President of the Urantia Fellowship Sue Seccombe call for Unity
President of the Urantia Fellowship Sue Seccombe call for Unity
I believe the Urantia movement is approaching its tipping point – a point when it will seem like “suddenly” the whole world knows about this revelation. Most of us pray for that day, hoping it might be a time of enlightenment. And for some, many, it might be. But I also believe it will be a time of controversy and great testing for us.
Are we ready for this test?
Right now the perceptions of the Urantia community suffer from a self-inflicted wound. That wound is our split, the fracture that occurred in Urantia Brotherhood about 35 years ago. Since that time, our movement has steadily lost not only its initial momentum, but some credibility as well.
The Fellowship and Association, the two organizations that operate with literally identical purposes, continue to be in damaging competition. It is wasteful to duplicate effort and competition for donors and volunteers. It is demoralizing for those who have read and been inspired by The Urantia Book to look at us and wonder how we can expect to transform the world when we won't first transform ourselves.
It hurts our credibility to hold on to pettiness and resentment. No one can truly read and understand even part of the Urantia Book and think that those qualities are harmonious with God's plans for us.
There is no shame in the split. The shame is in what has happened in the wake of the split, and the ugly words both sides have spoken about the other - quite the opposite of truth, beauty, and goodness.
We must end this, today, together, and forever. The world is about to discover The Urantia Book, and will be taking a close look at those who claim to follow its teachings.
The decisions we make together have the potential to set us on a new path of growth and health. But progress - the watchword of the universe - will require a combination of boldness and wisdom.
Where are boldness and wisdom? When I talk to people in our community about the benefits of the two organizations becoming one, people often quote to me the part of the book about spiritual unity not uniformity. I am not talking about spiritual uniformity. I don't think anyone can look at the diversity of expression and service in the Fellowship or Association and think for a second that we want uniformity. This excuse is not wise. It is absurd.
Some have told me we need to just wait for the old guard to die off, the older generation, before we can pursue organizational unity. I reject that suggestion as passive, and frankly a little lazy. This suggestion is not bold, it's cowardly.
We are supposed to do the hard work. Where is our courage? Why would we just wait for it out when there is a bigger victory that is waiting for us?
“The greatest affliction of the cosmos is never to have been afflicted. Mortals only learn wisdom by experiencing tribulation.” [48:7.14 (556.14)]
The purpose of affliction is to have a chance to achieve a bigger victory, and the bigger victory before us is forgiveness.
Real forgiveness. Hard, but worth it.
And if you don't believe me, just look at Jesus on the cross.It will take intention and a steady effort to turn this big ship, to do the Father's will without caving into emotion and the attitudes that have become the mental poisons about which we have been warned: “…fear, anger, envy, jealousy, suspicion , and intolerance likewise tremendously interferes with the spiritual progress of the evolving soul.” [110:1.5 (1204.3)]
Forgiving tolerance. Enduring peace.
We are stronger together. God placed us all at the beginning of this revelation, when he would need what Christy called Soldiers of the Circles. As these soldiers, it is our job to be the advance team, to seed this revelation and nurture it so that these new seeds take root in good soil and grow.
WE have to be good soil. WE have to cultivate good soil, and make hard and sweep fertile soil through tolerance, acceptance, friendship, and love. Those things are like water and sunlight. They give seeds a safe place to grow and thrive.
Unity is attractive. Like a magnet, it draws people into its cohesive power. This unhealed part of our history is an incredible opportunity to demonstrate that we walk our talk, even when it's hard. Especially when it's hard.
We must look at all challenges as solvable even if the solution is beyond our understanding or desires.
Imagine being part of a movement that has been strengthened by conflict and healed through love and forgiveness? What a powerful testimony to the rewards of choosing the Father's way.
I invite you to join me in this fervent pursuit of unity, no matter what it takes. Because the strong seeding of this revelation depends not on our ability to preach the gospel but to provide the gospel .
We are not alone. A host of heavenly helpers stand ready to assist just as soon as we relinquish our stronghold on self-righteousness and truly trust the Father.
The Prince of Peace rules our universe. And God waits for us to choose.
5. SPIRITUAL UNITY
141:5.1 One of the most eventful of all the evening conferences at Amathus was the session having to do with the discussion of spiritual unity. James Zebedee had asked, "Master, how shall we learn to see alike and thereby enjoy more harmony among ourselves?" When Jesus heard this question, he was stirred within his spirit, so much so that he replied: "James, James, when did I teach you that you should all see alike? I have come into the world to proclaim spiritual liberty to the end that mortals may be empowered to live individual lives of originality and freedom before God. I do not desire that social harmony and fraternal peace shall be purchased by the sacrifice of free personality and spiritual originality. What I require of you, my apostles, is spirit unity -- and that you can experience in the joy of your united dedication to the wholehearted doing of the will of my Father in heaven. You do not have to see alike or feel alike or even think alike in order spiritually to be alike. Spiritual unity is derived from the consciousness that each of you is indwelt, and increasingly dominated, by the spirit gift of the heavenly Father. Your apostolic harmony must grow out of the fact that the spirit hope of each of you is identical in origin, nature, and destiny.
141:5.2 "In this way you may experience a perfected unity of spirit purpose and spirit understanding growing out of the mutual consciousness of the identity of each of your indwelling Paradise spirits; and you may enjoy all of this profound spiritual unity in the very face of the utmost diversity of your individual attitudes of intellectual thinking, temperamental feeling, and social conduct. Your personalities may be refreshingly diverse and markedly different, while your spiritual natures and spirit fruits of divine worship and brotherly love may be so unified that all who behold your lives will of a surety take cognizance of this spirit identity and soul unity; they will recognize that you have been with me and have thereby learned, and acceptably, how to do the will of the Father in heaven. You can achieve the unity of the service of God even while you render such service in accordance with the technique of your own original endowments of mind, body, and soul.
141:5.3 "Your spirit unity implies two things, which always will be found to harmonize in the lives of individual believers: First, you are possessed with a common motive for life service; you all desire above everything to do the will of the Father in heaven. Second, you all have a common goal of existence; you all purpose to find the Father in heaven, thereby proving to the universe that you have become like him."
170:5.20 It is just because the gospel of Jesus was so many-sided that within a few centuries students of the records of his teachings became divided up into so many cults and sects. This pitiful subdivision of Christian believers results from failure to discern in the Master's manifold teachings the divine oneness of his matchless life. But someday the true believers in Jesus will not be thus spiritually divided in their attitude before unbelievers. Always we may have diversity of intellectual comprehension and interpretation, even varying degrees of socialization, but lack of spiritual brotherhood is both inexcusable and reprehensible.
