Cheon Seong Gyeong: Episode 221

Chapter 1: What Is a Life of Faith
Section 2: The Purpose and Goal of a Life of Faith, 02-11

Reasons for living a life of faith

(2)  We human beings have a conscience and a physical body. The more we are pulled by the body, the more the body dominates us, and the more its desires control our life, the less powerful our center will be. If we follow the desires of the body, we will be pulled down to the point where the sphere of our conscience dwindles to zero. However, if we control the desires of the body, we can grow in our vertical faith. We have not yet grown spiritually to reach the standard of perfection before God. In order to reach that level, we need to do our utmost to offer conditions of devotion greater than any worldly love. Only when we invest greater love for God than our love for the world can we reach the completion level of the growth stage. Then by fulfilling our portion of responsibility centering on the realm of oneness, we can pass beyond the jurisdiction of the indirect dominion into God’s direct dominion, the realm of perfection. This view is based on the Principle.

(3)  The purer the religion, the stricter it is toward the body. For example, among Christians, Catholic priests and nuns lead celibate lives. This means they are expected to sacrifice themselves in order to serve others more. Christians encourage each other with ideas such as, "Seek to become the cornerstone, not just a brick in the upper wall" or "Become a pillar that holds up walls, not an ornamental facade on the gate." The Bible's teachings all go against the desires of the body. We cannot let our fallen mind and body do whatever they want to. This is why we do the opposite of what delights the body. It is because only then can the desires of the body be mastered. The highest and purest religion is the one that is best at leading believers away from bodily desires.

(4)  The path of faith we follow does not allow us to insist on our own personal opinions or concepts. Absolute faith has no concept of "I," "me," or "mine." When we say our faith is absolute, it means there should be nothing that holds us back. To become one with God we will need to put aside any insistence on our own view.  This means we unite completely with the desires of our subject partner, God.  Complete unity means we have no shred of desire to impose ourselves. In the path of faith, if circumstances allow us to egocentrically assert ourselves, it is not the kingdom of heaven. No matter how devout our faith, if we are in the position to pursue our own hopes and desires as we please, it cannot be the kingdom of heaven. Like me, you need to think seriously about this fundamental issue.

(5)  When someone faces insoluble personal problems, he or she needs to seek help from a senior, someone who is spiritually higher. The person should honestly report the situation and explain, "I do not exist for myself or live on my own; I exist for those who follow the One." Then if that spiritually higher person instructs him or her to go left, he or she should go left; and if that senior person says to go right, he or she should go right. Whether the spiritually higher person wants the person to go up or down, that person should do as asked. If he or she can say, "I am here at the command of my leader, not for my own sake," he or she will overcome all difficulties. That is to say, we need companions in our life of faith. People without companions are lonely people. Those who have companions can support and protect each other. They can find ways to overcome the challenges that arise in their life. Those with no companions have to resolve by themselves any problems that crop up. But this is truly a challenging task; problems assail us from every direction and we become unable to make it on our own.

(6)  Because the lives of fallen human beings began from Satan, unless we deny ourselves, we cannot be linked to God's life. Accordingly, there is no other way except to lay down our own life. At what point can there be unity between our life and God's life? This occurs at the point we are willing to give up our fallen life—that is, where we willingly go to the end, even to the extent of sacrificing our own life. This is why the path of faith is the path of living for the Will, the path of uniting with the Will even at the risk of our life.

(7)  When I hear you laugh while you're talking in your room, I can immediately sense whether your laughter brings something positive or negative to God. I can feel it. You too need to cultivate good habits and develop your spiritual senses.  Nothing in your surroundings is meaningless. Everything can be used as educational material, as a textbook for self-development. We need to have such an outlook on life. Then even when you are alone, you will not just act as you please. If you live with such an outlook on life, you will not mistreat anyone, whether an acquaintance or a stranger. You cannot treat a person casually simply because he or she is a stranger you meet for the first time. You really do not know who that person is. Therefore, in our life, we need to develop our spiritual senses by relating with our environment centered on the standard of heart. People who never fail to find meaningful value, and delight in any situation or incident, are no longer practicing a faith that is merely conceptual. Such people practice real faith. Their life of faith is to live together with God.

(8)  A life of faith must be fervent. Its fervor must exceed a hungry person's craving for food or the desperate heart of a lost child looking for his or her mother. This is because a life of faith pursues the goal of faith, which is not visible to the eyes. Is God's Will visible? God's Will remains invisible until it is realized through human beings. In the world around us, people plan, design, budget for, and then execute a project, but God's Will is neither visible nor tangible. It is difficult to seek for the invisible world and substantiate its objectives in reality. Your eyes can see only what is visible. You cannot feel, see, or hear what cannot be physically seen, felt, or heard. Your five senses necessarily enable you to feel, hear, and touch only what is perceptible in the physical realm.

(9)  What is the path of faith? If a person can sense something from the invisible world more strongly than from the visible world, that person will never be exhausted. The external world seeks for the visible and revolves around it, but the path of faith pursues what is invisible. Therefore, when you are so caught up in the external world that you lose sight of your spiritual goal and purpose, you will feel drained of energy in your life of faith.

Regaining the parent-child relationship with God

(10)  What should be the goal of Unification Church members in their life of faith? Their goal should be to walk the path of the cross, in the shoes of a servant, with the heart of a parent. We are unworthy to be considered even as servants. We have the body of a murderer who killed the Father. So we must walk the path to indemnify this. Jesus was innocent, yet he walked that path. Therefore, we sinners who actually killed the Father should walk this path a hundred times, even a thousand times.

(11)  You desperately appealed to God with a sorrowful heart, yet you could not find Him. It is due to the Fall that you could not find God. It is due to the Fall that human beings could not establish a parent-child relationship with God or a relationship of love with Him based on the heavenly norm. Therefore, we need to understand the causes and circumstances of the Fall and clearly reveal the identity of Satan. Only then can we human beings be restored to our original position. We do not need a lip-service parent-child relationship or even one just based on a covenant. We need to recover a living parent-child relationship with God. Even if our bones and flesh melt, and we have to endure excruciating pain, it is only when we invest all our heart and mind for His Will and bring victory that this can happen.