Ep 856 - The Blessing And Eternal Life Part 11
The Blessing and Eternal Life - February 28, 2023
Key Points
The two great commandments mean that in order to realize true love we need to love God and others at the cost of our life despite any hardship.
We risk our lives to evade Satan’s constant vigilance, to escape the satanic environment by clinging to God, and to completely cut ourselves off from Satan in order to be engrafted to the messiah.
We can be engrafted into True Parents by completely eradicating our false self.
Because of the Fall, human life began with selfish thinking, living for oneself and creating self-centered relationships.
Living for the sake of others is the only way to “cast off” our fallen nature.
Fallen people make excuses, implicate others and enlist others in their wrongdoing.
Four conditions of the fallen nature are (1) arrogance, (2) envy (jealousy), (3) uncontrolled anger, and (4) lying.
Honesty is accepted by the world in every age, brings about development, lasts throughout the ages, leads to justice and deserves forgiveness.
Father worked intensely at every job he undertook as if he were born to do it.
Father lived with joy and sorrow for all people and things modeled after people and shed many tears to comfort God’s heart.
He felt compelled to sacrifice himself to help others in need.
Because he lived with absolute faith, absolute love, and a pure heart centered on his original nature, he could look into the future.
His life philosophy was to live for the sake of others.
In order to grow our spirit self, we need to shed tears of compassion, pity, forgiveness, repentance and gratitude.
Transcripts from November 3, 2021 to the present, personal notes from November 11, 2020 until November 2, 2021 and slides from August 29, 2021 to the present are available at MD.Hoondok.com as PDF files.♦
Yesterday I was so happy. Last night finally my fifth grandchild came out. All five grandchildren are boys. We are missing granddaughters!
Today I’d like to talk about “The Blessing and Eternal Life” from True Mother’s Anthology, Book 2.
<This speech was given by Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon between February 23 and April 16 at True Family Values Movement hoondok rallies for the study of True Parents' words in Japan and the United States.>
Why is this? The fundamental root of evil life is Satan's lineage. Our lineage belongs to Satan. Our love belongs to Satan. God's love transcends Satan's love. And so the Bible teaches, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment.” (Matt. 22:37-38) What does this really mean? Loving God with all your soul and mind means to give your life completely to God. The second commandment is, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” What does this mean? It tells us to love others even at the cost of our lives. We have to invest ourselves in this way of life. Then why do we need to commit ourselves with total intensity? Unless we commit ourselves to this degree, first, we cannot make Satan surrender. Second, we cannot free ourselves from the fallen environment in which we live. Third, we cannot eradicate our bondage to Satan's lineage by ourselves. Even though we may be able to free ourselves from our fallen environment, we cannot deal with Satan's lineage. We need the power of true love, which is greater than our life.
There is no concept of time for God. This means that the beginning and the end are the same in eternity. Likewise, the present and the future are the same. Then what, within God, harmonizes everything and enables God to dwell in peace? This is a serious question. What is it, then? It is not God's almighty power. It is not God's omniscience. It is nothing other than the power of love. Even God Himself responds unconditionally to true love. This is because God does not need anything other than true love. Most people agree that we will enter the spirit world upon our death. What does that mean? The spirit world is not just the dwelling place of the departed. It is connected to true love. The starting point of God's creation is true love. Therefore, once we secure true love in the physical world, it will be secured in the spirit world as well. Because it is connected to true love, the spirit world is not the world of death. This alone tells us how powerful true love is.
The Bible teaches, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment.” (Matt. 22:37-38)
What does this really mean? Loving God with all our soul and mind means to give our life completely to God. This is the first commandment. It means to love God risking our life no matter what hardships we face in loving Him.
We need to die for our God.
Another meaning: in order to love God as a fallen man is not simple. That is why we prepare to die in order to love God. As a fallen man this is really challenging. It is the greatest commandment. We need to prepare to die for God; otherwise, we cannot change our life. Fallen man always betrays and disobeys and is always changeable according to the situation. That’s why in order to keep vertical alignment from the fallen environment, we need to prepare to die. We need to put God as our top priority. Otherwise, we cannot keep our vertical alignment.
The second commandment is, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matt. 22:39) What does this mean? It tells us to love others even at the cost of our lives. In this way, fallen human beings can never realize true love unless they invest their lives in loving God and loving their neighbors.
Jesus showed a great(?) example of practicing the first and second commandments. He died for the sake of all humankind. How much he loved God! With all his heart, soul and mind. He is the one who thoroughly followed the greatest and first commandment. And then he died for all humankind. He practiced the second commandment. He showed that kind of model.
How about True Parents? They (also) showed the model. How much True Parents loved God! There were many cases in which they face death: Heungnam Prison. Seodeman Prison, more than six times, but True Father loved God with all his heart, soul and mind. So, he set the example.
How much he loved human beings. He practiced and followed absolutely the second commandment: he loved his neighbors and all humankind. It is very interesting. Why did God ask us to follow this first and second commandment? Is God a selfish guy? Many people misunderstand this. God is the parent of all humankind. He is the one who first showed that he loved all humankind with all his heart, soul and mind. He practiced first. He invested everything. That is why God asked us (to follow) the same pattern. This is amazing guidance.
Then why do we need to commit ourselves with total intensity? Unless we commit ourselves to this degree first, we cannot make Satan surrender. This is because Satan also risks his life to take fallen humans. Satan waits 24 hours (a day) for an opportunity to get someone. Therefore, we must risk our lives and love God and our neighbors more than Satan.
The second reason fallen human beings have to risk their lives is because they cannot free themselves from the fallen environment in which we live. This is because there is no way for human beings who are trapped in the satanic environment in all 360 directions to survive unless they risk their lives and hold onto God vertically.
And the third reason is we cannot eradicate our bondage to Satan's lineage by ourselves.
This is because fallen human beings, who are wild olive trees, cannot be grafted in without completely cutting themselves off from Satan's lineage into the true olive tree that is the Messiah.
So, in order to escape Satan's lineage, we must completely deny ourself. This is because we cannot be grafted in through True Parents unless we are in a position where we completely eradicate our false self.
LIVING DIVINE PRINCIPLE: The Human Fall 24: The Primary Characteristics of
the Fallen Nature
• The primary characteristics of the fallen nature can be divided broadly into four types:
1. The first is failing to take God's standpoint. A principal cause of the Archangel's fall was his failure to love Adam with the same heart and perspective as God; instead he felt jealous of Adam. This led him to tempt Eve.
2. The second is leaving one's proper position. Lucifer desired to enjoy the same position of love in the human world as he had in the angelic world. This unrighteous desire caused him to leave his position and fall.
3. The third is reversing dominion. The angel, who was supposed to come under the dominion of human beings, instead dominated Eve. Then Eve, who was supposed to come under the dominion of Adam, dominated him instead.
4. The fourth is multiplying the criminal act. The Archangel spread his sin to Eve, and Eve to Adam.
Let’s study Father’s word.
Confess the Nature of our Sins
<6-336, 1959.6.28> Before we can be proud of ourselves, we first must admit we are fallen people. Prior to showcasing our qualities, we first must confess the nature of our sins, while admitting that we come from a sinful history and that we are imbued with fallen nature. Although this is the reality of our fallen state, we try to circumvent it in all kinds of ways. Heaven must cleanse all the guilt that stains history and resolve the resentments resulting from these festering historical crimes passing down through the lineage.
Fallen Nature Puts our Personal Desires Before the Greater Purpose
<2-165, 1957.4.7> Originally human life was meant to begin with living for others, with God at the center. However, due to the Fall, human life did not begin with living for others. It began with selfish thinking, living for oneself and creating self-centered relationships. Since we are striving toward the goals of eternal freedom and peace, we must shed the self-centeredness and fallen nature that put our personal desires before the greater purpose. We need to become people who transcend ourselves and live for others.
Due to the Fall, human life did not begin with living for others. It began with selfish thinking, living for oneself and creating self-centered relationships.
Additionally, people think everything is self-centered and try to establish a relationship. We, who aim for eternal freedom and peace, will never be able to cast off our fallen nature if we end up doing things for ourselves.
We Should Be Honest in our Daily Life
<45-251, 1971.7.4> Among your colleagues, teachers, students or relatives, is there anyone who likes those who make excuses? Yet people are prone to blaming another person and scapegoating others when something goes wrong. A common excuse is, "Why are you only blaming me? He also did that; my brother did the same thing." This is wrong. A person who makes a mistake should be honest. Yet often, someone who has committed an error tries to implicate others. Such behavior is from fallen nature. In order to correct this fallen inclination within ourselves, we should be honest in our daily life. We must have even greater honesty in front of God.
Humans with fallen nature always like to make excuses. And whatever happens, they try to bring in others to assert their validity.
One of the most common behaviors of fallen nature is to lie. (Fallen people are) not honest. They try to implicate others even though they should be honest if they did something wrong.
People with original nature are always honest, especially our True Father. He hid nothing at all.
Then, let's see what kind of position an honest person holds, centering on True Father's words.
I researched this. Father often talked about honesty. I will summarize what he said.
Four conditions of the fallen nature are (1) arrogance, (2) envy (jealousy), (3) uncontrolled anger, and (4) lying. Those are fallen natures. <1960.9.4>
Falsehood is one of the four great fallen natures.
We Should be Honest in our Daily Life
1. Honesty is accepted by the world in every age.
2. Honesty brings about development.
3. Honesty lasts throughout the ages.
4. Honesty leads to justice.
5. Honesty deserves forgiveness.
6. Falsehood is one of the four great fallen natures. (Arrogance, envy or jealousy, uncontrolled anger and lying).
Since I came to America and since I have dealt with Western brothers and sisters – especially since I came to America – I feel that, compared to Eastern people, Western people are, most of them, quite honest. I love that.
Eastern people rarely express (themselves), but Western people are really honest. Honesty brings about development, is accepted throughout the ages and deserves forgiveness. That is why in our life of faith honesty is very important. When we are honest, God gives us an opportunity for forgiveness.
TODAY’S YOUTH MINISTRY: True Father's Life Philosophy
True Father was Born with Original Nature
1. How do we know that True Father was born with a sinless, original nature? If you read True Father's autobiography, you can quickly realize that he was born from original nature. Even from a young age, he was different from ordinary people in his love for all things.
True Father was very active in every aspect. He said that he caught a fish from a stream and brought it home to raise, but when the fish died, he cried for three days. True Father had that many tears. Just as Jesus was born without sin, God directly planted the seed of true love in True Father so that he can be born and come as the third Adam. So, when we look at True Father's emotions of joy and sorrow, we come to know that he is a person of original nature. True Father had a physical body like the rest of us, but his heart was exactly the same as God's.
True Father was really different from everyone else. When he was a student, he received tuition money from his parents but enrolled the poor students who could not afford to register first instead of himself, and then he earned his own tuition through labor. He exchanged the lunch prepared by his parents with a lunch box for a student who had it worse than himself and ate it.
True Father's Life Philosophy
2. In the Heungnam Prison, True Father shared half of his rice to the workers around him. For 21 days, he shared half of it with other workers, and after, he ate the rest of it. True Father said that because he thought as if he was eating for two people, he worked without feeling that he was hungry. He said that when you share even the smallest thing with others, you gain more mental strength. We also realize this when we practice it. When you say that you are lacking in what you have, you feel rather mentally satisfied if you share that which you lack with the other person. So it becomes even more powerful. In this way, you will experience that the more you give love, the more it grows and increases. Isn't this True Father's life philosophy? True Father had no concept of possession, and always lived with absolute faith and absolute love. As we read True Father's autobiography, we are able to feel that True Father truly lived with original nature and without any fallen nature. And that he could foresee the future. True Father hurriedly visited and loved North Korea before the death of his enemy Kim Il-sung, and brought about an opportunity to bring about a great turning point in the providence. Then he met Gorbachev in the Soviet Union and made him start a new revolution without shedding a drop of blood.
Our Reflections and Task
3. Didn't True Father prophesy that a black president would emerge in the United States 30 years before a black president? True Father had such a foresight to see into the future.
True Father, who is currently in the spirit world, must feel pity for the fact that North and South Korea have not yet been reunified. When we look at True Father's autobiography, there are so many scenes that can make us shed tears. In True Father's words, he said that in our course of faith, we cannot grow our own spirits and our spiritual selves without tears. So, as we go along the course of faith, how we own and shed tears of compassion, tears of pity, tears of forgiveness, tears of repentance, and tears of gratitude like True Father is our task and something we must reflect on.
True Father was very active in all aspects. He was active in everything as if he was born for that work. When he went to the sea, he became a fisherman; when he went to a rural area, he became a farmer; when he went to a factory, he became a factory owner; and when he went to a labor market, he became a first-class worker.
True Father had a lot of tears. He lived with joy and sorrow for all things that were created with humans as their models. Sometimes he cried while holding on to mountains and rivers, and sometimes he cried while holding on to a rock to comfort God's heart.
True Father had a personality which couldn't bear it unless he helped someone in need. When he saw a student who was worried about not having tuition, he first paid for their tuition.
True Father always moved the people around him (so much) that they would never forget about him. When True Father saw the lunch boxes of students who were worse (off) than himself, he exchanged his lunch for theirs.
From his youth he was completely different from us.
In Heungnam Prison, True Father shared half of his rice with the workers around him.
True Father said that he gained more mental strength when he shared even the smallest things with others.
True Father had no concept of possession, and always lived with absolute faith and absolute love.
True Father lived with a pure heart and lived centering on his original nature, so he (had) foresight and could look into the future. In conclusion, True Father's life philosophy was to live for the sake of others.
(Father acted) not just (out of a sense of) duty, it was natural giving, sacrificing and investing for the sake of others. We are fallen people. To live for the sake of others, we have to invest a lot of emotion, jeongseong, thinking and considerations: “Should I live for the sake of others or not?”
But for Father it was very natural. He did not do anything (out of a sense of) duty. He (was) naturally serving others, giving to others, helping others, shedding tears, consoling and comforting God.
When we create unity between mind and body, each of us becomes something like True Father. Why can’t we reach our True Parents’ standard? Because there is still no unity between mind and body. Our body still controls our mind. That is why Father said, “(To the extent that) we control our body, we can feel God, see him and talk with all things. We cannot do that; that means we are still far away from the original standard, the standard of our original mind, right. Father said if there is complete unity between mind and body, we can see the spiritual world, we can know people’s heart. How terrible the standard of fallen men is!
So, as we go along the course of faith, how we own and shed tears of compassion, tears of pity, tears of forgiveness, tears of repentance, and tears of gratitude like True Father is our task and something we must reflect on.
We need to understand True Parents’ philosophy: living for the sake of others.
As a fallen man to live for the sake of others, we need to (invest) a lot of jeongseong and effort. True Father is an original man, but he still invests his heart, his emotion and his effort. We are fallen men. We need to do more. We need to work harder. Otherwise, we can be liberated from fallen nature. We need to appreciate our True Father and True Mother. They showed the best example of how to live for the sake of others in every aspect(?) of their lives. They live for God, for all humankind, for others, for each one of us. Father showed that kind of exemplary lifestyle: living for the sake of others.
(Testimony Hailee Namowicz, Cheon Il Guk Missionary, Romania)♦
NOTE: This text and the PowerPoint slides from this speech are available as a link at the top of this text. Transcripts from November 3, 2021 to the present, personal notes from November 11, 2020 until November 2, 2021 and slides from August 29, 2021 to the present are available at MD.Hoondok.com as PDF files. Books of the transcripts and notes are available as PDFs at MDBooks.Hoondok.com.
This lightly edited transcript may contain errors and omissions. Indecipherable, inaudible or uncertain words and guesses are tagged with a “(?)” and indecipherable phrases, with an ellipsis “...”. First, second and third person pronouns have been left as spoken if the meaning is clear, and other apparently Korean English expressions have been preserved if understandable. Some repeated phrases have been eliminated.
Audio only is available at anchor.morndev.com, spotify.morndev.com & audio.morndev.com. Notes or transcripts of Dr. Yong’s Morning Devotion speeches from November 11, 2020 through March 29, 2022 are available as six paperback books at cost at Lulu.com/Shop -- search for Dr. Chung Sik Yong -- and as PDF downloads free of charge at MDBooks.Hoondok.com.♦