Even the Smallest Creatures Are Surely Connected to Us

Announcing UnionStation.love, the site for finding your eternal match.
First Blessing Preparation Class begins January 16th, 2024.
Join UnionStation.love now.

The latest Richard Urban Show:
Stop the Prosecution of Commissioners Krouse and Jackson

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1470

It may be important to live in affluence and to do something in life; however, before anything else, you need to fulfill your duties of filial piety and loyalty to the vertical Heavenly Parent and surpass living saints in your devotion to Him. Such is the original purpose for humankind’s birth. He created us in order to meet such people. Such is our underlying purpose. (58-231, 1972.6.11)
Richard: So beautiful! And rare. How many of us seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness (Mt. 6:33)? It is definitely a road less traveled, but one that should be pursued.

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1082

Since I came to Western society, what I feared most was facing women. I sense much danger just looking at their nails. My fingernails are always short. That is necessary. If they get any longer, I cut my fingernails and toenails. It is my custom to cut my fingernails and toenails. Women who keep their fingernails long are those who do not work. How do they type with those nails? So, when I see women with long nails I regard them as idle women. (131-283, 1984.5.3

Cheon Seong Gyeong

Selections from the Speeches of Rev. Sun Myung Moon
BOOK ONE
True God
Chapter 2

God and the Work of Creation

Section 5. God’s Will in Creating All Things
5.1. The purpose for creating all thing

    God did not originally create all things of heaven and earth as a plaything or a hobby. He did not create them without a purpose or direction, or without a certain philosophy. Rather, He created them with a great purpose, based on the philosophy of the great universe. Therefore, we cannot deny that the philosophy based on God’s heart is present in all existing things, from the most insignificant creatures to the entire universe. Then, for what purpose did God create them with such a philosophy? Undoubtedly, His aim was to see an ideal world based on God’s love, that is, a world where we communicate with love, are joyful with love, live with love, and die with love. When we wake up and open our eyes, we see everything unfolding before us. From all the things we see we receive some mysterious, indirect impression, and by the way our senses respond, these things are enhanced through our daily life.
    Even the smallest creatures around us are surely connected to us and have a relationship with us. Even though we may ignore them, these insignificant creatures make a connection with humankind, revealing the value of their existence each day according to the ideal of the heavenly principle. This is because, from the viewpoint of the purpose of existence, from the smallest existence to human beings – who are called the lords of creation and who can rule over all things – everything lies within the realm of the ideal of love where they can embrace God’s ideal for this vast universe. So in fulfilling the purpose of the universe, movement occurs as small things are absorbed by those that govern a larger sphere. Small things are absorbed by big things, becoming a part of their material form and elements. This leads to the realization of one purpose based on one great ideal.
    We cannot deny that history has been advancing this way, and that the world of existence has been moving along the track of a heavenly principle for the sake of one purpose. (9-163, 1960.5.8) Continue reading “Even the Smallest Creatures Are Surely Connected to Us”

Today’s Free Societies Are Lacking Direction

Cheon Seong Gyeong 2172

    You cannot just lie down because you are tired, and even if you die, you have got to die for the sake of that nation. Because of that, when I get old and start to feel tired, the one thing I want to be able to leave behind me is the last will and testament that “I did all I could for the sake of Heaven. I did everything I could for the sake of that nation.”
     Jesus said, “Worry not what you will wear or what you will eat, for the Gentiles seek after these. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness.” As this shows, the central stream of thought in the Bible is that kingdom. This philosophy says to seek that nation. It does not say to seek your own happiness. If you are born as a citizen of that nation and you have a husband, then that husband represents that nation, so you have to love that nation before you can love your husband. And the wife also represents the nation; you have to love that nation before you can love your wife. You have to be able to ask him or her to die in the position of being able to say, “I did everything I could; there is nothing more I could have done.” It is no good if you die having said, “I should have tried such and such.” For this reason, we are busy even though we may have accomplished a certain amount. Even if you walk a way on the path, you have got to go even further. When everyone else is sleeping, we have to go one step further. “Hey Satan’s world! Take it easy! You guys, rest the whole day if you  like! We are going off to seek that nation.” That is what you have got to say.

Cheon Seong Gyeong 902

The spirit world is a world that transcends the material world. It transcends the world of knowledge. Since it is a world that transcends time and space, it is a place where yesterday’s joy can become today’s joy, and today’s joy can become tomorrow’s joy. In this light, that essential world does not move based on the things that we, who live on earth today, require or value. What is important for the spirit world is the center of everything of value within life in that world. (141-268, 1986.3.2)

Society

Freedom

  1. Freedom Requires Social Solidarity within an Orderly Social System;
    It Is Far Removed from Individualism

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Liberty exists where everyone lives for others and honors others. When we live for others, we are liberated as well. Living for others is intrinsically liberating. That is why I tell you to live for the sake of others. (323:73, May 31, 2000)

What people today mean by freedom is the right to assert oneself. Their freedom is merely a shield for their self-centered lifestyle. When ten people each assert their freedom, they erect ten walls around themselves, and within those walls their personalities and interests diverge to such an extent that they cannot get along together…
    Today the Western world exalts freedom. Yet you should regard the word “freedom” as a fearful word. What is true freedom? If people take freedom as the opportunity to lift up God and the world, it is well and good. This is freedom that everyone can enjoy. But if people are self-centered and put everyone down, then where can there be freedom? (107:272-74, June 1, 1980)

Historically the pursuit of freedom was born out of the desire to lift up society to a higher dimension. It was not born to break down and destroy the social order. Yet today’s young people say, “We want the freedom to drink, dance and enjoy rock music.” Crying out, “freedom!” they flaunt social norms, break down the social order and ruin the foundations of society. This freedom is nothing but self-indulgence. It is one of Satan’s destructive strategies. (116:102, December 27, 1981)

The greater the freedom, the greater is the need to maintain discipline and respect for law and order. The greater the precision of a piece of machinery, the more exactly its vertical and horizontal motion must accord with the principles of its design. Freedom yields abundant fruit as long as laws are obeyed. This truth cannot be denied, particularly in today’s advanced social system and scientific civilization.
    Can human beings enjoy freedom while ignoring the social system? No, the social system exists for the benefit of human beings. Therefore, people need to align themselves to the laws, organization and structure of their social system and prepare themselves to function within it. They should even take on leadership roles and protect it. People who fulfill this role can have no dealings with self-indulgent freedom.
    To travel anywhere, we need a road. We require a direction. Today’s free societies are lacking direction. How can they have direction, when everyone does as they please? Yet is there such a thing as a mind without direction? It is the mindset of ruin. (49:190-93, October 10, 1971)

The freedom that most people seek for is not what they can enjoy eternally, nor does it touch the core of their original mind. Instead, the pursuit of freedom drives people to extreme individualism and leaves them more and more isolated.
    As long as people do not uphold Heaven’s principles, do not pursue their relationship with God, and do not lift up the concept of freedom that is perfect and unchanging, the freedom that people seek for on earth will not be aligned with the freedom Heaven is seeking. Therefore, as the prevailing trend demonstrates, the more aggressively people pursue freedom, the farther away they are from it. (4:318, October 12, 1958)

The democratic world seeks to live by Christian teachings, but its way of life is permeated by individualism, bolstered by scientific technology. Hence, the freedom people pursue in today’s democratic societies is fundamentally opposed to Christian teaching.

Christianity teaches freedom for the entire cosmos, liberation for the whole, and unity in the heart of God. Christian freedom is a state where we can rejoice together with God and the entire world. However, most people in the democratic world today insist on an individualistic concept of freedom. As a result, they deny their nation, their society, their community, and even their family and the relationship of husband and wife. Eventually, they come to deny the very Center of their mind [God].
    What do they have left? Loneliness. When their loneliness reaches the extreme and explodes, they no longer trust others or even themselves. Their feeling of loneliness and distrust becomes an all-encompassing fear and depression, which leads to self-destructive behavior, even suicide. This trend is ever more evident in contemporary times.
     Hence, if we really want freedom, we should not cry out for the irresponsible freedom that people sought in the past or are seeking today, but we should seek for the true freedom that accompanies the ideal of God’s love. (4:319-20, October 12, 1958)

 

Seek First His Kingdom and His Righteousness

Watch or listen to the latest Richad Urban Show:

#104-Medical Experiments on Children Are Not OK – Remember Auschwitz and Never Forget
Listen to the Podcast

Cheon Seong Gyeong 561

The average lifespan does not exceed eighty years. Within that short space of time allotted to us, we must get a grip on all the historically intertwined realms of goodness that were entangled in history. Realizing the vastness of the realm of goodness with which we are to forge a bond during our brief stay on earth, our mind and conscience must surge urgently forward. If we die we cannot do it. While we yet live, let us find our original homeland and restore the sovereignty of our homeland. Only by serving the heavenly sovereign and living in his nation can we enter God’s Kingdom in heaven. (155-25, 1964.10.6)

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1188

As viewed from God’s original ideal of creation, the eldest son should come from God’s side and, of course, the second son should also come from God’s side. Due to the Fall, the position of the first son was taken by Satan, and the position of the second son went to God. This has to be made right. Thus, when we consider the story of Esau and Jacob in the Bible, Jacob united with his mother and received her help. He gave Esau the pottage of lentils and bread in exchange for the birthright of the firstborn son. Until today, we could not understand why Bible history is the way it is. With the appearance of the Unification Church, its meaning was clarified for the first time. (134-304, 1985.8.16)

Assurance

A PERSON WITH CONFIDENCE IN GOD’S PROVISION need not bother about worldly cares. God is in control and will perform His purpose regardless of what people may do. Why should we be anxious about money or having life’s necessities, when at any moment God can provide what we need? Why should we be anxious about the results of our efforts, when God is the Shaper of destinies? Even the prospect of death is of little import from the standpoint of eternal life. Jesus tells us that God who provides for the birds of the air and lilies of the field will provide for us as well, as long as we “seek His Kingdom and His righteousness.” In other words, the key to experiencing the peace of God is to have a selfless mind-set and live utterly for His sake. Father Moon’s particular understanding of God’s provision adds the dimension of mutuality: As God provides for human needs, He longs to find people who will comfort Him by concerning themselves about His needs and His situation. Thus, Father Moon experienced God calling him to share in His suffering. When through such experiences we experience God’s bitter heart, we recognize that our sadness and worry over our personal situation pales in comparison to God’s sadness and worry over us. Our greatest satisfaction, then, is to comfort God even in the midst of our own suffering. In such times, we can feel assurance and support coming from God’s deepest heart

Do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food and clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O men of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we wear?” For the gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.
    Matthew 6.25-33

Continue reading “Seek First His Kingdom and His Righteousness”

Islam Adopted Biblical Teachings Appropriate to Arab Culture

Editorial and Richard Urban ShowDo You Know the Facts about COVID and the COVID Vaccines?

Book Review-American Worldview Inventory 2020-21 by George Barna

Hebrews 6

My friends, we are talking this way. But we are sure that you are doing those really good things that people do when they are being saved. 10 God is always fair. He will remember how you helped his people in the past and how you are still helping them. You belong to God, and he won’t forget the love you have shown his people. 11 We wish that each of you would always be eager to show how strong and lasting your hope really is. 12 Then you would never be lazy. You would be following the example of those who had faith and were patient until God kept his promise to them.

Matthew

28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Richard: We do well to take the scripture of Matthew 6:33 as our motto. It is, indeed, a rare path for people to take, as Jesus said earlier in verse 24 of the same chapter
“You cannot be the slave of two masters! You will like one more than the other or be more loyal to one than the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

Muhammad

Living in polytheistic Arabia, Muhammad saw the truth of the one God and accepted his calling to be God’s apostle. Though he knew the stories of the bible from childhood, the Jews and Christians living in his area did not impress him, for they lacked the conviction or zeal to confront the ruling polytheistic tribes. Muhammad went through the streets of Mecca proclaiming the message of Islam to anyone who would listen. Though he suffered persecution and exile, he also found supporters. Muhammad and his companions were welcomed in Medina, where they defended the young faith against overwhelming odds. Muhammad was devoted to God and uncompromising with evil. Father Moon honors him as one of the foremost founders of religion.

1. God’s Revelation to Muhammad

Muhammad is… the Messenger of God and the Seal of the Prophets.
    Qur’an 33.40

O Prophet, We have sent you as a witness, and good tidings to bear and warning, calling unto God by His leave, and as a light-giving lamp.
    Qur’an 33.45-46

It belongs not to any mortal that God should speak to him, except by revelation, or from behind a veil, or that He should send a messenger and He reveal whatsoever He will, by His leave; surely He is All-high, All-wise. Even so We have revealed to thee [O Muhammad] a Spirit of Our bidding. You knew not what the Book was, nor belief; but We made it a light, whereby We guide whom We will of Our servants. And you, surely you shall guide unto a straight path—the path of God.
    Qur’an 42.51-53

In the month of Ramadan… in the night on which God honored Muhammad with his mission and showed mercy on His servants thereby, Gabriel brought him the command of God. “He came to me,” said the Apostle of God, “while I was asleep, with a coverlet of brocade where-upon was some writing, and said, ‘Read!’ I said, ‘I cannot read.’ He pressed me with it so tightly that I thought it was death; then he let me go and said, ‘Read!’ I said, ‘I cannot read.’ He pressed me with it again so that I thought it was death; then he let me go and said, ‘Read!’ I said, ‘I cannot read.’ He pressed me with it the third time so that I thought it was death and said, ‘Read!’ I said, ‘What then shall I read?’ —and this I said only to deliver myself from him, lest he should do the same to me again. He said,

Read! In the name of thy Lord who
created,
Who created man of blood coagulated.
Read! Thy Lord is the most beneficent,
Who taught by the pen,
Taught that which they knew not unto
men. [Qur’an 96.1-5]

    “So I read it, and he departed from me. And I awoke from my sleep, and it was as though these words were written on my heart. Now none of God’s creatures was more hateful to me than an ecstatic poet or a man possessed: I could not even look at them. I thought, Woe is me, a poet or possessed—never shall the Quraysh say this of me! I will go to the top of the mountain and throw myself down that I may kill myself and gain rest. So I went forth to do so, and then, when I was midway on the mountain, I heard a voice from heaven saying, ‘O Muhammad! Thou art the Apostle of God and I am Gabriel.’ I raised my head toward heaven to see who was speaking, and lo, Gabriel in the form of a man with feet astride the horizon, saying, ‘O Muhammad! Thou art the Apostle of God and I am Gabriel.’ I stood gazing at him, moving neither forward nor backward; then I began to turn my face away from him, but toward whatever region of the sky I looked, I saw him as before…
    “I said to Khadija, ‘Woe is me, a poet or one possessed.’ She said, ‘I take refuge in God from that, O Abu’l-Qasim. God would not treat you thus, since He knows your truthfulness, your great trustworthiness, your fine character, and your kindness. This cannot be, my dear. Perhaps you did see something.’ ‘Yes, I did,’ I said. Then I told her of what I had seen; and she said, ‘Rejoice, O son of my uncle, and be of good heart.48 Verily, by Him in whose hand is Khadija’s soul, I have hope that you will be the Prophet of this people.’”
    Ibn Ishaq, Sirat Rasul Allah

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Why did God reveal Himself to the prophets and create the great religions of the world? It was to enable the human race to return to Him, and then, in perfect oneness with His blessed Will, establish one peaceful world. Humanity must know God’s original vision for the world, and know the reason why God revealed Himself to the prophets. Surely no one expressed more deeply this original ideal of God than the blessed Prophet Mohammed, not only in word but also in deed. (October 21, 1990)

Muhammad was centered on God, and based on God’s revelation he founded the religion of Islam. It adopted the teachings of the Old and New Testaments of the Christian Bible with contents appropriate to Arab culture. Through Islam, Muhammad sought to give human beings the absolute truth of God. (39:316, January 16, 1971)

God always supports those serving the larger purpose… Between one who lived for his family, and one who sacrificed his beloved family for the benefit of his community, God would support the one living for the community. This is an unchanging principle of God. Once again, we can use the Prophet as a supreme example of knowing and living according to this Divine Principle. Did the Prophet live only for his own clan or tribe or even only for the Arab people? No, he always lived for the higher purpose, not limiting his message for only one group or race. The message of the Prophet was for every precious one into whom God breathes His spirit. (October 21, 1990)