Cheon Seong Gyeong Ⅱ - 260. The Era of the Ocean
1 Water is like the progenitor of life. So we need to love water, which also represents God. We need to love the ocean. In every scenic spot there are beautiful forests and bodies of water. Water creates harmony. Water has an absolute character but no form. It fits the shape of whatever contains it. If you understand the philosophy of water, it is like perfecting the sixty-six books of the Bible and being able to become a son or daughter of God.( 262-292,19940801)
2 The Christian ceremony of baptism involves going into the water and being born again. Since every living thing starts from water, which is the origin of life, you can go into the water and come out clean and reborn. If you observe water every day and let your mind move with it, the blood of your body will be refined. While gazing at flowing water, have you ever felt that your mind is being washed clean? We need to love water. I am saying that loving water is the same as loving all of creation. This is a fundamental idea. When loving water, should you love lake water or seawater? Should you go out to the sea every day or not? If you are on a boat with the winds blowing and the waves running high, your blood swirls around and never goes bad. Your blood is purified.( 262-292,19940801)
Learning from the sea 3 No matter how numerous they are, how large or small, all rivers flow toward the vast oceans. Once they reach them, all their waters are mixed together. The Black Current flows in the Pacific and is one of the currents that circulates through thousands of miles among the five great oceans. This is possible because of the moon's gravitational pull. Because these currents circulate in this way, the five great oceans can all be in motion. They act as the supporting pillars of the entire ocean system. When filth and other things come into the ocean waters, they are all mixed up and move toward becoming one. This is the purpose of the ocean. Even if a large river were to constantly supply fresh water for tens of thousands of years, the ocean has the ability to absorb it all and still have room to spare. The ocean is great because it remains unchanged, no matter what enters it.( 210-202,19901223)
4 There is no deception in nature. If a place is high, it is high, and if it is low, it is low. Nature will equally supply the higher place and the lower place without objection. I have learned from nature to give everything freely without objection. When I go to a foreign land and find people who have less than I have, I open my storehouses and share all my rice even though I might have none left for myself. I do this to make things even. I learned that from water. For this reason, I like water. God’s judgment did not touch the fish living in the water. I always prepare offerings in front of God. I always release the first fish I catch, whether it is big or small. You have no idea how wonderful it is to release at least the first fish!( 300-141,19990302)
5 The ocean, when calm, is mystical. It has the power to draw people in like a captivating, beautiful woman, a queen of mystery. The ocean may look silver, but it can also take on a jade color. At other times the sea assumes other hues. No matter how well a girl may dance, her beauty cannot compare with that of the ripples stirred by the passing of a gentle breeze on the water. Imagine the seagulls at the ocean. Some are sitting and floating on the water, others are flying. All of them are calling; whether their cries are sad or joyful, they all sound beautiful. How wonderful it is when the waves rise up and swoosh down. They are tipped with gold as they sparkle in the sunshine. When we see this, we are amazed by the seas unending changes.( 128-250,19830828)
6 The ocean is like a beautiful woman. Sometimes it resembles a dancing girl. But once it gets upset, it can be more furious than a lion springing at you in the wilderness. Sometimes the waves are more than ten meters high, rising and falling. The cries of the seagulls cannot compare with that sound. The waves seem to say to them, "No matter how well you sing, or how good a comic actor you may be, you cannot compare with the grand force of my fury" The waves are so audacious.( 128-250,19830828)
7 Natures power is enormous. That is why people who love the ocean cannot be arrogant. The ocean has that kind of greatness. If you peek into the deep ocean, you will find all kinds of fish living there: fish that are gold in color, others that are yellow and blue, and even fish that are colorless. When you compare the land with the ocean, which is more beautiful? The land, with its variety of birds, flowers and butterflies, is beautiful but limited. Flowers do not move. Land dwellers pale in comparison with the profusion of beautiful sea creatures that dance about in dazzling, brilliant colors. So which is more beautiful, the land or the ocean? The ocean is more beautiful. Why did God create water? We can say that He made it specially for His own enjoyment. He hid its depths away and did not open them to the public. God probably had more interest in the ocean than in the land.( 128-251,19830828)
8 In the world of love, you can go anywhere you want. Does the seawater say, "I am Pacific Ocean water; all water from Asia is polluted, so I don't like it"? Wherever the water comes from, the Pacific Ocean takes care of it all. Dirty water is quickly absorbed and goes the same way as clean water. Therefore no matter how serious pollution may be, even if all humankind disappears, the Pacific Ocean will still be blue. No matter how much suffering and how many ordeals it must endure, the ocean's blue color will never be altered. Likewise, the power, the content and the authority of love will always be as constant as the ocean’s blue.( 214-275,19910203)
9 You cannot imagine how fearsome and horrifying the waves and the winds are during an ocean storm. But even the strongest wind is fulfilling its mission. If wind did not exist, there would be no waves in the ocean and the fish would not survive. The wind blows to supply oxygen to the ocean. Waves supply oxygen to the water. That is why even when the waves are roaring and the wind is blowing strongly, you should taste the ocean and say, "You haven't lost your taste!" The ocean is salty. If I can think that way, then the currents and rushing waves are not unpleasant. You don't realize how much philosophy can be found in the ocean. People who have lived only on land will face considerable obstacles when they try to engage in ideal activities in the spirit world.( 119-254,19820913)
10 When you visit the ocean, you can learn many things. It undergoes changes several times a day. There is a saying, "A person's mind changes between morning and evening," but the ocean does not change only morning and evening, it changes every hour. On a fine day, if you go to a certain area, the waves might be mild. Yet when you go to another area, the wind will be blowing. It might not be a strong wind, but different in mood. Just as peoples' faces are all different, so are water and mountains. Climate also differs depending on the height of a mountain. The ocean exhibits beauty in all sorts of forms and figures.( 263-018,19940816)
11 Whenever I had time, I would always go out to sea. I would go out to sea and be buffeted about. Despite the hardship, the purpose was to calm my spirit and prepare for trials and greater battles ahead. Though I was often exhausted from having gone without sleep, I would stay alert, set my own standard and strive to maintain a horizontal balance in my daily life.( 073-270,19740929)
12 We can conclude that people who do not know the realm of the ocean are very limited in their sphere of happiness. If there were a Lord of creation, He would enjoy hearing praise from people who appreciate both the mystery of the sea and the beauty of the land, based on a correct knowledge of both the land and sea. We can imagine that He would not approve of praise for only one realm.( 128-259,19830828)
13 When you look at the ocean, you should not regard it simply as the ocean. You have to consider it a gift from our Heavenly Father. In the process of recreation, we review everything. A great revolution begins here. The value of a great victory can sprout from this point of view. So we may ask, to whom would all things of creation wish to belong? They want to be possessed by the one who receives God's love. That is the truth. They want to belong to the person whom God loves. Everything in the plant and animal worlds, even the microorganisms, all want to belong to such a person.( 112-307,19810425)
14 I like things that are stimulating. I can move forward and penetrate things where there is a lot of movement and change. For this, the ocean is better than the land. The ocean is constantly changing. The wind blows, there are sudden periods of calm, the waves rise and fall; there is constant change. Therefore I prefer traveling by sea to traveling by land. On land, the thoughts of the morning can remain unchanged all day. The land remains as it is, no matter how much you move around. But the ocean is different. When I think I'm going in one direction, I could actually be going the other way. It keeps changing that much. This kind of constant change is very stimulating. When the ocean is calm, the land cannot compare with it. It is unbelievably, mysteriously still. Sometimes I feel it is like a pane of glass. It is so beautiful I cannot help wanting to touch it. Sometimes I have the mind to want to drink it. For this reason I go to the ocean, with the thought that I am marching forward with one mind, even though the ocean keeps changing. If you don't have this kind of stimulating experience, you cannot do great work.( 079-270,19750901)
15 To this day I have been a pioneer. I have opened the way and taken the lead. Just recently our company built a boat and I personally took people out to sea to train them to become captains. I would teach them to think, "The wind may blow and the waves run high, but could they block the path of this man? Here I am, going out to solve the global food problem for the sake of heaven and humanity and to carry on life to the future generations." Is that not the attitude of a great man? I like that kind of person. The prosperity created here will remain, and the whirlwind of history will subside here. The ocean is where young people should want to go, and aspire to go. It is a place where joy and sorrow are interwoven. It allows you to leap forward and go beyond the world. In this way, countless young people who go out to sea can find hope. The ocean can be the source, the wellspring that invigorates people's dreams for the future. This comes in relation to the sea.( 109-153,19801101)
16 I go out to sea with a great deal of passion. If I lost this passion, problems would arise. Devotion has to be made continuously for thousands of years. Indemnity conditions cannot be set while sitting comfortably, but they can be made by going out to the ocean and offering devotion. Today must be better than yesterday, and tomorrow must be better than today. If I continue offering devotion until the day I save all the people who are starving, even if I die in the process, I believe that the Will of God will be accomplished on earth.( 279-309,19960922)
17 Because of God's absolute love, He made all the things of creation in a fascinating way. How amazing that creation fully provides for the needs of families in the future kingdom of heaven and ensures their well-being! Even the flow of water exists to assist in the functions of heaven and earth. On the sea's surface, water becomes vapor and circulates to revive all of creation. All things live within a realm of cooperation and help fulfill humanity's ideal by cooperating with one another rather than being in conflict. God, using earth as His stage, raises His children and uplifts them to the kingdom of heaven.( 284-047,19970415)
18 Although I am Korean, many Western people recognize that my work is not only for Korea but also for the entire world. There is no doubt that I am working for the sake of the world. For this reason, with courage and valor, I am building a global association, even in the face of persecution on land and sea. In that sense I made a fearsome declaration when I came out with the title Ocean Church after building this project based on religion, as opposed to conventional thinking. This is a fearsome course I have laid out. From this point on, what am I going to do with Ocean Church? It is not simply about going out to the ocean for training. The purpose is to love the ocean and achieve dominion over it. To me, taking dominion over the ocean means I will nurture it in accordance with the original intention of the Creator and make it the center stage for bringing the world together.( 128-249,19830828) |