The Faith of Jesus, Part III - Paper 196 of The Urantia Book - There Is HOPE

This week we continue our exploration of Paper 196 of The Urantia Book, The Faith of Jesus.

Some thoughts to ponder:

Christianity is founded on the personal religious experience of Paul, but the gospel of the kingdom is founded on the personal religious experience of Jesus. We should not literally imitate Jesus' life; we need to trust God as Jesus trusts God and to believe in each other as he believes in us. The greatest of all human knowledge is knowing the religious life of Jesus and how he lived it.

Jesus' life reveals a pattern of religious growth that started with early primitive awe, moved through personal spiritual communion, and arrived at advanced consciousness of oneness with the Father. He grew from the humble mortal status that prompted his words, "Why do you call me good?" to the sublime consciousness of divinity which led him to say, "Which one of you convicts me of sin?"

Jesus had faith in humankind, "He was always ready and willing to stop a sermon or detain a multitude while he ministered to the needs of a single person, even to a little child. Great things happened not only because people had faith in Jesus, but also because Jesus had so much faith in them."

There are three evidences that spirit indwells the human mind. The first is love-only a spirit-indwelt mind is capable of altruism. The second is wisdom-only a spirit-indwelt mind can discern that the universe is friendly. The third is worship-only a spirit-indwelt mind can realize the divine presence and seek experience with divinity.

The human mind does not create value. It can only discover, recognize, interpret, and choose values and meanings. Man's challenge on earth is to achieve better communication with the fragment of God that dwells within him.

Be not discouraged; human evolution is still in progress, and the revelation of God to the world, in and through Jesus, shall not fail!