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OUR CALL TO SERVICE

Welcome Address – Chicago 1969
E. L. Christensen


Greetings to the Soldiers of the Circles. We welcome you to Chicago and especially to 533 Diversey Parkway – an address rapidly becoming unique throughout the world.

On July 24th, our President saluted the three heroes returning from their fantastic moon trip with the statement, "This is the greatest week in the history of the world since the creation." I want to paraphrase this statement by telling you that I think the greatest happening since the bestowal of our beloved Christ Michael is the gift of revelation given to us in the Urantia Book. It came quietly and without fanfare just as Jesus did and I hope we will, as would he, spread his teachings with grace and dignity, but withal ardently and zealously.

I consider the bestowal of Michael and the Urantia Revelation as giant steps for mankind.

Fourteen years ago our first edition was printed and even at this early date the gospel of the kingdom is encompassing the planet and finding its way into the hearts of sincere men and women of all ages and of all races.

It is literally true: The human race has folded its tents of traditional passivity; mankind is on the march to an unknown destiny. The clarion call has sounded; the trumpet blasts of the call to service are beginning to be heard throughout the land.

And we who are recipients and the students of this newest of the revelations of truth, are the men and women who have been called to take the first steps in bringing this message to a distracted world.

We are the salt of the Urantia revelation, the first lights to illuminate the path of deliverance from the chaos, confusion, and darkness of the present planetary dilemma.

We are the pioneer group; we are the trailblazers. I am sure that we little realize the import of our great mission to the world. We will, no doubt, live and die without fully realizing that we have participated in the birth of a new age of religion on this planet.

We are the spiritual explorers, cosmic citizens engaged in the fascinating adventure of searching for God and dedicated to the supreme passion of doing His Divine Will.

We know that the Master’s teachings will sometime prevail. The brotherhood of man will someday begin. As individual Urantians we each have our part to act in the drama of bringing this promise to fruition.

Said Jesus: (1608.01), "I have come into this world to do the will of my Father and to reveal his loving character to all mankind, That, my brethren, is my mission. This one thing I will do, regardless of the misunderstandings of my teachings by Jews or gentiles of this day or of another generation. But I declare to you that my Father in Paradise does rule a universe by the compelling power of his love. Love is the greatest of all spirit realities."

"Truth is a liberating revelation, but love is the supreme relationship. And no matter what blunders your fellow men make in their world management of today, in an age to come the gospel which I declare to you will rule this very world." (p. 1608)

"It is not so important that you should know about the fact of God as that you should increasingly grow in the ability to feel the presence of God." "My kingdom", said Jesus, "is not to come with noise and glamor, but rather must it come through the great change which my Father will have wrought in your hearts and in the hearts of those who shall be called to join you in the councils of the kingdom." "Be ever obedient to the Father’s will." (1533.04)

We are often asked: "What is the Father’s will?" I believe it is unique for each individual. We must seek for truth, beauty, and goodness and intelligently attempt to follow the leading of our own indwelling spirit. The Spirit never drives, only leads. Though we cannot explain to each one exactly what the Father’s will is for him, we can say that the Father’s will is not something complicated, ethereal, mystical, or mysterious, but that it is simple, albeit challenging, liberating, and ennobling.

A young man I once knew asked a very wise counselor what the Father’s will was for him, and his teacher replied: "My son, for you, the Father’s will requires that you be a good son in an earthly family." And certainly for the rest of us, we could well be doing the Father’s will by learning to love our sometimes difficult fellows and by leading them into the better way of truth and light.

Perhaps the measure of our growth, or capacity therefor, is well stated in this paragraph: "As the days pass, every true believer becomes skillful in alluring his fellows into the love of eternal truth. Are you more resourceful in revealing goodness to humanity today than you were yesterday? Are you a better righteousness recommender this year than you were last year? Are you becoming increasingly artistic in your technique of leading hungry souls into the spiritual kingdom? Are you becoming more tactful in dealing with troublesome mortals and more tolerant in living with stubborn associates? Tact is the fulcrum of social leverage and tolerance is the earmark of a great soul. If you possess these rare and charming gifts you will be able to avoid much of the trouble which is certain to be the portion of all who refuse to grow up. The measure of the spiritual capacity of the evolving soul is your faith in truth and your love for man." (1740)

Jesus did not promise to make our temporal existence one of ease, but he did promise to go with us through each episode. When we are truly born of the spirit our whole life will become for each of us one of victorious accomplishment. Trouble will invigorate us, disappointment will spur us on, difficulties will challenge us, and obstacles will stimulate us. As valiant soldiers of the circles let us live our lives as true sons of God, mortals dedicated to the ennobling service of man on earth and destined to the superb and eternal service of God in eternity. (1438)

We who are here this morning are fortunate people. While our planet is confused, isolated, backward, materialistic, strife-torn, and evil-dominated, it is at the same time the most fortunate in the local universe of Nebadon. It is the sentimental shrine of all Nebadon, the chief of ten million worlds, the mortal home of Christ Michael.

It was on this planet that our Creator Son, Michael of Nebadon, chose to act out his seventh and final bestowal as a mortal of the realm, thereby earning the sovereignity and loving devotion of his wide-spreading universe.

Urantia, 606 of Satania, has been graced with a new revelation of truth, the fifth major revelation to be given to us. In Jesus’ time the Word was made flesh; today, the Word is made book.

On this exciting and stimulating planet, now quivering on the brink of one of its most amazing and enthralling epochs of social adjustment, moral quickening and spiritual enlightenment, you and I have been called to play an important role. Jesus said: "Do not be discouraged because you are human. Mortal man, while he has his roots of origin and being in the animal soil of human nature, can by faith raise his spiritual nature up into the sunlight of heavenly truth and actually bear the noble fruits of the spirit." (1737-38)

Jesus’ teachings have enhanced our insights, elevated our ideals, and settled our goals. We must wholeheartedly, and without doubts and misgivings, enter upon the business of proclaiming to the world those matchless truths he has taught us. We must proclaim the better way of salvation to men. (1730) Perhaps, thereby, we may be able to rekindle man’s faith in both God and man. We have a privilege very much like that which the apostles enjoyed in proclaiming the saving gospel to mankind.

None of us seeks honors in the kingdom of heaven, but each of us craves the honor of serving in the kingdom of heaven.

Bear in mind that "Love is infectious, and when human devotion is intelligent and wise love is more catching than hate. If each mortal could only become a focus of dynamic affection, this benign virus of love would soon pervade the sentimental emotion-stream of humanity to such an extent that all civilization would be encompassed by love, and that would be the realization of the brotherhood of man." (1098.04)


A Service of
The Urantia Book Fellowship