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Spiritual Advice and Guidance Blog: Urantia Book



Wednesday, August 26, 2009

I don't understand why, if this is our introductory life, why some people are born hereditarily disposed to mental illness...

Q: I don't understand why, if this is our introductory life, why some people are born hereditarily disposed to neurosis, psychosis, schizophrenia, bi-polarism, retardation, etc...... How does a personality work through that? What a horrible start. How unfair. How can an individual "do the will of God" in this context? Surviving in this rat race is hard enough. Certainly the individual didn't deserve this since this is only the very first experience of what life is. Sometimes life can get so unbearable for these people, suicide is the only relieving option. What's the wisdom in seeing yourself crumble in dignity because one cannot participate "adequately" in society. Yet, we are expected to "Be ye perfect even as your Father in heaven is perfect."

Then there are those born with a golden spoon and those with charm , beauty and ultra-charisma; the highly gifted intellectual; the musically gifted genius; the leaders, the heroes etc.....What a cake walk for them. Yes, life is wonderful for them. What a great introduction to life. Surely their decision to want to survive and continue on this adventure of life is easily made. It is fueled by such positive experiences and so much to look forward to.

As for the former, I think they'd think twice whether to participate again in a universe where you have no choice of what card is dealt to you and at the risk of "annihilation"

A: You raise age-old questions - and the bottom line is - Life is not fair. It has always been this way, and probably always will be this way. Why? Because we are trapped in a time-space situation where there is always the chance of sorrow, where our fortunes can change in the blink of an eye, where uncertainty is the only constant. Everything changes in this life except the presence of God. This does seem unfair, especially if you feel you have gotten that "short stick..."

Just because a person is born into this life with hereditary tendencies to mental illness does not automatically mean they are less able to do God's will in their life. These kinds of problems can seem overwhelming, and they occcur through no fault of the person - likewise those with physical disabilities may seem terribly disadvantaged when you view them through the eyes of the material. But Jesus said:

"In the matter of sickness and health, you should know that these bodily states are the result of material causes; health is not the smile of heaven, neither is affliction the frown of God.

"The Father's human children have equal capacity for the reception of material blessings; therefore does he bestow things physical upon the children of men without discrimination. When it comes to the bestowal of spiritual gifts, the Father is limited by man's capacity for receiving these divine endowments. Although the Father is no respecter of persons, in the bestowal of spiritual gifts he is limited by man's faith and by his willingness always to abide by the Father's will." (166:4.10)

So, even if one has not received a goodly inheritance in a material sense, still each person receives "spiritual gifts," and it is how those are used that determines spiritual growth and progress. When God advises us to "be ye perfect," I think this only means that we do the best we can with what we have, and become the best person we can be within the confines of the life that we have. No one - not even the most well-endowed person on Earth, can ever come close to actually being perfect as God is in this one, short life, but we CAN be the most perfect person possible given the limitations that have been placed upon us - whether physically or mentally - by using our spiritual gifts (the Thought Adjuster, the Spirit of Truth, etc) to become like God. This becoming like God is not a material striving, but a spiritual one. Paraphrasing something that Jesus said once - if wealth is the smile of Heaven, why are not more wealthy people drawn to the Gospel? Why is it so often the meek, the afflicted, the humble, the downtrodden, who turn to God?

Sometimes, the most beautiful, the richest, and the most gifted people are those who feel no need of God. They are satisfied - and why shouldn't they be? Life seems easy; however, don't be fooled by outward shows of happiness by the seemingly "beautiful people." All of us are dealing with some kind of struggle in our lives, no matter our station in life. But it is those who struggle, those who have to tread the paths of rugged faith, who may be the luckiest in the long run. Remember this passage?

Mortals only learn wisdom by experiencing tribulation. (48:7.14)

Having to work through difficulties means lots of decisions, lots of opportunities to choose hope over despair - faith over fear. And by always choosing the good, one can improve one's life immeasurably, even if outward circumstances may not change.

Look at famous people who have overcome great adversity - people like Steven Hawking, or Temple Grandin (who suffers from severe autism, and who has become a noted national voice in the humane treatment of animals). I have a sister who suffers from schizophrenia - although her life has been hard, she is very much a shining star in many respects because of her reliance on Jesus - she is still afflicted, but she helps herself through her difficulties with God's help. I shudder to think how bad things could be for her if not for those choices she has made in the spiritual sense.

In fact, this page of the inevitabilities is a good one to read again - especially when we are feeling that our lives are harder than they need to be.

As for those who might opt out of life because of having to deal with unfortunate experiences here on Earth: no matter what we have to experience here, it is the EXPERIENCE of living that is important; we can get that no other way than by living this life through. Having an attitude of bitterness about life indicates a need for more faith and trust in the goodness of God. Bitter resignation may be an easy way out, but is it the best way? This is an illustration of our inability to make eternal decisions here. I don't believe anyone who is beset with material problems can rightly make a decision not to go on to eternal life simply because they can't see a better future. Sometimes, the best we can do is just hang on and keep our little light of faith burning ...and that is enough to get us through. And there are rewards for just hanging on - maybe not material rewards, but rewards that are just as real and even more valuable in the long run.

This is such a short (The Urantia Book calls it "intriguing...")life - compared to the eternity of adventure and progress that awaits us...

The Urantia Book illuminates so much of this for us - I wish everyone could learn of God's goodness through its teachings.

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Saturday, January 19, 2008

My son died from cancer at the age of 21. Was it so much necessary to suffer and leave this world like that?

Q: My son died from cancer at the age of 21. Was it so much necessary to suffer and leave this world like that?

A: Your sad loss touches every caring mortal learning of it. It touches the angels too who are endowed with greater love and compassion than we are. It touches Jesus and it touches our heavenly Father. Knowing this doesn't make it easier to understand, but your sorrow is shared.

The Urantia Book says of God, "He has said of the mortal races, 'In all your afflictions I am afflicted.' He unquestionably experiences a fatherly and sympathetic understanding; he may truly suffer, but we do not comprehend the nature thereof." (3:6.6)

The Urantia Book helps to clarify the meaning of life, our purpose here, and our purpose hereafter. While we live here we're subject to physical laws and the laws of nature, and of nature The Urantia Book relates, "... nature knows nothing of fairness--" (84:5.2) This physical world is the birthplace of the soul, the vessel needed to carry personality forward into the less material, more spiritual existence we have before us. Whatever happens to us beyond the circumstances necessary for this birth is subject to the "vicissitudes of time."

In The Urantia Book, Jesus relates, regarding the Book of Job, "And who can challenge the attitude of Job in view of the counsel of his friends and the erroneous ideas of God which occupied his own mind? Do you not see that Job longed for a human God, that he hungered to commune with a divine Being who knows man's mortal estate and understands that the just must often suffer in innocence as a part of this first life of the long Paradise ascent? Wherefore has the Son of Man come forth from the Father to live such a life in the flesh that he will be able to comfort and succor all those who must henceforth be called upon to endure the afflictions of Job." (149:6.7)

Perhaps there will be some comfort in considering the following inevitabilities of material existence (3:5.5):

"The uncertainties of life and the vicissitudes of existence do not in any manner contradict the concept of the universal sovereignty of God. All evolutionary creature life is beset by certain inevitabilities. Consider the following:

1. Is courage--strength of character--desirable? Then must man be reared in an environment which necessitates grappling with hardships and reacting to disappointments.

2. Is altruism--service of one's fellows--desirable? Then must life experience provide for encountering situations of social inequality.

3. Is hope--the grandeur of trust--desirable? Then human existence must constantly be confronted with insecurities and recurrent uncertainties.

4. Is faith--the supreme assertion of human thought--desirable? Then must the mind of man find itself in that troublesome predicament where it ever knows less than it can believe.

5. Is the love of truth and the willingness to go wherever it leads, desirable? Then must man grow up in a world where error is present and falsehood always possible.

6. Is idealism--the approaching concept of the divine--desirable? Then must man struggle in an environment of relative goodness and beauty, surroundings stimulative of the irrepressible reach for better things.

7. Is loyalty--devotion to highest duty--desirable? Then must man carry on amid the possibilities of betrayal and desertion. The valor of devotion to duty consists in the implied danger of default.

8. Is unselfishness--the spirit of self-forgetfulness--desirable? Then must mortal man live face to face with the incessant clamoring of an inescapable self for recognition and honor. Man could not dynamically choose the divine life if there were no self-life to forsake. Man could never lay saving hold on righteousness if there were no potential evil to exalt and differentiate the good by contrast.

9. Is pleasure--the satisfaction of happiness--desirable? Then must man live in a world where the alternative of pain and the likelihood of suffering are ever-present experiential possibilities."

Your question was "Was it so much necessary to suffer and leave the world like that?" and the answer that comes to mind is "no," it is not necessary to suffer -- suffering is not a prerequisite to entry to the world of the spirit although often suffering endows the sufferer and those closely associated with a new and more complete understanding of and spiritual awakening to the purpose, value, and meaning of life; and "yes," it is necessary to suffer because it is part of the material human existence. Earth is not heaven and it will never be so.

Your loss is great and your suffering is real. Your son is no longer suffering and is now taking the first steps in a thrilling adventure extending into eternity. We pray that that understanding will ease the pain in your heart.

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