True Parent's Heart Wants to Give Everything

The bible gives the account of the beginning of creation.   Let's forget the scientific and biblical debate of the beginning and keep it simple. Have you ever wondered why God built the universe and all of creation?

Like an artist, God first made a plan with man as the model for all of creation.  When you look at the physics internally and externally of man you will see the map of all creation.  God as our Parent created all of the universe for the love of man.  Once we realize this fact, then the account in Genesis
takes on a more heartfelt meaning when you see God as a Parent preparing the world for His children.

And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so.  

God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,^[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

So God created mankind in his own image,
    in the image of God he created them;
    male and female he created them.

Genesis 1 24-27

If humans are made in God's image, then like God as human parents we want to give everything to our children - all of our heart and possession for our children's love.

This is the parental heart of a parent.  The greatest of all relationships is that between parent and child.

Parents who have given birth to and raised children all understand the desire to receive blessings and feel happiness through their sons and daughters, whom they love dearly. Also, if they have established a correct standard through which they can experience joy, they will want to bequeath this to their offspring for eternity.

Even fallen parents hope that their children will grow up as fine people who can be followed and revered by all nations and praised eternally.

The parental heart seeks to protect children from harm and is concerned about them day and night. The heart of fallen parents can even be like this.

For example, a mother ignores the diaper smells from her baby while nursing her child at her breast. Thus, if fallen parents have such a heart towards their children, how earnest must God's heart have been, longing to love Adam and Eve based on their original hearts?

You should all think about this. When you nurse and nurture your babies, you sing them lullabies and whisper to them, wishing that their lives will be a success. Any parent has such a heart.

No matter how incompetent or lacking parents may be, if one of their children suffers from a disability, the parents' hearts are devastated to the point of breaking.   To God, when He looks down at humanity, he sees disfigured children crippled by sin.

If this situation is then resolved, the relief and joy are overwhelming in proportion to the original pain. If such is the heart of a fallen parent, what must be the heart of God?

If a son commits a crime and is sent to prison, the parents tearfully forgive and reach out to him, instead of saying, "Serves him right!" This is why parental love is extraordinary. Similarly, if a son is sentenced to execution, his mother will be totally grief-stricken and seek any way, even changing the world's legal systems or risking her life, to save her son.

Such is the unchanging and sacrificial nature of the parental heart towards the children.

Do loving parents keep an account of the times they love their children, saying: "We bought you shoes and clothes a few days ago with our hard earned money, which cost us so many dollars and cents?"

When parents love their children, they want to treat them even better than princes and princesses, and still feel sorry that they cannot give more.

Parents have the heart of wanting to give their children something better. This is why we cherish parental love. You should all know this.

No matter how much parents give they feel that it is not enough; they love and yet feel as if there is some love they have not yet given and want to give more; and even after giving, they still feel unsatisfied with what they were able to give their children.

This essence of parental love is that is what connects us to eternal love. This is the original motivation for the beginning point of love.

When it comes to children, parents always want to give the best of what they have to the children.  This is the true definition of a parental hear and this heart is a reflection of the nature of God.

If this is so, what kind of being is God?  God wants to share of  his most precious attributes to those who truly become His children.

The unconditional nature of rue love is that it does not waver, it is eternal, does not change according to circumstances or convenience.  A good friend will stay by his friend's side when the times are good and when they are bad.  A husband of true love will stay with his wife forsaking all others when she is sick and old and all of her beauty has faded away.  A parent whose child has run away will always look out the window every night in hopes of seeing their child return.

 Constancy is the ballast of all lasting and true relationships.

When people practice true love, they are there for one another no matter what the situation even if it turns sour.  God's love is unchanging and is a place of the heart where we want to return time and again for forgiveness, renewal, reassurance, wisdom and fresh determination.

A bumper sticker reads, “If you don’t feel close to God—guess who moved?” We may be sure that He didn't. The “Unmoved Mover” remains constant, the ultimately loving parent.

One parent practiced the elements of true love in her patience to win the hart of her reluctant teenage daughter.  Her rebellious daughter had a "smart mouth" and was very arrogant which harmed and pain the parents.

At the height of crisis, the police called the mother to tell her they had picked up her daughter for reckless driving.  The mother was so upset that she couldn't talk to the daughter for a whole night.

Then, after the mother stepped back, she knew that she had still belief in her daughter's goodness.  She wanted to demonstrate this faith to her daughter.  She wrapped up a little gift and handed it to her daughter with this note:

“This rock is a thousand years old. That’s how long it will take before I give up on you.”

The teenager broke down in tears at this evidence of her mother’s devotion, and the two became closer after that.

You and I should be grateful that God's heart is immensely larger than the human parent's love.  He never gives up on people who have wronged Him - even when they had already given up on themselves.

 People, like the teenage girl, feel worthless, hopeless, despairing, and beyond redemption when they are travelling down the wrong path.  Fortunately, God's love is like a rock.  He is always there, always has hope in us and waits for His child to return.

As Jesus expressed so poignantly, “Ask, and it will be given to you, seek and you will find; knock and the door shall be opened unto you.”

We can visualize that God is a True Parent that is always home and ready to open the door and answer it when His child needs Him.  He always holds steadfast that His children will visit wanting Him to embrace them in a love that never wavers.  God is a True and Ultimate Parent.

Reverend Moon has said:

“What made Jesus sacred was that he trusted and loved people, wanted to live with them and save them more than anything else—even though they betrayed him. He blessed his enemies. There are sixty-six volumes in the Holy Scripture, but when you condense its significant meaning, the teaching of Jesus is . . . unchangeability.”


Return for Tomorrow's Post: Don't Look For Love, Give It

This text was rewritten and is based on the teachings of the Dr. Reverend Sun Myung Moon who wrote the Divine Principle.

The Satanic World is Declining

Welcome back to Achieve World Peace!  Hope everyone's holiday was full and eventful and we are all refreshed for a new year and new month of blogs.

Look forward to upcoming interesting topics continuing the subject of marriage and how to reach perfection through mind and body unity.  Today's topic was taken from a speech given by founder Dr. Reverend Sun Myung Moon to Unification Theological Seminary graduates during the International Leaders' Conference.


To Seminary Graduates

"How well do you know me? I would like to speak especially to graduates of the Unification Theological Seminary to begin with. There are two hundred sixty-four seminary graduates here. Let me ask you, do you know me? How well do you know me?

You know me according to your own observation, through your life experiences, according to your upbringing and education. You come with those experiences and try to understand me in your own way. Each True Child even has their own perception and understanding of True Parents. How can we arrive at a common understanding?

You may go out partying with a friend, and think you know that friend quite well, but you do not know the depths of that person. Watch how he overcomes great peril and you may find an incredible kind of courage and strength of character in him. The true side of that person emerges in a crisis, when life and death hang in the balance.

Observing how that person reacts to those situations gives the best insight into that person's true nature. A truly noble person is the one who, even in the face of utmost danger, does not bend his principles, but risks his life trying to live up to his convictions. Nobility and divinity can be seen in such a person. God must be looking for such an individual, so that God can entrust him with the responsibility of accomplishing His program.

When you pursue the noble ideal of God, all of a sudden you will encounter incredible danger, not only to yourself, but also to your family and your children; you will be confronted by many difficulties. Are you going to turn around, think twice, and go in a different direction, or will you pursue your original commitment? What you would do under such circumstances is the most crucial question any man or woman can face.

For God and the spirit world there is no death, so God's way is to overcome difficulty and move forward. There is no possibility that God will wiggle out of difficulty, or change His mind and retreat. God is looking for a similar character in men and women. Even though God never dies, He is always ready to give every ounce of His energy to the last minute. He can endure even the difficulty and suffering of death. He can overcome and transcend all hardship.

Since such commitment and determination are always there, there is no failure on God's part. Everything God does is always perfect. Even in the fallen world, if there is a person living such a godly way of life, moving forward towards the goal with untiring, undaunted commitment, that person will certainly not fail, but will eventually succeed.

God's way is the public way. On the other hand, Satan is going to face the difficulty of death centered upon himself; therefore, he always feels endangered. Satan easily retreats and gives up. When faced with the way of death, Satan will say, "No, I don't need it. I would rather go the other way." Therefore, the satanic world has an end. Satan operates with a limit. That is the difference between the heavenly way and the satanic way.

The moment Satan sees that his neck is going to be cut off, he says, "No more. I won't go there." In contrast, the heavenly way surmounts all limits. The difference between good and evil is apparent, with God's way of life representing the good side and Satan's way of life representing the evil side.

Therefore, good and evil are clearly manifested in the religious way of life. Religious leaders throughout history have been either very good or very evil. Good religious leaders are always ready to go the way of principle with unbending courage and determination, even unto their deaths. God wants to teach His people the way of overcoming, of committing one's life for the sake of principle, for the sake of goodness."

 

Love that Goes Beyond Death

When one reads Bible passages, they are sure to encounter verses that seem to contradict one another.  For instance, "For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."

Sometimes husband and wife get together and ask each other: "How much do you love me?" You answer, "Well, I love you so much, Honey." Many children will answer, "I love Daddy thiiiiiiis much." The ultimate answer is: "Even unto my death, my love for you shall not change. Even if I die I will come back to love you more; death shall not stop me loving you."

If any wife was to receive this answer from her husband, she would give him an medal and say ,"You are a really truthful, God-centered, wonderful husband.  You are my hero. Centering upon this love, we will always be together. In life and after death, we will be together."

Such a couple becomes a explosive force of true love. This realm will b the love kingdom of heaven, where love reigns and prevails. Jesus told his disciples to love him more than they loved their own family. This means that even if our life is sacrificed we will not separate from the Messiah or the life-giving word of God.

As long as there is life, there is unity, harmony, and oneness. Jesus also said that those who love their wives, husbands, children, or family more than him are not worthy of him. He also said that unless we bear our own cross and follow him, we are not worthy of him.

Let's examine these verses once more.

There is always a double meaning in the teachings of Jesus: love me more than your family; even if you sacrifice them, still you must follow me.

Furthermore, following my way is not easy: you have to bear your cross, committing yourself without regret. The cross means death; but even though we are bearing the cross, we cannot stop loving Jesus, the son of God.

That simple principle of how to gain your life for eternity prevails here on earth and in the entire spirit world. You must follow that principle in order to win your life for eternity. It is the most simple truth, but we find it is very difficult to practice.

This simple principle is the way to gain an eternal life and the way prevails here on the earth and in the entire spirit world.  All of humanity must follow that principle in order to win life for eternity.  Even though this truth is very simplistic, it is very difficult for people of faith to put into practice.

Dr. Reverend Sun Myung Moon the founder of UTS gave his account to the graduates of his stay in prison on charges of practicing religion in Korea during Japanese occupation.

"As you know, I have been in prison on many different occasions. When I looked at my hand cuffed arms, I thought, "This is linking me to death; this will pull me to death." I always felt, "I know what kind of person I am and where I am going. Now I may face death. These handcuffs are the witnesses."

The handcuffs signify my last moment of life, my last measure of devotion. Under such circumstances, many people's minds would be shaken, and they would try to dodge the danger and dash to safety. The great man is the one who maintains his original course with unbending spirit and courage. In my entire life I have not learned how to detour.

I am always going straight forward, breaking through whatever obstacle I encounter. It has not been easy. I have faced incredible difficulties, persecution, and torture. It is not easy to remain strong when you are all alone and everybody says: "You are no good; you are going the wrong way."

It is not easy to maintain your course, especially when not only outside people are going against you, but also your own parents, wife, and children leave, when they point their fingers at you, and cast you out. If you were put in solitary confinement, what attitude would you have? I never focus on getting out but on applying myself with greater devotion to my principles.

I know that when I get out and continue pursuing my course, I will again face persecution and rejection, particularly those heartbreaking ones coming from close family members who abandoned me. I came here to save this country

When I came to the United States, nobody knew my true heart and desire. My secret goal was to save this country. I knew that it would not be a happy stay: I had been in prison in North Korea, in South Korea, and in Japan. When I came to the United States, I knew, undoubtedly, that this country would throw me in jail.

In prison, your life is on the line all the time. Within three and one half years after my arrival in the United States, I had turned the United States upside down. I knew that unless I could, there would be no opportunity for me. Initially there was some welcome, but as soon as I had spoken in several cities and people began to listen to my message, that welcome turned into incredible persecution. Initially, newspapers announced my crusade in banner headlines, but day by day, the headlines got smaller and smaller and hidden on the back pages.

I realized that since I would not be known in this country as a good man although I am truly a good man in the sight of God I would rather be known as the most evil man first, and begin the road of restoration from that point. People looked at me with tinted eyeglasses and described me as a brainwasher, monster, mind-controller and slave driver.

I was accused of sending out young people in a virtually starving position to work to death, and then taking their money from them and putting it in my own pocket. When people saw members who didn't speak English, from Japan and other countries, going out and working morning to night and handing over all the money they gained, they called me a slave driver.

I went around to the fifty states of the United States like a whirlwind. Everywhere I appeared, people flocked to hear me, and I was called worse names than the Ayatollah or Mafia leaders. They said that, with my magic power, all I had to do was touch a person's head, and his mind would be controlled. Media played small instances up into dramatic stories. People waited eagerly for the next exaggerated story. When they heard I was coming to a certain city, picket signs would spring up.

People owe me an apology

Still I made up my mind that even though I had the worst reputation, I would turn this nation upside down in three and one half years. Among the two hundred forty million Americans, there were few who did not speak something unkind or evil about Rev. Moon. That means two hundred forty million people know about me; at least that is sure.


They pushed me into a corner, and the ultimate corner was prison. They thought, "Oh, we caught the monster and confined him in Danbury prison." They were watching. The inmates were worried, "Oh, we are living with a monster. What can we do?" The inmates were trembling, but the very first day they found out that I am just an ordinary, good-looking, benevolent grandfather. They were totally surprised to discover that I am the opposite of the way the media portrays me. "Oh, is that the Rev. Moon?" they asked in amazement.

Now, in the end, who won, the United States or me? Americans realized that, yes, Rev. Moon won. Moreover, they give me credit, because they know exactly how the government and the media and the American public treated me. Americans really owe me an apology.

There is a certain fairness about the American public's mind. I can see this is the strategy of God. If you put yourself in a situation of the most incredible suffering and torture, in the end people will surrender out of sympathy. They will repent for the evil they committed. This is the heavenly strategy.

The world that persecuted me is declining. They thought they could flourish by giving me a hard time. On the contrary, the persecutors will diminish, and those who were persecuted will flourish."

I Went to Danbury Without Tears

Reverend Moon has been imprisoned 6 times in different parts of the world and has always been released as innocent even though papers would not report these incidents or hide them on back pages.  Here he gives his account of Danbury prison in America.

"When I set out for Danbury that fateful day, many of you cried. However, I did not. I went to Danbury without shedding tears, because I knew that beyond Danbury lay something greater. Every time I have gone to prison whether in North Korea, South Korea or Japan many people shed tears, but not me.

I always went expecting to come out with a greater plan. When I came out, those who shed the tears were gone. As I entered Danbury, many members and leaders throughout the world repented, with tears streaming down their cheeks, but I was thinking: how many of you will stay faithful and serve me with an even greater determination?

The simple, central truth is that when it comes to your eternal life, no one else is responsible but you. You are the pioneer of your own eternal life. Eternal life cannot be defeated by the hill of death. No matter how many hills you cross, eternal life must survive."

 

This speech is titled How Well Do You Know Me?  Given on January 29, 1993 in the World Mission Center, New York, NY USA and was Translated into English by Dr. Bo Hi Pak.

Jesus Restores Adam's Mistake

The Mission of Jesus who Came as the True Father

 



When we hear about stories of Jesus through his birth, it is easy to see him as a non human, a sort of superhero that came to save the earth.    Realistically, he was born of a woman just as every single human was on earth.  The one factor that makes Jesus different is he is not part of the fallen blood lineage which connects us to the false parents Adam and Eve and change it to God's lineage.  When you look at the birth records in the bible, by looking at it from God's viewpoint of restoring man to his original position, you clearly see how He reversed the fallen blood lineage to create a sinless Jesus.  You will also see the significance of two brothers.  This is to restore the Cain and Abel relationship.

 

God wanted to reverse the mistake Adam and Eve had made through their children Cain and Abel.  Cain on Lucifer side as the first, and Abel on God's side.  When Cain murdered Abel, this ended God's immediate efforts.  You will see this case later in biblical history to restore this mistake of elder and younger brother.

 

 After the foundation of Noah, Abraham and Isaac there was Jacob.  Through the help of his mother, he was able to make his elder twin, Esau, yield of his own accord. Jacob took a decisive role in the establishment of the chosen people of Israel. Jacob's son, Judah, had twins Perez and Zerah through his daughter-in-law, Tamar.

Perez struggled with Zerah inside Tamar's womb and, pushed Zerah aside, who was supposed to be born first. Instead Perez was born first as the elder brother. The battle of the first and second born is the battle of good and evil. Thus, when the younger brother won over the elder brother while still in the womb and was born as the first son, this achieved restoration of Cain and Abel happened within the womb.

Jesus Christ, who came as the Messiah forty generations later, was born from the lineage of Perez, because of this restoration within the womb. Conceiving and giving birth to Jesus was an act of extraordinary devotion and risk in which Jesus' mother, Mary, put her life on the line.

Because God's providence of salvation is the providence of restoration, God had to carry out a providence to cut the blood lineage of sin. This sin has been transmitted from generation to generation because the ancestors, Adam and Eve, had an immoral sexual relationship away from god due to the temptation of Lucifer, the archangel, who became Satan.

This course from Cain and Abel until Jesus was born is the history of the chosen nation of Israel. Due to the fall, Adam fell to the position of a false father. Accordingly, following the course of restoration of the struggle to separate good and evil, Jesus came as the true father of humanity, that is, as the good second ancestor of humankind. Because of that, Jesus had to restore as his complement a true woman in the position of Eve, and they had to become a couple, have children and take dominion over creation.

This was the purpose for which Jesus came as the Messiah. Thus Jesus came as the Messiah to restore the three great blessings which God gave to Adam and Eve: be fruitful, multiply and have dominion over all the creation. However, Jesus, who came as their father and Messiah, was crucified by mankind. What an incredibly unfilial act!

What a horrendous sin! Jesus who died on the cross promised that he would come again to the earth, that he would come as a bridegroom, and that all people on the earth should prepare themselves as brides and be ready. In Revelation. Chapter 19, it is recorded that Jesus returns to the earth and holds the Marriage of the Lamb. This refers to the restoration of the position of the true couple and the True Parents reversing the false parents Adam and Eve's mistake.

The Messiah Reveals the Path of the
True Parents, the True Couple and True Children

How can we straighten out this society in which all kinds of sexual sin, immorality and corruption are destroying our families? It will bring a destruction like Sodom and Gomorrah's upon itself. The fire of judgment has already begun to fall. The frightening disease, AIDS, is a warning from heaven against the chaos of sexual immorality.

Jesus said he would come again in the Last Days of this evil world. The returning Jesus will come as True Father (reverse of false father Adam) of humankind. He will show the way of the True Children, the True Couple, and the way of the True Parents which all men and women must go. Only in this way can the problem of sexual corruption, the original sin, be fundamentally solved.

This will be the true gospel which will save humankind from the world of sin. The mission of the Messiah, the Savior, is to teach the way to end the tangled history of sin created when humanity lost the way of the True Parents, the True Couple and the True Children. It is proclaimed to the whole world  Dr. Reverend Sun Myung Moon, has devoted his entire life to pioneering this path of the Messiah, the True Parents.

The Divine Principle reveals the purpose of the creation of God, and through examining the original sin committed by the first ancestors he has pioneered the future of humanity despite the brutal opposition and persecution of this evil world.

According to the Divine Principle, each major religion is awaiting the return of its founder in some form: the Maitreya, the True Man, the new Confucius and the return of Jesus will be fulfilled by the return of one Messiah, the return of the True Parent of humankind. All religions will be united into one.

That Messiah, the True Parent who comes, will not be the same Jesus who died 2000 years ago with his flesh resurrected, as some Christians believe, nor will he come on the clouds in the air; rather, a new person who has inherited the mission of Jesus is to be born on the earth. The country in which that person is born in the East is the nation of Korea; however surprising it may be, the fact is that the Messiah, who is the True Parent of humankind, comes as a Korean.

Unification is the Key to World Peace

When will the Messiah who is coming in this way appear? According to the Divine Principle, the Last Days are the time when this evil world comes to an end, and the Messiah is to return. Briefly, the Last Days are from the end of the first World War to the year 2000 -- a period of about eighty years.

During this period the Lord of the Second Advent, who is the True Parent of humankind, is to be born in the land of Korea. This is the worldwide historical age of transition when the Lord of the Second Advent is building the ideal out of the world filled with sin, war and struggle. Therefore, this era is an age of great chaos with the confrontation and struggle between goodness and evil occurring in the mutual relationships of all parts of the world: the individual, family, tribe, race, nation and the world.

The Realization of World Peace Through the Power of Women

Women leaders! What I am telling you today is not only for the Unification Church members who are following Father Moon's teaching. Now leaders from every level of society, in more than 160 nations, and many thousands of young people, are following this teaching and shedding sweat to build a new unified world overflowing with freedom and peace. Already Korea is being looked to by many people from all over the world as the country to which the True Parents of humankind have come, and the number of foreigners who are visiting Korea to learn the Korean language, culture and manners is rapidly increasing.

The Women's Federation for World Peace has the fundamental remedy to save families which are threatened by the present day reality of the degeneration of sexual morality, the proliferation of drugs and all sorts of wantonness and sexual corruption.

This is a worldwide women's organization which was founded in Seoul Olympic Stadium with 150,000 Korean women, including representatives from 72 countries. We cannot wait any longer to save the society of tomorrow, which is rotting with all kinds of immorality and corruption, and the fallen social climate where men have oppressed women. Finally we must  endeavor to learn and practice the duty of the True Parents, the true spouse and the true child.

Through the organization of the Family Federation for World Peace, we must make sure that immorality and corruption will not be able to set foot anywhere in this world. In this way, humankind must cleanse the evil blood lineage and suffering which was caused by the original sin of fornication committed in the Garden of Eden, which has lasted until today, and quickly prepare to meet the new world.

Until now everyone has been helpless to stop the wantonness and immorality which has been destroying humankind. But now a new truth which can completely solve these problems has appeared in Korea in the very age in which we are living. The truth which was revealed by the True Parents will be the light which will bring about the unification of North and South Korea and build a world of peace and happiness.

Let us learn this new truth and rise up and become women soldiers who will end this world of sin, which has caused us to suffer since the beginning of history. Let us build a unified world overflowing with freedom, peace and happiness.

Please return for tomorrow's post:

Photos courtesy of Freedigitalphotos.net



 This speech was given by Hak Ja Han Moon, Dr. Rev. Sun Myung Moon's wife based on the teachings of the Divine Principle which reveals the words of the Last Days.