This posting is a slightly condensed version of the Preface to my book, “Light of Truth: Anticipating the Triumph of Righteousness.” A similar version is on the Talking Points Page, Motivating Story. It was probably written a year or so ago but is even more relevant now than it was then. We truly need a story.
The presence of severe difficulties in global society begs the question: how did we get this way? And another: what we can do about it? There are sources pointing the way, showing what we can do to improve life on Earth; we must use these sources in efforts toward promoting brotherhood and love. Our planet has been living in spiritual darkness for decades; it is time to move forward into light of truth.
Society has no overall guiding principle, no well-defined goals, no story to motivate it, everything is piecemeal. “When we have no stories that describe the present and guide the future, hope evaporates. Political failure is, in essence, a failure of imagination.”[1] We seek a story to give us goals and hope; give lives purpose; it will become the motivator of our existence.
This inspiring story is a captivating narrative giving our lives meaning and direction. Stories in the media, such as Star Wars or Harry Potter, are entertaining but they do not motivate lives. The story we seek is a unifying ethic empowering our struggle for a better life. One such story brought about the westward expansion of America. Based on exaggerated glowing reports of opportunities in the west, shopkeepers and ordinary people in the east fled westward with family and few belongings to carve out a better life in the west; that story gave their hardships and their lives meaning; it gave them hope for the future.
Today we have no such encouraging story and as a result of this loss of direction there is an “epidemic of loneliness sweeping the world.”[2] People are not connected with their community, their surroundings; they are isolated as never before. This impacts their actions in society, their effectiveness. This isolation brings negative, even self-destructive emotions into their lives.
What is the story to motivate this change? This story to ignite our desire for a better society needs to be concise yet captivating, the goal needs to be enticing, and it should have a broad appeal to society. The story must be powerful enough people will be willing to undergo hardships to bring the story to life. Just as the story of a better life in western United States gave citizens in the east strength to endure the many dangers of the journey west, our story must give everyone strength to persevere through the struggle to bring about a better life for us all.
We propose a story based on teachings in The Urantia Book. [3] This revelation has power, depth, and complexity; it has the potential to transform society on our Planet. We use this revelation to build a story capable of bringing about a better life for everyone.
There are only three components to this story. First is the truth every thinking human being has a spark of God within. “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the spirit of God dwells in you?”[4] This spirit of God is the Thought Adjuster. The second component of the story is the truth everyone can have eternal life if they so choose.[5] The third part of the story is the truth everyone is equally indwelt by our Heavenly Father; we are all sisters and brothers, when society realizes this there will be universal brotherhood.[6]
Here is the story.
Every thinking human being on Earth has the spirit of God within them; truly everyone, no exceptions. God is within every person. How strongly can it be stated? This truth is the cornerstone of our story. Our Father did not just send His son here a couple thousand years ago and then forget about us. Our Heavenly Father is literally present within each thinking mortal on this planet. God is no respecter of persons,[7] He respects everyone equally.
Life eternal is freely given to everyone who asks for it. All we need do is follow His guidance, choose to do His will in all things. Again, it is truly that simple. Physical death is simply like walking out of one room and into another; like walking out of this physical space and into a more spiritual realm. Eternal life is ours for the asking; we should live with the certainty of this truth.
As we recognize the presence of our Father equally within everyone we realize every person is sister or brother; we are all equally children of God. This feeling of universal brotherhood colors interactions with neighbors and everyone we may chance to meet or learn about. The watchword for every day becomes brotherhood.
One way to enlarge this story is to study the full life and teachings of Jesus as revealed in The Urantia Book. As we incorporate these teachings into our lives we are seeking to become more like our Heavenly Father, living our faith, allowing this faith to transform our existence, changing the world for the better, one interaction at a time.
Even though this fact of universal brotherhood is the final component of our story, this is where each one of us can have the greatest impact. The other two components, presence of God within and eternal life, primarily are personal and internal manifestations; something we experience within ourself. This issue of universal brotherhood is external; we express this in our daily life. This influences our reaction to situations as we encounter and interact with those around us. This feeling of brotherhood must be genuine; a natural consequence of internalizing the other components of the story.
This issue of brotherhood is where we declare how we stand; exclusion or inclusion, hate or love, rejection or acceptance, a narrow existence or an eternal life of service doing God’s will.
Simply stated our story is every mortal of sound mind has within a fragment of our Heavenly Father, this God within is the promise of eternal life and when we fully realize this we will know we are all sisters and brothers. This story with the potential to transform life on Earth is simple and profound, giving it power to energize society.
This story has the power to ignite a resurgence in spiritual awareness and willingness to bring about a better life for everyone on Earth; no exceptions.
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“Out of the Wreckage: a New Politics for an Age of Crisis” by George Monbiot, Verso, New York, 2017, p6 ↑
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Monbiot p 17 ↑
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The Urantia Book, Urantia Foundation, Chicago IL, 2015 printing. See appendix 1 and 2 for a discussion of this revelation ↑
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Bible, 1 Corinthians 3:16 ↑
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The Urantia Book, 71.7, this refers to the page.paragraph of the one column edition. All references are to The Urantia Book unless otherwise noted. ↑
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2053.4 ↑
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Bible Acts 10,34 and Romans 2, 11; ↑