I Heard it on the Radio
The year was 1977. I was working construction, as a painter. My crew was painting out a new tract of homes that was just going up. I was standing in a bathtub, slapping paint on the bare walls of a bathroom, listening to my radio.
Most of the time, I liked to listen to Rock and Roll, as this is my music of choice. But for some reason, that day I was listening to a talk show.
This guy was talking about this strange book that had to do with God, the universe, and our place in it. Then, I was into Alan Watts, Zen, “Be Here Now,” and the usual counter- culture stuff, having left my Christian upbringing and my short stint with Fundamentalism, (read Jesus Freak) and a one year tour as a gung-ho Mormon.
I had become dissatisfied and thrown the whole Christian thing out. I had found through my searching that the Eastern way of looking at things made much more sense to my inquiring mind, than the Christian paradigms that I had tried. The more that I looked deeply into organized religion, (I liked to look under all the rocks) the more I became turned off by it.
I listened with interest as this guy on the radio talked about this book he called The Urantia Book. At the end of the show, he said that if anyone would like to obtain a copy of this book, call this phone number. I was convinced that this book needed to be looked into, so having no pen or pencil to write with, it did the next best thing.
With the paint brush that was already in my hand, I proceeded to paint that phone number that was given on the bare bathroom wall. I then went and found a pencil and paper so that I could transfer the number from the wall to my wallet. When I got home, I ordered the book.
I started reading it from the beginning, and I got to about page 70 or so, when I got bogged down, and put it down. It sat in my pile of books for almost 20 years before I picked it up again.
About seven years ago, after a long detour into materialism, sex, drugs, alcohol, and the usual decadent stuff, the urge came to me to once again try to connect with the spiritual side of life. I was becoming dissatisfied and burned out with the way my life was going. There was something missing from my life.
I remembered some of the spiritual experiences of my youth, and I knew that some of them had validity. I felt the pull of Father on the prodigal son to come home.
One day I found myself going through a big box of books in my storage locker than I had labeled… “Spiritual Books,” some 50 lbs. of books that I had acquired over the years of my “searching.”
As I started going through this box of books, I came across The Urantia Book. Something told me that maybe now it was the time to check this out again. I set it aside, and took it home with me.
I can’t read a book without a see through magic marker and a red underlining pen. I looked into The Urantia Book and I could easily determine that I had only gotten to page 70 or so, before I put it down. (This was where my markings stopped.)
Not willing to get bogged down again, I looked through the table of contents. My eyes fell on Part IV, The Life and Teachings of Jesus. Now this, I thought, might be interesting.
I started reading Part IV and it was like the heavens opened up. I couldn’t believe my eyes. What I had been looking for all along was right under my nose, but I couldn’t see it. I guess I just wasn’t ready for it some 25 years ago. I guess I had to wander around in the world for awhile and get dissatisfied with it before I could appreciate the FER.
I gobbled up Part IV and after I had finished it, I still couldn’t believe my discovery. Such beauty, such truth, such excellence! I re-read Part IV again just to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating. Yep, the Spirit of Truth was convicting me… Big Time. There was no mistake about it. I had come home.
Since that time seven years ago, The Urantia Book (and its teachings) have become the focus of my life. My mission now is to share with fellow seekers of truth what I have found.
My motto:
“It’s good to be a seeker, but sooner or later, you have to be a finder. And then is well, to give what you have found, a gift into the world, for whoever will accept it.”
~ ~ ~
I heard about The Urantia Book on the radio back in 1977.
I thank God that I finally found what I was looking for.
I thank God… I heard about it…
on the radio.
Aden
