Reader Question:
We were discussing (in study group) God’s message of his Mercy, Love and Truth for all, and I believe it was Arletta bringing up the innocent starving and sick children of Nepal and similar unfortunate situations. It seemed as this was being resolved by applying these standards only to the kingdom of heaven. I am not understanding why these rules should not also apply to his earthly flock as well.
Response:
Hi Linda,
Thanks for your thoughtful questions. Here are my thoughts . . .
I like to think of this with the concept/principle of spiritual fairness: God gives us all that we need for our spiritual awakening and development, when we need it, in the way we need it, for as long as we need it. There is no circumstance that can prevent anyone from beginning the spiritual awakening and further journey. Rich, poor, homeless, refugee, infant, successful . . . the Father understands our situations and is doing everything possible to help us notice and respond to him.
Life is not fair in terms of material conditions: your genetic inheritance, your environment, the events that impact your life, are not equal between people. Someone could be born to the most loving parents possible living in a safe environment, while someone else could be suffering horribly in poverty, war, or disease.
Through it all, however, there is no jeopardy to our souls: the only possible effect is that the rate of our spiritual development here on Earth is slowed. But, even then, once we fully embrace the Father and his plan for us, much can be overcome—even in the most difficult circumstances, we can experience God and grow.
We also have to bear in mind that conditions on earth were not supposed to be like this: this is an abnormal planet due to the failure of two previous revelations to spread truth and improve our material lives. If things had gone according to plan (which happens on the vast, vast, vast majority of planets) we would not know the suffering or tremendous material challenges we have.
However, these incredible challenges are also incredible opportunities for growth and the development of faith. See page 578:6 in the Urantia Book. In the broad eternal scheme, we are actually very fortunate to have the challenges we do. We can become a special class of mortals, with a unique faith attitude, known as Agondonters.
The degree of suffering on this world was not meant to be, and the majority of it we inflict on ourselves. On an individual basis, so many are so purely innocent, and the Father loves and will help all of them.
Thank you,
–Chris Lepine
Urantia Book New Reader Services
Hi Chris,
Thanks for your response and sharing your perspective with all of us. My biggest concern is not as hardships apply to each of us individually but when they occur en masse. I do think about our planet as having many extremely negative circumstances, and this increases my curiosity as to why the Father is not tempted to interject his will when evil on this planet affects masses of individuals simultaneously. I plan to check out your suggested page 578.6 and info on the the Agontoners
Thoughtfully,
Linda
Hi Linda,
Great questions . . . I relate this all to the overarching, pervasive character of the Father, which is LOVE. As our divine parent, he wants the best for us spiritually. He wants to see us go on and grow, and have the thrill of personal achievement. None of this is possible without allowing us to choose for ourselves. This of course means that we experience the consequences of our actions. It also means that this is the best way for us to learn, actually, the only way we learn.
The issue is when we have to suffer for the misdeeds and errors of others. It could be that I crash into your car, or that I am a poor teacher for your child. On the other hand, we benefit from the progressive actions of our fellows. The thing that is so hard to take, is that on this planet, so many bad things happen to good people. The problem is that if God came in and prevented these bad things, we won’t really grow, and we’d be robbed of a unique adventure.
Ultimately, nothing can hurt our spiritual growth. So, whatever bad happens to you, however much you suffer, your spiritual future is intact if your desire is to know God and follow the divine leading.
There are realms where all the beings were created perfect, where there is no evil, sin, or iniquity. But, we have been given a unique opportunity to grow on an evolutionary world in time and space, where the potentials of goodness, truth, and beauty must be brought to live—actualized—by our freewill submission, cooperation with the Father’s will. We are here to develop an essential ingredient for the growth of the universe: God needs people like us who have grown up on evolutionary planets.
Check out Section 7 on this page: The Part and the Whole
Have a nice weekend, and thanks to all your contributions to our group.
In fellowship,
Chris
So beautifully said Chris! This is something that we can certainly meditate on and think about all the time because we all go through hard times, most of the time not to the extent of those in the news. Something I read in the book was that in 2004 a study was done on altruistic acts done in the US. It said an average person does 109 altruistic acts in the year. If you multiply that times the number of adults, it came out to 23,983,000,009 acts done compared to 1,304,933 violent crimes reported by the FBI the same year. I can tell you with certainty that in 2004 I did not do 109 altruistic acts, so somebody took up my slack! We don’t always hear about the good things, but every day there are good things being done by good people! I just wanted to share that too. I found it very encouraging!
Warmest wishes and peace ya’ll!
Cheryl
I think you would like this:
195:5.12 (2076.3) As you view the world, remember that the black patches of evil which you see are shown against a white background of ultimate good. You do not view merely white patches of good which show up miserably against a black background of evil.
195:5.13 (2076.4) When there is so much good truth to publish and proclaim, why should men dwell so much upon the evil in the world just because it appears to be a fact? The beauties of the spiritual values of truth are more pleasurable and uplifting than is the phenomenon of evil.
–Chris