This is an excerpt from Rev. Pak's book, "Joymakers" (Accord, 1993, available from HSA Publications, 212-997- 0050-xt 251)

The two Greek words translated as forms of the verb "to bless" are eulogeo, "to speak well of," and makarios, "joyful and happy." Sometimes eulogeo has the sense of praying (Matt. 5:44), giving thanks for food (Matt. 14:19, 26:26; Mark 6:41, 14:22), or praising God (Luke 2:28, 24:53; 1 Cor. 14:16; James 3:9).

Makarios is normally translated as "blessed (is)" or "blessed (are)." The meaning of makarios is gladness, joy, and happiness-a joy and happiness of a very divine and holy nature. The blessing of this joy and happiness is not only temporal; it transcends our physical life and is connected to our eternal, spiritual life. There is no worry, no anxiety-only peace in this joy and happiness. It is infinite, noble, good happiness that has as its source a divine, Godly life. The original Greek meaning includes external development or prosperity based on the fruits of moral character.

Makarios brings us the understanding that sin is the source of our unhappiness. In order to be joyful and happy, we need to be healed of sin. Salvation and perfection involve being cleansed of our fallen, sinful nature and receiving our true divine character. To be truly harmonized or connected with makarios is a source of real joy and happiness. Fulfilling makarios in our life is true faith and true love.

The first blessings God gave to humankind are recorded in the first chapter of the Bible:

"And God blessed them, and God said to them, `Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.' " (Gen. 1:28)

The three primordial blessings are: (1) "be fruitful," (2) "multiply," and (3) "have dominion." Through these blessings, God endowed humankind with three great gifts: (1) the gift of having the potential and purpose-as evident in our structure and function-of existing in complete unity of being with God; (2) the gift of being created in the complementary dualities of man and woman, masculine and feminine, for the multiplication of joy and to populate the earth with God's sons and daughters; and (3) the gift of having the potential to act as lord over creation in full harmony with God's purpose and the creation's potential.

We call these the Three Great Blessings, for their significance has never been lost, from Eden, to Noah, to Jesus, to our day. They are the eternal, immutable will of God for humankind. They are the basis and standard of blessing. As we shall see, all the blessings God has given to humankind are deeply related to this first utterance of the Father to His children.

People can receive the totality of God's love only through fulfilling these three primordial blessings. These blessings are connected to our very nature as human beings, the very nature of creation, and our relationship with all things. Essentially, our search for love has been the search for the fulfillment of those Three Blessings, the restoration of our lost selves and the lost Garden.

Whenever God made a new species of creation, He saw that "it was good" (Gen. 1:4-31). The very act of creating implies resemblance. The artist feels the deepest joy and satisfaction when the finished work of art closely resembles the ideal he had in mind, when it best expresses his heart and feelings. We can see in the might and vastness of the sea the reflection of God's awe-inspiring power. The mysteries of the night sky reveal something of the hidden jewels of His character. Both the rich, queenly, red rose and a simple sunlit daisy accurately reflect aspects of His boundless diversity.

After creating a universe replete with symbolic representations of His being, God finally created humankind in His own image, resembling the pattern of His own character, with tremendous potential. Man and woman were to be the greatest reflection of God, the crowning glory of His creation. In them was to be embodied all the beauty, all the wisdom, and all the virtues that the rest of the creation only partially revealed. They were to be the living images of God on the earth, walking in the Father's footsteps. Therefore, when God created Adam and Eve, He gave them Three Great Blessings: "Be fruitful and multiply ... and have dominion..." (Gen. 1:28). Had these blessings been fulfilled, the joy of God and humankind and the universe would have been immeasurable, eternal, and constantly evolving toward greater and greater heights of glory.

These primordial blessings were lost due to the human fall. We have only to look at the state of our families and the state of our environment to see that the loving relationships between men and women and the loving husbandry God intended for us to exercise over the garden have been gravely impaired. God's children fell into ignorance and darkness, completely undermining their potential for achieving God's purpose for them. Still God has never given up His original intent (Is. 46:11) for humankind to fulfill the Three Great Blessings. Thus He prepared for the advent of a Messiah to save His children.

As fallen people we cannot fulfill these blessings on our own. The fundamental breakdown of the relationship between humankind and God can be healed only through a God-sent mediator, the Messiah or Christ. Jesus Christ comes to take up the cross of humankind's sin, in order to save humankind. He comes to fulfill the blessings that Adam and Eve failed to accomplish, and to lead all humanity to do the same.

Had Jesus been accepted by the leaders and people of His time, He would have acted as the supreme role model in showing humankind how to fulfill the Three Great Blessings. This means He would have shown us 1) How to become one with God, 2) How to form harmonious, joyful marriages and raise children of goodness to form a community of love that would eventually embrace the whole world, and 3) How to establish a harmonious give and take with the creation.

Tragically, Jesus was crucified and thus prevented from accomplishing this primary will of God. Instead He brought us the benefit of spiritual salvation. The ultimate fulfillment of the Three Great Blessings, however, was prolonged for 2,000 years.

Today, Jesus has called upon and anointed the Reverend and Mrs. Sun Myung Moon to act as His representatives in renewing these Blessings to humankind in preparation for the new millennium. The time is at hand when men and women, together with God, can finally fulfill the joyous vision which God intended from the beginning of creation. The gates to the Kingdom of Heaven are open, and God is calling His beloved children to enter.

Blessed are those who hear His call, and happy are those who enter.

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