Filial Attendance: The Way of Filial Piety of Holy Sons and Daughters of God - Elio Roman
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Filial Attendance: The Way of Filial Piety of Holy Sons and Daughters of God - Elio Roman |
Blessed central families, the owners of Cheon Il Guk in the position of true parents, true teachers and true owners, must teach and establish and model the Heavenly Father and son (Parent and child) relationship. This is the primary step towards the establishment of the Shimjung Culture (Culture of Love) of the Kingdom of God. The root of the universe, the foundation of the universe and foundation of the Ideal Peaceful Kingdom is the God's Parental love towards His children, and attendance with filial piety on the part of the children towards God their Heavenly True Parents. This establishes, in accord with the laws of the universe, vertical subject and object partner relationships which are the central pillars of the universe and establishes the foundation of all ethical relationships in society.
Rev. Sun Myung Moon has stressed the importance of the Parent and child relationship through the terms he uses when teaching us. He calls the Parent and child relationship "the core principle of the Universe," "the basic principle of the Universe," "the base of true love," "the center and the foundation of the Universe," "the great principle," "the root of the Universe," "the central axis of the Universe," "the secret of the Universe," "the elucidation of truth," "the center of the Universe," "foundation of the Universe," "the answer and the theory," "the mystery of the universe," "the beginning point," "the wish of the cosmos," "the supreme position where the deep heart of man and heaven can be connected with the heart of the child," "the truth of the Universe."
The foundation of the universe is the Parent and child relationship. This is the base of true love, true life, true lineage and true ideals. These are the foundations of the Culture of Love of the Kingdom of God.
True Parental love from God has always existed. Parental love is the primary motivation for the creation of the universe. The impulse to love is the foundation of the creation of the universe. The impulse of love from God as the vertical True Parents is the way of the Original Subject Partner. God exists for us. God is the Origin and the Subject and Vertical Partner of true love. It is most important to understand that the inner compulsion of the filial object partner to attend the parental subject partner is developed on the foundation of the subject partner first loving the object partner. This means that God, our Heavenly Parent must first love human beings who are His children in order that they develop their hearts of attendance and return love to their Heavenly Parent. Similarly it is the parent's responsibility to love their children in order that their children develop the internal motivation to live a life of attendance to their parents. It is the responsibility of the subject partner to first love the object partner before the object partner can develop the heart of attendance toward the subject partner. A relationship of love must be a shared living experience.
God needs an object partner who can receive His love and who can love Him in return. Such an object partner places God, the Heavenly True Parents in the true position as the owner of true love. Since the Fall, God is the owner of a broken Heart. As the Owner of true love, God entitles to His filial children to posses the right of inheritance, the right of equal participation, and the right of living together. Without an object partner God cannot experience joy, nor fulfill the original purpose for which He created. The Parent and child relationship is a relationship of the utmost love. Without God, who is the vertical True Parents and the True Subject of love His children cannot experience joy, their value, or their full entitlement. Without the Parent and child relationship, God and His children will always feel a void.
God needs filial children who will Love Him and live for Him. This is true life. The understanding and application of the principle of attendance by children of filial piety is paramount for the establishment of a Culture of Love and the Kingdom of Heaven. The heart of filial attendance and its expression is the way of true love, true life, and true lineage of the true object partner. As God lives for the sake of His children, then His children learn to live for the sake of God and for the sake of others as His representatives.
The impulse of love from the heart of God has existed from the beginning and continues to manifest itself in the dispensation of restoration of the original ideal of creation. Filial sons and daughter of God fulfill The Great Commandment taught by Jesus Christ. In Matthew 22:36-40 the Pharisees, who are strict observers of the laws of the Old Testament, ask Jesus: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." The Great Commandment is a summing up of all the Commandments. The purpose of the 613 laws of the Old Testament is to restore and fulfill The Great Commandment of love is to establish the Parent and child relationship of love, and become God's representatives who live for the sake of others.
Loving God is a vertical relationship of love and loving your neighbor is a horizontal relationship of love. Sons and daughters of filial piety receive and return the vertical love from God back to God and multiply God's love horizontally by living for the sake of others. The heart of living for the sake of God is called attendance. The expression of love by children of filial piety is called filial attendance. Perfect attendance is the way of the perfect object partner. The way of attendance would have been accomplished by Adam and Eve upon inheriting the heart of God by keeping absolute faith, absolute love and absolute obedience. Thus the foundation of the ideal world of love (The Culture of Love) is the way of true love and true life from our Heavenly Parents and the way of attendance by filial sons and daughters of God.
Life and love come together to produce and multiply lineage. Through lineage God becomes the Parent of mankind, the True owner of the universe, and His Fatherhood and Kingship is established for eternity. Lineage perpetuates love and life. Filial sons and daughters of God who live a life of attendance embody God's love and multiply His lineage. The responsibilities of a life of attendance in the Parent and child relationship cannot be complete unless filial children are blessed in holy matrimony and bear children thus multiplying the true lineage of the Father.
The purpose of life is not our occupation, nor wealth, nor knowledge, nor power, nor anything one is chasing after, and which becomes the center of one's life. The primary purpose of our lives is to live for the sake of God, our Heavenly Parent and Creator. Jesus said, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matt. 6:21) The very treasure of life is to establish a relationship of love with our Heavenly Parents and Creator God. To fulfill our responsibility in the relationship of love between Father and son (Parent and child) is to live a life of filial attendance toward God.
There is nothing more important for human beings to accomplish than the Parent and child relationship. All blessings and ownership are bequeathed to the children through the Parent and child relationship. This is the fundamental truth of existence. Yet we are blind to this reality. We must seek and experience the Parent and child relationship in a living sense. We must find and cultivate the Parent and child relationship. The mystery of life and the purpose of creation and existence itself come down to this fundamental relationship between Heavenly Parental love and sons and daughters of filial piety living in attendance to the Heavenly Parents. We can cry out, "God is my Father!" Then He must make His presence known to us.
The Parent and child relationship is the central vertical axis of love of the universe. It is in this relationship where the finite in this moment in time connects with the infinite, in an everlasting relationship of love. Saint Augustine in his Confessions says: "Late have I loved you…and see, you were within and I in the external world and sought you there… You called and cried out loud and shattered my deafness."1
The missing element is the central vertical axis where the Father and son meet in a relationship of true love. When God enters into you, you enter the realm of heart and embody true love. Jesus said, "Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me." (John 14:11) "In that day you will know that I am in you and you in me." (John 14:20) When the Father grieves, you will grieve; when the Father suffers, you will feel the suffering; when the Father is happy, you will feel happy. You experience the Heart of the Father. Sometimes one will see a situation and inexplicably burst into tears. Those are the tears of the Father. Children of filial piety are the eyes of Heaven and shed Heaven's tears. Children of filial piety are the body of God. They will move consciously and often unconsciously according to God's will. Children of filial piety are the center of true love of the universe, in which God is their center.
The first gate, the first step, the first stage for the establishment of the Culture of Love and the Kingdom of God on earth and in the spiritual world is to establish the Parent and child relationship. This is the fundamental very purpose of our lives. In order to establish the Parent and child relationship, we must learn how to live a true life of filial attendance. The Parent and child relationship establishes the way of true love, true life, true lineage, true ideals, true ownership and true value. Complete liberation and release from all satanic elements is accomplished through attending God our vertical True Parents and our horizontal True Parents, with absolute faith, absolute love, and absolute obedience.
If you pray and ask God, "What is the center of heaven and earth, and what is the root of the universe?" He will say that it is the relationship between a father and his sons and daughters, the parent-child relationship. People who are ignorant of this will think that this refers to the relationship between a physical father and mother and their sons and daughters, but we are talking about the fundamental relationship with God. (19-158, 1968.1.1)
So I have, within my prayers, reached the deep realm and struggled and fought to find out the secret of the Universe, the root of the mystery of the Universe. What is the foundation of the Universe? It is simple. The answer turns out to be the father-son relationship. So what is the father-son relationship? We cannot explain it leaving love out. What are we talking about? We cannot explain the father-son relationship without talking about love. Ordinary people would think it is simply about the father-son of men, but since I knew it was about God and man I have found the answer and the theory. (144-250)
I said that God and human beings are in a parent-child relationship, but what is special about this parent-child relationship? The highest place where father and son can meet is the central point where their love, life and ideals intersect. Then, love, life, and ideals are in one place. At that place, God is love, and so are we; God is life, and so are we; and God's ideals are our ideals. The first place where these things can be established is in the parent-child relationship. (69-78, 1973.10.20)
When you enter the land of the deep and pray, man is the center of the creation but what is the center of the Universe, you will find that the answer is the father-son relationship. What is the center of the Universe? In one word, the father-son relationship.
But ordinary people think it is about their own parents. They think it is about their own father and mother, centering on moral principles. It is wrong. When we look at it from a solid point of view, the conclusion is that the place where God and man becomes one centering on the deep heart of the father-son relationship is the center of the Universe. (48-209)
What is the root of the Universe? Parents and children. Parents and I, the father-son relationship is the foundation of the Universe. God is the father and I am the son. Sons and daughters. The last foundation is the father-son relationship, and the last goal is the same. That is why we must find it.
I have even overcome the way of suffering in order to find it. Even when put to Satan's test, the father-son relationship can win over it in seconds. Even when we enter the satanic world and sleep there, we must not forget the father-son relationship. So you must understand the fact that since we lost this relationship we are resentful and furious. (12-258)
God and human beings are related as parent and child, but how did this relationship come to be? If you enter a mystical state and ask what the center of the universe is, you will get the answer that it is the parent-child relationship. What is the center of the universe? In short, it is the parent-child relationship. (48-208, 1971.9.19)
What is the highest embodiment of all truths? Parents, husband and wife, and children are. There is nothing higher. Then, what is the center of truth? It is love. Based on this principle, what is the center of the highest truth? We say that God is the ultimate source of truth, goodness, love and life. What does all this mean? They all go to the same point -- the establishment of truth requires love and life. For this reason, God is the deepest core, the ultimate source of life, love and truth. Then what kind of being is God? He is both our Father and Mother. The core is the parents. From this point of view, God becomes simply a person. (21-183, 1968.11.20)
What is the center and the foundation of the Universe? A son reached the realm of mystery and prayed to God and asked this question. He answered; it is the relationship between a father and his children, in other words the father-son relationship. People who do not understand might think we are talking about relationship of our fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, but we mean the relationship of God and man. (19-160)
Then, what defines the parent-child relationship? Three things: love, life and lineage… The first is love. We can love with true love because God, our True Parent, first loved us with true love. God created human beings out of His absolute love, to be His partners in love. This relationship forms an axis of love, linking God the Father with human beings as His sons and daughters.
Is there anything higher or more precious than to be a son or daughter of God? If anything were higher, then surely human beings would aspire to attain it. But there is nothing higher… As our eternal True Parent, God invested Himself 100 percent into the creation of human beings and endowed us with the right to have equal status with Him, to participate in His work as equals, to live with Him, and to inherit from Him. God bestowed upon human beings all of His attributes.
Though God is the Absolute Being, He cannot be happy alone. Adjectives such as "good" and "happy" cannot apply to any being that lives in isolation…
Next is life. How shall we live to become God's partner and return joy to Him? In other words, how shall we live to become children of God, people whom God delights to call "My son," or "My daughter," because He sees in us a divinity equal to His? How can we become God's partners in completing the work of creation, partners who will inherit the entire creation? I answer: We should emulate the ideal that God set up at the beginning of His creative acts. In the beginning of creation, God acted upon the principle of living for the sake of others. In other words, everything that He did was for the sake of His creations, whom He hoped would develop into His partners of true love. The practice of true love is the nucleus of God's creative activity…
Do you know what has pained God's heart most, causing Him the greatest grief over the long history since the fall of Adam and Eve? God lost His lineage. And with the loss of His lineage, He lost His right of ownership.
Lineage is more important than life and more important than love. Life and love come together to create lineage. Lineage cannot be established if either life or love is missing. Therefore, among the three qualities that define the parent-child relationship, love, life and lineage, lineage is the fruit.
God's lineage contains the seed of true love. God's lineage provides the context and environment for a true life. Hence, for us to become the ideal people envisioned by God, that is, people of ideal character, and to create ideal families, we first need to be linked to His lineage. To take it a step further, only when we are linked to God's lineage is it possible to create God's homeland, the ideal nation. Only when we are linked to God's lineage is it possible to establish the kingdom of the peaceful, ideal world. Please inscribe the importance of lineage in your hearts. I cannot emphasize this enough. (Messages of Peace 1 -- 14-16, 2005.9.12)
The relationship of father and son is based on shimjung, which can never disappear from the heart, even with all the denials and unworthiness of being called a son. The relationship centering on eternal love flows on as the affectionate shimjung that even God cannot deny. The tragedy is that even with such a shimjung, God cannot freely call us sons and daughters. (Sermons 4-213, 1958.9.14)
If, in our world, God exists in the position of parents…Where is the supreme position where the deep heart of man and heaven can be connected? No matter how high we climb and search, since God is a parent, man must seek the position of the child. That is why Christianity calls heaven Father. And heaven calls us humans children. It is about the father-son relationship.
So what is the standard of that the father-son relationship? When we ask is it below or above the line of the fall, it cannot be above or under it. It is in much higher position than the father-son relationship.
Isn't it so when we look at fallen people today? Even when we talk about love lower than the line of the fall, the father-son relationship suffers when children are not dutiful, so imagine how it is when parents who have never fallen had undutiful children, how sad would they be? When we think about this problem of love between the father and son around us in daily life, we can understand the background of it.
So didn't God intend to love his children with love above the line of the fall? So how strong will that love be? We find the conclusion that no one has stood in the position above the line of the fall, so nobody knows about this.
We human beings fell at the completion stage of growth stage. So didn't we fall in the position where we cannot attain the position of perfection? Aren't we set apart from a position where we can experience God's ideal elements? So when we think how it was when we did not fall and receive these factors, how higher is the position of relation between God? Isn't it a position we can't even imagine? If so, the so called dutiful sons and daughters, those that are said, "The boy of that family is a dutiful son! The daughter of that house is a dutiful daughter." When we think of those people, is there any one who can stand before the original parent and come close to their heart, is there anyone who can stand in the position of true children? We know the answer is that there has been no such person since history began.
If so, When God wanted to give love at the amount of 100, was there anyone who can receive all 100? There was no one. When God loved, there was no one who understood this love. Nobody understood but he couldn't help but love, but we must understand how miserable he must have been. (62-20)
When God gives us love, how much would He want to give? God's love does not have a set limit. He wants to give infinitely. Even after giving everything, God still says, "Because of you, I want to live in you." What is the essential element that makes this possible? It is love. God would be happy to live as a servant if that life were lived inside love. A father could feel joy even if he sees his beloved son defecate on his dining table. Love transcends law.
God has been continuously extending His love to people, but that doesn't mean He will complain, saying, "I have given you everything without reserve. Why do you not give back? How can you be like this?" The God of absolute love is still frustrated that He has not been able to give all the love He wants to. God cannot assert Himself absolutely into our lives. If God's purpose in creating man was to give perfect love, God would still want to pour His love into the human world even if He has been prohibited from doing so until now. The more we think of God as being so unconditionally giving, the better we feel. If God were someone who says, "I have given everything, so now you give back," we would not need Him. (36-77, 1970.11.15)
God is the Father of human beings, and human beings are God's sons and daughters. He created them by investing the core of His bone, the core of His flesh, and the core of His bone marrow in them. If they pull on God, God cannot help but follow. (20-207, 1968.6.9)
If God is the Absolute Being, why did that absolute being create human beings? It was not for the sake of money, knowledge or power. He created man because it was the only way He could feel love. From this point of view, God as the Father and human beings as His sons and daughters form an axis. If the connections for this axis are made, absolutely nothing can sever the relationship of loving oneness between God and humankind. (137-57, 1985.12.18)
In creating human beings, God completely invested Himself to fashion them into the most precious, ideal and perfect form. God created Adam and Eve wanting to exist for their sake, not His own. The time when God lived for His own sake advanced to the time when He existed for the sake of His object partner. An ideal being does not live for his own sake; an ideal being lives for the sake of others, for the sake of its object partner. This principle is the basic core of the universe. (69-81, 1973.10.20)
When some Christians think about God's creation of heaven and earth, they focus on God's omniscience and omnipotence, and thereby believe, simply, that He created by His words. The creation did not, however, come into form by some type of magic. He created His sons and daughters by investing His entire being with a sincere heart. (65-20, 1972.11.13)
What did God mean when He said, "I am love." He was teaching us to cherish love by night and day, while working, resting, dancing or crying. In like manner, He could say, "I have love; I have love in its entirety." Having love in its entirety would mean that everything was invested into it. The one who cherishes love most is God. He has all of that love, yet once we have tasted it we are unable to let go of it even in death. (44-188, 1971.5.7)
This is fundamental to building the Kingdom of Heaven. The formula is the same. The relationship between God and God's son is absolute; it is a bond that no one can break. No one can sever the father and son relationship. In a similar way, when the husband and wife become one in love, no one can divide their love. Even God cannot divide it. It is eternal.
The question is whether you have become a united couple, as a brother and a sister like Adam and Eve, who can attend the True Parents. Another question is whether God's love and the Parents' love can dwell in your family. In other words, are you conveying the love of God and Parents through your own love such that your sons and daughters are born and nurtured in this loving environment? This is a serious question. You should know that if you do not do this, the door of the family Kingdom of Heaven will not open. (137-185, 1986.1.1)
The relationship between God and humankind is that of parent and child, and God can never disown those sons and daughters who are remembered as having practiced filial piety. This is because they stood in a better position than Adam and Eve. Did Adam and Eve become filial children? They did not. What is the path of becoming a filial child? In order to tread that path, it is necessary to live according to the will of the Father. A person who is not doing so cannot become a filial child. (57-153, 1972.5.31)
Among all bonds of relationships, the standard is the parent-child relationship established between God and human beings. The heart coming from this bond cannot be undermined by the authority of any being and is eternal, unchanging, and unique. The authority of this heart is also absolute. For this reason, when you come forth with this authority, all existing beings will bow their heads before you. When you move with the authority of that heart, the entire universe must follow you. This is the ironclad rule of the universe. (7-105, 1959.7.26)
Where is the highest place that you would like to receive love from God? It is in the position of the son. It is in the position of the daughter. God has heavenly emotions. We human beings have human emotions. The place that becomes a converging point for heavenly emotions and human emotions is the one place that God, the Absolute Being longs for, and also human beings long for. In other words, it is the place where we can share love in the position of a son or daughter centering on a parent. (39-9, 1971.1.9)
You should know that God exists near you and is concerned about each of you more than anyone else. People think that the love of their own family is the greatest in this world. However, you should know that God's love is greater and deeper than that love; it is deeper and greater than any human love in this world. You should be embraced in God's love and be able to call Him, "Father." You should become such true sons and daughters who deeply experience God's internal heart in a position that says, "I know the Father's sorrow." If you can become such sons and daughters, and possess the Kingdom of Heaven in which you attend God, no one would be able to take that kingdom away from you. (2-234, 1957.6.2)
The fact that you have received the Blessing signifies that the time has come to start a new era in the name of the husband and wife. This new era is based on the chosen people, the church, and the tribe and the foundation the Messiah has laid on the earth for the past two thousand years. Can all of you become tribal messiahs? Even Satan cannot do anything to prevent you from becoming tribal messiahs because you are connected to Father in a father and son relationship. The Blessing is truly amazing. (21-14, 1968.8.13)
The Unification Church is presenting the world with absolute values, and at the same time, True Parents. Where is the final destination of the standard of absolute values, the one desired by everyone? It is to become sons and daughters of True Parents. It is to become God's children, who can harbor eternal life and love. There is no other way. At the time of the Fall, Adam and Eve did not establish their conjugal relationship with God's permission. They did so of their own accord. The only relationship that began with God's consent was that between father and son. Yet, that was shattered, and therefore needs to be restored and rectified. (68-138, 1973.7.29).21)
When God first created human beings, He made Adam representing all men, and Eve representing all women, with the intention that they become owners of true love. The quickest way for them to cultivate a character of true love was to secure a parent-child relationship with God, whereby they could live attending God as their Father. They were to have followed the path of living as one family with God. (Messages of Peace 7 -- 87, 2006.8.31)
I invite you to enter into a transcendent state and prayerfully ask God, "What is the center of the universe?" The answer you hear will undoubtedly be, "the parent-child relationship." Nothing is more important or more precious than the relationship between parent and child. This is because it defines the fundamental relationship between the Creator God and human beings. Then, what defines the parent-child relationship? Three things: love, life and lineage. (Messages of Peace 1 -- 13-14, 2005.9.12)
God created Adam and Eve and established them as the first ancestors of humankind. He invested His whole being in raising them as His son and daughter, and they were connected to Him through love, life and lineage. The parent–child relationship is the highest and most important of all relationships, and the only way through which His lineage can be bequeathed and made to last forever.
However, this parent–child relationship, more precious and important than life itself, was severed through the Fall of Adam and Eve. As God's own flesh and blood, and as His eternal, only-begotten son and daughter, Adam and Eve formed a blood relationship with His enemy Satan, and became Satan's children instead. In the face of this, God's heart has been crushed and wounded with grief and sorrow throughout history. This still remains the most mortifying and harrowing anguish, which no one before in history could either know or resolve. (Messages of Peace 2 -- 32-33, March 2006)
Has there ever been a time when God could rejoice with human beings as their True Father and True Mother, enjoying the natural bonds of parent and child? Has God enjoyed even a year of comfort with His children, knowing that what He created was good? The answer is no; God has not experienced such joy for even one hour. And has anyone been able to comfort God in this pain? No, because no one has known the reason for the unbridgeable gap that has separated God from humankind for tens of thousands of years. No one has known why God and humanity are in such a tragic situation. (Messages of Peace 1 -- 18, 2005.9.12)
Please inscribe the importance of lineage in your hearts. I cannot emphasize this enough. This is because the parent–child relationship is the highest and most important of all relationships, and the lineal relationship between parent and child is the only way through which God's lineage can be bequeathed and made to last forever. You must be clear on this point. (Messages of Peace 7 -- 88, 2006.8.31)
Though human beings have been reduced to the position of orphans who have lost their parents through the Fall, the fundamental relationship of parent and child endowed by Heaven remains intact. Human beings, through the Fall, have become ignorant beings who live in a vegetative state, unable to recognize their own Father even though He is right there within and beside them.
Therefore, all human beings belong to the fallen lineage regardless of who they may be, and they must without exception be born again through the conversion of lineage. This is the only way to be restored into the originally-intended blood relationship bequeathed to us by God. (Messages of Peace 4 -- 65-66, 2006.6.1)
Therefore, in the framework of the family, you should serve God as the Father in the highest position. Every one of you should become His child, perfecting the parent–child relationship with Him through sharing your life with Him, connected by blood. In short, you should form a partnership of true love with God, and live together with Him.
Who would be the greatest grandfather of the universe? The first human ancestors, Adam and Eve, call God "Father." Should their children call Him "Grandfather"? No, they too should call Him "Father." Why is this so? From the viewpoint of God, the vertical center, all object partners of love are equal. His object partners, who are produced through the horizontal expansion and multiplication of His love, assume equal value regardless of who they are, transcending time and space. Simply put, everyone has equal value in perfected love. (Messages of Peace 3 -- 55-56, 2006.4.10)
Respected leaders from around the world, what do you think is God's ultimate purpose for creating human beings? Simply put, it is to experience joy through relating with ideal families filled with true love. What does an ideal family look like? When God first created human beings, He made Adam representing all men and Eve representing all women, with the intention that they become owners of true love. Then what was the quickest way for them to cultivate a character of true love? In a word, it was to secure a parent–child relationship with God, whereby they could live attending God as their Father and form a model family embodying God's ideal of peace. They were to have followed the path of living as one family with God, experiencing eternal joy.
God created Adam and Eve and installed them as the first ancestors of humankind to form the model family and realize the ideal of peace. He committed Himself absolutely to raising them as His son and daughter, to be joined with Him in true love, true life and true lineage.
Therefore, if Adam and Eve had achieved individual perfection in accordance with God's will -- that is, if they had achieved the perfection of their character and then entered into conjugal relations with His Blessing, they would have achieved complete oneness with Him. God would have dwelt within their union. Their children would also have been linked to this holy order of love and enjoyed a direct relationship with God as their Parent. In other words, the marriage of the perfected Adam and Eve would have been God's own marriage. God is forever God, but at the same time Adam and Eve were to have become His incarnations. They would have become God's body, and God would have settled inside their minds and hearts. He would have become the True Parent of all people in both the spiritual and physical worlds. (Messages of Peace 7 -- 87-88, 2006.8.31)
We are to perfect the unity of our mind and body by achieving unity with God in love and thus becoming His sons and daughters. Once we are in this parent–child relationship, we become God's princes and princesses. We can enjoy a parent–child relationship with God and inherit everything from Him. When we, as His children, become husbands and wives, and unite totally based on true love, we become a family that lives by attending God. That family becomes a base for peace and the ideal. When a man and a woman, each being one half, unite together, they become the base through which they fulfill God's ideal love as His partners.
In other words, through the perfection of human beings as beings of infinite value through true love, God also perfects true love, and completes the world of the ideal of creation where His eternal, ideal love dwells. (Messages of Peace 14 -- 222, 2007.6.13)
You do not know the spirit would, but you must go in to the mysterious realm and really ask God, "What is the truth of the Universe? If you have created man to destroy them, you are a cruel and evil God." When you ask him seriously, the answer would be different. The truth of the Universe is, when you ask what is the basic of the great principle, it is the father-son relationship. (101-34)
You must live with God like a young child spending time with his parents. (29-138)
According to logic, when father and son unite based on love, the father's possessions can become the son's. Likewise, the husband's belongings become the wife's possessions. Centering on love, the right of inheritance is guaranteed for eternity. If you have become a son or daughter who has established a bond of love as the object partners of God's true love, then for you, God's body will become your body, His love will become your love, and everything He created will become yours. Therefore, within each of you, you still have the desire of your original nature to have dominion over the universe. This was God's gift that He distributed equally to all humankind, the gift that lets you hold the authority to possess the universe as God's sons and daughters. (199-346, 1990.2)
We must return to the original purpose of God's creation. God is a being of true love. To express that true love, He created children. When children stand upon the foundation of the true love of their parents, and return that love and beauty to them, they possess the rights and value of their parents. That is, they receive the right of inheritance, the right of participation, and the right of living together. When men and women are connected to God through this true love foundation, the real meaning of eternal life is realized. (Science: Twenty -- 159, 1988.11.25)
The relationship of heart between parents and children never changes or fades even if history goes on and the days go by. It will get stronger day by day and as time goes by, rather than fade, it concentrates.
When a son sends to message to his parents, or vice versa, when they are apart; that message seems to be a stimulus that can fulfill all hope. (51-71)
When God and Adam become one and both are overflowing with love, Adam can become God. When Adam becomes completely one with God through love, God dwells in Adam. The Bible states, "Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?" We are God's temple. (54-139, 1972.3.22)
There is no need for a verbally established parent-child relationship or a parent-child relationship that was created through written agreements. When you exert your mind, express your devotion, and live for the sake of the Father's will, you can even endure pain that melts the flesh and bone. When you do this in order to win victory, you can restore the parent-child relationship with God. (2-234, 1957.6.2)
Nothing can break the father-son relationship. Even with atomic bombs. This relationship can never break or be set apart or be abandoned. (21-69)
On what basis do you say, "One body between father and son"? Love cannot be excluded from this. Love, life, and lineage are connected to it. These three factors are essential. When we say "one body between father and son," love, life and lineage must always be connected there. (197-234, 1990.1.19)
Once I experienced the mysterious realm and sought what was the foundation of the universe. The answer from God was, "the father-son relationship." That is the conclusion.
Ordinary people would think, "that would mean my mother, father and me." In short, we tend to think it is about our own parents, but we are talking about the relationship between God and man.
What is the exact content of the father-son relationship? Where is the best place that a father and son can meet? The center where love, life and ideals cross, the center is their meeting point. So that means love, life and ideals are all in one place. If you go there, God is love and I am love, God is life and I am life, God is ideal and so am I. So the place of original relationships and unification is the position of father-son. This is a sure fact. (69-78)
The basis of the universe is "parents and I." (The Way -- 48)
What is the revolution of heart? I have said that God created human beings as His children. What, then, is the connection that ties each of you to God? It is the love and heart between a parent and child. If there is no communications of heart between a parent and child, how can they maintain a relationship of love and respect? Human beings, who have lived for thousands of years under the influence of the fallen realm, are still slaves in our hearts to false parents, false love, and false lineage. If we are to escape from this yoke, we must constantly live lives of true love, practicing forgiveness and always giving to others. Through this process, we are able to return to the realm of God's heartistic ownership. If the strings of your heart are still tied to a selfish individualism that pursues the vainglory of the satanic world, then, you will end up on a dark and gloomy path of hopelessness and lamentation. On the other hand, if you lead a life of living for the sake of others, that is, a constructive life of seeking to be the first to yield to others and give to others, then the strings of your heart will become one with God's heart eternally. (Public Venue, 2004.10.26-30)
This is the time in the course of restoration when you have to take the first step toward a new world, centering on the heart of God. Therefore, it is a very important period, not only the period of changing the blood lineage, but the time of change in your life. You must take the first steps on the foundation of clear understanding; otherwise you will be accused by Satan, who will say, "Hey, where did you come from?" You should be able to say, "I came from the Garden of Eden before the fall, from God's own bosom." You must be able to give a testimony, saying, "By myself I am not worthy to stand here, but because of the approval of the person who stood here, I am standing here. (269-013, 1995.4.6)
So, from what do you judge the father-son relationship? We judge it from the blood lineage. Today Christianity vaguely calls, "Heavenly Father." Why do they say father instead of God the master? Within the word "father," love and blood lineage exist. Isn't that true? To become a direct descendant, you must be one in love. Become one through lineage. Blood consists of life. Isn't that so? You carry life that succeeds the tradition of your parents. For what? For love. (142-267)
The heart between father and son can never be altered. Even God is not capable of that. God teaches us that the tie between father and son is His final purpose. The weapon with which you can unify the world is this father-son relationship. (The Way -- 39)
When True Father prayed in the old days, with a serious mind he asked God, "What is the root of the universe?" At that time, God answered, "The relationship of parents and children." When that relationship is perfected, the universe will be united and the world will be peaceful. (104-099, 1979.4.15)
Centering on the relationship of God and man where God is the father and man is the son of God, when someone says, "He looks more handsome than God." to a man, is God happy or not? (laughter) If God feels bad, he is no better than man. No better than fallen man. (laughter) Don't you think God would surely be happy? So that is why we need love.
Do you want to be better than God, or not? Please answer, [We want to be better than God]. (laughter) We are sorry, but to be honest, we want to be better than God. In ancient times, in the far east, the son greeted his father every morning and evening. But what happens if the son starts to think, "I wish I could be in my father's position and my father in my position."? It is possible that he thinks, "Why should my father always be above me and why should I be in the lower position?" Why not? The above and below relationship is good, but if it is fixed you might not like it. The son would feel better if he knows that he can be in the position of the father, one day. But he feels bad if the father always sits in the upper position and himself in the lower position. Don't you think so? That is possible.
The father-son relationship is an above and below relationship. That is why, when the son says to his father, "Father, give me your position for once. I want to be in your position," the father cannot say, "No son, I can't do that." Because God is absolute, you must consider this as well.
So, it cannot be a problem for God when he thinks, in what position should he place man? God put man in a position where the rank is above and below but, in real life, also in before and after, and in and out relationships exist. You must consider these elements when you think about the answer to the question, "Where should God exist?" So, in order to be in an in and out relationship, where should God exist? God is a shapeless God, but in what position should he be with man? He cannot always be in the above position. He cannot always be in the upper position. That is why we need the father-son relationship.
Centering on the father-son relationship, the father is in the upper position and the son is in the lower position, in other words, an above and below relationship. When the son says, "Father, I want to be in your position," God cannot say, "No, you can't," otherwise it would be a problem. God knows this, so he put us in not only an above and below relationship, but also in an in and out relationship, which is equal, like the mind and body.
First, God creates his son; second, he becomes one with him and third, he even wants to give man his ability of creation. That is why God wants to own...? Everyone here, young or old, should have the experience where, if you parents own something nice, you want to have it. You want to make it yours. So, when you look at it this way, what your father owns is yours too. (53-225)
Human beings are born through the relationship of love as God's absolute partners. This is where God becomes the Father and we the sons and daughters. If there is a place higher than this, human desire would want to occupy that position. Since human desire seeks the best, if there is something better, God must give it to us. From this point of view, God is surely the Father of humankind and human beings are His sons and daughters. (48-205, 1971.9.19)
However all-knowing and all-powerful God may be, can He order men and women to absolutely obey true love? To have a commanding presence as the Father, God should command, "I too absolutely obey true love, so obey true love just as I do." If God were to tell His sons and daughters to absolutely obey true love without doing it Himself, would it make sense?
God, who occupies true love, would become a dictator. Only when God says, "Just as I eternally and absolutely obey true love, you sons and daughters must eternally obey true love," will they say, "Amen!" Otherwise, they would scoff, saying, "The Father lives as He pleases, and we have nothing to do but obey? Pooh!" There will be problems. Hence, we must establish the view that God, too, absolutely obeys true love. (211-84, 1990.12.29)
God is the Father of human beings, and human beings are God's sons and daughters. Since God created them by investing the core of His bone, core of His flesh and core of His bone marrow, when such people pull on God, He cannot help being pulled along. And when God pulls them, they cannot help being pulled along. God created human beings in such a way that, within this relationship, they have shared His essence and purpose. If there were prose or poetry with which God could praise human beings whom He had created in this way, it would be the greatest work of art, far beyond the level of any poets or writers of this world. The object of this praise is neither God nor all things of creation, but the representatives of all things, human beings. (20-207, 1968.6.9)
On leaving the Old Testament Age and welcoming the new morning of the New Testament Age, Jesus declared God as the Father and elevated fallen people to the position of adopted child in order to bring them into a parent-child relationship with God. Adopted children are of a different lineage, but through the coming of the Lord, they were engrafted and thus able to call God "Father," with the title of son. You should know that the establishment of the parent-child relationship with God was a heavenly secret that could be accomplished by no one other than Jesus. When Jesus called God "Father," the priests and Pharisees, who were immersed in the Old Testament concepts of the time, heard it as a presumptuous word blaspheming God. You should know that Jesus' view of God as the Father was that revolutionary. Jesus went a step higher and introduced God's love. In the Old Testament Age, Moses introduced only the God of authority, God of power, and God of judgment, without being able to introduce the God of love. But, Jesus introduced love. Although he introduced the God of love and his own loving self, the people of his era did not accept him. (35-276, 1970.10.25)
The original relationship between God and humankind is one of parent and child. In the New Testament Age, human beings were God's adopted children. But now, since we are in a parent-child relationship, what the son does is what the Father does, and what the Father does is what the son does. They are acting together. What belongs to the Father belongs to the son, and what belongs to the son belongs to the Father. The reason the Unification Church is fearsome is because it teaches this destined parent-child relationship. (31-324, 1970.6.7)
Our real father is God, but Satan usurped the father's role. Therefore, Jesus said, "You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires." Knowing the deplorable fact that you carry Satan's blood, out of shame you should have the courage to put yourself through trials to rid yourself of that stained, false blood. Have you ever thought of doing so? If you are someone who strikes your body with fury saying, "You lump of flesh!" you are a loyal citizen of heaven. (11-243, 1961.10.29)
After we come into a parent-child relationship with God, when the son wails in sorrow God the Father will also wail in sorrow. Then Satan will be frightened out of his senses and flee. He cannot remain there. (228-217, 1992.4.3)
When you desire something in prayer, whom do you ask? We are supposed to call upon the Father whatever we do. (41-307, 1971.2.17)
In love, there is the right of equal participation. What that means is that if the father is in a higher position, the son, though he is in a lower position, can immediately rise to the father's position. Because of the amazing truth that the right of equal participation is inherent in love, love is eternal even though you may be separated from your loved ones. (143-277, 1986.3.20)
In giving us love, how much would God want to give? God's love is not given according to a limit that says a certain amount is enough. It is a love that wants to give infinitely. Even after giving everything, God will still say, "I want to live in you because of you." What is the essence that brings this about? It is love. If love is present, God would be happy to live even as a servant. The father can feel joy even when his beloved little son climbs onto his dining table and poops there. Love transcends the law. (36-77, 1970.11.15)
If our human ancestors had not fallen, whose sons and daughters would you be? Without question you would have been born as God's sons and daughters. If Adam and Eve had not fallen, all human beings would have been God's true sons and daughters. You would not be people that are toyed with, dominated or slandered by your enemies as you are today.
The son of God has absolute power, and he represents the absolute authority and power of God wherever he goes. When a family is formed centering on this son, that family becomes God's family before which the entire cosmos should surrender. Moreover, when a tribe centered on that family comes into being, the whole of creation must safeguard that tribe and be assimilated into it. Due to the Fall, human beings not only lost their positions as the sons and daughters of God, but they are tormented by their enemies. (Blessed Family -- 330, Korean Edition)
What happens when a person goes to the spirit world? He becomes God's body. Adam becomes God's body. This is what Jesus meant when he said, "the Father is in me." The First Corinthians verse, "Do you not know that you are God's temple?" confirms that the body is the holy temple where God dwells; it is His house.
Then, how can you resemble God? When you reach the stage of completion of your portion of responsibility, God dwells within you, creating oneness between you and God. (130-21, 1983.12.11)
Do not think of only going to heaven, but, also of building heaven on earth. Before that, you yourselves must become heavenly people. To do this, you must become one in heart with the Father to the extent that you can confidently say that His heart is yours and yours is His. Accordingly, in this earthly life, you should be people representing the hearts of God, the Lord, as well as your ancestors. Only by doing so can you solve all historical problems. (3-294, 1958.1.19)
As the Original Being of life, love and truth, what kind of being is God? He is the Father and simultaneously the Mother of humankind. Parents are the nucleus. (21-183, 1968.11.20)
1 Chadwick, Henry. Saint Augustine Confessions, New York: Oxford University Press, 1998, p.201.