Ep 621 - A Life Of Gratitude Part 1
A Life of Gratitude - July 8, 2022
PDF Printable Text and Images + Testimony Abraham Salazar
I am so sad to see that the former prime minister of Japan, Mr. Abe, has passed away. My goodness! He really helped our movement so much. I really appreciate him. Let’s pray for him. From this kind of pain and indemnity I don’t know what kind of blessing will come to Japan or to the Abel side.
Today I’d like to talk about “A Life of Gratitude” from True Mother’s Anthology, Book 1.
I have only one goal for my life. It is to find what I should do so that I can live with a more grateful heart today than yesterday. It is the goal of my life to have a heart which is grateful every day, in order to live endeavoring to be more grateful today than yesterday, and to be more grateful tomorrow than today. But if I frankly confess my heart to you, although I think that it would be wrong of me not to strongly determine to have a grateful heart and go forward every day, sometimes I feel a little weak or emotional. Therefore, I hope that you can understand what I am facing.
In my life of faith towards God, I am always thinking about which path will be the truer one. If we knew a way to understand God's Will clearly and to know it definitely, that would be good, but sometimes we can't do that, and we get discouraged. I think that happens because we are human. Therefore in order to have absolute faith in God, more than anything else you must be obedient to the Will of God and True Father. (1984.07.31, Belvedere Training Center)
After Heung-jin nim ascended, True Mother said, “I have only one goal for my life. It is to find what I should do so that I can live with a more grateful heart today than yesterday. It is the goal of my life to have a heart which is grateful every day, in order to live endeavoring to be more grateful today than yesterday, and to be more grateful tomorrow than today.” And then she continued saying that thinking of Heung-jin nim’s ascension sometimes weakens her heart, so she had to make a serious determination again.
After sending Heung-jin Nim to the spiritual world, she resolved again and again, “I should be grateful. I should be thankful.” Sometimes it was not easy. As a mother, can you imagine that? But she was determined: “I really have to be thankful to God more today than yesterday, (tomorrow) more than today.” Mother has that kind of determination.
Saint Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
Saint Paul said that God’s first will is to always rejoice. What is the happiest thing for you to do after you know God's will? Personally I am most glad that God is my father and my parents. The second is that I met True Parents, who are the eternal True Parents, True Teachers, and True Owners in my life. Third, I have come to know a principle that is eternal truth. And it is the fact that I have been blessed with eternal salvation. Fourth, I am happy to be in a position where I can take on the responsibility to liberate God and True Parents.
God’s second will is to pray without ceasing. If fallen humans do not pray or offer jeongseong, Satan will immediately take over our bodies and turn us into instruments of evil. That is why we must always pray so that the Holy Spirit of God can reside in our bodies. We are to regard the parent-child relationship with God as life by always having heartistic communication with Him through prayer.
God’s third will is to give thanks in everything. Giving thanks in everything means that I am always surrounded by an environment where I cannot be thankful for anything. Fallen human beings are always negative and complaining and have no satisfaction. They easily judge and criticize people and pass the blame on to others.
Are you writing a gratitude diary every day? It is my hyojeong diary. Every day I write down my gratitude points. It needs to become a habit. When we are always grateful to God in our daily life, our life completely changes. I appreciate God, True Parents, my wife, my own brothers and sisters, my own environment. This (habit) is really beautiful.
Saint Paul said that living a grateful life is the will of God. True Father's secret to overcoming all indemnity was to give thanks (for) anything in life. Satan says that he cannot invade anyone who lives a life of gratitude in everything. Satan is most afraid of those who are thankful for everything. God's attribute is always gratitude, and Satan's attribute is always complaining and judging others.
One of Mother’s slogans is a life of gratitude. Even though Heung-jin nim passed away and she had to go through all kinds of difficulties and persecution – sometimes it was not easy – Mother is determined every day, “How can I (lead) a grateful life more than yesterday... How can I increase my gratitude toward God.” That is our True Mother’s life of gratitude.
One of the most important aspect of our portion of responsibility is gratitude. Our main mission and responsibility should be gratitude. In any situation, any difficult circumstance, if you are grateful, then you have already fulfilled your portion of responsibility. You can overcome any difficult situation.
In Heung nam Prison, Danbury Prison, in any difficulty Father said, “I am so grateful. I can pay indemnity on behalf of all ancestors in all of human history. I can pay indemnity for the sake of all humankind. I can carry this very heavy cross on behalf of God.” Father’s life is a life of gratitude. Let’s inherit (this) from our True Parents.
LIVING DIVINE PRINCIPLE: The Principle of Creation 57 - The Position of Humans in the World of Creation; The Central Medium and Harmony
Mediator and Center of Harmony of the Cosmos
• Second, God created human beings to be the mediator and the center of harmony of the cosmos.
• When a person's flesh and spirit unite through give and take action and become God's substantial object partner, the corporeal and incorporeal worlds can also begin give and take action with that person as their center. They thus achieve harmonious integration to construct a cosmos that is responsive to God.
• A true person acts as the mediator and center of harmony between the two worlds.
• Third, God created human beings to encapsulate in a substantial form the essences of everything in the cosmos.
• God created the universe by projecting and developing the pre-existent prototype of the human internal nature and external form into countless substantial forms.
• The human spirit encapsulates all of the elements found in the incorporeal world, since God created the spirit world as the unfolding of the spirit's internal nature and external form.
• The human body encapsulates all the elements of the corporeal world, since God created the material realm as the unfolding of the body's internal nature and external form.
• Accordingly, since human beings within themselves are the essences of all things in the cosmos, each person is a microcosm.
Father’s words:
Love the Earth, Creation and Holy Grounds More than People
<125-295> Before coming to America, I said that we should love the American ground, creation and holy grounds more than we love people. We determined that we will love this country more than any other country has ever been loved throughout history. Then we drove across the 50 states throughout the night. We drove as fast as we could. At the very end, we reached Key West, Florida, past 3:00 in the morning. We had two drivers that were trading places throughout the drive. This is the path of a master who loves more than anyone in history. We came here, drove through all 50 states, while proclaiming the word to the public, and researched what we could do for this country. We said, “Let us follow behind the members; let us follow in their footsteps.” American members really hate it when I say things like this. But this is how the Unification Church is able to grow. It is growing as we speak.
Our True Father's journey has been the formula course of overcoming everything with love. First, he said he loved the earth, creation, and Holy Grounds more than anyone else. (Formation stage)
The next in the growth stage is to love people. In order to love people, True Father carried out a large-scale witnessing movement. This witnessing movement is the movement to love people. Finally, in the completion stage, a tremendous amount of effort was put into restoring the environment in order to start the movement to find a country.
We too must inherit True Parents’ formula course. To do this, we go to the holy grounds to pray, and we fundraise. All of these are movements (efforts?) to love all things. Next, we are running the New Life campaign. This is a movement to love people.
Lastly, we are carrying out various activities through numerous groups and organizations to restore one nation.
As the director of the American continent, I am always praying about how to love the American land, love the American people, and love American history like True Parents.
How can I invest more jeongseong than anyone in American history, more than any president, more than any central figure or national leader, more than any continental director? I really want to invest that kind of jeongseong because our True Parents set that model. How often he went from state to state doing a 50-state tour! He really loved America, American people. How many tears he shed for America! Most of(?) (True Parents’) life (was) spent in America.(?) Wow! Beautiful! How can I inherit that kind of spirit and attitude from our True Parents.
I want to do my best for the restoration of the United States while touring the 50 states, more than anyone else.
I will quickly lay the foundation in the Clifton Church so that it quickly becomes very stable. Then I want to multiply it to the entire nation of America. Again I need to go state to state and continuously convey God’s message. I want to love each corner of America, each state. I really want to meet our brothers and sisters because that is the spirit of our True Parents.
How can I do it? How can I inherit from our True Parents that kind of love and dedication, loving and loving and creating holy grounds and focusing on witnessing?
(True Father) created all kinds of activities in order to restore this nation. Let’s inherit (from) our True Parents.
The Reason for God’s Despair
<29-128> Why has God despaired so much until now? God is spiritual. His existence can be likened to that of the mind or heart. God has been longing to become one with a physical partner, in other words, human beings. Human beings, representing the body, and God, representing the mind, need to unite as one. But they are unable to do so. This is why God has been lamenting throughout history. When God and humans are able to become one, the entire universe will naturally unite. This is because humans were originally created by God to be the subject partner of the universe. Therefore, the universe, as the object partner of God, will come to stand in its natural position, uniting with human beings. This is how they will be able to create bonds within the realm of Creation.
The desire of God, who is both spiritual and intangible, is to wear a body. That is why God created humans. He wanted to breathe through the human body like all creation does. Therefore, the human body must become God’s body, and the human spirit must become God’s spirit.
However, God is still lamenting because humans did not become His body and spirit due to the Fall.
Therefore, on the day when humans unite with God, the universe (will) automatically unite.
TODAY’S YOUTH MINISTRY: Overcoming the Three Great Hans and the Formula Course
1. Just as there are formulas in mathematics, there are formulas in the course of faith. That is the formula course of subjugating Satan shown through Jacob, Moses, Jesus, and True Parents. If I apply the method shown by True Parents to my faith course, believe in it, and practice it, all problems will be resolved. No one in this world has ever subjugated Satan. Therefore, I must inherit the method of victory from True Parents and use that know-how well in my life of faith. Then, each day in my life becomes a day of gratitude and joy. Going further, we will be able to reach the level of comforting and liberating God's heart by meeting God’s han on a deeper level, so that we can all become rich in heart. In this way, if you take the course of faith to find God's deep han, you will have infinite power that you could not have imagined. Therefore, when our han meets God’s han, it can become the source of finding glorious value.
Just as there are formulas in mathematics, there are formulas in the course of faith. That is the formula course of God subjugating Satan shown through Jacob, Moses, Jesus, and True Parents. Therefore, the course (in which) True Parents subjugated Satan should be my formula course.
They are the (only) ones who have won over Satan. That’s why in order to win over Satan, there is no need to follow other people. Of course, you can learn something (from them). But what is really the formula course to subjugate Satan? We need to learn from human history who showed that kind of life of winning over Satan. Jacob was beautiful. Moses suffered so much. He tried to follow Jacob’s course. Jesus also followed Jacob’s and Moses’ courses, but Jesus only substantialized spiritually, not physically.
That is why True Parents needed to accomplish everything. They are the model. So far, no one in this world has every subjugated Satan. Therefore, we must inherit the method of victory from True Parents and use that know-how well in our life of faith and win. True Parents are the only model for our victory.
True Parents understood God's pain as their own pain, and by taking it to a deeper level, they were able to reach the level of comforting and liberating God's heart.
If you try to resolve your han on your own, you will never be able to resolve it. Rather, it remains as dissatisfaction, sorrow, and pain. However, when your pain becomes the path of faith to find God’s han, you will have infinite strength that you could not have imagined.
As True Father said all the time, (you need to say,) “Today I will work harder than God and True Parents.” And if you decide to live a life of comforting God and True Parents with the Han of God and True Parents in your heart no matter (what) the difficult situation, you will feel that God and the spirit world give you unimaginable strength.
That’s why when I am so tired and exhausted and am unable to go forward any more, when I change my mindset – what did True Father say? “I need to work harder than God,” I need to work harder than True Father and True Mother, I am the one who no matter what my life should be a life of comforting God and True Parents – when I change my mindset like that, wow, all my tiredness just goes away. I can feel that unimaginable strength and power come to me and encourage me. I have more power to go forward.
That’s why when God’s han becomes my han, when True Parents’ wish becomes my wish (and) I try to comfort them, try to console them, try to liberate them, (then) the spiritual world gives me incredible strength and power. It is really amazing! That is filial heart.
As children if you have filial heart and filial piety toward your own parents and toward God and y our own True Parents, the spiritual world will give you incredible power. Many people do not know that secret.
How did True Father overcome such trials and hardships and difficulties in Heungnam Prison, in Danbury Prison, in more than six places in prison? How did he overcome in those terrible situations?
He resolved, “I am the one who liberates God’s han, no matter what. If I die, who can do that?” That’s why he always (bore) God’s sorrow, God’s han, God’s wishes. Then the entire spiritual world gave him – nobody can imagine – that kind of unimaginable strength and power. This is a top secret. Without any tiredness, without any exhaustion, he could still go forward. We call that a heart of filial piety. This is the path he led.
That is why one who truly lives for the sake of others can gain energy and power from the spiritual world. Those who practice this cannot deny this.
God’s Han and Human’s Han
2. Because of the fall of our ancestors, Adam and Eve, we became disobedient to God the Creator, and we all became children who gave God’s han without exception. Although the fall was caused by human beings, God took responsibility for all of them as their parent. With unimaginable sorrow and han, He became a sad being who had to love fallen humans as His children. Looking at the history of God's providence of restoration, the more human history repeats, the more human beings walk the course of history in which they constantly betray God. As a result, humans intensified God’s han. In history, there has been no human being who has comforted God's sorrow and han except for True Parents and Jesus. We need to know that the more we live in a self-centered life, indulging in our own desires, the more we will aggravate God’s han. We need to know that because of us humans, God has immeasurable han, and He cannot ever give up His han. Heavenly Parent is in the position of having to love human beings who betrayed Him.
All fallen descendants, without exception, aggravated God’s han, and there was no one who relieved His han.
Nevertheless, as a parent and creator, God is taking responsibility for the fall of .humankind and is extending the hand of salvation. He already(?) determined that.
Even though human beings betrayed him, (he feels), “I am the one who has to be responsible for that because I am the creator. If I had not created the universe and human beings, then (there would have been) no need to go through that kind of suffering. I have to be responsible. I am the one who created them. (I have to be responsible for) not only their good points. I even have to be responsible for their weak points and their fall because I am their creator. I am the father, the parent of human beings. If I don’t take that responsibility, who will be responsible for that?”
Wow! That is why we cannot say anything in front of God.
What we need to reflect on is that no human in history has ever comforted God’s sorrow and han except for True Parents and Jesus.
We need to know that because of us humans God has immeasurable han and He cannot ever give up His han. Heavenly Parent is in the position of having to love human beings who betrayed Him.
Therefore, fallen human beings must meet such a sorrowful God’s han, convert it into their own han and use it as a driving force for growth.
Han of no Intellect, Han of no Emotion, Han of Fickleness
3. Each fallen human is lamenting in his own adversity. However, we have learned throughout history that there is no way to solve this problem unless the relationship with Heavenly Parent, which is the most important, is fundamentally resolved. All fallen human beings are constantly striving to overcome the han of no intellect, han of no emotion, and han of fickleness, but eventually they come to realize that they cannot become children of filial piety without meeting God’s han and experiencing His sorrow. Furthermore, with God’s han and sorrow, we must practice knowing that we must serve all people as well as we serve Heavenly Parent and True Parents. We must realize our relationship with our Heavenly Parent within the realm of our environment and revive and improve ourselves with God's sorrow and han. Again, we must discover that when our own han connects with God’s han, it becomes the driving force of infinite power.
Humans who Should not Forget God’s Han Even for a Moment
4. Rather than complaining, we must live a life of gratitude, and we must deal with our han of no intellect, no emotion, and fickleness by feeling God’s han. We need to know that the Creator God tries to realize His han, wishes, and dreams through us. We must also realize that we relieve God's sorrow only when we inherit His han, become a source of unchanging love, and our shimjeong wells up from the depths of our hearts like Jesus or True Parents. Therefore, we need to be stimulated by the Word every day and feeling God’s han, have the will to live without getting tired. We must fulfill their responsibilities as children who do not forget Heavenly Parent’s sorrow and True Parents’ han even for a moment. In order to do that, you realize that you must become a child who tries to repay love to Heaven as a victor in your daily life.
We need to know that the Creator God tries to realize His han, wishes, and dreams through us, through you and me.
Only when fallen human beings inherit God’s han and turn it into our han can the three great human hans – the han of no intellect, han of no emotion, and han of fickleness – be cleared.
Therefore, we need to be stimulated by the Word every day and feeling God’s han, have the will to live without getting tired and move forward.
We must become children who do not forget Heavenly Parent’s sorrow and True Parents’ han even for a moment all the time.
We call that kind of person God’s filial son or daughter. Our Father was like that. He carried God’s han and sorrow all the time. That is why he (resolved) again, “I need to love human beings, to love all humankind, on behalf of God.” True Parents showed that kind of model life style.
LIVING TESTIMONY: I’m a Living Testimony for Whom Anything is Possible
(Testimony of Abraham Salazar, CARP Las Vegas)♦
NOTE: This lightly edited transcription may contain errors and omissions. Indecipherable 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. Some repeated phrases have been eliminated. This text and the PowerPoint slides from this speech are available as PDF files at the top of this text. 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.♦