reconciliation | Daily Inspiration

Repentance Should be Accompanied by Restitution

The latest Richard Urban Show:
#120 – Why is Society in Such a Mess?

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1155

If Adam and Eve had been able to fathom God’s inner heart, they could not have possibly fallen. God loved His children as a Parent, but they did not understand the depth of His parental heart. Of course Adam and Eve fell while they were still young, but their young age itself was not the cause of the Fall. Rather, they fell because they were lacking in heart. Had they been able to feel, “He is living for me. He can never, ever be separated from me. He is involved in everything related to me,” they would not have committed the Fall. Ultimately Adam and Eve fell because they could not reach unity in heart with God. This dreadful problem occurred because their desires deviated from God’s desires and the direction of their thinking was different from the direction of God’s thinking. (65-173, 1972.11.19)

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1097

I take complete and eternal responsibility for those who have received the Blessing, even in the spirit world. I will directly guide them and lead them. The Blessing establishes an eternal relationship between the True Parents and those who receive it. (God’s Will – 533)

Restitution

PEACE FLOURISHES WHERE THERE IS JUSTICE. While justice may not appear the same to people on opposing sides of a conflict, steps should be taken to right wrongs, pay back debts, and restore trust when it has been violated. Usually it is not enough to repent for having wronged one’s neighbor; repentance should be accompanied by restitution.

Restitution is most effective when it is given freely by the guilty party to his victims, not exacted from him as the price of defeat. Compare the war reparations that Germany was forced to pay to France and England at the end of World War I by the Treaty of Versailles with the restitution Germany paid after World War II to Jews and other victims of the Nazis. In the former instance where the reparations were forced upon Germany, it created massive German resentment and fueled calls for revenge that led directly to the rise of Hitler. In the second instance where Germany felt sincere repentance for its Nazi crimes, the restitution has served to foster good will between Germany and its former enemies.
Thus it is a principle of peacemaking that we should offer restitution willingly to those we have harmed, accompanied by genuine repentance for the wrongs we committed. There are also the sins we commit without knowing, or debts we inherit from the past, or wrongs for which we are collectively responsible; we can also make restitution for these. Father Moon has developed this concept into a teaching called ‘restoration through indemnity.’ He teaches that ‘indemnity’ is not a fixed amount, like an insurance claim, but rather a matter of giving whatever is required to assuage the other party’s aggrieved heart. It can be small if the other party has a mind to forgive; or it can be great if the relationship has been strained by years of treachery and mistrust.
The phrase, “an eye for and eye and a tooth for a tooth” can be taken in its original biblical meaning as a legal formula for making restitution; and it is so understood in Judaism. People know innately that they should pay back the full amount of their debt. The phrase is often cited wrongly, however, as a justification for revenge. That is a completely different matter. Revenge by the aggrieved party is a kind of rough justice, but it is not conducive to peace. It only furthers the cycle of violence. The scriptures teach that it is better to forgive.

O dweller in the body, make reparation for whatever you have done!
Garuda Purana 2.35 (Hinduism) Continue reading “Repentance Should be Accompanied by Restitution”

Who Are the True Parents?

The latest Richard Urban Show:
#120 – Why is Society in Such a Mess?

Yesterday’s Rheama from Stacey was missing: Read it here.

Cheon Seong Gyeong 182

Those parents are the True Parents. Who are the True Parents? That is the question. As our Principle teaches, the ones called True Parents are the parents who have realized the ideal of oneness centering on God’s love. They have fulfilled their responsibility after passing through the realm of dominion based on accomplishments through the Principle, that is, the realm of indirect dominion, and into the realm of direct dominion. They are the parents who for the first time in history established the ideal of oneness based on the love between God and man. God’s ideal of love has finally begun to settle on earth through the family of the True Parents.

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1723

What are absolute faith, absolute love and absolute obedience? These are all terms concerned with the genitals. The Fall refers to the failure of God and human genitals to become one. They failed to attain oneness. You must believe this absolutely. They are the pillars of the history of our family, clan, and lineage. (304-164, 1999.10.10)

Peace

Reconciliation and Peacemaking

3. Jesus’ Sacrificial Love as a Model for Peacemaking

And when they came to the place which is called The Skull [Calvary], there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on the right and one on the left. And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”
Luke 23.33-34

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near in the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who has made us both one, and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility…that he might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby bringing the hostility to an end.
Ephesians 2.13-16 1084

From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once regarded Christ from a human point of view, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
2 Corinthians 5.16-19

Teachings of True Father Sun Myung Moon

Jesus presented a new direction for this conflict-ridden world. Oppressor nations and oppressed nations, such as Rome and Israel, viewed each other as enemies, thus creating high walls between them. Jesus’ philosophy was that these walls needed to be demolished. He thought, “You Romans want to conquer me by force, but I will conquer you in the opposite way—with love.” That is why he even sought blessings for his enemies as he was hanging on the cross.
His plea for the Roman soldiers, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do,” expressed this amazing philosophy. By making this plea, Jesus became the model and the archetype for all nations of the world to overcome the conventional way of seeing each other as enemies. He became the example of someone who has no regard for national borders. (March 9, 2000)

Jesus’ saying, “Love your enemies” is God’s strategy to make evil surrender voluntarily. This is an amazing truth, full of grace. These simple-sounding words mark the boundary between victory and defeat in the battle between God and Satan. (316:81, February 10, 2000)

Jesus taught, “Love your enemy,” but we are extending it even to loving enemy nations. After loving our personal enemies, we should leap over national boundaries to love and even save nations that attacked our nation in the past. This is the ideology of the Messiah. (93:160, May 22, 1977)

The Bible says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, they shall be called sons of God.” Because I knew God’s Will to establish the Kingdom of Heaven, I work to reconcile humankind. If either side throws a spear, I should be the first one to be hit. In order to bring reconciliation and save the two that are fighting, you shouldn’t mind if you get bloodied first. (211:13, December 30, 1990)

I Have the Mission to Prevent Racial Conflict and Make Peace between the Races

Cheon Seong Gyeon 1917

Why did the Second World War have to occur? It was to recover Jesus’ lost body on the worldwide level. The unified realm was lost because the returning Lord was driven away. That is why America now comes again through the Pacific civilization, seeking the Asian region that had lost Jesus’ body, as well as the unified world. The time is drawing near when America comes seeking Asia from the opposite direction. You should know that that is why the era of the Pacific civilization is coming. This is in accord with the fact that the world must be unified, centering on the ideal of the returning Lord, by recovering, in Asia, Jesus’ body that was lost in Asia. By going through this process, the era of the Pacific civilization is bound to come. It is to recover the body and make it whole. The Lord at his Second Advent already has the basis for receiving this, centering on the spirit and the flesh. That is why the cultural sphere can be connected internally and externally, based on a criterion of unity, where the object partner stands before the subject partner. Through this process, a unified world can be created, centering on the True Parents. (267-176, 1995.1.5)

Cheon Seong Gyeong 893

Unification Church members are not without value. We are not a simple group that believes we can go to heaven just by going to a Sunday service with the Bible under our arm or by giving a few pennies in donations. That is for simple folk. That is not for people as intense as us. Once we believe in something, we do it till the end. Placing our life on the line, even if our spouse grabs us to prevent us from following, we are so intense. We follow the path of faith, even if there at the risk of it leading to divorce. (121-70, 1982.10.24)

Peace

Reconciliation and Peacemaking

2. Peacemaking

Teachings of True Father Sun Myung Moon

Antagonism has no place in God’s love, only unity and harmony. In light of this, you can understand what the Bible means in saying that peacemakers will be called sons of God. (Way of God’s Will 3.2)

How patient is God, who has been enduring for millions of years? We, too, need to possess His patience. I’m not saying we that should never fight. But there is a right time to fight: when we can fight for the benefit of both sides. We should not fight those who oppose us seeking their destruction. We should fight to educate both sides and bring them together in harmony. We should educate each side to no longer regard the other as the enemy. (104:33, March 25, 1979) Continue reading “I Have the Mission to Prevent Racial Conflict and Make Peace between the Races”

Blessed are the Peacemakers, for They Shall Be Called the Sons of God

Cheon Seong Gyeong 2298

God’s original intent for creation was to live with humanity centering on one purpose in harmony with one love, to have all of heaven and earth enjoy His love and to have everything live as one with His love established as the actual center of life. Yet due to the Fall of Adam and Eve, God’s love remained His. He was to establish it in His relationship with humankind. Yet He was unable to do so and it departed from them and from the entire world of creation.
Consequently, God has spent the last six thousand years hoping for the day when, centering on the love He wanted to establish, He could bring together all the things of creation and live in joy with them. However, they have still not been united through His love, and accordingly His ideal and the love of His hope which should have been established remain unfulfilled. Thus, God has been guiding the providence to this day in order to accomplish His will at all costs. Ever since the Fall, He has been doing so for a long time until now, regardless of the ages, in order to fulfill His hope and recover His trust and love towards humanity; yet even now He has been unable to do either. (1-88, 1956.6.6)

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1438

Why are tribal messiahs necessary? If there are no tribal messiahs, then all the families cannot be connected between themselves. Without this, you cannot have your hometown. I have my own hometown but you do not have one. After restoring all the families, there will come the age of registration in the future. Once the age of registration comes, tribal formation will take place. The order in which you register will determine your position. Those who register first will be the elders and a new system will be developed so that they can be attended in the same manner as you attend your ancestors. Only when the whole world is transformed accordingly, will the heavenly kingdom on earth be realized. (210-273, 1990.12.25)

Cheon Seong Gyeong 893

Peace

Reconciliation and Peacemaking

2. Peacemaking

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Matthew 5.9

If two parties of believers fall to fighting, then make peace between them. And if one party of them does wrong to the other, fight that wrong-doer until it returns to the ordinance of God; then, if it returns, make peace between them justly, and act equitably. Lo! God loves the equitable. Continue reading “Blessed are the Peacemakers, for They Shall Be Called the Sons of God”

People on Both Sides Need to Take the Stance “I Exist for You”

Cheon Seong Gyeong 2245

Had Adam and Eve not fallen, they would have loved each other, but they would have loved each other in place of God. Thereby their daily lives would have manifested that of God. If they had liked something, He, too, would have liked it internally. If they had been sad, He, too, would have felt sadness internally because love would have belonged to Him and them. Being one love, it could only be like this. (95-248, 1977.12.4)
Richard: Great reading for Valentines Day!

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1404

In the Old Testament Age, Adam’s family failed to keep the covenant to inherit the lineage giving rise to a parent-child relationship with You, losing it instead through the Fall.
They would have established that relationship with You in the place where they could inherit Your love, life, and lineage; yet it was in that very place that the sin of our first ancestors bound them in blood ties with Satan as their false parent, thereby giving rise to the sorrowful history that began with Adam’s family inheriting satanic love, life, and lineage from Satan as his children and thus becoming his family. This, in turn, created the environment of conflict between mind and body, husband and wife, parents and children, and between siblings, resulting in Cain’s murder of Abel in that first family. Consequently, all of humanity is divided at the levels of the family, tribe, race, and nation, and even the world with the democratic and communist worlds pitted against each other. Amid the confusion of the Last Days, it was Your will to establish the Unification Church in order to usher in the Completed Testament Age because it had not been possible to completely fulfill Your will in the Old Testament Age or establish Your ideal kingship in the New Testament Age. Upon the foundations laid in those two ages, the True Parents were to come to earth and complete all that was incomplete both on earth and in the spirit world, and form relationships based on their true love, life, and lineage on earth in the name of the God of liberation. It was Your will to completely clear the field of wild olive trees that is the fallen world and to engraft them to the true olive tree, thereby forming a connection as Your kinfolk, and, by so doing, restore Your family. Upholding Your will, the Unification Church has continued its work in performing global weddings in the name of the True Parents in order to allow all people of the world to indemnify the wrongful marriages of history and become one great family of brothers and sisters.

Peace

Reconciliation and Peacemaking

1. Reconciliation

Teachings of True Father Sun Myung Moon

You should offer your devotions in peaceful surroundings and with a peaceful heart. You should not worship where there is discord, because God is not present where there is discord. Your act of worship can bear fruit when there is goodness, with all evils having surrendered. It cannot bear fruit where there is conflict and complaint. That is why when there is a falling out among brothers, they should first reconcile before making an offering table for their ancestors.9 (286:209-10, August 11, 1997)

If each side insists, “I exist for myself,” they can never be reconciled. To achieve the goal of peace, people on both sides need to take the stance, “I exist for you.” Then they can come to the point of consoling one another. Peace can arise only when we say to our opponent, “I am here for you.” (60:21, August 1, 1972)

Thus far, nations tried to expand their territory by invading others. However, from now on we should follow the principle that to reach the world we should deny ourselves. In order for your beloved nation to lead the world, it must go beyond national self-interest. If your nation cannot do this, it does not have the philosophy that can unify the world. (26:294, November 10, 1969)

What kind of world would it be if each nation thought, “God is on my side,” while it treated other nations as the enemy? It would be a world of continual wars and conflicts.
To become God’s sons and daughters, you have to love the way God loves. You have to love humanity. I know that God wants enemy nations to reconcile, become friendly, connect with each other and unite into one. That is why I work to encourage nations to think beyond their borders and form a united world. (83:312, February 25, 1976)