Raising Children in God's Will |
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by Rev. Sun Myung Moon |
Section 1. God's Will
What is God's Will? It seems to be a very simple question but actually it is a very difficult question. I asked one theologian to explain to me the Will of God and he said to me, "It seems like a very simple question but actually it is very difficult to explain." Of course he is right. So what does Rev. Moon of the Unification Church think that God's Will is? We have to give an explanation concerning the Will of God. This is an absolute necessity. The reason for this is because God is the origin of the whole Providence of Salvation and is the central point of unity and the driving force of providential history. So I think that giving a conclusive definition of the Will of God is of the utmost importance.
So what is God's Will? It is to realize His ideal of creation, which is to complete His purpose for creating the universe. It is simple. So what is God's Will? It is to realize the Purpose of Creation. God did not create the universe without a purpose; He definitely had a purpose. So it is natural that God's Will is to realize His Purpose of Creation.
Who was the center of the Purpose of Creation? It was Adam and Eve. This is why, in the Unification Church we say that God's Purpose of Creation is to realize His ideal of creation. So why did God create the universe? It was to realize His ideal centering on Adam and Eve. And we say that this ideal is to establish the Four Position Foundation.
Then what is the Four Position Foundation? It is for Adam and Eve to become absolutely one with God so that even if they tried to leave the realm of God's love they could not. They would attend God above, in the position of Father, and on the earth they would be the central family standing in the position of being the ancestors of humankind and be the unified starting point of love. Then the position in which Adam relates to Eve, which would be realized by following the ideal that God had when He created Adam and Eve, would be the position of united love.
If God's Will had been realized centering on God's love and if Adam and Eve had become husband and wife and had children who in turn had realized the love which would have enabled the parents and children to become one, then the Adam cultural sphere would have been established.
There would not be the countless races and tribes that we see in the world today. Also culture would not have been formed by the tangled mess of history. There would be one race. And there would be one cultural sphere, which would have arisen from one ideology. From the point of view of culture, there would be one historical root and all the customs would be the same.
If they had done that, then the family would have multiplied into the clan, the race and the nation, all within the realm of God's love. Which in turn centering on Adam's family would have expanded into the world. Then God's ideal world based on the Adam culture and thought would have been established. And what would this world have been centered on? God's love. Then with God above as the Father, all humankind would have been like brothers and sisters. Like a fruitful tree of love, the roots would have become the trunk, the trunk the branches, the branches the leaves and this world would have been like one body of God's love and thus the eternal ideal world would have been realized. This is a summary of our worldview from the point of view of God's Will. (110-213)
1. The Four Position Foundation
The purpose of creation can only be realized when the Four Position Foundation is completed. The first is the perfection of the individual and the second is the completion of the reciprocal foundation.
Man has an emotional side, love and family, and a mission side such as work. If a person doesn't have both of these things in the world of existence, he is like a dead person.
Jesus is the break in the line of the Three Objective Purpose of God, Adam and Eve. This means that because Jesus didn't have any children he couldn't stand in an upright position in front of God. (19-21)
When a man and a woman become one body through true love, their relationship as a couple becomes inseparable; then eternity exists there. This is what the Unification Church thinks about the family. Do you understand? [Yes]
So we are looking for this kind of family. Because we are seeking for this type of family the Unification Church teaches that the Providence of Salvation is the History of Restoration, and the Providence of Restoration is the realization of the Purpose of Creation. And we can say that the Purpose of Creation is the complete fulfillment of the Four Position Foundation. Then everything centers on the family. If there is no family there can be no proper tradition. How can you inherit tradition without the family? [You can't] What can't you inherit without a family? Money? No, you don't need a family to inherit money. Power? No, you don't need a family to inherit power. You can't inherit love without a family. This is why you need to know about the Four Position Foundation. Do you understand what I am saying? [Yes]
Then what is the Four Position Foundation? Men and women both have minds and bodies. This is the Four Position Foundation. You have a spirit man and woman and you have a physical man and woman. What does the spirit man represent? It represents the vertical. It is a vertical concept. (187-47)
As a husband and wife it is only when we gain the victory with our children, together as a family, that we can say for the first time that we are a family that has realized the ideal and purpose of creation. It is only after the father and mother have become one and then the children and parents have become one that a perfect Four Position Foundation is formed.
God has not been able to find one such family on this earth. There has been no family, there has not even been an individual who has been able to overcome the power of Satan. Unificationism teaches that this purpose is not achieved by the individual alone; it can only be achieved in the family together with the children. (52-307)
2. If the Standard of the Four Position Foundation is Realized
What must fallen man seek for? We must seek for God and God's love. If Adam and Eve had completely become one, centered on God, then because they had become one with the absolute being, even from a relative position, their love would have become absolute. If that had happened, then sons and daughters born in that absolute realm of love would have received absolute love and would have remained naturally in the realm of God's love. In the absolute realm of love there is no conflict or high or low, and when they enter the position of complete obedience they would have received God's absolute love. Then their sons and daughters would have grown up in the peaceful realm of God's love, In that kind of atmosphere, parents and children could have lived in harmony and praised God's love. This is what in the Unification Church we call the true standard of the Four Position Foundation. It is the multiplication of ideal families. What would happen if the mother, father and children become one and realize the True Four Position Foundation? If the mother and father become one centered on God's love, then the children automatically become one. Do you see?
If the mother and father are at this standard centering on God, A and B are the same and C and D are the same, and E, F, G and H are all the same. If A is absolute, then what about B, C, D and E? [They are absolute] The same applies to F, G and H. They are all absolute. So when God's absolute value is made absolute three-dimensionally then this is the realm of the Kingdom of Heaven.
3. The Law of Love Based on the Four Position Foundation
The theory of the Four Position Foundation applies to all universal principles. So if something, be it internal or external, can't have give and take action centering on the vertical and horizontal then the foundation for existence cannot be established. If there is no pivotal axis then everything will be dissolved. We need an axis. (181-186)
What is the root of Heavenly Love? Somebody has to love before "I" can exist. In other words, the parents' love has to exist first. Next, if "I" am to remain, then I have to have conjugal love. This has to happen for children's love to come out. These are the Three Great Loves. So parental love, conjugal love and children's love all appear in God's love. These three great loves for humankind have the eternal actual reality and authority, which can transcend the absolute. So when these three great loves join together, then man can become happy. When they are all complete, then happiness is complete. If they are lacking, then unhappiness arises.
Do you think a person without a mother is happy? A person is unhappy to the extent that he doesn't have his mother. Do you think you can be happy without a father? A person who has lost his father envies a person who has a father.
In order for happiness to exist, there should not be any kind of envy. You can't be happy without a father and you can't be happy without a mother. No matter how big a person's scale of thinking is or how loud he can shout, he still needs a woman. He needs a wife. If, after an interesting married life, the husband passes away first, then the wife cries. You can't do without a man and you can't do without a woman.
Next, no matter how loving a couple may be, what happens if they don't have any children? Are they happy? [Unhappy] Do you need only sons? No, you need sons and daughters. And if the couple only has one son and daughter, what happens? The son needs an older sister and brother and the daughter needs an older brother and sister. They also need younger brothers and sisters. If they don't have all of these they are unhappy. God protects the family where the younger brother and sister and the older brother and sister become completely one. This becomes the foundation for the clan, the tribe, race and nation.
So how many people are needed? I have a father, mother, an older brother and sister and a younger brother and sister. [Seven people] This is why we call the number seven the number of perfection. You must know that perfection here refers to love. Why is the number seven the number of perfection? Why do Christians say the number seven is the completion number for the creation of the cosmos? It is because seven contains these contents within it. The number three is the number of heaven and the number four is the number of earth. The number three here means my father, mother and me. Then what does the number four mean? It is adding younger brothers and sisters to the number three mentioned above.
Since the beginning of human history, has there been anyone who has realized true love centered on his parents, true love centered on his spouse and true love centered on his brothers and sisters? True love is an absolute necessity. I said that we need seven centering on true love, didn't I? You must know that the number seven is the number of completion. The Father, Son and Holy Ghost represent Adam and Eve centered on God. Parental love replaces heaven and earth. The father represents above and below, namely the connection of vertical love. From your point of view, this means your older brother and sister are east and west and your younger brother and sister are north and south. If this is established, then three dimensions start to exist. This is the law of love. So there is nothing that is not governed by all the laws, mathematical principles and formulas in science. The law of God's love, the original concept of the principle of creation, arises from this. When the law of love is properly established, then the beginning of peace will be realized. (20-40)
4. The Need for the Family
Why do we need the family unit? It is because Satan can never invade it. This is why the family unit is an absolute necessity. If the family becomes completely one and with your parents you shout, "God, I was born to fulfill your will. You have to come and live with us." Don't you agree? Then God will say, "Yes, you are right!" (135-37)
People must have a family. Centered on the family we can say that there are parents, children and things (of creation). Then, what is needed to expand the vertical history of the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Completed Testament horizontally? We need parents, children and things of creation. This means parents, children and the things they own. These are what are needed inside the family unit. (29-157)
The ideal of the Unification Church is nothing more than this. The start is the family, the conclusion is the family. Until now no one has dealt with this problem, so this is our hope. The reason is this is where we can find true happiness. Unificationism is the systematization and universalization of this principle. And by doing this we will gain official recognition. Accordingly, if everyone is persuaded by Unificationism and bow their heads before the principle concerning God's family of love, then the world will become unified. (26-103)
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