About our eternal life

Chung Hwan Kwak
April 1987

When we think about the physiological or biological aspect of life, we find it is filled with mystery. We can perceive things like color, odor, size, and texture without a moment's hesitation. It seems impossible to understand how we can do all of this, yet we can easily agree that life itself is very powerful and profound.

However, I don't want to talk about this aspect of life, but rather our eternal life, the life that comes from God. At the moment of our birth, we were given not only physiological life but the spiritual life element or the original life element. Biological life functions only as a base, a vehicle for the spirit to dwell in. The main essence of man and the main power of man come from this spiritual life element that he receives from God.

Sometimes we experience feelings of tremendous joy welling up from inside our heart, or a special feeling of gratitude, or a deep awareness of harmony and peace. In these moments we feel absolutely selfless and without any emotion of hate. This selfless, pure, and giving feeling doesn't allow us to be in conflict with any person; rather we feel like loving and embracing everyone. The intensity of this kind of feeling, of course, varies from person to person, but generally speaking, a person of faith will definitely know these emotions to some degree.

It is hard to explain the link between these most inner feelings and the physiological functions of our body that involve movement, circulation, respiration, etc. But our inner spiritual life -- our life of loving, empathizing, caring -- is our true life. These kinds of emotions are not dependent on the environment. Of course, we can't deny that our surroundings bear a certain influence on our feelings and behavior, but our feelings normally go far beyond our temporary circumstances.

If humankind hadn't fallen, original men and women would be constantly sharing the most noble and loving emotions. In the process of restoration, we must ultimately restore these emotions and live a true way of life. We are born into the historical era of True Parents, and it is because of their tremendous victories over Satan that we are able to restore our true life level fully.

Developing a deep heartistic relationship with True Parents means engrafting into the true life element. Our commitment must go way beyond signing membership, attending Sunday service, having a certain mission, or working in a certain department. We need to focus internally on creating and deepening our relationship with Father and Mother. But how can this be done?

True Parents are truly the source of true life. When we see True Parents or listen to Father's speeches, many times we feel joy inside and feel drawn to True Father without being able to explain why. This is indeed the impulse of our inner life. All people have this spark of true life within them even though it may not be developed.

In developing a deeper relationship with True Parents, I'd like to remind all members to check your inner life over and over again and answer for yourself: "To what degree do I love True Parents and God?" Find out how long you are able to maintain a peaceful and pure heart. Determine how constant and embracing your heart is when you are with others. This is the measure of the element of true life that has blossomed within you. If you can sustain this kind of loving heart, you won't have any problem with your faith.

For example, if our body is well, we automatically enjoy and can assimilate our food. The same is true with our spiritual life -- if our spirit is strong and healthy, it never stops growing and we continually enjoy giving and receiving true love.

Because we dwell in a fallen environment and have fallen nature, we still live under Satan's dominion even though we may have received the Blessing. Thus, we feel like we are living under a cloud. Even though the sun is shining brightly and unchangingly, it is difficult for us to connect with it, to feel the sun is really there. In other words, we don't automatically grow in our spiritual life; we have to penetrate that layer of cloud.

We need, above all else, prayer and meditation to strengthen our connection to God. By doing so we can eliminate the clouds surrounding our spiritual life. If we can have an experience of deep meditation and prayer, we will be able to reach True Parents, God, and the true life level more easily. We will be able to break through all the barriers of impurity that surround our original pure life.

Our form of prayer may vary: We can meditate while walking alone in the street or in the mountains, or we can go to some holy place separated from the world. But all of us definitely need this kind of deep prayer experience often.

Another point to check over and over again is our motivation. Is the motivation for our thinking, planning, working, eating, or talking always centered on God and True Parents? If we can focus on them 100 percent, our spiritual life will grow rapidly. We will then be able to break away from worldly concerns more easily and experience a skin-touch relationship with Heavenly Father and True Parents.

To experience this kind of relationship even once is very valuable, because once you have it, it is easy to reach that same depth of relationship again. Everybody can have unforgettable, amazing life experiences that are bright, powerful, sweet, and deep. When you feel peaceful and loving in your heart and mind, you will definitely get an urge to approach others and share your love with them.

Lastly, try to keep a selfless heart at all times, because if your mind dwells on worldly concerns, you will never have any of these experiences. Material worries and anything related to personal gratification are deadly for the spirit.

Recently I felt more and more how precious and important it is to have a true life level relationship with True Parents and God. If you reach that level quickly, you won't be subjugated by your daily schedule or become tired. You will be able to go far beyond those limitations and never feel fatigued, enjoying your daily activities fully.

You know the difference between reading one of Father's sermons and listening to him directly; the taste is completely different. Father always shares true life with us substantially, bodily. When you are working in your home church area, if you act from the true life level within you, you will make a strong and deep impact on other people's lives and receive a wonderful response from them wherever you go.