real business on earth is so to live as to permit the Father to reveal himself in our lives. (Urantia Book, 1466.2) When we know, firmly believe, and base our existence upon the vital truth of God within, we cannot fail.

Implications

Jesus was well aware of the difficulties his followers faced. He stated did not come to bring peace but rather a “soul struggle.” After this soul struggle we find a profound peace within as long as we consecrate our lives to following our Father’s guidance. (Urantia Book, 1782.1)

On a personal level there will certainly be difficulties as we attempt to minimize selfish, materialistic habits and replace them with more spiritual ones. This inner struggle will be with us in some form until we attain the perfection of Paradise. Jesus also said the gospel of the Kingdom {Jesus – the Man} will not bring us peace until we are willing to believe my teaching wholeheartedly and to establish the practice of doing the Father’s will as the chief purpose in living the mortal life. (Urantia Book, 1951.2) Being certain of Father’s presence in our lives brings peace and security because we know we have value, are guided, have a purpose in this life, and a glorious eternal future as long as we remain fixed on seeking this meaning of our life.

At the societal level, as more individuals actively follow this meaning in life, there will be increased harmony, brotherhood, and concern for those currently on the harsher side of society. If we attain a society where the majority of our sisters and brothers actively recognize the Father’s presence in those around them, we will be much closer to achieving peace on Earth.

Shallow people are those who are spirituality thin; spiritually speaking they are without substance. They live their lives with no lasting goal, seeking nothing of eternal value because they have not received the saving message of the eternal worth of every human being. These individuals live totally in the moment, ignoring eternal life that is available to all who believe. The thrust of their lives extends not much farther than tomorrow. They have little purpose in their life and have no thought about where they will be in a thousand years.

These shallow people are the product of our secular, greedy, materialistic society. They have no comprehension of anything beyond material existence; they do not know material objects are transitory; they can disappear or decay over time. Material things can be useful in the moment, however they may quickly lose their value depending on circumstances.

Even many individuals who attend church are caught up in this spiritually shallow existence, instead of receiving uplifting spiritual guidance, they are overwhelmed by dogmatism. They may be honest in living a faith directed life, but the faith guiding them is shallow.

Purpose of Life

In order to better understand shallow people and their difficulties, we need to think about what is the purpose of life. Why are we here? Is there something we should be striving for that shallow people are missing?

Before undertaking any task, we need a plan and a goal. If we are going into town on an errand, especially in these times of COVID-19, we must know what we are going to do and plan accordingly. Perhaps we will go to the Post Office, the store, and the bank. We need a plan. This also goes for our life, what do we want to accomplish? There should be long term goals like getting a proper education, a satisfying job and planning for retirement, but even this is not enough. Considering the relentless march of time and our apparently brief mortal life span, having a really long term goal and plan would be more significant.

The Urantia Book is a revelation describing the nature of God and His creation. It presents a new and exalted goal of destiny, a supreme life purpose. (Urantia Book, 1778.3) Our life purpose should be difficult, but balanced so there is no danger of becoming enveloped in fanaticism.

We need to develop a plan for our lives that incorporates a goal for our eternal life. How can we reach eternal life? What are the steps?

Human life continues — survives — because it has a universe function, the task of finding God. The faith-activated soul of man cannot stop short of the attainment of this goal of destiny; and when it does once achieve this divine goal, it can never end because it has become like God — eternal. (Urantia Book, 1459.7) 

The purpose of life is to attain eternal life. We do this by following the spiritual guidance each one of us receives. We are not alone in the universe; each thinking mortal has within them a literal spark of God.^[1] Also, given the complexity of our physical apparatus, the vital life force we feel flowing throughout our body, our self-aware consciousness, and the web of our interactions with sisters and brothers, there is no way our Heavenly Father would snuff us out after a brief mortal existence; that would certainly be a lot of wasted effort. Father does not operate that way.

Dogmatic religions do not teach this truth, rather they proclaim their followers must adhere to the dogma, obey the rules. Fixating our life efforts upon this goal of eternity gives a new motivation to our existence, a new purpose for our lives, and a sublime goal: serving our Heavenly Father throughout all future eternity.

Jesus, as reveled in The Urantia Book, places a high value on each person. Jesus placed a high value upon all human beings because each one of us has the chance to go to Paradise and meet our Heavenly Father, therefore he was willing to spend himself in the unremitting service of humankind. And it was this infinite worth of the finite that made the golden rule a vital factor in his religion. What mortal can fail to be uplifted by the extraordinary faith Jesus has in him? (Urantia Book, 2093.4)

Many religions give lip service to the Golden Rule, but in the everyday lives of their followers it frequently is not practiced. Just read the news. The reason for this is they have no motivation to actually practice the Golden Rule; they vaguely understand it and its importance. They have no articulated plan for reaching life eternal, therefore some religions produce shallow people.

Sisters and brothers: the time has come when each of us needs to reach out toward our goal of destiny, serving Heavenly Father during our eternal life.

Shallow People

Shallow people do not know about their goal of destiny, they were not given and did not seek the good news. Their family, their religious institutions, and their interactions with brothers and sisters did not give them this truth. Because of this they have no spiritual depth, no spiritual vitality. They live a moment to moment existence where there is no thought about what might come next. Shallow people may have no moral foundation.

They may certainly be moral in their actions, but this is because they were so taught, or because it seems to be the right thing to do, not because it is in harmony with a life goal seeking an eternal existence. They may be good because they so choose without any consideration of eternity. They are guided by good thoughts, not by a driving spiritual urge. They are spiritually good people, but shallow.

There are also shallow people who have given up on experiencing anything after their life in the flesh; they feel they can do whatever they may choose without lasting consequences. Whether or not they are caught will not be consequential in the march of eternity because God is our ultimate judge, but their misdeeds certainly poison the lives of those affected by their misdeeds.

Being shallow in spiritual matters is unrelated to intelligence. It is certainly possible that those with more intelligence could be very thin in spiritual awareness, while our less endowed sisters and brothers may totally “get it.” The outward physical appearance has no relationship to inward spiritual progress.

Spiritually shallow people permeate society and are without guidance because they ignore the leading of their spark of God within and other spiritual guides, such as the Spirit of Truth.^[2] Our Heavenly Father is reaching out to each thinking mortal, gently guiding each one closer to Him. Spiritually shallow people do not know about the beckoning of eternity and therefore they ignore the spiritual guidance they receive.

Message to Brothers and Sisters

The Father is not in spiritual hiding, but so many of his creatures have hidden themselves away in the mists of their own willful decisions and for the time being have separated themselves from the communion of his spirit and the spirit of his Son by the choosing of their own perverse ways and by the indulgence of the self-assertiveness of their intolerant minds and unspiritual natures. (Urantia Book, 64.1)

The message to all of our brothers and sisters is that our Heavenly Father is guiding each one of us; we are absolutely not alone. The goal of our existence has to be: follow this spiritual guidance, seek the goal of eternity, seek to become more like our Heavenly Father, and enlist in His service throughout all future eternity.

WOW.

1. Bible, I Corinthians 3:16 ↑

2. Bible, John 16,13 ↑