Ep 867 - The Path of Life for All Humankind Part 8

The Path of Life for All Humankind - March 11, 2023

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PDF Printable Text and Images + Testimony Patrick Erlandson

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Key Points

  • We are born in love, and we grow by receiving love.

  • Parents take responsibility for us until we marry, then bequeath their parental love to us as we come to realize how deeply they have loved us.

  • In this way as we raise our own children, we come to inherit God’s love.

  • When humans move in a principled manner the way celestial bodies rotate and revolve, they experience freedom.

  • We experience freedom as children in the embrace of our parents and as adults in the embrace of our spouse.

  • As our parent God wants to cover our faults and forget them, knowing how much we have suffered because of our sins and even more because of our ancestors’ sin.

  • If we make good conditions, God will be compassionate toward us and want to forgive us.

  • However egregious our sin, God has absolute faith and hope that we will someday be recreated.

  • Knowing that as our parent God wishes for us to sincerely repent and return to him, that our sin causes him greater pain than our own pain and that the more sins we commit, the more pain he suffers, if we repent with tears, comfort God and set up good conditions – fully prepared to be a servant of servants for him – Heaven will see us compassionately and want to forgive us.

  • God is desperate for us to come back to his bosom.

  • God can only avoid Satan’s accusations for forgiving us if we make good conditions.

  • Furthermore, we should bear the crosses of our brothers and sisters and of our ancestors, and liberate God’s han and sorrow.

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.

(Response to sharing) God is really our parent. He listens to our prayer, everything (we say). This is really amazing! He treats us as his own children. When we pray, God remembers everything. That’s why when we reach a certain condition and standard, then Satan cannot accuse us any more. Then God intervenes. He cannot intervene immediately because we need to create some condition. We need to really separate good and evil and reach a certain standard. Then God surely will intervene. 

If we realize that God listens to our prayer, how powerful that is! Then we have a lot of spiritual strength. Our level of spirit becomes different.♦

Today I’d like to talk about “The Path of Life for All Humankind” from True Mother’s Anthology, Book 2.

<This speech was given by Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon between February 11 and May 29, 1999 at events promoting the Global Expansion of True Families in Japan, the United States and around the world.>

A newborn baby automatically searches for its mother's breast, following the vibrations of her love. Whether she is beautiful or ugly does not matter to the baby. The only thing that matters is that she is its mother. It is a sacred scene manifested in limitless variety. We are born in love and we grow by receiving love. Each of us is the substantial fruit of our parents' love. The nature of our parents' love is made visible in us. Parents love their children because their children are the fruit of their love. Boundless love can multiply from this fruit. In this way, we are linked to the love of the individual, family, tribe, nation, world, universe, and ultimately to the essential love of God.

Once we are born, our parents take responsibility to see that we become good human beings during our life on earth. Our parents act on behalf of the world, the nation and the family to teach and provide for us. We receive material things and education from our parents so that we may become complete as individuals. Based on this, we then become linked to a horizontal foundation of love, which is marriage. Parents take responsibility for us until we marry. After marriage, we inherit the love shared by our mother and father. When we marry and start rearing our own children, we begin to understand how much our parents loved us, and thus come to inherit parental love. In this way, a person becomes capable of receiving and giving love completely. This is how each of us matures as a complete man or woman.

We are born in love, and we grow by receiving love. From this perspective, children are the substantial fruit of their parents' love. Parents cannot help but love their children because their children are the fruit of their love. 

Boundless love can multiply from this fruit. In this way, we are linked to the love of the individual, family, tribe, nation, world, universe, and ultimately to the essential love of God. 

We receive material things and education from our parents so that we may become complete as individuals. Based on this, we then become linked to a horizontal foundation of love, which is marriage. Parents take responsibility for us until we marry. After marriage, we inherit the love shared by our mother and father. 

When we marry and start rearing our own children, we begin to understand how much our parents loved us, and thus come to inherit parental love. 

As parents rear their own children, they realize how great their own parents’ love was. Similarly, when people have children and start rearing them, we experience how much God loves each and every person.

Therefore, the course to marry and become parents ourselves as we raise children is the course to completely inherit God’s true love. 

We need to have experiences from infancy into childhood and as a young adult, a married couple and grandparents. All the process of our growth is how to inherit God’s true love. The more we grow, the more we experience true love, the more we understand that, wow! God’s love is really amazing!

LIVING DIVINE PRINCIPLE: The Human Fall 26: The Meaning of Freedom from the Viewpoint of the Principle #1

Freedom and the Human Fall

• What is the meaning of true freedom? In light of the Principle, three characteristics of freedom stand out. First, there is no freedom outside the Principle.

• Freedom requires both free will and the free actions pursuant to that will.

• Free will and free actions have the relationship of internal nature and external form, and perfect free dom is achieved when they are in harmony.

• Therefore, there cannot be any free action with out free will, nor can free will be complete without free actions to accompany it.

• Free actions are generated by free will, and free will is an expression of the mind.

• The mind of an original, sinless person cannot operate outside of God’s words, that is, the Principle.

• It will never express free will or generate free action apart from the Principle.

• Undoubtedly, freedom of a true person never deviates from the Principle.

• There is no freedom without responsibility. 

• Human beings, created according to the Princi ple, can reach perfection only by fulfilling their res pon si bility based on their free will. 

• Accordingly, a person pursuing the purpose of creation as prompted by his free will ceaselessly strives to carry out his portion of responsibility.

• There is no freedom without responsibility. 

• There is no freedom without accomplishment. 

• When human beings exercise freedom and carry out their responsibility, they strive to accomplish re sults which complete the purpose of creation and bring joy to God. 

• Free will ceaselessly pursues concrete results through free actions.

Let’s study Father’s word.

Does Happiness Dwell Within Freedom, or does Freedom Dwell Within Happiness?

<182-116> Does happiness dwell within freedom, or does freedom dwell within happiness? Where should happiness be for you? Should happiness dwell within freedom, or should freedom dwell within happiness? 

“Freedom should dwell within happiness.” You didn’t know it until now. You may have answered, “happiness should dwell within freedom” when you are asked about it. It is not. Freedom itself wants to dwell within happiness. Therefore, freedom is one direction of action. It cannot be a crucial action. That is why it is secondary, not original. From this, this whole acting universe is free. The best freedom is that the earth rotates once a day. Then, the moon orbits the earth once a month. The earth’s circuit of the sun takes 365 days. Revolving round the sun is freedom. If you say, “I don’t want to do that”, you don’t have the value of existence. Therefore, it is theoretical that freedom cannot exist without the Principle. It is reasonable.

The Earth’s rotation and revolution: It takes the earth 365 days to revolve around the sun. The rotation of the earth takes 24 hours. The revolution of the moon around the earth takes 29 days. 

This is how the earth rotates and revolves centered on a principle. Just like how all celestial bodies move in this way, when human beings also move according to such principle, there is freedom. 

Where Does Freedom Come From?

<182-116> Where does freedom come from? What is the freedom of men? What is the best ideal freedom? It is to be held in arms of women. What kinds of women? They are those women who are worth more than heaven and earth. That is the way things are. Do you understand it? Where should we go guaranteed by the best freedom of women? There is only one way to go. It is not to live alone. Being held in arms of men whom heaven and earth all can respect is the goal of freedom for women. Do you think so? “Yes” Do you really think so? “Yes” Then, why should a man or a woman be held in their arms? Because they have to complete the love that a man cannot complete by himself alone and a woman cannot complete by herself alone. The love can start from that point because the love can settle down there. The happy path of love will be opened only after a man and a woman meet each other. 

What is the best ideal freedom for men? It is to be held in the arms of a woman who is his ideal partner. Then what is the best ideal freedom for women? It is to be held in the arms of a man who is her ideal partner. Then, why should man or woman be held in each other’s arms? It is for the realization of true love. 

Children’s freedom is felt in the love of parents, the husband’s freedom is felt in the love of his wife, and the wife’s freedom is felt in the love of her husband. 

TODAY’S YOUTH MINISTRY: God Wants to Forget All of Human Beings’ Sins

This content really touched my heart a lot.

I think you are very familiar with this Bible content about the prodigal son.

Luke 15: 11-24 : The Parable of the Lost Son

11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons.

12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.

14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need.

15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs.

16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 

18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.

19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’

20 So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.

23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate.

24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

Based on this content, let’s study more.

1. God is the Parent of human beings. And God is the God of love. Since God is the Parent, no matter what kind of sins fallen people committed, if they have certain good conditions, He wants to forget all of our past. “The Parable of the Lost Son” can be seen as a parable that does a good job showing us what kind of nature God has towards human beings. 

Just as how parents always make effort to try to forget all the times their children caused them worries and was unfilial to them, God is the same way. Why is that so? It is because God knows very well how much His children suffered and paid indemnity because of their own sins. It is because He is well aware of how much they suffered and reflected on their mistakes until unfilial children could return to their parents. God knows all too well how His children suffered until they realized their sins.

God Sees Human Beings Compassionately

2.Since every person has a conscience, when they do wrong, they realize it on their own. When their parents tell them not to do something, if they do not know any better and do wrong, they realize their mistakes and feel so tormented. When people do not obey what they are told not to do, their original nature will already feel pain. Because God knows all too well that they feel such pain and pay indemnity, He tries not to remember their mistakes. If the parent were to remember them, since they know well that that child’s pain will be aggravated, they want to forget them and embrace them. That is why if we just set good conditions well, Heaven will see them compassionately and want to forgive us. When children make mistakes in the past, parents think that it was because they were still immature, so they look at their current changed children, rejoice, and have good expectations again.

God Cannot Remember Our Faults

3. In fact, since God is the God of love, it’s not that He does not remember our faults but he cannot remember them. The reason is because if God remembers our faults, it would be even more painful for Him. That is why if the prodigal son realizes his mistakes, reflects on himself, and has faith and a strong determination to do better, God will look forward to it. When the father of the prodigal son saw his son returning, he greatly rejoiced. If the father had only thought of the prodigal son’s mistakes, how unpleasant would it have been? ‘You rascal! So you come back because it was so agonizing.’ If they think in a calculative way centered on a disappointed heart, the parent’s heart is also agonized.

God, Who Has Hope About the Prodigal Son

4. The prodigal son’s father was (so) overjoyed by the prodigal son returning alive that he forgot his son’s faults. Since he treated him warmly, he could not even remember his mistakes. The prodigal son’s father thought that his son’s returning without having died itself was a great relief. Even with the mere fact that his son was alive, the prodigal son’s father had hope that his son can be recreated. God is such a Being. From the parent’s standpoint, how much of a relief is it that your child returns? The prodigal son not forgetting his own parents and returning was so precious that the father forgot all about his son’s past mistakes and embraced him. Because of that, he even forgot all about his faults.

How Much Wrong Have We Done to True Parents?

5. Unable to show his face before his father and saying that he was not qualified to call him his father, the prodigal son begged for his father’s forgiveness. And then the prodigal son told him not to treat himself like a son but to make him like one of his servants. These words hold the meaning that the prodigal son was sincerely repenting for the way he wronged his father and promised to reconcile with him. The child must recover their acts of unfilial piety in the past, but as a parent, you must not remember your child’s past faults. As blessed families, if we today also look back on the past, how many times did we cause True Parents to worry? How many things did we do that we feel sorry for? When we think about our past mistakes, there are many times that we really cannot lift our head to True Parents. 

Do Not Think That God Remembers Our Faults

6. So, in order to return to Heaven with a sorry and repentful heart towards Heaven about our past mistakes, we must make a strong determination to clearly separate good and evil and do what will bring joy to God. When we truly change and live in goodness and (more) joyfully than any other time in the past, God also sees us and rejoices with hope. When a child realizes their mistakes and does well, Heaven thinks that the child’s past mistakes have become an opportunity for them to grow mature. That is the heart of a parent. Do not think that God remembers our faults. One who still thinks like that is still an unfilial child. God does not want to remember our faults. 

How amazing is God’s parental heart. He does not remember our faults. Let’s summarize (this).

Why God Wants to Forgive and Forget All of Man’s Past Sins 

1. Because God is the parent of human beings and the God of love, He wants to cover His children’s faults. 

Children make mistakes, but parents want to cover them. “These are my mistakes, my problems.” The parent blames himself. This is the heart of the parent. God has such a deep heart, more than any human being. Even though fallen men commit a lot original sin sins, God always wants to cover all his children’s faults. That is parental heart.

2. God knows all too well how much His children suffered and paid indemnity due to their own sins. 

If anyone commits sin, he goes through indemnity in his own way. They already feel the pang of suffering, even though they cannot express (it). They often cannot tell anyone, their spouse or children, and suffer (alone) and feel pangs of conscience. God knows this situation very well even though God does not judge (them). 

3. If God, as the Parent, remembers all the sins of fallen man, He knows that His children’s pain will be aggravated, knowing that.

“Wow! My father and mother remember my sin!” If children think about that, that this is reality, their pain will be aggravated. 

> That is why if we just set good conditions well, Heaven will see them compassionately and want to forgive us. 

 He always wants to forgive us. That is the heart of the parent. We human beings don’t actually know his heart. (But) if Heavenly Father simply forgives us, then Satan accuses him. That is why even though God’s heart wants to forgive everything, because of Satan’s accusation, each human being has to go his own indemnity way. God cannot do anything. 

4. God sympathizes with us because the pain that all of humankind is suffering currently due to their sins is not because of themselves but because of the sins of the past inherited from ancestors. 

We did not fall directly. Adam and Eve fell. All of their descendants have to pay (for it). That is why when Heavenly Father sees each human being, he sympathizes (with him). “Actually he is not wrong.” Because of his ancestors’ problems, God really sympathizes with him. That is why if any human beings sets conditions, God wants to forgive him immediately. This is the heart of God.

5. If God remembers the faults of His children, God Himself would be pained even more. 

God cannot remember. There are eight billion people. If he remembered all their sins and those of their ancestors, how would he survive? He doesn’t want to remember any of their sins.

This is the heart of the parent, the heart of God.

6. No matter how great a sin fallen man commits, God always has absolute faith, absolute love, absolute (hope?) that they will someday be recreated. 

He has absolute faith that “My son and my daughter someday will definitely come back to my bosom.” No matter what, God has that kind of expectation, “My children will come back!”

(This is) his hope, his wish, his expectation – more than anything else. Otherwise, how can he restore human beings? He has absolute faith. He believes in human beings’ original mind. “As long as he has original nature, someday he will come back to my bosom!” That is God’s heart, right?

W hat Must Fallen Man Do to Return to God? 

1. Know that no matter what sins I may have committed, God is the Parent who wishes for me to sincerely repent and return to Him. 

“Hey son, hey boy, what sin did you commit? It is nothing (to me). Just come back to me. Just sincerely repent and separate from Satan. I know you can do it. I trust your original mind. Even though you inherited bad things from your ancestors, you can overcome them.” God really wants to trust. He has some expectation. That is the heart of God. If he did not have that kind of heart, he could not restore even one person’s soul.

2. Know that when I suffer pain due to the sins I committed, God, as the Parent, is suffering pain greater than mine.

God cannot remember. He does not want to remember each human being’s sin. He only has expectations and waits for his children to come back.

Wow! What kind of God is this? 

3. Know that the more I commit sins, the more God’s pain is aggravated.

That is why we cannot commit sin. The more sin we commit, the more God’s pain is aggravated. That is why when we know God’s heart, how can we commit sin? We cannot.

4. Know that no matter what sins I committed, if I just set good conditions well, Heaven will see them compassionately and want to forgive me.

If we know God’s heart, how can we commit sin? How can we become unfilial sons and daughters?

5. Like the prodigal son in the Bible, knowing how much I am a sinner of all sinners and how much I have hurt God’s heart, I must repent with tears and comfort God over how much He suffered because of me.

We need to really repent about how much we hurt God’s heart.

6. Do not think about being forgiven by God for my sins but think that I will live before God as a servant of servants, not as a child, and pay indemnity.

Even though God accepts us as his sons and daughters, our attitude (should be that) we really need to repent and say, “I will live before you, God, as the servant of servants. I have no qualification to be your son. If there is a way to pay indemnity, I will go through any kind of suffering and difficulty.” Our mind needs to be like that. Then God will sympathize with us more. 

7. Make a determination to quickly repent and go even further to carry the crosses of my brothers and sisters’ sins and even my ancestors’ sins and liberate God’s han and sorrow. 

I really appreciate our God. I really appreciate that our True Parents have taught us what God’s heart is. How does he treat me? Like his own sons and daughters. (We should feel,) “He is my beloved one, my beloved lord.” We need to have that kind of inseparable relationship with God as parent and child. This is the way we can go back to God’s bosom. The fundamental issue is that we need to realize what the relationship between God and us is. It is (that of) parent and child. If we remember, “I belong to God. I treat myself as God’s belonging,” that is the way to start our life of faith. 

 Today we learned more (about) understanding God’s heart.

(Testimony Patrick Erlandson, Los Angeles, Fatherhood conference)♦

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.♦

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