Category: New Testament

Your Word Is a Lamp to My Feet and a Light to My Path

The Richard Urban Show:
#90-Was Justice Antonin Scalia Murdered? New Evidence – VisionRoot
#89-Could Biden Only Be President for 40 Days? – VisionRoot

Ezekiel 25

15 The Lord God said, “The cruel Philistines have taken revenge on their enemies over and over and have tried to destroy them. 16 Now it’s my turn to treat the Philistines as my enemies and to kill everyone[b] living in their towns along the seacoast. 17 In my fierce anger, I will take revenge on them. And when I punish them, they will know that I am the Lord.”

Matthew 24

29 Right after those days of suffering,

“The sun will become dark,
and the moon
    will no longer shine.
The stars will fall,
and the powers in the sky
    will be shaken.”

30 Then a sign will appear in the sky. And there will be the Son of Man.[e] All nations on earth will weep when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 At the sound of a loud trumpet, he will send his angels to bring his chosen ones together from all over the earth.

Enlightenment

Enlightenment means dispelling the darkness of ignorance. According to the manner in which reality is perceived in the different traditions, enlightenment may be either the intuitive grasping of inner wisdom, illumination by the truth of the Word, or direct apprehension of transcendent reality. the true self, formerly obscured by false habits of thinking and vain desires, is suddenly revealed. the inner eye, which was blinded by defilements of worldly living, opens to a vision of the true reality. From that moment life can never be the same, as the enlightened person begins to live by the knowledge he has acquired.
There is rational enlightenment, the cognition of truth. Knowledge of God’s Word enlightens the mind, lighting a marked-out path to a person formerly lost in the darkness of ignorance. Father Moon is one with the Christian tradition in teaching that the Word of God can transform lives.
A second group of passages describe enlightenment as self-realization, the inward experience of finding one’s original mind, the God within. this describes the experience of salvation in Hinduism and Buddhism, yet is common to most religions. this can be a soul-shaking experience, as the mind opens to receive massive amounts of energy. having stripped away everything false, the enlightened mind corresponds to the standard of the Divine Mind, setting up a powerful connection. Father Moon encourages every person to gain such an experience on the path to wholeness and completion. he teaches that no amount of conceptual knowledge or faith can substitute for realization of the God within.
Finally, there is shamanistic enlightenment, which opens the five spiritual senses and enables one to see, hear and sense the invisible spirit world. With proper training, anyone can access this knowledge and source of spiritual power.

1. The Light of True Knowledge

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
    Psalm 119.105

The truth has come, and falsehood has vanished away. Surely falsehood is ever certain to vanish.
    Qur’an 17.85

Jesus spoke to them, saying “I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.
    ”John 8.12

You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.
    John 8.32

As sight is in the body, so is reason in the soul.
    Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics 1.6 (Hellenism)

The holy Preceptor by the Word lighted a lamp;
Thereby was shattered darkness of the temple of the self,
And the unique chamber of jewels thrown open.
Wonderstruck were we in extreme on beholding it—
Its greatness beyond expression.
Adi Granth, Bilaval, M.5, p. 821 (Sikhism)

To know the eternal is called enlightenment
Not to know the eternal is to act blindly, to result in disaster.
He who knows the eternal is all-embracing.
Being all-embracing, he is impartial.
Being impartial, he is kingly [universal].
Being kingly, he is one with Nature.
Being one with nature, he is in accord with Tao.
Being in accord with Tao, he is everlasting,
And is free from danger throughout his lifetime.
    Tao Te Ching 16 (Taoism)

It is wonderful, Lord! It is wonderful, Lord! It is as if, Lord, one might set upright that which had been upturned, or might reveal what was hidden, or might point out the path to one who had gone astray, or might bring an oil lamp into the darkness so that those with eyes might see material shapes.
    Udana 49 (Buddhism)

When they listen to that which has been revealed unto the Messenger, you see their eyes overflow with tears because of their recognition of the Truth. They say, “Our Lord, we believe. Inscribe us as among the witnesses.”
    Qur’an 5.83

God Only Asks People to Pay a Small Amount

The Richard Urban Show:
#90-Was Justice Antonin Scalia Murdered? New Evidence – VisionRoot
#89-Could Biden Only Be President for 40 Days? – VisionRoot

Jeremiah 49

30 Run and hide,
you people of the desert
    who live in villages!
Nebuchadnezzar has big plans
    for you.
31 You have no city walls
    and no neighbors to help,
yet you think you’re safe—
    so I told him to attack.
32 Then your camels
and large herds
    will be yours no longer.

People of the Arabian Desert,
disaster will strike you
    from every side,
and you will be scattered
    everywhere on earth.
33 Only jackals will live
where your villages once stood.
    I, the Lord, have spoken.

John 7

37 On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus stood up and shouted, “If you are thirsty, come to me and drink! 38 Have faith in me, and you will have life-giving water flowing from deep inside you, just as the Scriptures say.” 39 Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit, who would be given to everyone that had faith in him. The Spirit had not yet been given to anyone, since Jesus had not yet been given his full glory.

Atonement

  1. The Principle of Atonement

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

In the Old Testament Age, the chosen people of Israel made atonement through offering ceremonies involving the shedding of blood. But they did not know the principle behind it. God is the owner of all creation. However, the sacrificial offering represented the people. It was divided into two: one part was taken by God and the other, by Satan. (309:203, May 30, 1999)

What is meant by indemnity? No human being could possibly pay all his debt of sin. Even if he tried for his entire lifetime, he would die with the debt still unpaid. Therefore, salvation requires that there be a way to lighten the debt and shorten the period to pay it off. God would shorten the period to, say, one year. However, at that point Satan makes accusations and insists that God cannot be so lenient; he demands a greater payment, one that might require ten years. Then what happens? God and Satan agree to a compromise. In other words, there is a struggle between God and Satan. Satan demands that human beings pay a great deal of the debt as is their due, while God only asks people to pay a small amount as a condition to forgive the whole debt. Actually, Satan is correct from the viewpoint of principle: debts should be paid in full. Yet, God is correct from the viewpoint of love, in seeking a way to reconnect human beings with His love. And love is the very core of the principle. (111:147, February 10, 1981)

We received the amazing grace of forgiveness of our sins thanks to the altars of blood erected by the many saints and sages. 11 (9:161, May 8, 1960)

Why has God patiently made sacrifice after sacrifice, developing His providence to the worldwide level? For whom has God made these sacrifices? Not for America, nor for Christianity; God did it to save me. God sent the Jesus Christ and allowed him to die on the cross for me, for my salvation. God then raised up the Christian church, established it throughout the world, and prepared it for the Second Coming in these Last Days—all for me. (77:46, March 30, 1975)

There are several categories of people who go to the spirit world. One group lives out their full span of life; another group does not. Among those who go to the spirit world earlier than their given life span, there are two categories: those who are being punished for their sins, and those who are taken as indemnity conditions for the sins of the world.
There is a saying that if in a village three exemplary young men die in their prime, great blessings will come to that village. The same is true for a clan: if three great young men die in a clan, that clan will receive many blessings. That is, to deserve blessings a price must be paid. This is by the law ofcause and effect: it applies everywhere.
When God lets one central person, worthy of one thousand people, go the path of death, ifthose one thousand people are moved by his love and are determined to live like him, taking after his example, they will enter that person’s realm of benefit. People want to follow the path of a patriot or a saint because they want to enter the same realm of benefit. Last year, many of our church members went to the spirit world, and it will be the same this year as well. Although I do not speak of it, I am already aware it will happen. Why is it so? Every time we take another step forward, we must pay indemnity for it. (33:11, July 28, 1970)
You should become like a chief priest, repenting of the past on behalf of your people and making an offering of atonement before God. In order to make such an offering, you should share your people’s path of tribulation. This is a principle in approaching God. (13:265, April 12, 1964)

Parents Suffer Deeply If their Child Commits a Crime.

The Richard Urban Show-watch or listen by clicking below.
#89- Could Joe Biden only be President for 40 Days?

#88-Mike Pence Represents Christianity
#87-They Knowingly Abetted Treason and a Coup

Revelation 12

7 A war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels were fighting against the dragon and its angels. 8 But the dragon lost the battle. It and its angels were forced out of their places in heaven 9 and were thrown down to the earth. Yes, that old snake and his angels were thrown out of heaven! That snake, who fools everyone on earth, is known as the devil and Satan. 10 Then I heard a voice from heaven shout,

“Our God has shown
his saving power,
    and his kingdom has come!
God’s own Chosen One
    has shown his authority.
Satan accused our people
in the presence of God
    day and night.
Now he has been thrown out!

11 Our people defeated Satan
    because of the blood
of the Lamb
    and the message of God.
They were willing
    to give up their lives.

12 The heavens should rejoice,
together with everyone
    who lives there.
But pity the earth
    and the sea,
because the devil
was thrown down
    to the earth.
He knows his time is short,
    and he is very angry.”

Richard: This is applicable to the time right now. Satan and his minions have been very active, but their time will be short.

2 Chronicles 19

5 He assigned judges to each of the fortified cities in Judah 6 and told them:

Be careful when you make your decisions in court, because these are the Lord’s people, and he will know what you decide. 7 So do your work in honor of him and know that he won’t allow you to be unfair to anyone or to take bribes.

Richard: This also addresses today’s situation. Many judges have been giving false rulings. They will be held accountable.

Grace

2. Grace for the Prodigal Son

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Parents suffer deeply if their child commits a crime. If he is sent to jail, the parents would not say, “You deserve it!” Instead, they would forgive their child, sympathize with him and shed tears of compassion. Such is parental love. If their child were sentenced to death, the parents—especially the mothers—would wail. They would desperately search for some way to save their child’s life, even up until the last minute at the execution site. They would gladly trade their own life for his. That is the precious unchanging love of a parent.
    If the heart of human parents moves in this way towards their children, then do you think that God, the Parent of humankind, would do any less? Never! God’s love is far greater than human love. Surely the love of God surpasses the love of any earthly parent. (91:148, February 6, 1977)
 
God has been toiling to recover humankind, even though we deserve to die thousands of times in the realm of death. Never forget that when God comes to us in the realm of death, He bring us something more precious than anything in the world. Understand that when He saves us from the realm of death, He does so with anguish and a worried heart. To claim us from the realm of death, God is willing to sacrifice everything. (6:115-16, April 12, 1959)
 
No matter what happens in the human world, God is patient because He is who He is. He sees many tragic and heart-breaking things, yet He remains calm and composed, never losing His dignity. If God were to open His mouth and express His suffering, He could pour out tragic stories for millions of years, weeping all the while. Would God weep out of self-pity? No, God weeps only for humankind, His children. (124:60, 830123)
 
God is our Parent; that is why He loves us although He is high above us. We can draw an analogy to the parents of a disabled child, whose disability is so severe that he cannot recognize their love. The parents feel miserable, yet they cannot help but love their child. Even though their child is unable to appreciate even one one-hundredth of their love, and it grieves the parents to face that, they nevertheless love their child, giving all the time. They yearn to give love one hundred times more, and when they see that their child is unable to appreciate any of it, they experience grief and frustration one hundred times more. Parents yearn to love a child who can fully unite with their love, but parents of a child who cannot relate to their love experience only pain and sorrow. Truly there is no greater heartbreak… Now, can you imagine if it were not a matter of only one child’s lifetime, but forever? That is God’s miserable and heartbreaking situation, trying to love human beings… Where is the supreme relationship between Heaven and human beings, linking their deepest hearts? No matter how high we climb and search, since God is the Parent, we humans must seek the position of God’s children. Hence in Christianity, God is called Father and we are called God’s children. What is the standard of that parent-child relationship? Is it below or above the line of the Human Fall? It cannot be below it. The standard should be above the level of the Fall. Even among fallen people today, whose love is below the line of the Fall, the parent-child relationship suffers when children are not dutiful. Imagine, then, how miserable it would be for parents who had never fallen. When we think about the difficult relationships between parents and children around us, we can fathom something of God’s situation. God surely intended to love His children with a love above the line of the Fall. How strong would that love be? Yet since no one has ever stood above the line of the Fall, nobody knows. (62:20, September 10, 1972)
 
Heavenly Father has been searching for His lost children for six thousand biblical years, while enduring suffering upon suffering. However, if the children whom He finally found were weak and pathetic, how would He feel? It is conceivable that God might lament, “It would have been better had I not found them.” Are you confident that you are not children like that? (Blessing and Ideal Family 7.4.1)
 
Allow us to feel Thy merciful touch,
the touch of our Father who seeks us,
carrying the burden of providence for 6,000 years.
Still, Thou hast not cast us aside,
although we are foolish and inadequate. (3:258-59, January 12, 1958)
 
 

God Is in Shackles on Account of Humankind, Including Me

The Richard Urban Show-watch or listen by clicking below.

#88-Mike Pence Represents Christianity
#87-They Knowingly Abetted Treason and a Coup
#86-Joe Biden’s Lovers Will Be Revealed
#85-Don’t Change What God Has Said
#84-President Trump Should Stay in Office

Ezekiel 20

The Lord said to the people of Israel:

33 As surely as I am the living Lord God, I will rule over you with my powerful arm. You will feel my fierce anger 34 and my power, when I gather you from the places where you are scattered 35 and lead you into a desert surrounded by nations. I will meet you there face to face. Then I will pass judgment on you 36 and punish you, just as I punished your ancestors in the desert near Egypt. 37 I will force each of you to obey the regulations of our solemn agreement. 38 I will separate the sinful rebels from the rest of you, and even though I will bring them from the nations where they live in exile, they won’t be allowed to return to Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

39 Go ahead and worship your idols for now, you Israelites, because soon I will no longer let you dishonor me by offering gifts to them. You will have no choice but to obey me! 40 When that day comes, everyone in Israel will worship me on Mount Zion, my holy mountain in Jerusalem. I will once again call you my own, and I will accept your sacred offerings and sacrifices. 41 When I bring you home from the places where you are now scattered, I will be pleased with you, just as I am pleased with the smell of the smoke from your sacrifices. Every nation on earth will see that I am holy, 42 and you will know that I, the Lord, am the one who brought you back to Israel, the land I promised your ancestors. 43 Then you will remember your wicked sins, and you will hate yourselves for doing such horrible things. They have made you unacceptable to me, 44 so you deserve to be punished. But I will treat you in a way that will bring honor to my name, and you will know that I am the Lord God.

Richard: We see that God’s people (the Israelites, Christians today) have strayed from Him. There will be a separation between good and evil. This scripture speaks of inevitability. As Rev. Moon as said, “We cannot pass”, we have to decide about the message that Rev. Moon gives us. You can get started by reading or listening to Peace Message 10, The Family Rooted In Absolute Sexual Ethics, which Is the Model for God’s Absoluteness, Peace and Ideal, and the Global Kingdom.
Listen to the Speech.
“The Unification Principle is not the mere doctrine of Unificationism. Rather, it is the heavenly path and principle that all people must know and live by.”
Original Root Substance of the Principle: p. 31

Matthew 21

40 Jesus asked, “When the owner of that vineyard comes, what do you suppose he will do to those renters?”

41 The chief priests and leaders answered, “He will kill them in some horrible way. Then he will rent out his vineyard to people who will give him his share of grapes at harvest time.”

42 Jesus replied, “You surely know that the Scriptures say,

‘The stone that the builders
    tossed aside
is now the most important
    stone of all.
This is something
the Lord has done,
    and it is amazing to us.’

43 I tell you that God’s kingdom will be taken from you and given to people who will do what he demands. 44 Anyone who stumbles over this stone will be crushed, and anyone it falls on will be smashed to pieces.”

45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard these stories, they knew that Jesus was talking about them. 46 So they looked for a way to arrest Jesus. But they were afraid to, because the people thought he was a prophet.

Richard: This scripture clearly says that Christ will not return to Israel, due to the betrayal of the Israelites. See Original Root Substance of the Principle p 440

God’s Grief

3. Sharing God’s Tears

People who experience the heart of God in their lives cannot come before God without shedding tears, no matter where they are. They know the original Will of God and struggle to become His sons and daughters. If you are among them, sharing God’s Will and desire, He will visit you and weep with you.
    Where are the roots of God’s grief? They are inside us. They are inside our nation, this world and all things of creation. We must carry on a movement to eradicate them and restore God’s joy. For us, the center of our life of faith should be to experience God’s grief. (4:60, March 2, 1958)
 
Is God deserving of pity? Many people would question why the all-knowing and almighty God needs to be pitied. Still, regardless of how all-knowing and almighty He may be, nothing can relieve Him from the shock of losing His beloved children. If there had been a way for God to find relief from that shock by Himself, He would not have had to suffer through a six-thousand-year course of his-tory. (35:88, October 4, 1970)
 
God seeks people thirsting for faith and hope and burning with love, who say, “God is in shackles on account of humankind, including me; God was accused by Satan because of me; Jesus died on the cross for me; the Holy Spirit went through a bloody history of struggle on my behalf. God, please give me the strength. I will bring rest and liberation to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.” (7:162, August 30, 1959)
 
God our Parent cannot free Himself from lamentation until all people are free from lamentation. How can any parents be comfortable while their beloved children are in misery? This explains why we should liberate God, who exists in such a state.
    How shall we liberate God? Since we live in a realm beset by restrictions, which also restrict God from loving all people, we are responsible to restore the realm of liberation where God can freely love all people. Since we were corrupted through the Fall, we must liberate God by becoming children who are victorious over the Fall. (65:100, November 13, 1972)
 
As long as God, the Center of the universe, is in anguish, human beings have no way to salvation. Who can lift away the suffering of God? Only someone who experiences the depth of God’s suffering in his own life and suffers even beyond that. If God were joyful and happy, then all beings immersed in suffering could hope to find a way to happiness. But how can salvation be possible while God, the center of the universe, is suffering? Therefore, at all cost, we must not let God remain in suffering.
    There is no question that the fall of God’s children, Adam and Eve, was the pinnacle of God’s suffering. God is the Father of humankind and Adam and Eve were His first children. Their fall had a direct impact on God. The resulting separation caused God incredible pain—physically, mentally and emotionally. When they departed [from the Garden of Eden], God must have wept bitter tears. That pain in God’s body, mind and heart was the beginning of human suffering; it has continued through history…
    However, Adam and Eve did not understand the seriousness of their sin. They might have felt some anguish in their minds and hearts because the left the bosom of God their Father, but they were unable to grasp the gravity of the pain and suffering they caused God. Ever since, God has had to relate to human beings who lack any perception of His suffering heart. For God, this is the ultimate agony.
 
    How can you possibly experience God’s heart? By listening to a sermon like this you may feel it conceptually, but you still do not feel His sorrow down to your bones. Consider a woman who loses her parents, husband, and children, as well as all her possessions, in a tragic accident. How would she feel? Although during her lifetime in the fallen world she could see and experience many types of evil and sin, her pain and grief at losing her entire family would be unbearable. How much more shock and grief God must have felt, being completely pure and never having experienced any sin, suffering, or crime.
 
    Today many people commit suicide. Do you think the despair that drives people to commit suicide can be compared to God’s despair at the moment Adam and Eve fell? No one but God is truly entitled to use the word ‘suffering’… We may experience tragedies in our life, yet as time passes the pain and grief will ease. However, God is a spiritual being. He has no concept of time. During one thousand years or even ten thousand years, the pain of the Human Fall has never left God’s mind and heart. Nevertheless, could God not simply cast His suffering out of His heart? More than omniscient and omnipotent, God is absolute in love. (94:34-36, June 26, 1977)
 
How many tears have you shed for God? Have you ever sought out a way to take on suffering and toil on behalf of God’s pain and toil, even though your own limbs might be torn off? You have not tried. In seeking to become God’s sons and daughters, you have to shed tears for the purpose of the whole. When you meet God, you should comfort Him with unending tears. Representing the original ancestors, you should say, “Father, I am Thy son (daughter). How great was Thy sorrow upon losing me! How many times throughout history until the present day hast Thou suffered humiliation, pain and extreme hardship from my descendants!” 
 
    The almighty, all-knowing God certainly has the authority to judge the entire world and even Satan. Yet God cries out in pain, knowing that even though He is capable of bringing judgment, He cannot destroy the world He toiled to create. Our hearts break when we think of God in this situation. God is not dwelling in a heavenly place. He stands lonely and desolate, accused by Satan, robbed of His foothold by the satanic world… How much have you wept in sympathy with God’s situation? The issue comes down to this. (51:111, November 18, 1971)
 
Father! Humankind knows not Thy sorrowful heart permeating the earth.
Humankind does not know Heaven’s sad tears soaking the footprints of human history;
hence we are ignorant of Heaven’s endless lamentations encircling our minds and bodies.
We confess that we are descendants of rebellion
who cannot establish our dignity before Heaven or be trusted by Heaven.
Father, no one on earth can stop Thy tears;
no one can hold and comfort Thee in Thy sorrow;
no one can protect Thee on Thy path.
Therefore, the grief on this earth is Heaven’s grief permeating the earth;
the sorrow on this earth is Heaven’s sorrow permeating the earth;
the frustration on this earth is Heaven’s frustration permeating the earth…

When in these last days we despair,
we turn towards Heaven and cry out, “O God, please help us!
“Father, please have compassion on humankind!”
Yet who in this age clings to Thy heart, sharing Thine anguish?
Who clings to Thy mind, weeping with Thee?
If there were such a person,
Thou wouldst call him Thy true son or Thy true daughter,
grasping him or her as Thine object partner on earth. (6:235-36, May 24, 1959)
 

God Was Stricken With Grief

#88-Mike Pence Represents Christianity
#87-They Knowingly Abetted Treason and a Coup
#86-Joe Biden’s Lovers Will Be Revealed
#85-Don’t Change What God Has Said
#84-President Trump Should Stay in Office

Mark 5

21 Once again Jesus got into the boat and crossed Lake Galilee. Then as he stood on the shore, a large crowd gathered around him. 22 The person in charge of the Jewish meeting place was also there. His name was Jairus, and when he saw Jesus, he went over to him. He knelt at Jesus’ feet 23 and started begging him for help. He said, “My daughter is about to die! Please come and touch her, so she will get well and live.” 24 Jesus went with Jairus. Many people followed along and kept crowding around.

25 In the crowd was a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had gone to many doctors, and they had not done anything except cause her a lot of pain. She had paid them all the money she had. But instead of getting better, she only got worse.

27 The woman had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him in the crowd and barely touched his clothes. 28 She had said to herself, “If I can just touch his clothes, I will get well.” 29 As soon as she touched them, her bleeding stopped, and she knew she was well.

30 At that moment Jesus felt power go out from him. He turned to the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”

31 His disciples said to him, “Look at all these people crowding around you! How can you ask who touched you?” 32 But Jesus turned to see who had touched him.

33 The woman knew what had happened to her. She came shaking with fear and knelt down in front of Jesus. Then she told him the whole story.

34 Jesus said to the woman, “You are now well because of your faith. May God give you peace! You are healed, and you will no longer be in pain.”

35 While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from Jairus’ home and said, “Your daughter has died! Why bother the teacher anymore?”

36 Jesus heard what they said, and he said to Jairus, “Don’t worry. Just have faith!”

37 Jesus did not let anyone go with him except Peter and the two brothers, James and John. 38 They went home with Jairus and saw the people crying and making a lot of noise. 39 Then Jesus went inside and said to them, “Why are you crying and carrying on like this? The child isn’t dead. She is just asleep.” 40 But the people laughed at him.

After Jesus had sent them all out of the house, he took the girl’s father and mother and his three disciples and went to where she was. 41-42 He took the twelve-year-old girl by the hand and said, “Talitha, koum!” which means, “Little girl, get up!” The girl got right up and started walking around.

Everyone was greatly surprised. 43 But Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened. Then he said, “Give her something to eat.”

Richard: God gives us hope in this reading. I see three main themes, faith, resurrection and secrecy. All can be applied to the current situation in the United States.

Obadiah 1

13 They are my people,
    and you were cruel to them.
You went through their towns,
sneering
and stealing
    whatever was left.
14 In their time of torment,
    you ambushed refugees
and handed them over
    to their attackers.
15 The day is coming
when I, the Lord,
    will judge the nations.
And, Edom, you will pay in full
    for what you have done.

God’s Grief

2. God’s Painful Struggle to Save Humankind

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

It is natural that we want to protect our loved ones, even with our very life. Such is the original ideal of creation. The same is true for God, who loves His children. He became a sorrowful God who has had to invest His very life. (206:24, October 3, 1990)

I cannot count the days I spent in tears and lamentation after I came to know this world of God’s inner heart. Who could even dare to imagine that God was stricken with grief? He created the first human ancestors as His children and tried to raise them to be His eternal object partners in true love, yet they took the path of the Human Fall. Who could imagine God’s misery and humiliation, even as He walked His providence of salvation for tens of thousands of years? Anger exploded within Him over the injustice of it all. His heart sighed in lamentation. God should be the Father and King of glory, but the enemy Satan stole His throne and His position as Parent. Although God is clearly alive and carrying out His providence, people say, “God is dead,” and they mock and mistreat Him. Still, He perseveres on the path with patient endurance, waiting for the day when human beings will come to understand this truth.
Because God conducts His providence on a foundation of true love—which calls us to live for the sake of others—and on the basis of eternity, He does not just annihilate the universe and begin again after seeing His children descend into the bottomless pit of the Human Fall. With the power of His omniscience and omnipotence, He could have judged the world and Satan at once, smashing them to pieces. Though He has this power, He chose to absorb all the contempt and accusation into Himself. He voluntarily placed Himself in a prison-like environment, because He is our Father.
Ladies and gentlemen, have you spent even one day before our God, our Father, shedding tears of repentance because you empathize with Him? How can you stand before God and still close your eyes as if to block out how He bites His tongue and endures us human beings, who inherited the lineage of the Devil and became the tools of Satan? How can you be so insensitive to how God anxiously looks forward to the day of His liberation and release? (May 1, 2004)

When Jesus was on the cross, God had to turn away and allow His beloved Son to be killed. Who knew the wretchedness in God’s mind and heart at that moment? The Bible does not explain it, but wasn’t there some reason why God could not intervene to prevent His Son’s death?…
Likewise, we think that God should have stood on the side of His chosen ones. Seeing them suffer persecution wherever they went—beaten, decapitated, and burned in pitch—we might ask, “Why was God not able to prevent this?”32 Instead, you should think how grievous and distressed God was that He could not exercise His almighty power to save them. How can we still say that He is the Most High God? (64:222, November 12, 1972)

What kind of God is our Father? He has walked the most tragic path through the course of history. He has suffered tragedies more horrible than any human tragedy.
When God saw His children languishing in sorrow and suffering and despair, He did not say, “You deserve it.” Our Father worked to save His children pierced with sorrow by placing Himself in greater sorrow; He worked to save His children moaning in pain by going to a place of even greater pain. He did not hesitate even to go to His death to save His children who were on the verge of death.
Once we understand this, how should we live? If we see a pitiful old person on the street, bent over with age, we should think, “That is what my Father must look like as He seeks after me.”
When we see a laborer’s swollen hands, we should think, “My Father’s hands are even more torn up and swollen than his.” When we see a pitiful beggar, we should think, “This beggar is not a beggar; instead he is my Father,” and humbly bow our heads. God’s heart is embedded even in lives that appear insignificant and wretched. We should shed tears with the understanding that each of these people is our Father, and then we should cast aside our dignity and help them. This is the only way we will come to know God. (8:345-46, February 28, 1960)