The Words of Young Oon Kim
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The Words of Young Oon Kim |
God is good, His purpose of creation is good, and He is carrying out the providence of restoration for the good of all mankind. Therefore, it is illogical to think that Gad ever predestines anyone to suffer or to perish. What God really predestines is His Will for mankind, which is eternal and unchanging.
In order to fulfill His unchanging Will, God chooses and calls individuals successively to carry out divergent missions fitting into His overall plan, just as a craftsman selects the appropriate materials to fit into various parts of the whole work. Naturally, in selecting people for specific missions, God assesses the spiritual heritage (ancestral background), personal traits, nature, and environment of the individual.
In assigning the work to specific individuals, God divides the responsibility for carrying out the task between Himself and man. When man fully cooperates with Him and accomplishes his part, God's responsible part becomes effective. Even after God has chosen someone for a specific mission, God's will can be left unfulfilled if the individual fails in his part. This has happened over and over again throughout history.
Man is not created as a machine, but with freedom of will and action and also with wisdom, the ability of rational judgment. So man is free either to cooperate with God or not. In carrying out his mission, man must exercise correct judgment in all important situations. In so doing, he will fulfill the five percent of his responsibility. At these times, God does not guide or intervene, but leaves man alone to do his part, Adam, Cain, Ham, Abraham, and Moses were left alone in every situation when they had reached that point at which they had to use their own wisdom to judge and decide.
When the apostle Paul was called on the road to Damascus, he responded wholeheartedly. It was not the miraculous call of God, but Paul's wholehearted response and his total commitment to the call which made God's call effective. Many times Paul was attacked by doubts, depression, and perplexity and felt left alone, but he overcame all situations because he used wisdom the ability of sober judgment. "The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see it there are any that act wisely, that seek after God." (Psalms 14:2) "They have a zeal for God, but it is not enlightened." (Rom 10:2)
When John the Baptist's disciples asked Jesus: "Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?" (Mt 11:3), Jesus replied: "Go and tell John what you hear and see." Whether to believe in Jesus or not depended entirely upon John's own judgment, upon his wisdom. So Jesus said with regard to John, "Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds." (Mt 11:19c)
God loved Jacob and "hated" Esau in their mother's womb (Rom 9:11-13). Why? Because God had chosen Jacob for a specific mission. However, if Jacob had failed to fulfill his mission, God's choice would have been nullified. When Esau fulfilled his part, God could not refuse him but blessed him also. Both Jacob and Esau overcame their problem by wisdom and fulfilled their parts.
After one accepts the Divine Principles, spiritual gifts are often taken away and phenomena are seldom given. Why? The message itself is priceless, and the amount of indemnity to be plaid for it is great.
Why should we expect to receive more? There is another reason. We are running our ultimate course, which we must walk alone with sweat and tears without outside help. We are fulfilling our responsible part, and therefore it is we who must lead those in spirit. They are dependent on us for their growth to perfection. We are to teach them what to do. During this final growth period, God is not going to teach us what to do. In such a situation, we must use our wisdom, sober judgment, and think all problems through in a rational way. Our goal is not far. The bright sun will soon come out from behind the clouds when we fulfill our 5%.
"The words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end. Many shall purify themselves, and make themselves white, and be refined; but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand; but those who are wise shall understand." (Dan 12:9b-10)
"For by the grace given to me I bid every one among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith which God has assigned to him." (Rom 12:3)
"Enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few." (Mt 7:13-14)
Let us be the few wise ones who know why the way is hard and the gate is narrow!