Religious Community: Coping with Crisis, Sorrow and Defeat

Have you ever wondered why bad things happen to good people? Are you dealing with a crisis? Do you sometimes feel like the wheels are coming off of your life? Are you grieving the loss of a loved one or dealing with a debilitating illness in yourself or in someone you love? This week’s show is about how to cope with sorrow and adversity. The Urantia Book is full of thought provoking insights concerning the value inherent in human adversity.

Consider this quote: “Much of what a mortal would call good luck might really be bad luck; the smile of fortune that bestows unearned leisure and undeserved wealth may be the greatest of human afflictions; the apparent cruelty of a perverse fate that heaps tribulation upon some suffering mortal may in reality be the tempering fire that is transmuting the soft iron of immature personality into the tempered steel of real character.” (118:10.9)

And this: “The measure of the spiritual capacity of the evolving soul is your faith in truth and your love for man, but the measure of your human strength of character is your ability to resist the holding of grudges and your capacity to withstand brooding in the face of deep sorrow. Defeat is the true mirror in which you may honestly view your real self.” (156:5.17)

The Urantia Book also says that the, "ascendant children of time have learned to feast upon uncertainty, to fatten upon disappointment, to enthuse over apparent defeat, to invigorate in the presence of difficulties, to exhibit indomitable courage in the face of immensity, and to exercise unconquerable faith when confronted with the challenge of the inexplicable."

What value does spiritual community have in these matters? In the last two weeks we've discussed religious community, let's take it deeper. Join us and explore how to get through bad times together with faith and dignity in tact.