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Wrestling with Jesus
Dick Bain, Lilburn, GA.
In the book of Genesis in the Old Testament, we read of Jacob wrestling all night with a man who could be an angel or perhaps God. I have had my own wrestling match; it was with the concept of Jesus.
Before my encounter with The Urantia Book I was content to drift along with no theology except a hazy concept of God. My relationship with this person consisted mainly in giving God a call on the hotline when I was in hot water or otherwise distressed. But Jesus and I had never been properly introduced. Of course, I had heard the name "Jesus' as in: "Saved by the blood of Jesus." or "Do you accept Jesus as your savior?" or heard people sing "What a friend we have in Jesus." Somehow I didn't relate to all this Jesus talk and Jesus singing.
Then I met the Jesus of The Urantia Book and it was no longer possible to ignore him. It began to dawn on me that his life and teachings were relevant to my life. Could I then have a relationship with this Jesus as the Christians do? What kind of relationship? The king and his subject? Back slapping buddies? A teacher and his student? Complicating this is the fact that Jesus is a dual nature being, both human and divine. Neither being seems very accessible. The human Jesus has been dead for over 1900 years, and Christ Michael is perhaps a thousand light years distant. Nevertheless, the Christian claims to have a relationship with this Jesus, so it must be possible. But how?
In order for a mutual relationship to exist, there must be some sort of connection between the persons. Jesus said something about this connection, when he stated that he was present when "two or three are gathered in my name."
The authors of The Urantia Book inform us that Jesus can be present with us through the Spirit of Truth. They tell us that when we contact the Spirit of Truth, we in essence contact the personality of Jesus or more exactly, the personality of Christ Michael, our Creator Son. (2062)
What does this contact feel like? The Urantia Book specifically tells us that when we encounter spiritual truth, the The Spirit of Truth reacts. From personal experience, I believe this feeling is spiritual satisfaction, perhaps even elation.
The Urantia Book and the Bible refer to The Spirit of Truth as the "Comforter." Hence, when we are in crisis and feel spiritually comforted it may be the action of the The Spirit of Truth. Further, The Urantia Book indicates that the the Spirit of Truth may offer us guidance, so when we feel we have received guidance, this may also be the action of the The Spirit of Truth. And of course, when we pray, our prayers certainly are known by the The Sprit of Truth.
When we connect with the The Spirit of Truth, are we really contacting Christ Michael, or just a presence that is like him, but not him? Is Christ Michael aware of us as we are aware of him through the Spirit of Truth? Does it matter?
I believe that it is important to know that we are making contact with Christ Michael himself, just as we would rather talk to the person we dialed rather than an answering service person who will relay messages to the person we wish to contact.
It is difficult to imagine Christ Michael's consciousness being divided into millions of parts so he can simultaneously and directly contact all the people who desire such contact. Furthermore, the Spirit of Truth does not emanate directly from the Creator Sons; it is circuited through the local Universe Mother Spirit for them. Nevertheless, Christ Michael is a Creator Son, and we can hardly understand the limits of the powers of such a being. Since they are able to transcend time, perhaps they can make contact with more than one individual at a time.
At the very least, it does seem possible for Christ Michael to commune with all those who seek his presence. If we were at a family reunion with 50 people, we could hardly engage all 50 individuals in conversations simultaneously, but we could certainly feel emotionally connected with all those present, and we could certainly go from group to group, participating for a time in each group.
Regardless of any speculations we might make, or any theories we might devise, we are informed on p.2061 that the Sprit of Truth creates a consciousness of Michael, not of himself. He also told the Apostles that he would be with them by way of the Spirit of Truth. What is said seems to indicate that somehow Jesus/Christ Michael is literally present in some way via the Sprit of Truth. If so, what do we need to do to insure his presence? What are the impediments to such a relationship?
The lyrics of one of the songs heard frequently on Christian radio stations informs us: "Jesus, Jesus, there's something about that name." Many Christians, especially conservative Christians, probably have had a long term relationship with the Christian Jesus. They feel a great affection or love for this Jesus. Some were taught that he is God and that he gave his life on the cross so we wouldn't have to spend eternity in Hell. Small wonder that some
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