First, I digress for just a moment……. While God is indeed a Creator, this is only the result of his acting nature. While we may call God our Father, it is only because we live in a parental, pro-creative atmosphere. God has chosen to act, the earth has given birth as a direct result of God's action (acting nature) – which is why many people call God the Father, and earth 'Mother Earth'. You do not need to think of God as a male with only male attributes, because if God is the ultimate designer of all male/female attributes, then doesn't it also possess the capacity to express these attributes? It is we who are limited, not God. Why, I bet if men and women really tried, they could express some of the attributes of the opposite sex. Women, toughen up a little! Men, be a little more considerate! Wait…, maybe we need that balance.
What are some of God's attributes? Who then, if not God?
- Everywhereness: God is near and far, God is everywhere. He dwells in the hearts and minds of God seeking individuals. Humans go searching for God everywhere, but he is right there – always.
Infinite Power: God is omnipotent. Everything unfolds according to the all-wise plan of God. He upholds the universe. If not God, then who or what? He is the Creator of all energy forces. We are energy; there is energy in the air. There are small and large physical, material consequences to disturbances within these energy fields – which is directly related to why bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people. God has also created a resource for dealing with these disturbances – before, during or after they happen – you access these resources through prayer and contemplation, and even during your sleeping hours.
- Universal Knowledge: God knows all things, he is omniscient; intimately, deeply and completely. He knows everything about you. He is the only one who knows the number of stars in the universe. He knows all things because he possesses universal, infinite power.
- Note: Omnipotence and omniscience does not imply that God could or would do the undoable or ungodlike act. Nor does it imply that God can know the unknowable.
- Limitlessness: God's power never decreases; he has never lost his energy force, his wisdom, his love, or any other attribute. In fact, the future promises unlimited expansion in every one of these areas. We humans may not be able to understand this because we know all too well our own limitations, but we can feel and experience the infinite, eternal impact of God's love.
- Supremeness: The eternal purpose of God's divine plan always triumphs. As individuals, we can understand this when we set goals for ourselves; if we were to incorporate the attributes of God into our goal setting process, we would never fail.
Consider the following from the Urantia Book – Paper 3:5.5-14
"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:
Is courage —strength of character—desirable? Then must man be reared in an environment which necessitates grappling with hardships and reacting to disappointments.
Is altruism —service of one's fellows—desirable? Then must life experience provide for encountering situations of social inequality.
Is hope —the grandeur of trust—desirable? Then human existence must constantly be confronted with insecurities and recurrent uncertainties.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. "
- Primacy: God is the first source and center, the cause of all things, but he does relinquish power through delegation. God has an eternal purpose which he pursues to his own satisfaction.
If not God, then who or what is capable of creating a universe? What greater being or substance upholds the energy forces of life? Can a universe even exist without a being of greater capacity?
Action: Consider the attributes of God
Be silent for a few moments; contemplate the attributes of God: Everywhereness, Infinite Power, Universal Knowledge, Limitlessness, Supremeness….. These are the attributes by which God created and maintains the universe.
Can you incorporate these attributes into your ways of thinking and how you live your life? It occurred to me that if we did, we would be more successful at any venture. What if you were always present (everywhereness) in all your doings? What if you took control (infinite power) over every circumstance (disturbance in the energy field) and dealt with it? What if you took steps to learn everything (universal knowledge) you could about a situation before you acted? What if you never gave up (limitlessness)? Would your chances of success (supremeness) improve? Who's in control (primacy), you or some other person? Incorporating these attributes fulfills God's supreme purpose for our life – the development of a well-balanced and majestic personality.
Interfaith Spirit Quest References:
Urantia Book - Papers 1-8 - http://www.urantiabook.org/newbook/index.html
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