Cheon Seong Gyeong 486
Did anyone watch Adam and Eve dancing naked in the Garden of Eden? So, when there is no one else around, you can do such things. When a husband and wife dance naked in the room, is this something to worry about? But if they do this in front of others, they deserve censure from society. But if done just between a husband and wife, who will care if they dance naked or what else they do? So blessed couples, you can go ahead and dance naked. What does it matter when a husband and wife do it just between themselves? (21-236, 1968.11.24)
Cheon Seong Gyeong 919
What is the path of a divine son? ‘Divine son’ indicates something vertical. It is talking about the vertical concept of connection to God. ‘Saint’ is horizontal with regard to the four directions of north, south, east and west. Isn’t that how it is in Confucianism? When we say, “Cheon” (heaven), doesn’t it give us the impression that only the son of Heaven can relate to it? That is why it is vertical. What is amazing in Korean etiquette is that, even the uncle allows the eldest son of the head family to perform the ancestral rites. Why does he do that? It is vertical. The vertical comes first. (196-320, 1990.1.12)
Gratitude and Indebtedness
- Gratitude and Thanksgiving for God’s Gifts
Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon
Before eating food, good men and women first remember the bounties of Heaven, then the earth, and then humankind. (Way of God’s Will 1.1.2)
What is the essence of a life of faith? It is a heart of gratitude to God. That heart is the basis by which we can transcend the relationship ordinary fallen people have with God and enter a higher relationship with God—that of oneness. Should we thank God only when we are prospering? No. Did God care for us only when things were going well for Him? No. The more difficult the situation, the more firm was God’s determination, regardless of the suffering, to labor and struggle on our behalf. Therefore, today, to properly serve God as our Father, we should demonstrate our gratitude to Him when we are going through difficult situations rather than easy ones. When you understand this principle, you will be able to give gratitude to God even when your path requires you to bear a very heavy cross. (29:338, February 16, 1970)
Let us become people who at the morning breakfast table ask ourselves
what we are going to do after we eat this food;
who at the lunch table feel
ashamed and remorseful over what we have left unfinished;
and who at the dinner table reflect
whether we have spent the day well and concluded it without lack.
Father, may we be Thy children who ask ourselves
whether we start the day as Thine,
and having arrived at this moment, are Thine.
Yet have we spent this day with worldly minds?
When we remember Thy concern for us,
we know we must spend this day valuably.
When we lay down in bed, exhausted,
do we have any regrets of things left undone?
May we not go to bed until we have repented with tears…
Though my body is exhausted,
at the point when I can hold on no more,
I must think that in Thy longing for me:
Thou hast overcome suffering harsher than mine.
I recognize that only by overcoming this suffering
can I become a son or daughter who can comfort Thy sorrowful past;
therefore I shall purify myself on the path to becoming Thy child,
and offer myself completely as a sacrifice before Thee.
To live with gratitude—there is nothing else.
If some of us were given wives who are inadequate, still we can be grateful
that Thou has given us such wives, for we can serve them throughout our life.
If our children become the cross of our life, still we can be grateful
that through them Thou provideth us a way to bear a cross.
Though circumstances drive us to the pits of despair in situations we cannot control,
though we may collapse, let it be reckoned as an opportunity
to reaffirm our gratitude to Thee as Thy sons and daughters. (29:238, March 14, 1970)
Father! Please enable me to feel grateful for all the grace Thou hast given,
that a day could come when I could meet Thee—a day like today. (39:78, January 9, 1971)
Although you have nothing with you, you are happy because you are eating with the most wonderful Person. (Way of God’s Will 1.8)
Even as we endure and bear up under difficulty, we should be thankful and sing hymns. God may be on His way to visit us, but if He sees that we are enduring not thankfully but with bitterness, He will turn back.
With what do we need to endure? A thankful spirit! Without a thankful spirit, we cannot endure. And even if we do endure, if we do not have a thankful heart, God cannot be with us. (44:28-29, May 4, 1971)
What was the Fall? [The archangel] compared himself to everyone from a self-centered viewpoint; this led to complaint. Complaint led to rebellion. Therefore, complaint is not permissible for believers….
To complain is essentially to attack God. But as we human beings have to repay God, complaining to God is absolutely unacceptable. My life up until now has been like that. I could never be a complainer, even though I was put in prison and tortured to the point of vomiting blood. Even though the entire world opposes me, I am grateful, knowing that it is severing my relationship with Satan’s realm.
It is natural that we receive opposition as long as the enemy’s realm exists. Therefore, let us not complain. Let us be grateful for everything and every circumstance, and let us go our way in silence. (September 11, 1972)
Today God is examining us, looking at whether our hearts are truly thankful. It is like in a courtroom: when a criminal is being sentenced, if he or she accepts the sentence with gratitude, the judge and even the prosecutor will want to show mercy and reduce the penalty. (104:279, June 1, 1979)