Good morning, it's nice to see you again. I'd like to start by asking you a question. How old is God? If we are His children, shouldn't we know His age? There is a way to discover God's age. I will explain: how do you count your age? You begin to exist in your mother's womb, but you don't count that, do you? No, you count from the time you left the womb. We can apply the same method to God. Before God did any creative work, it was as if He was in the womb of the universe. Do you understand what I mean? So we can find out God's age by knowing how old the creation is. As a result of recent scientific developments we now know many things our forefathers didn't. Scientists have studied the universe and discovered that the oldest stars are some 12 billion years old, so this means that the universe and God are 12 billion years old. Do you understand? Before God started His creation there was no time. Time came to exist with movement. Without movement there is no time. So time began when God started His creation work.

Then what about the earth? We say that the earth is our mother, everything we need comes from it. Then how old is the earth? Scientists say it is about 4.5 billion years old. And how old are Adam and Eve? We are directly connected to God, the universe, the earth and the first man and woman, so we should know their age as well, don't you think? Scientists have worked hard to find out when man came into existence. Of course there is no accurate record, but most scientists assume that a being similar to man existed about 2 million years ago and that modern man first came into existence about 30 thousand years ago. So Adam and Eve are about 30 thousand years old.

Can you imagine how much time passed before modern man was created? It took an incredibly long time. The first man and woman are at most 30 thousand years old and the universe is 12 billion years old. Thirty thousand years is like a fraction of a second compared to 12 billion. After many long years of preparation God finally created mankind. You won't find this in the Bible, but this is what science reveals. Now we can truly understand how hard God worked to prepare for man. His constant desire was to create man; to accomplish His desire He had to work for almost 12 billion years. He had to work so hard and wait such a long time for the coming of the first man and woman. Maybe now you can understand how precious mankind must be to God.

If something only took you an hour to make, you might not value it so much. But if you worked on it your whole life long, investing everything into it, you would want to keep it forever, wouldn't you? Then what about God? He worked for 12 billion years to create the cosmos, the earth and mankind. Would He have done this for a temporary purpose or for eternity? What do you think? For eternity. Yes, God would want His creation to last eternally. He invested so much time and effort that He cannot throw it away easily. Everything was created to exist for eternity.

In order to exist for eternity things must exist in order and harmony, otherwise they cannot last. The universe God created is incredibly huge; we cannot count how many stars and planets there are in the universe; there are so many; We call this the macro-world. The heavenly bodies move together in such order and harmony that we can calculate their movements mathematically. When we examine the micro- world, the world of molecules, atoms and particles, we also see an incredible variety of elements existing in harmony according to the laws of quantum mechanics. Everything God created exists in harmony. The micro-world, this world and the macro-world all move in order and harmony. So man must exist in harmony with himself and his surroundings if he is to be a part of God's plan.

Everyone seeks happiness, it's human nature. Do you know anyone who doesn't? If he is sane, he will be seeking happiness. When man lives in harmony he can find peace, happiness and the ideal. Harmony exists only when everything follows the plan of the creator. So man can be happy only when he lives according to the plan or will of God. Search as he will, man will never find happiness if he separates from God's will. Thus we can conclude that God is the source of happiness. To many people this is just a religious phrase. Those who believe in God may believe it, but others don't. If people can understand that happiness comes from living in harmony with others and the world, they should be able to go one step further and understand that happiness comes from living according to the will of God and that for this reason God should be considered our prime source of happiness.

Our first ancestors should have been the happiest people. Their children should have inherited happiness from them and then passed it on from generation to generation to us. So our ancestors should be our second source of happiness. They lived in the past; our parents are the direct source of our happiness as they are the ones who gave birth to us. So God is the primary source of happiness, our ancestors the second and our parents the third. These three are the major sources of happiness. Other sources are our brothers and sisters and the people around us. Your spouse should also be a source of happiness for you, together with your children, your nation and the world. And we must become a source of happiness for others. God is man's primary source of happiness. Many people seek happiness in vain because they cannot find God in their lives; God isn't with them. That's the main reason. The second is that they don't have good ancestors. Many have bad ancestors who deviated from the course God planned for man and as a result cannot pass on any happiness. Our parents also failed to be exemplary parents; they cannot offer us true happiness either. These are the main reasons people have difficulty finding happiness.

We all need someone to restore the position of our parents. That is True Parents' mission. True Parents restore the position of original parents, who should have given us true happiness. True Parents are the starting point of God's restoration of our parents and our ancestors; they are the first people to have an original relationship with Him. Only through True Parents can we learn about God and connect deeply with Him. We must follow their example and become perfect in order to be a source of happiness ourselves. Perfection means living in harmony with oneself and others. Our mind and body should be in harmony, then we can live in harmony with other people and the creation.

Our spouse is another source of happiness. But how should we choose our spouse? What should we look for? Usually when people look for a spouse they consider external appearances only, but we know that the most important aspect is heart. Our spouse should be a righteous person. A person's goodness cannot be judged by their external appearance. A beautiful person is not necessarily a good person. It would be easy to choose if we could see the internal qualities, but a person's true nature or value can't be seen externally. In the fallen world they don't see the internal value, so they often judge by external appearances alone. This is a problem. They don't have eyes to see the internal quality of a person because their eyes are closed to God and the spirit world. Neither are they aware of the importance of ancestry. We are the fruits of our ancestors. Our ancestors' accomplishments are accumulated in each one of us. So if you make a mistake in choosing your spouse, you will be in trouble.

In the West you marry according to your own desire; you choose your own spouse by falling in love with someone and then marrying. In Korea it is different. The situation is changing nowadays because Korea has been influenced by Western thought, but in the past the parents would get together and look for a spouse for their child. I think the Jews did the same. They also arranged their children's marriages through a matchmaker. They were aware that each person is the fruit of their ancestors. Therefore when someone reaches marrying age in Korea, it is a serious matter for the whole family. They not only consider the individual, but the family tree or background as well. Consequently, the family tree is always carefully recorded. I think Korea is the only nation that keeps such thorough genealogical records, some are more than a thousand years old. Families treasure these records, studying them carefully to see what kind of ancestors they have: who they were and what they did. They realize how important it is to have good ancestors. Of course sometimes parents arranged a marriage with strategic or political motives, but that was an exception. If they were good parents they considered the future of their children and were serious about choosing the right spouse for them. They examined the ancestry of the candidates and then decided. I think this is an ideal way to get married.

In the future when everything is restored and all indemnity necessary for ancestral restoration has been paid, everyone will have good parents and ancestors. Then we won't have to worry what kind of ancestors one's spouse has; it won't be a problem anymore. People will choose their spouse according to their character, age, taste, etc. Most important though is that a couple fit each other. Father explained that people can be categorized into different groups; in symbolic terms, some people can be compared to trees, others resemble certain animals and so on. People from the same group should come together. If people from different categories come together, they cannot live in harmony. This will also have a bad effect on their descendants. The couple's future harmony must also be taken into consideration when matching. If someone belongs to the tree category, for example, he should find a wife from the same category. Then they can live together in harmony. Such things cannot be seen with the physical eyes alone, you need to see spiritually.

Your destiny can change through marriage, because you connect to another family and lineage. If you marry someone with good ancestors you can inherit that family's good fortune and your own burden will be lightened. If you marry someone with many evil ancestors though, you will connect to their evil fortune and have to pay indemnity for them. That could ruin your future. When you marry the right person, your ancestors' problems can be resolved. Your burden can be lightened by having a good spouse. Thus marriage is extremely important for man's destiny. This is the secret of marriage. If you were to choose your spouse yourself, you would always wonder if you chose the right one. When Father chooses you don't have to worry; you are relieved of this burden.

In Korea we have fortunetellers who calculate one's fortune using the date and time of one's birth. They are always amazed when we bring blessed couples to them. They wonder how such a matching could come about. It is normally quite difficult for them to suggest a good match, but when they see a couple Father has matched and calculate their fortunes and compatibility, they say it is a heavenly matching. It is impossible for them to imagine how such a wonderful match was possible. I know of members who were matched to the person they dreamt of before the matching. This is evidence that Father isn't just doing as he likes, but that he does everything according to certain laws. You should be proud to have been matched by Father. Your children can always say that their father and mother were matched by Father. This will be a source of pride in the future. Not just that you were matched by Father, but that it was a wonderful match. Your children will be born out of such a marriage and as we know, children are another source of happiness. You need good children in order to be happy. You and your spouse determine what kind of children you will have. All these things must be taken into consideration. Some people don't consider these things when they think of happiness. They only think about their spouse's external appearance. This is why they cannot find happiness and later want to divorce or separate, and even if they do stay together they have many troubles.

It is our responsibility as blessed couples, however, to preserve the Blessing we have received from True Parents. If you don't understand the true value of the Blessing you can easily make a mistake. I always feel that I not only gained a wife through the Blessing, but that I also gained God, True Parents and good ancestors. This is what I gained through the Blessing. When we have True Parents on our side we can restore our ancestors. Then they will be on our side. But what happens if we break our Blessing? We not only lose our spouse, but God, True Parents and our good ancestors as well. We lose all this.

God and True Parents' value cannot be compared to any man or woman. Members forget this all too often; they think the value of the Blessing lies in their spouse alone. They forget about God and True Parents. As a result they can easily forsake their Blessing. Once they do, however, it is very difficult to regain what they have lost. If they don't restore their mistake while on earth, they will regret it forever in the spirit world; it will be much worse than never having received the Blessing in the first place. Many blessed couples don't understand this though. How can you preserve the Blessing if you don't understand its meaning or value? You cannot lose your spouse; he/she is more important than your own life. If you clearly recognize this, you won't make a mistake. Otherwise Satan will steal your Blessing from you; those who don't understand its value are hardly worthy to keep it. Satan will claim it, saying "This doesn't belong to you." We must maintain our Blessing for eternity. If not for our sake, then at least for the generations to come, our descendants. It's important to be parents our children can be proud of. God doesn't want us to be shameful parents and ancestors, but proud parents. We must work together to accomplish this. This is why I said that harmony between husband and wife is so important.

God's plan can be divided into two aspects: one is the general plan for everyone and the other is the specific plan for each individual. What is His general plan? To achieve the three blessings. So we must become perfect, have a good family life, that is good relations with our spouse, and give birth to good children. What do we mean by good children? Do we mean children with a pretty face or a good heart? We mean a good hearted person, a person of good character and personality. God expects good children from us. Whether we have good children or not is up to us; children are replicas of their parents. We have lived in the fallen world for so many years that we have inherited many negative characteristics. It is difficult to change; but we don't want to pass our bad habits or fallen lifestyle on to our children. So we should have a new family life. Our children should be raised as a new generation, new people. This is God's desire. Actually it would be much easier for God if He could destroy all fallen people and start over again with new ones. He cannot do that though, so the new people must live together with fallen people, but they mustn't let themselves be influenced by them. We don't have our own schools, so we must send our children to public schools. We must maintain the new lifestyle and tradition despite our daily contact with fallen people. This requires great effort, we must work hard. If we live like ordinary people, we cannot change, nor can we establish the proper tradition for our children.

We must be good parents. Good parents are those that set a good example for their children. We are the closest to our children, so they will learn everything from us. Sometimes I am amazed when I watch a mother and daughter together. I find the daughter has similar habits and movements that she naturally learned from her mother. This demonstrates the powerful influence parents have on their children. If this goes the wrong way, however, it can be terrible. Our children learn from us without us even saying a word, so we must be extremely careful. We must become perfect in order to provide a good example for our children. If we cannot succeed in offering true life to our children they will be forced to seek other parents. This would be a tragedy. They won't be able to follow their own parents, but will have to follow others, just as we do now. We cannot follow our own parents; if we don't fulfill our responsibility our children will suffer the same fate. So we must be serious about passing on the right tradition to our children so they can have eternal happiness. We should be our children's gate to the Kingdom of Heaven.

This means that we should be able to bless them as our True Parents blessed us. We received the Blessing from our True Parents, so we should pass it on to our children. The Blessing should be passed on from generation to generation eternally. We should bless our children as God's couples and see that their children become children of goodness. We must be good grandparents; this means connecting three generations to God in order to ensure that the heavenly tradition is secure. It won't be easy, but our work isn't done until we've accomplished this. And we must do so before passing on to the spirit world. You are on the threshold of the first stage. So don't think that this is the end or something like that. This is just the beginning, a new start for your lineage. A new family record should begin with your family.

Sometimes we hear sad stories about the Blessing being broken. If we succeed in fulfilling the Blessing, new children will be born that will take the place of fallen people. Fallen people will have to retreat and the world will become a world of new people; Satan will lose everything. The Blessing is the turning point where Satan must begin to retreat. Thus he works very hard to destroy the Blessing. If he succeeds, God won't have a nation or people to work through and Satan will be able to keep this world as his. This is why he works so hard to keep couples from fulfilling their Blessing vows.

Man and woman are the physical manifestations of God's dual characteristics. God's dual characteristics are united within Him, so when you and your spouse are one, God's dual characteristics assume physical form and you can be one with God. God becomes your subject and you become His object. When man and wife are completely united God's spirit can dwell in their midst. So God and husband and wife form a trinity. God should always be with us. He wants to be with each couple, but if you are not united He cannot be with you. You can have good children when you are united because then God will be with you. So it is best to achieve unity with your spouse before starting your family. You must work together, one of you isn't enough. Begin with prayer. It won't be easy to achieve unity; you will discover that your spouse has many aspects you don't understand. Many things he/she does will appear strange to you. It takes time to understand one another, but you must understand and digest everything. Digest and unite. This is why prayer is needed.

We are blessed with the ideal and the love of God. Therefore we should love each other with the ideal and love of God. Pray to love each other; say in your prayer that you want to love each other. It won't come easily. Even prayer may be difficult at first. If you find some weakness in your spouse try to have the attitude that you want to make up for it. Help your spouse become an ideal person; he/she cannot do it alone. You must help each other become perfect by correcting and teaching one another. So love and complement each other. Don't expect your spouse to be perfect.

No spouse is 100% good; everyone has shortcomings and faults. If your husband or wife was already perfect and didn't need to be corrected, it wouldn't be very interesting for you. Sometimes you cannot even speak your spouse's language. Just like a baby, you cannot communicate. Then you have to teach your spouse as parents teach a baby. Through your effort your spouse can learn and your love can develop. When he or she doesn't know what to do sometimes, you can teach him. Through your love and care your spouse can grow and improve. Sometimes we bear people criticizing their spouse. That isn't right. We must take responsibility for our spouse's shortcomings. You shouldn't talk to other people about them, but keep such things to yourself and solve them as a couple. You must invest more of yourself in your spouse; as a result you will have a closer, deeper relationship and more love. Don't you think so? This is one reason Father matches international couples. Things fallen people consider obstacles can be catalysts that strengthen the bond of love between man and wife. So when you find some fault in your spouse, don't be discouraged or disappointed, but think that it is a good chance for you to help him or her improve and that through it you can have a closer and deeper connection to one another. This is what God wants to see.

When you unite you will be in the object position to God. God's desire will become your desire. That is the ideal state. Then you can ask God for the qualification of being the lord of creation. God created man to be lord over creation, but we lost this position through the fall. When we are completely united centered on God, we can ask God to fulfill his promise to give man the whole universe. Until then, however, we have no right to ask for this. So unity is our first goal. Then we can be an example for our children and other family members. This is God's desire and True Parents' desire for us. When we have many such couples, God's will can be realized quickly. God can give much power to such couples.

As I said earlier God's will can be divided into two main aspects: His universal will for everyone, i.e. fulfillment of the three blessings, and His plan for each individual. Each person has a different character, potential and ability, therefore there is something unique that God wants each person to accomplish. If someone is skilled at painting for example, he should become a painter. This is another aspect of the three blessings. We must try to fulfill the three blessings God gave man.

Happiness comes from harmony; and harmony comes when man lives according to the will of God. Happiness is the most valuable thing. If we lose it, we lose everything. That's why our motto this year is "The Creation and Building of the Fatherland". Why do we need a Fatherland? To protect the source of our happiness: God, True Parents, our ancestors and parents, our brothers and sisters, our spouse and children and our neighbors. None of these will be safe without the Fatherland. Father means Heavenly Father, it is Heavenly Father's land. God has no land or nation, so we must establish it. This will protect and ensure our harmony and happiness and the fulfillment of God's plan. This is our goal; all members and couples must work together to accomplish it.

Soon January will be over; one twelfth of the year will be gone. When we reflect upon what we have achieved this month, we see that we haven't done so much. What can we hope to achieve this year if we continue like this? We must be aware that each day is important and remember our motto. Our goal is to live in the Fatherland. We must find a home, until we do we remain wanderers, gypsies who must roam about like homeless refugees. We need a place to settle down if we don't want to wander forever. We must continue working for this purpose. Leaders bear the largest responsibility, but everyone must participate, This is not just the leaders' task, but everyone's. We must work together. Pray for True Parents and pray for help from the spirit world. We don't need so many revelations though. We know that the spirit world exists and that Jesus and Heung Jin Nim want to help us. We can work together with them even without receiving revelations. If you ask them for help, they will help. Just because you don't receive revelations doesn't mean they aren't helping you. No! God also wants to help us, but He can only come when we repent for our mistakes and pray for help to do His will. We must do these two things, then God will send good spirits to help us.

We need more people and we need to work together with the established Christian churches. God prepared Christianity for this time; but most Christians aren't aware of God's will at this time, so we must explain it to them. We want to work with them to accomplish our common goal, Heavenly Father's goal. This is why we visit priests and ministers. It is important to unite with the established churches. We should think of Jesus, who did such great work in the past, and ask him to help us. We need his help. Remember these points in your prayer, then you can fulfill your mission and responsibility this year.

Let us pray together:

Our loving Heavenly Father, we want to return to you. You are the source of everything; the source of love, peace and happiness. Thus it is most important that we live in your presence and unite with you. This is the central goal of our lives. We are so grateful that our True Parents are on earth. Without them we couldn't connect to you, nor could we receive blessings and happiness from you, Father. True Parents are the starting point of a new world, a new history and a new generation. We want to become their true children and inherit all your blessings from them so we can pass them on to our children from generation to generation. Then this world can belong to you and all good families forever.

Father, we came here to learn how to start heavenly families. We as couples truly want to unite with our spouses and build the kind of families you have longed for so long. We want to give birth to children of goodness and become exemplary parents and couples so that all people can learn from us and we can build your nation here on earth. We want to follow your will to the end and work together with our True Parents. We want to establish your ideal world on earth. We ask your blessing upon all the couples who will be starting families soon. Please, lead them and be with them that they may succeed in their lives. We want to invest ourselves everyday, Father. Please give us wisdom, power and energy to accomplish your desire in our daily lives.

We pray all this in the name of our True Parents. Amen.

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