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 |
Filial sons and daughters attend God and True Parents with utmost sincerity and love (Jung sung). Sincerity emphasizes an absence of hypocrisy, unfaithfulness, disloyalty, deceitfulness and falseness. Sincerity stresses the quality of genuineness, of having a pure heart, of being true. Sincerity is the original state of the natural heart of human beings, created by God, and as not yet adulterated by the Fall and satanic elements. A sincere heart and its expression moves the heart of Heaven. A sincere heart receives blessings from heaven. The quality of trueness cannot exist without the quality of sincerity. Attendance must be displayed with the sincerity of filial piety, of hope, of glory, and of subordination. As the satanic elements are removed from one's heart though restoration and indemnification one inherits God's love and is able to express the original filial attendance to God and service to mankind with sincerity and love.
God needs to be attended with sincerity. True love itself is sincere. In Roman 12:9 it says: "Love is sincere." The Parent and child relationship can only be established through sincerity which is an essential quality of the Parents love and in essential quality of filial attendance. One who displays sincerity receives God's love. True love cannot be expressed without sincerity. To offer utmost sincerity is known as Jung sung. Jung sung can move God's heart. It can move people and it can move the spiritual world.
The very nature of God is the nature with which God created human beings. Human beings have the very nature of God. The nature of God is in the original nature of human beings. That is their true nature. Sincerity is to become one with one's true and original nature. One's actions should correspond to all of one's heart and soul. When sincerity is expressed, it must be felt in the entire body.
Deceitfulness, falsehood and insincerity are qualities of sin and fallen nature. Deceitfulness, falsehood and insincerity are used in conjunction with self-centeredness. These are traits of one's character which humankind inherited from Satan and which were multiplied in Adam and Eve and their descendants. Through deceitfulness, falsehood and insincerity Satan established false life, false love and false lineage. In an example of a relationship between a proton and an electron, when the proton offers its elements from its positive charge (+) to the electron it does so with absolute sincerity, and when the electron receives the elements from the positive charge it then offers its element from its negative charge (-) to the proton with also absolute sincerity. There is no falsehood or deceitfulness in their relationship. Thus a true relationship is established. The proton represents the masculine or male elements and the electron represents the feminine or female elements. Positive or negative in this sense does not imply good or bad but rather the good masculine and feminine elements that are necessary for a reciprocal relationship to be established.
Sincerity can also be a form of indemnity. The sincerity of indemnity is a sincerity of the process of restoration. John 8:44 says that Satan is a liar and the father of lies. Romans 3:4 says: "Let God be true, and every man a liar." Although God is true, all people are false. We must practice sincerity in all our thoughts, words and deeds. We should not think, speak or act falsely. Indemnity of sincerity is the process by which we can establish true sincerity.
God is sincere. When true sincerity is displayed towards heaven, true filial attendance is established. Without sincerity we cannot attend God as true filial sons and daughters. The union of heart in the Parent and child is initiated and established through sincerity. The relationship of heart between the Parent and child sets the foundation for sincerity between husband and wife, parents and children, brothers and sisters, between friends, neighbors, between families, tribes and nations. Through sincerity the Shim Jung Culture (the Culture of True Love) of the Kingdom of God can be realized.
Hyung Jin Moon, in one of his books titled A Bald Head and a Strawberry gives an interesting and insightful account concerning the word "sincerity". Hyung Jin Nim is the seventh and youngest son of Rev. and Mrs. Moon. He received his BA from Harvard University, and an MA from Harvard Divinity School. He writes:
"I searched for months for a single Chinese character, ascending to the holy rock whenever I was home, that could sum up and embody the heart of Hananim (God). I yearned to find a single character that could be a reference, a point of continual re-entry, into the Divine. I initially thought it was Maum Shim (the Chinese character meaning-spirit, mind, heart) but something was missing.
When Abba (Dad) returned from abroad, I asked him to share with me what character was most precious to him. I had been waiting for this moment, for this teaching, for this wisdom. I had earnestly searched but found a character that was missing something.
Without hesitation, he wrote a single character (as I asked him to limit it to one). It is a moment, an enlightenment that I shall never forget.
He wrote, Jung Sung Sung. This character, as Abonim (Father) explained, was the combination of the characters for word and to become… In this single character, right and left, Eastern and Western traditions, were brought into union to form a single, dynamic character -- Jung Sung Sung (sincerity). I realized that without sincerity, heart is just a muscle pumping blood. But with sincerity Hananim's heart and our own would have no duality, no separateness. Without Sung, we would be eternally apart. With Sung, we would be one.
Why is it that I tell this story? Is it to reveal what the most central character for Abonim is? Well, yes and no. In this story there is a dynamic that was the true enlightenment. We all think that it was the character that was the enlightenment but again this is only partially true. Let's look at this story. I went up the mountain to find the character that would represent God, the Way. I searched and searched and searched -- and there exactly was the problem.
What Jung Sung Sung taught me was that, "If you seek, you shall not find, and if you do not seek, you shall not find." It was not about seeking but rather-becoming. It is not about seeking for peace, for then it will always be a step ahead, always evading us. It is rather about being peace -- then it doesn't need to be sought. It is not about finding happiness but rather being happiness…We must become peace, not search for it; we must become love, become compassion, become forgiveness, empathy, understanding, virtue, benevolence, patience, humility, gratitude, kindness, etc. As long as we seek it we will never bring it substantially here to this world. But if we become it, and we must become it again at every new moment, and at every new opportunity, we will tangibly allow the world to become a better place.
In Korean there is a saying, "giving sincerity." This is often used for those who are doing spiritual practices, prayer, meditation, offerings. Why is it in mind-body unity practice that we are giving sincerity? Because in mind-body unity practice we re not speaking about certain virtues, we are practicing to become them. Practicing to be love, unity forgiveness, empathy and living for others."1
"Remember Jung Sung Sung? -- "To become your word." So if we talk of peace, we have to be peace. If we talk of love, we must be love. If we talk of compassion, we must be compassion. And so on.
This is the great hope of this profound word that characterizes Abonim and that he shared with me as being the most important, most central word that we should understand. Within this character of sincerity (word + to become = sincerity) we see the key to peace, love, happiness. We see the possibility of the actualization of world peace and harmony. The key is to be it again and again at each moment, with each new breath, with new effort and dedication."2
Before anything else, you must long for True Parents sincerely. You cannot be saved if you do not attend True Parents, centering on the standard that they are the origin of your life, all your hopes, and the source of all your ideals and happiness. Have you ever attended True Parents like this? You must understand this clearly. (30-238, 1970.3.23)
What shall we do when we receive God's love? God has total love for us. How much is that? How much should we invest giving back? The saying, "Sincerity moves heaven." (also "faith will move a mountain") is a Korean proverb, but also it is truly the natural order of things. The words "Do it with utmost sincerity," means do it with all your efforts, inside and outside, heart and soul. Also, "Practice everything with sincerity in your words and deeds," means to completely unite your body and soul in a conscientious life. This is a life of dedication. This is what we call "utmost sincerity" or "Jung-sung." In the Korean word, "Jung" deals with your spirit, and "sung" deals with oratorical power and elegance. Thus we call it dedication of will and achieving that which is inside and outside or mind and body. If you do everything with Jung-sung you can "move heaven." Heaven is deeply impressed by that kind of mind.
So what will heaven do? Heaven thinks of that person, not only thinks of them but also love searches them out. Love wants to be in that place. Love wants to connect to that place where the thoughts of all things remain. Don't you think so? In that place of deep thinking the mind of man is deeply moved. Therefore when you offer utmost sincerity or "Jung-sung" you stand in a position to receive God's love. That's how you do it. Just like God loves all humankind, if you dedicate yourself with utmost sincerity for the sake of God you will feel God's love from the very first moment, and then you can say you love God.
Be ever mindful to live in harmony with the spirit world. Communicate in prayer with the heavenly world with sincerity and dedication, so that you may become perfected in your spirit self while you are living on the earth. (Messages of Peace 5 -- 2006.6.13)
What kind of life is the life of attendance? It is the life of utmost sincerity. A long time ago following God was a spiritual endeavor of utmost sincerity, but today in front of parents we can be filial sons and daughters. The beginning of the path to fulfill perfect sincerity to the greatest extent of a filial son or daughter is in loyalty and devotion towards the nation. It is a thing which deserves admiration.
God needs one person of filial piety to attend parents from the position of this physical world. One who can inherit the way of loyalty for the nation, and has the value of one who can inherit the way of saint for the world. For that reason the one with the name of the filial son who stands in front of True Parents and stands in front of God; the filial son who receives official recognition is really a great and wondrous one. If you stand in that position even Jesus will envy you. (78-35, 1975.5.1)
What does it mean for you to serve with all your heart, with your entire mind, and with all your devotion? It means to offer your life. Is there anything greater than that? To devote yourself with all your heart means giving up your life. To serve with all your mind and devotion means giving up your life. Isn't there a saying, "Sincerity moves heaven?" Is there a limit to sincerity, an end to one's devotion? Put your life on the line and offer devotion. God will recognize the person who is ready to sacrifice his life and offer a life of devotion. (38-242, 1971.1.8)
Sincere love is a heavenly law, and thus it is realized naturally. (Blessed Family -- 1060, Korean Edition)
Now then, what do I mean by telling you that you must offer Jung Sung in everything you do? When you offer Jung Sung, you must not offer it merely for your own work. Do you realize this? If you come to offer Jung Sung merely for your own work, it turns out to be just that; then, although God tries to make the sunlight of the world shine over all the earth, you are asking Him not to shine it evenly for everyone, but to have it shine only on yourself.
Hence, you must have the presence of mind that you are praying while representing all of humanity, even representing God. When you pray representing God, when you offer Jung Sung representing God, you must try to imagine how much Jung Sung God himself, even now, has offered throughout providential history. This situation is true for today and tomorrow. If you didn't know about God, who has offered Jung Sung on earth for the sake of the world, and if you couldn't follow God's will at all, then when you go to the spirit world, and God, who offered Jung Sung, sees you, you won't be recognized as one who has accomplished the dutiful way of a child, or of a Blessed family. In that case, you'll continue to experience your pain in that land [spirit world]. (Public Venue, 1999.1.5)
Why should we attach importance to the law of indemnity when we walk the course of restoration? From the viewpoint of God's providence, since human beings destroyed everything God created, each person must re-create everything. Since God invested His sincere devotion during the creation, for the sake of re-creation you must also re-create that condition of sincere devotion. While creating the universe, God was not playing around or dancing. He invested His utmost devotion, 100 percent of it, when He was creating. The way of restoration means re-creating; this time is the same as the time when God was creating, and so can you play around while going this path? (96-114, 1978.1.2)
Due to the fall we have been without an ambassador who could love God. You should think, "I must dedicate myself to God with utmost sincerity because God's love has been searching for me." Through that love we can know God, and we will be able to love God. God is the origin of love. (78-31)
Where does God's love come from? That mystery is not something you can easily obtain. You must demonstrate perfect sincerity to parents, and to God. Although giving of your heart to God can be a vague thing, giving your total sincerity to parents is definitive. Fortune moves across a flat plane, so from all aspects, there are many intuitive realizations you can have. (78-43)
Whatever you may do, be it eating, drinking, sitting or standing or whomever you may relate with, you'll receive a perfect score if you show your loving heart before True Parents and God. It does not come about by having a lot of knowledge or scholarly attainment. Will you live in God's presence saying, "I have a Doctorate"? There is no need for that before God. Therefore, how can we entice God's love? There is only one path: "Sincerity moves heaven." There is no other way. (78-38, 1975.5.1)
Today, if Christians are to come to the Feast of the Lamb and are to be included in the first resurrection, they must prepare a holy garment. To prepare the holy garment, sincerity and perseverance are needed. You must be as sincere as possible. The glance of your eye must be sincere; your sense of smell must be sincere; you must be sincere in listening. The feeling you get through your entire body must be sincere. It is the Principle that you cannot serve God until you go through the gateway of sincerity and become a person whose heart is grateful to the body which expressed sincerity.
What is the sincerity which true sons and daughters should show from now? It is not centered on the practical stage of everyday life, but it is the sincerity of hope, of glory, of filial piety and of subordination. If you go through all these forms of sincerity, then heaven will become your heaven and Heavenly Father will become your Heavenly Father. Until now your sincerity was a sincerity for indemnity. From now on it must be a sincerity to attend God and sincerity which places you in the position to serve God. Those participating in that way will be in the first resurrection. (Blessing Pt. 2 -- 145)
If all people live according to and conforming to the constitutional laws, then everything will be fine. Furthermore, churches will not be necessary. As long as all people live by the laws and render devoted service to the nation, things will turn out well. If you show great sincerity in your service, you become loyal servants, filial children, saints, and holy people. But since you have not become these, you need to be educated. Everyone needs to be educated. Education has to take place in school. You have not understood such concepts as these yet. In addition, if your old concepts remain intact, things will not work out during your lifetime. It might even take several generations of your descendants to rectify this. (260-161, 1994.5.2)
You must cry, feeling an irresistible yearning for True Parents, who stand in the position of substantial God. You must want to see them over and over again. You must want to serve them after preparing a bowl of rice or a cup of water, however humble it might be. You must have that kind of sincere desire. You will be alright if your tears flow freely. In such a case, your heart and my heart will be united, and you and I will act in concert with one another. You will get to know my standard, the past that explains it, and the reasons and circumstances tied to it. Furthermore, you can inherit it and take it over. (38-75, 1971.1.1)
What is our sincere, unchanging heart? It is to seek for our lost original homeland, to establish the original native land. These days, people are talking about rebuilding, aren't they? Rebuilding means tearing apart that which already exists and making it anew.
The Unification Church does not want to rebuild, but to create. We do not have any resources. We have only our bare hands. Do we have an original homeland? Do we have an original home nation? No. Because we have neither of these, we must create them. With what materials can we create them? Your hands, your bodies, and your bones are the materials. When you really put your bodies into it, grinding down your bones and investing your flesh and blood, the treasures of the world will fly to you. Through that, we will be able to purchase materials. (155-53, 1964.10.6)
In the course of 6,000 years of human history, there came and went countless prophets, loyal subjects, women of fidelity, and filial sons and daughters. However, no matter how much loyalty, fidelity and filial piety they demonstrated, until now, the center of mind that causes one to embark upon the road toward the complete realization of the ideal world of creation has never been raised. From this we can understand that with their loyalty, fidelity and filial piety, the dispensation of restoration cannot be brought to conclusion.
Therefore, you must also exhibit the heart of uttermost sincerity, exert all of your strength and demonstrate the highest loyalty for Heaven, to set a standard higher than the loyal subjects, filial sons and women of fidelity who pursued goodness for the sake of salvation of humanity until now. Furthermore, if these people, we the Korean people, bear the mission to awaken humanity in the future and usher in the new morning, then the Korean people must exert a more sincere heart than any other people for the sake of God's will. If you who are here feel the sense of mission and responsibility on the world level to pioneer the new course of faith, then to manage that mission in your life you must be trying harder and live more diligently than anyone else in the world.
Similarly, can you demonstrate more loyalty and sincere heart than the ancestors who have done their utmost to be loyal and sincere toward Heaven? This is the problem. (Sermons Vol. 2-151, 1957.5.19)
In the Unification Church we are trying to be this way. The world regards us as heretical now, but the day will come when people won't be able to say anything critical of our church. On that day the Unification Church will be raised up. Therefore, you have to be serious, day by day. You have to regard your daily life as precious. You should be earnest, and you should walk proudly, step by step. In the process of becoming a child of filial piety, you might even become crippled. But that kind of man will shine in the future like the sun. That kind of man will become a focal point. In order to obtain this kind of glory, you must walk without saying anything, and while being silent you must not excuse yourself. (God's Will -- 61, 1971.12.5)
If you stand in a position of not having the filial mind in front of parents, but you give such a mind for the sake of your family members in place of parents, offering utmost sincerity for the sake of parents in this way, then according to the ideal of filial action for parents, heaven will receive your offering. That kind of person most will certainly receive heavens blessings. (78-41)
Beloved people of Cheon Il Guk, I hope you will truly celebrate and enjoy this precious and holy day. Brush off all your cares and worries and celebrate this day in joy while attending your Heavenly Father and True Parents with all your heart. The sincerity and dedication expressed by each of you brings even more glory to this day. The beautiful mountains, streams, trees and flowers here in the vicinity of Chung Pyung Lake are showering their blessings upon you as you prepare to embark on your ambitious journeys. Your descendants, too, will take pride that you participated in this long-awaited day, and they will honor and praise you forever. (Messages of Peace 5 -- 2006.6.13)
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)
This is why we love Him. We, for the sake of comparison, will not fully love something for which we have not invested our utmost efforts and given our blood and flesh. We make something the object of our sincerest hope because we have invested into it the core of our bone, the core of our flesh, the core of our thought, and the core of our entire being.
Where did God place the ideal starting point of creation? He does not tell us to give everything for His sake. Rather than trying to absorb us by saying, "You come and cleave to me," He invests Himself. It is not "cleave to me," but investment. In other words, He placed the starting point of the ideal upon the principle of existing for the sake of others. This is why God invested Himself for the sake of humankind. God exists for mankind's sake. (78-111, 1975.5.6)
We must eliminate the remaining sorrow, pain and tears of the world as soon as possible. This is the responsibility and mission of our Unification Church. You are now on the path you are meant to follow. You should not turn to look back, either with your heart or with your body, as the Israelites did when they were on their way to Canaan. What is the hope we should harbor? We should have the sincere hope to be able to truly attend the True Parents who are coming to earth on behalf of God. In attending them, we should not desire to attend them when the victorious foundation is already laid and all people have come to admire and respect them; rather, we should desire to attend True Parents as they pass through history's sorrowful course. Our ancestors are deeply pained that they were unable to attend the True Parents who have walked through the sorrowful course of history. All humankind harbors the hope of being able to sincerely attend True Parents. Thus, you must become true sons and daughters of filial piety who attend them from a miserable situation rather than trying to attend them from a glorious position. (13-288, 1964.4.12)
What kind of person can harmonize with the essence of God's love? A self-centered person has no value at all. Only the person who is willing to invest, with the sincerest devotion, everything he has in his life for others -- only this kind of person can live continuously in the realm of God's love. This is how it has been with the great people and saints of history. (46-36, 1971.7.18)
Human beings should feel and realize how much God has loved them by becoming parents themselves and loving their children. Furthermore, they will love God even more sincerely. A person should love their aged parents more than they love their children and love God more than they love their parents, knowing that this is the order and law of love. (126-245, 1983.4.24)
This is a story from my youth. One day, I caught a pair of birds and tried to make them kiss each other's beaks. To see them kiss I put them in a cage, fed them, and watched them. I did it out of a child's desire to see them love each other and sing happily together. This was an experiment, out of curiosity, to understand the principles of nature. I continued this experiment, which I now understand to have been quite naughty. It was only after a long while that I finally understood that love is realized only in a natural setting. Sincere love is realized naturally, in an atmosphere that is natural to the highest degree. Through a long journey of experiments I came to the correct understanding of love. (Blessed Family -- 353, Korean Edition)
If someone has sincere love, even if he is a very ugly man, he will look handsome. Love is an amazing thing. Thus, whether you are a man or a woman, whether you are bright and good-looking or dull and bad-looking, you can never forget the first love of youth. (Blessed Family -- 373, Korean Edition)
You should think that you might possibly die soon, perhaps within a year. Therefore, you should make all preparations during this short time. You should live with such thoughts. The shorter the time you think you have, the happier you will be, and the less you have to lose. Your sincere preparations during this time become the building blocks of your home for your eternal life. Have you ever loved God with such a short time in mind? You want to become one with Him and love Him, but you can not. God says to you, "Love Me!" If you die after having lived this way, then you will become the master of eternal life. (102-122, 1978.11.27)
You may hold on to your parents and express your sincere heart to them, even shedding tears. (21-65, 1968.9.1)
Would you all like to go to the spirit world? Which is more sincere: your desire to go to the spirit world or the desire of spirit people to return to earth? (161-226, 1987.2.15)
If our Unification Church members have a sincere, loving heart to make the True Parents happy at least once in their life, they will be in rhythm with the other world.
What would the people in the spirit world think? Would they not want to bring me something to eat and see me eat it? They are more enthusiastic than you are. It is true. You do not know, but they know everything. They know everything that will happen in the future. You are ignorant, but the other world has clear knowledge and understanding.
The people in the spirit world know clearly how they can devote themselves and serve me. All the five senses feel a stimulating force from me. You have not been able to feel this so far, but now you will be able to feel this when you are connected with me. (207-97, 1990.11.1
When people die, who do they first call upon? They call out to God. The ultimate reality is that people will seek God when they find themselves in the most difficult position. The way to forgiveness can be opened for those who sincerely call upon God at the time of death. Why is that so? It is because such is the way of death. If you can die keeping close to this principle, then the path to resurrection will be opened.
That is why when death comes to people, they all seek God saying, "O my God!" This is the truest of all lessons. When a person dies, he usually dies at least saying the right thing. When we observe this, we can see that the person was properly educated, though we may not know who taught him. Nothing truer than this can be said. (26-297, 1969.11.10)
You should devote yourself sincerely and deeply involve yourself (289-193, 1998.1.2)
When you offer your prayer with sincerity, the image of the spirit world will unfold. How wonderful that will be! Angels will come down and dance. Even those famous people from hundreds of years ago will gather to dance. How wonderful! These are not fanciful ideas. (203-57, 1990.6.14)
Naturally, husband and wife should love each other and they should pray for their children with love and sincerely care for them in order to create a happy and harmonious family. When this is accomplished vertically through three generations and connected horizontally with relatives, perfect love is established. Even cousins and second cousins should become one in love to form the perfect shape of love. (Blessed Family -- 947, Korean Edition)
If the quality of your character reaches the standard as having the value as God's object partner, you can inherit God's creative ability. You can instantly prepare a banquet for a million people in the spirit world. If you have a true heart of love that feels, "I have to feed these people," and if you have a mind of sincere love like God has, anything is possible. Therefore, in the garden of love, the person who during his life has trained to pace himself in swimming through all the waves of the world of love can even enter inside God. Why? Because the waves of true love are the same; there is no discord. (203-340, 1990.6.28)
From now on, many gatherings will be held at night. This is because we have to break up the realm of darkness. In order to do this, you should have a serious and sincere heart. (11-247, 1961.11.1)
How seriously have you prayed for me? How much did you really want to see me? If you truly desired to see me, prayed with deep sincerity, and desperately yearned for me, then just seeing me in the flesh would not be the issue. (23-52, 1969.5.11)
You should cry, longing for the True Parents who are in the position of God's substance. You should always want to see True Parents. You should want to serve True Parents even by making them a bowl of rice or by giving them a glass of water. You should always have such a sincere heart. Your heart should over-flow with tears.
In feeling this way, if you unite in heart centering on me and breathe together with me, you will come to understand the standard of my character, my past and my circumstances during the early days, which are the foundation of that standard. You will also be able to inherit and receive those things. (38-75, 1971.1.1)
If you become the loyal subjects and filial sons that history has never seen until today and become the people of faith who exert all of their heart and will and show the highest loyalty, and if there are more such people among us Koreans than any other people of the world, then I can guarantee that, without fail, these Korean people can represent the heavenly laws and stand in the position closest to heaven. Therefore, if you are trying to hold up the new signal light of faith as the new people and go before all people with the entire mission and responsibility, then you must be in the frontline before anyone else concerning demonstrating a benevolent heart or sincere heart, and you have to become more truthful than they. If there are such people of faith, then even if the history of restoration is prolonged, God will try to steer the dispensation centering on that person. Today, even if sin is spreading and the world is in confusion, if there is a person who holds up the new torch of faith in this manner, then that people could receive the calling from God who is trying to awaken this sleeping world.
Do you then have the voice that you can speak to this society? Do you have some power that can bring stimulation? If you are equipped with the tools that can become the foundation of this society and if you have some power to stimulate this society, then more than anyone else in history, you must exert yourself assiduously to awaken this society. Only when you can present and speak something new to this society with this kind of sincere and loyal heart, can you wake up from the world of darkness and enter the eternal realm of God's love. (Sermons Vol. 2-152, 1957.5.19)
I spend more time praying for members than praying for the sermon itself. I pray with sincere investment: "Heavenly Father! What must I do to raise these people? Is it this or is it that?" Then I give the sermon as my mind directs. (9-81, 1960.4.12)
Therefore, never be discouraged if a member falls away. When a member falls away, a very interesting phenomenon occurs: A person who resembles that person's character, speech, and even the way he walks, will join the church. From every angle, the new person who joins amazingly resembles the person who fell away, and yet he is much better. When you see such a phenomenon, you can understand that sincere investment and prayer are never lost. This is an absolute fact. (42-162, 1971.3.4)
You will never starve if you can tithe with sincere devotion. As a rule, your descendants will never suffer for want of material things. Invest your devotion in offering tithes; this is the essence of faith. Just offering it in a mediocre way will not work. An offering is something that you offer on behalf of your life. That is why you should offer the thing that is most important to you. (63-338, 1972.10.22)
When you make a donation on Sunday at the church, if children say: "Mommy, Daddy, money for donation, please...." would you say, handing any old bill, "Here, this is for your Sunday school." Is God a beggar? Is the church minister a beggar too? The church and the minister should not be treated that way. You should offer the core of your property for donations. You should prepare with a sincere heart and keep the donations deep in your safe until the time of offering.
In the fall, when you harvest grains, a tithe from what you reap must be separated and stored in a separate barn. Then, during the year, your children and relatives should gather together and humbly offer that tithe with sincerity and love. (166-71, 1987.5.28)
When you have the living experience that God is alive, then you will go out witnessing even if people tell you not to do so. Witnessing produces new things. If you have ten people in front of you, and you carry on a sincere conversation, then those ten people will become new people. After that, you should go to the church and pray and see what happens. Then, as they make progress, you will also be developing. You will be raised up. (30-154, 1970.3.21)
We must sincerely care for the second generation. It is very difficult to become pure in this fallen world. The first human beings fell even though they were in the unstained Garden of Eden. In spite of their suffering, the blessed parents born in the fallen world should make an unstained environment for their blessed children. It is my desire to prepare such an environment as quickly as possible for the second generation, no matter what sacrifices that may entail. We have to hurry. (God's Will -- 550, Korean Edition)
Each family should prepare a white cushion. They should prepare a clean and neat place, sit on that cushion, and take time to offer sincere devotion to God. (17-87, 1966.11.26)
The big problem is how the three generations of the children of our Blessed Families can live with me. If three generations together earn merit, they will be meritorious subjects in the spirit world. Have you ever thought about that? Thus, you should embrace your children and, from now on, devote yourself sincerely to educating your children with such an idea. (51-269, 1971.11.28)
The four-position foundation in the Unification Principle refers to the domain of three-generational love. When three generations live together happily in harmony, the ideal of creation is realized. Of course, husband and wife should love each other. In addition, they should pray for their children with love and take sincere care of them in order to create a happy and harmonious family. When this is accomplished vertically through three generations and connected horizontally through brothers and sisters, then perfect love is established. Even cousins and second cousins should become as one in love to form the perfect spherical shape of love. (Blessed Family -- 947, Korean Edition)
Who do you like most in your family? Your parents, right? Why do you like them the most? It is because they are in the closest position among those with whom you can sustain a love relationship throughout your entire life. The one you love next best would be your spouse. If the love shared in the relationship between a husband and wife is not a conditional love, but an unconditional love, then that love would be the best thing in a family, bringing happiness and harmony. This is the case even if that love may not be directly related with the eternal love of God. Finally, there is filial love for the parents. If children can sacrifice for and love their parents in a bright and positive manner, while longing for an ideal environment in which they can bloom as the hope of the future, their love will be a pure and sincere contribution to the their own happiness. A family in complete possession of the true parental love, true conjugal love, and true filial love will be the most ideal in the world. (Blessed Family -- 914, Korean Edition)
If you cannot experience heavenly love on earth, you are not able to enter God's Kingdom in the spirit world. Have you sincerely loved a Cain-type person? In order to go to the Kingdom of Heaven, your love should surpass the parental love and conjugal love of the satanic world. If the parents in the satanic world are able to die for the sake of their child, we should demonstrate a love that surpasses them. (Blessed Family -- 953, Korean Edition)
When we connect the events and circumstances of history, we cannot help but feel God's tearful heart and agonize over God's suffering. As a result, through our own sincere devotion, we are compelled to go toward the battlefield, determined to fight to restore our homeland and create the foundation for the liberation of the world with our own hands. My desire is for you to become this type of people, a people seeking the homeland of hope that we must find. (36-200, 1970.11.29)
When you move from the national to the worldwide level, you must invest and offer more sincere devotion than you offered for the nation. (289-208, 1998.1.2)
You must become one in heart with the True Parents. In seven years, you can accomplish all the things I have overcome during my lifetime through my sorrowful heart to save the world. It will not take seven years. Even if the opposition is rampant, everything can be finished in seven years. If you invest completely like I have, you can finish Home Church within seven years. What does that mean? It means that all the world's problems will solved in seven years. If our Unification Church members spread throughout the world, and if each of you works with 360 houses, it becomes a simple process. Therefore, sincerely invest your heart, so everything can come together. (122-117, 1982.11.1)
You must sow the seeds of life. With your utmost sincerity you should dig up the earth and level it, and then scatter the seeds of life. In ten or twenty years, that will become your branch, and suddenly you will notice that a nest has been built. As this grows bigger and bears fruit, enabling you to go to the heavenly nation, you will be able to go to the highest place in that nation, the place nearest to God! Amen. This is why we must breakthrough at the local level. (210-98, 1990.12.1)
Seeing that some members of our Unification Church were interested in running for office, I shouted furiously at them, "What on earth are you doing?" What might have happened if one of you ran for office? I even heard a report that the Republican Party asked for ten or so people to be nominated. The way to be influential is not through ruling the government. It starts from inside your home. The providence of salvation doesn't begin from the top. It begins in the family. The sincere investment and zeal of 30 million people has to land in all the families. That's why we have to breakthrough at the tong ban level. The district and town need to come down to the local communities and villages, and the local communities and villages need to come down to the home neighborhoods. For this reason, the base of all the Unification Church activities is each individual home. We must plant a seed there, and it will sprout a love greater than the love of your mother and father. There, a new shoot will sprout centering on the descendants who have the heart of future parents that is greater than their own heart, which will be planted within the realm of the family along with the heart of God. (208-160, 1990.11.17)
The things that I am saying are not my own. They belong to all people, to heaven and earth. I inherited the Father's tradition through love and following in his footsteps, I too should pass this on to all of you unconditionally in the name of True Parents. In giving these things to you, I am also giving you my flesh and blood, and my devotion.
Following this example of such a sincere heart, if you show the same heart towards your wife, your sons and daughters, and your villages and local communities and neighborhoods, then your tong ban breakthrough activities will be complete. (199-374, 1990.2.21)
You must do this work even if you do not have money. If you are short of money, you should sell your house. God will protect you and be responsible for your future only if you do so. Do not be dependent on having money or organizational structure. That is where the problem lies. Money that God is not happy with is poison and will bring you to ruin. You need to devote yourself sincerely. From now on, you should work and shed more tears in this mission than you have shed in the church. It is that simple. I am telling you to weep more for the unification of North and South Korea than while praying at the church. (166-183, 1987.6.5)
Do our political leaders love the nation? Politicians do not care about what is going on in the nation, but just fight to get the presidency. Just let them try and do it! Everything will just fade away eventually, dissolving like bubbles, because they do not have the heart to sincerely live together with the people. If a leader cannot love the people, then he cannot escape the judgment of his people and history. (148-275, 1986.10.11)
From now on, don't keep quiet. When people gather around, try teaching for seven years as I taught you for seven years in the 1950s, without sleeping more than two hours a night. You don't have to do this for seven years. It won't take four years, either. It will all be done within four months. When I return to my homeland, I will unite it in an instant. Therefore, you must teach your parents well. Also teach your brothers and sisters clearly the true significance of these words. You must teach this yourself, without the help of others, with your own blood and sweat. You will become the precious uncles, younger siblings, older sisters, and sons and daughters when your parents, older brothers and sisters, younger brothers and sisters, and nieces and nephews follow the model of the sincere attitude you have when you are teaching. (185-116, 1989.1.3)
I am more excited by a fallen person who is prepared to cast aside all fears of death and danger in order to confront grave global issues sincerely and earnestly than by someone who has toiled unremittingly over a prolonged period. Whoever ends their life for God in this way is assured of going to a wonderful place in the spirit world. (18-280, 1967.6.12)
Although you are attending parents who are not your natural parents, you are the people that seek to attend the Parents, centering on God, even more sincerely than you would your natural parents. On top of that, despite having our own country, we are the people that seek to live for the sake of God's nation with loyalty, filial piety, and virtue. (47-81, 1971.8.19)
Consider God's children who have the kind of loyalty that they are prepared to die even when the environment is not right. If those children stand up when the time and environment are right, what will happen to them? The more active they are, the more they will be honored. Do not falter on your path. You have to have the mindset that you were born for this purpose, and this is the only work you are supposed to do. If you maintain your devotion and sincerity for a year, two years, three years, and more, you will be elevated more and more in proportion to the time period you spent. (156-12, 1965.11.2)
Your loyalty will be immortalized by your descendants, and when you go to the spirit world, you will be commended for your merits of your efforts. The age of indemnity has now passed, and from now, you will be able to establish a bright tradition commensurate with the level and extent of your activities. This will become your estate. Let us devote ourselves to our task with utmost sincerity, knowing that we are placed in such a point in time. (38-126, 1971.1.3)
You must have a friend whom you can trust with a sincere heart in God's stead. Furthermore, you need siblings, parents and spouses whom you can trust on His behalf. In so doing, you are to transcend the family to embrace the society, nation and world. This was God's cherished desire, yet He drove individuals into situations of mutual distrust and despair of humanity in order for them to find faith in Him. In this way, He wanted believers to come together as siblings and friends to forge bonds enabling them to trust each other on His behalf. It is none other than this that was His greatest hope. (4-146, 1958.3.30)
Now is the time to mobilize your ancestors. You must mobilize them to cooperate with you, and in order to do so you need to clearly understand the contents and structure of the spirit world and how returning resurrection takes place. Then you should become the flag-bearers to set the direction and become an example for your ancestors who are devoting their utmost sincerity. The physical world stands as the elder brother -- it must become the example. Do you understand? Hence, do not think that you are doing this alone. If you mobilize your ancestors they will help you. (370-132, 2002.2.19)
It is a serious problem of how three generations of Blessed Families' children can live together with me. If the three generations can become loyal subjects, they can be the loyal subjects that never existed until this time in the heavenly world. Have you thought about this? Therefore, from now on, you must embrace and educate your children and make a sincere effort to implant such a thought into their minds. (51-269, 1971.11.28)
You must go beyond the individual Golgotha, the family Golgotha, and Golgotha on the tribal, people, and national levels, and then move toward the worldwide Golgotha. God does not want to stand us in front of Him and then go forward. Instead, God has stood in the forefront up to now. He has pioneered the path we are to walk and then has called us to come. If you are unable to walk this path, you will perish. You are bound to perish. Even if you should die thousands or ten thousands of times, you must go this path. On the day that the original homeland is created by the hands of Koreans, the people of the world will look up to us as the people of the homeland.
We are continuing on, even today, toward the garden God desires to see. We have joined together to prepare to continue on our way to that garden tomorrow. Therefore, you must clearly know that going this way by offering our strength and sincere dedication, and considering it more precious than anything in the world, is the purpose of our lives that we received at birth. (155-53, 1964.10.6)
Devote yourself sincerely (51-269, 1971.11.28)
I am to offer such devotion as to liberate God who doesn't sleep or rest while going on His eternal path of circulation. As one man in a small country, Korea, offering Jung Sung in order to enter the heart of the Father who represents Heaven and earth; when you feel that your offering is even only one millionth of the Heavenly standard, although you may be offering endless Jung Sung, and when your heart wants to offer even more Jung Sung instead of retreating satisfied when more blessings come, that heart is what is so precious.
What is that heart? That heart is something I have prepared for the sake of the liberation of the eternal world. What I am saying is what the heart is. One who can't prepare it will have to remain at his own level. There is no way to liberate him even if somebody should lament and go through difficulties for his sake. There can't be liberation unless one pays his own indemnity in the spirit world, and this will necessitate even more indemnity, once one is in the spirit world, than one would have needed to prepare while on earth for that liberation. You absolutely must realize that preparation for the realm of liberation is thousands of times faster on earth than in the spirit world. Therefore, it is a fact of immense significance that you, as a mere finite human being and co-worker, could offer Jung Sung and build an inseparable relationship of love with God's highest standard, that is, His desire of Shim Jung, before the end of your life on earth. Do you understand? This is the way you should think.
Therefore, your life is not just yours. Think about God's situation, and about the degree of God's Jung Sung that He will continue to give until the eternal liberation of humankind. When we think about this, we cannot help but be concerned about God, and continue to pray, and to pour out our own Jung Sung to God. By doing so, even when we die, we are going to the spirit world where, bonded with God, the realm of liberation in the spirit world will have been broadened because we loved, and poured out our Jung Sung while in the physical world. When we think about this, we realize the fact that the path after knowing God's will, will not be easy or comfortable.
You offer Jung Sung for the sake of yourself and your family; however, your family in turn should be an offering of Jung Sung as a representative of the whole world. You must always keep clear in your mind that being in the position of a living offering is the way for all Blessed couples to achieve the realm of the liberated perfection…
For this reason, it is the loyal citizen, more than the filial child, who lives for the sake of the whole, and greatly loves and devotes Jung Sung for the nation. I am saying that he loves. The same holds true for the saint. It is centering not on the nation, but on the world, that the saint tries to offer Jung Sung and to love the people of the world. The way of the Divine Son is to offer Jung Sung centering on Heaven and earth, and he is to love Heaven and earth. It is from this that the stages and differences between the way of the saint and that of the Divine Son emerge. (Public Venue, 1999.1.5)
1 Moon, Hyung Jin. A Bald Head and a Strawberry. Tarrytown, NY: Sincerity Publications Inc, 2004, pp. 29-31.
2 Moon, Hyung Jin. A Bald Head and a Strawberry. Tarrytown, NY: Sincerity Publications Inc, 2004, p.64.