Ep 718 - God, Women and World Peace Part 2
God, Women and World Peace - October 13, 2022
PDF Printable Text and Images + Testimony Shizuka Pehling
Key Points
God's love is to give completely and then forget. For God enough is never enough.
In order to give and forget, first, give with a parental heart. Second, think that giving is its own sufficient reward of joy and happiness. Third, give and forget like flowing water that keeps moving forward without thinking about the path it has taken.
God’s providence has been worked with consistency.
We need to create benefits of love and multiply them in our life of faith.
Do not lose your first motivation. That is how you become righteous.
The meeting of husband and wife is the substantial meeting of God the Father and God the Mother. We can meet God if the husband and wife have give and receive with a longing heart.
Because the Unification Church Blessed couple is the final stop of the last love, a blessed couple can only meet God through continual, loving give and receive action as a couple, not simply through prayer.
Only when a positive and negative charge are in the same circuit can electricity flow and illuminate a lamp. Similarly, a couple must be together and unite for love to flow.
If there is a problem, the couple should resolve it directly. You need to unconditionally deny yourself for your spouse and unconditionally serve him or her. Think, “I will unconditionally follow my partner’s opinions 100% and just obey him or her.”
The couple needs to think of each other as Abel and each assume the position of Cain.
Think that there is no such thing as one’s own opinion: “I must obey the other person's opinions and thoughts only.”
The one who obeys without speaking first is victorious.
When each member of a couple regards his or her spouse as God, then the couple can solve their problems.
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.♦
Today I’d like to talk about “World Peace and the Role of Women 3” from True Mother’s Anthology, Book 2.
<This was an invitational address delivered on September 7, 1993 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York> The nature of God's love is to give completely and then forget what He has given. Unlike some, who calculate how much they have given and decide that it is enough, for God enough is never enough. Moreover, God's purpose in creating the world was to have an object partner of love. His purpose in creating parents and children, husbands and wives, and all things in this world in complementary pairs was to substantiate true love throughout His creation. Likewise, parents are to live for their children, and children for their parents. Husbands are to live for their wives, and wives for their husbands. All beings in creation are to live for, and give to others.
If God's ideal of true love had been realized through Adam's family, that family would have become the beginning of the heavenly kingdom. It would have expanded throughout history to the clan, the nation and the world. This would have been the world of true love, the kingdom of heaven on earth. Furthermore, there would have been a parallel expansion of the heavenly kingdom in the spiritual world. If God's original ideal had been realized, there would have been no need for a Messiah or for God's providence to save humanity. Adam's family, though it was merely a single family, would have been the center of the clan, the nation and the world. It would have been the blueprint for all future families and the model for the realization of God's ideal world.
The nature of God's love is to give completely and then forget what He has given. Unlike some, who calculate how much they have given and decide that it is enough, for God enough is never enough.
The problem is that when you remember giving, you are unable to give more, and you just stop there. That is why in order to practice true love, our task is to figure out how we can give and forget and then try to give again.
In order to give and forget, first, give with a parental heart. Parents always give and forget. Secondly, think that giving itself is joy and happiness and think that by giving, I have already been rewarded with enough joy and happiness. Why expect a reward when you have already been rewarded? Think that giving itself is real happiness and do not expect to receive anything at all.
Whenever you expect something from others, that does not help your spiritual life. Giving itself is already rewarding, (yielding so much) happiness and joy.
Thirdly, giving and remembering is like flowing water that stops. If water becomes stagnant, it rots. Just as flowing water keeps moving forward without thinking about the path it has taken, it is only by giving and then forgetting that you can keep giving more. Just as water continues to flow forward, only when you give and forget can that true love continue to flow towards eternity.
I really love the principle of give-and-take. Giving is the Principle; receiving first is non-Principle. In order to gain happiness, we always need to think, “Give first.” Giving itself already rewards you. You are already happy and so joyful. When we think that way, we continuously give and forget and still want to give more.
I really love True Parents’ guidance. True Father said that woman needs to have this kind of mindset and attitude of true love. You need to serve people, your nation and your neighbor. True Mother talked about (this).
LIVING DIVINE PRINCIPLE: The Fall - 2. The Tree of Life (1)
• According to the Bible, the hope of fallen people is to attain the tree of life. In Prov. 13:12, the Israelites of the Old Testament Age looked to the tree of life as their hope. Likewise, in Rev. 22:14, the hope of all Christians has been to approach and partake of the tree of life.
• However, in Gen. 3:24, it is written that when Adam fell, God blocked his path to the tree of life by stationing the cherubim with a flaming sword to guard it. From this, we can also deduce that the hope of Adam before the fall was the tree of life.
• Adam was cast out of the Garden of Eden without having attained his hope, the tree of life. For fallen people ever since, the tree of life has remained a hope unfulfilled.
Let’s study Father’s word.
The Secret When Seeking for the Principle
<150-56> The first secret when seeking for the principle is to make the beginning and the end the same. The good has the same beginning and end, but just added one at the end. Adding one makes God’s history happen. That’s why we call the person who has changed “evil.” Those who have changed are all to become the sacrifice to evil. It is an ironclad rule. Those who have changed are to become the sacrifice to evil. No matter how good he or she was, if the person changed his or her good character, he or she is to become the sacrifice to evil, the food of Satan. Satan is using that kind of strategy. Likewise the Bible… If it’s God’s word, it should have exactly same beginning and end. The extremely pleasant thing is to say, “I am the alpha and omega.” That’s it. This is the word I’ve wanted to meet.
<150-56> As the Bible has the same beginning and end, when the work starting from the first place is connected to the end, that’s the thought of God. The first top and the last, you will realize when you see the first page of the Bible and Revelations of St. John. Not a single scripture which has different beginning and end is true. That’s the secret. What is the standard of good end evil? It must be the same beginning and end. When seeing Genesis and Revelations of St. John, the tree of life perfectly fits. Therefore, this is the truth. No need to look through everything. As all the situations are strongly tangled, the providence of salvation should be done by the process of restoration.
Real truth should have the same beginning and end. That is, it should be like alpha and omega. Since the truth has to be eternal, unchanging, and absolute, the beginning and end should be the same.
That is why whether a religious theory, scripture, or philosophical theory is true can be confirmed by checking whether their theories and claims have the same beginning and end.
The Bible is great because it has the same beginning and end. The Bible begins with the tree of life in Genesis and ends by saying that the Lord must come again as the tree of life in Revelations. By looking at this, we can see that God’s providence has been worked with consistency.
The Truth must not change. Similarly, we can call someone a true person only when they also do not change. The more a person changes, the more they go towards the side of evil. Who changes a lot? Who is more righteous? The more I change, the more I become a sacrifice of evil. But when I do not have changes and am righteous, God deals with me.
Then what must we do to become people who do not change? I need to create some kind of plus on top of the content which I realized as the truth. That means that I need to create benefits of love in my life. If you suffer loss in your life of faith, you will surely become a person that changes. Therefore, we must always grow and reap benefits and multiply in our life of faith.
If you decide to do hoondokhae continuously, try doing at least one thing. What do you think of True Parents? Once you have accepted True Parents as the Savior, you cannot change sides on the way. Therefore, do not lose your first motivation. That is how you become righteous.
TODAY’S YOUTH MINISTRY: Where Are You Seeking God?
A Couple Cannot Meet God When They Are Apart
1. The meeting of husband and wife is the substantial meeting of God the Father and God the Mother. Therefore, a couple cannot meet God when they are apart. True Parents have shown and taught us such life of a couple. When a couple leaves their partner, they cannot form a relationship with God. Individually, when I leave the spirit mind that is the origin of the logos in me, I cannot form a relationship with God. Only when the spirit mind and body are harmonious can God work with me. Without the husband and wife having give and receive with a longing heart, there is no way to seek God anywhere. If a secular couple fights with each other and goes to church and pray, God might take pity on them. Before starting family, if you repent for your sins while fasting and praying or offer jeongseong all night, God might forgive you and give you another chance.
The meeting of husband and wife is the substantial meeting of God the Father and God the Mother.
Just as the mind and body cannot be separated, in the ideal world, since the couple is a pair as one structure, they can never be separated. Therefore, a couple cannot meet God when they are apart. Dual characteristics can never be apart from each other.
Therefore, there is only one way for a husband to meet God. Only by going through his wife can he meet God. It is the same for the wife. The way for the wife to meet God is only possible through her husband.
Without the husband and wife having give and receive with a longing heart, there is no way to seek God anywhere. This is the absolute Principle.
The Unification Church Blessed Couple is the Final Stop of the Last Love
2. However, when Blessed couples of the Unification Church have problems between the husband and wife and become distant, there is no way to seek God. This is because the Unification Church Blessed couple is the final stop of the last love. Therefore, if the subject partner and object partner do not give and receive, there is no way to resolve the problem. Isn’t the Principle that way? If the husband and wife do not give and receive as subject and object partners, there is no way for God to move. If positive and negative charges do not unite, it cannot emanate light. There is no other way. If positive and negative charges go on two different wires, you cannot see light with a different method. In the same way, if two people were bonded by God but (the) two do not become one and give and receive love, where will they form a relationship? Can it be solved by going to the church sanctuary? Fasting and offering sincere devotion?
Because Blessed couples of the Unification Church are couples that were formed by True Parents with eternal bonds, if problems arise between the husband and wife and (they) become distant, there is no way for them to seek God.
This is because the Unification Church Blessed couple is the final stop of the last love. Therefore, if the subject partner and object partner do not give and receive, there is no way to resolve the problem. If the husband and wife do not give and receive as subject and object partners, there is no way for God to move.
Here is a good example. If positive and negative charges do not unite, it cannot emanate light. Can positive charge emanate light by itself? Or can negative charge emanate light by itself?
If positive charge and negative charge go on two separate wires from each other, they cannot make light at all. In the same way, if two people were bonded by God but (the) two do not become one and give and receive love, where will they form a relationship? It can not be solved even if you go to the church sanctuary and pray or fast and offer jeongseong. You need to solve it directly.
This is a very good example: positive and negative charge. We always need to go together and unite together. Then we can make light. If we go separately and the positive and negative charges go their own way, then how can we create light? It is impossible. There is no other way. Come together. Unite together.
You need to give and receive very well. Otherwise, how can you create light? It is the same for the husband and wife relationship.
The Life of a Couple Itself Must Become Prayer and Jeongseong
3. Now is not the age of prayer but the age of practicing in your life. It is the age when life itself becomes prayer and jeongseong. Once you start family and the life as husband and wife begins, the couple must give and receive with love no matter what situation they are in. It will not work just by praying. Prior to receiving the Blessing, if we cried while praying as a single man and woman, the spirit world would help and cooperate. But after True Parents paired us up as bride and groom, can we fight, cry, and complain? In the old days in Korea, if a woman gets married off returns to her parents’ home after fighting with her husband, do you know what her parents would say? They would say “go back there even if you are struck dead!” and kick her out. They would say ,“We are no longer your father and mother!” and stop dealing with her.
Today, we are living in the age of love. This is not the age of kneeling down and praying but the age where life becomes prayer and devotion. Once you start family and the life as husband and wife begins, the couple must give and receive with love no matter what situation they are in and even if there is a problem, the couple should resolve it directly.
Prior to receiving the Blessing, if we cried while praying as a single man and woman, the spirit world would help and cooperate, but after receiving the Blessing, that method does not work at all. You need to unconditionally deny yourself for your spouse and unconditionally serve your spouse.
You can never assert yourself. Think that I will unconditionally follow my partner’s opinions 100% and just obey them. There is no other way.
If you have another way, please tell me.
Once you start a family, how can you create unity and harmony? There is no other way. Completely and unconditionally deny yourself. You need to think that “My opinion does not exist. My opinion is only my wife’s opinion, my husband’s opinion.” (You need to) completely, 100%, unconditionally deny (yourself). You can never assert yourself. If you do this, you can create incredible unity, and you can feel the taste of oneness. Many people do not know how to create harmony, how to become one between husband and wife. There is (only) one way and no other way: to unconditionally follow whatever my spouse wants, to completely follow my spouse’s opinion 100%.
Let’s say my spouse has a wrong opinion, a wrong direction, but we have a parental heart with clear motivation. Even though your spouse is wrong, obey first. Your spouse will know very well. Later on the spiritual world will intervene with her or him and correct him or her.
I fought with this issue for a long time. I (came to) realize that I do not exist in front of my wife. This kind of mindset that completely, 100%, unconditionally denies myself, is the way we can create beautiful unity. Not just the husband’s or the wife’s side. We need to do it to each other. Even though my husband does not do it, if at least one side unconditionally follows, the environment will completely change.
To realize this for me it took a long time. In the beginning I felt I was right, I was more principled, I had more experience, I was the minister, the pastor, I had studied more than my wife.
It was wrong thinking. It does not matter how much you have studied hoondokhae and Father’s word. In order to create unity, there is no other way. If you have graduated from the university and your knowledge is greater than (that of) your wife, this does not matter at all. I used all kinds of methods and ways that did not work. There is only one way: unconditionally deny (yourself) and (be) ready to absolutely follow your spouse’s opinion. Then it can start to work.
Where Are You Seeking God?
4. It is okay for a couple to become one and pray and offer sincere devotion for God’s providence and True Parents. However, it is unreasonable for a couple pray and offer sincere devotion alone just because they do not get along. Solving problems and gaining strength for your spirit happens when you give and receive well between husband and wife. When you give and receive well, you will feel energized and become joyful and glad. The husband is God the Father, and the wife is God the Mother. But where do you find God? If you ignore the God in front of you, where can you seek God? When the husband’s God is his wife, and the wife’s God is her husband, can problems be solved if they say, “God! What should I do?” The solution to the problem lies in the partner right in front of you. In order to solve problems, do you need to put God aside and go to the church sanctuary? Or do you have to go on some long trip?
Once you become a couple, you must discuss with each other and respect each other’s opinions. Do not think of yourself as Abel or the subject partner and tell them to follow you unconditionally. The couple needs to think of each other as Abel and be in the position of Cain.
It is unreasonable for a couple (to) pray and offer sincere devotion alone just because they do not get along. The reason a couple is unable to become one is because they think that the other does not agree with them or that they do not live for their sake.
Between a couple, you have to think that there is no such thing as one’s own opinion. I must obey the other person's opinions and thoughts only, thinking that they are the principle. The other person knows what is right and what is wrong. The one who obeys without speaking first is victorious.
When couples give and receive well with each other, they feel energized and become joyful and glad. You should think of your husband as God the Father and your wife as your God the Mother.
But where do you find God? If you ignore the God in front of you, where can you seek God? When the husband’s God is his wife, and the wife’s God is her husband, can problems be solved if they say, “Heavenly Father, where are you? I’m struggling and struggling! God! What should I do? Where (should I) go?”
God says, “Your God is just beside you. What are you talking about? Your spouse is your God. Where are you trying to find God?”
The solution to the problem lies in the partner right in front of you. In order to solve problems, do you need to put God aside and go to the church sanctuary? Or do you have to go on some long trip?
Then you will never solve the problem. Why? Your God is just beside you!
Today I talked about “Where Are You Seeking God?”
Wow! Our True Parents are incredible!
(While you are still single,) you can wander here and there up and down. Still you can be forgiven by God. But after you start family living together with your spouse as husband and wife, you are living directly with your God. What can you say in front of your God? Your spouse is your God! You need to listen to him or her. God is absolute. That is why you need to absolutely deny yourself.
What religion teaches such a lesson in such detail? I am so grateful to the Divine Principle and for True Parents’ guidance.
(Testimony Shizuka Pehling, 24+ Retreat “miracle,” Sub-Region 3)♦
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.♦