Cheon Seong Gyeong Ⅱ - 447. Our mindset during a life of attendance
9 God is not a fantasy. He is not just an idea or an abstract concept. He leads and guides our daily lives. He is always with us as the master of our daily circumstances. He does not exist just so that we can attend Him, but to live together with us, sharing love. All my life I have been fighting battles in circumstances where God could not be properly attended. No matter how hard the world opposes a person like me, and no matter how hard Satan strikes me or tries to undermine me, they cannot prevail as long as Heaven approves of me. Since I have this foundation, whoever attacks me ends up toppling over. (168-112, 1987.09.13)
10 In order to attend God, we need to begin by placing Him in the midst of our heart and mind and then become completely one with Him in our body. Without doing so, there is no way for us to liquidate the devil’s world. That is why we view this time as the age of attendance, the age when we are justified by attendance. We are saved through attendance. God is not a distant God way up in the sky. We should attend God as our subject partner in our daily life. How do we attend Him? By using the law of indemnity, we must unravel all the sorrowful and painful circumstances that God has endured throughout the ages of history. (144-274, 1986.04.25)
11 Why do we seek justification through deeds, justification through faith, and justification through attendance? Without justification, good and evil cannot be distinguished. The evil world cannot be separated from the world of goodness. God is the standard of righteousness and goodness. The way God believes, the way God works, the way He attends— God must always be at the center. Satan cannot accuse righteous people who resemble God. (161-219, 1987.02.15)
12 God believes, works and lives in attendance; if we live with the same standard, then we will create an environment where Satan cannot intervene in our life. Although we may be within Satan’s realm, if we establish the standard of righteousness that makes an environment where we can be with God, then Satan will withdraw. That does not mean that attendance in the Completed Testament Age is the only thing that will remain after the Old Testament Age based on deeds and the New Testament Age based on faith have passed. We need all three: the works of the Old Testament Age, the faith of the New Testament Age, and the attendance of the Completed Testament Age. Even in the Completed Testament Age we need to have faith and do good works. They are inseparable, by the same logic that tells us that growth occurs based on the formation stage, and completion happens based on the growth stage. This is particularly so at this time because justification by attendance means developing our lives in order to usher in the era of the kingdom of heaven. (161-219, 1987.02.15)
13 In the Old Testament Age, sacrificial offerings were made to lay the path for the Son to come. In the New Testament Age, the Son was sent and sacrificed to lay the path for the Parents to come. The blood of Christians was shed for the Second Advent of the Lord, paving the way for the True Parents to come. The age of the Unification Church is the age of the True Parents. It must pave the path for God to descend to the earth and dwell upon it. Because God has come to the earth, we can obtain salvation through attending God. This is how history is developing. We sacrifice things of a lower level in order to recover the Son. The Son has to live, even if it means sacrificing the creation. All things of creation are in lamentation because they cannot experience the glory of God’s love and the realm of His children’s love. (177-158, 1988.05.17)
14 What kind of devotion should true sons and daughters offer? It should not stem from a life of mundane reality. Instead, you should offer devotion of hope, glory, loyalty and attendance. If this is the kind of legacy you leave behind when you pass over to the next world, the kingdom of heaven will belong to you and Heavenly Father will be your Father. Until now, you have offered devotion while going the course of indemnity. However, from now on you should offer devotion to join the realm of attendance, so that you can offer attendance to Heaven. Those who are able to do this will join the first resurrection. In order to join the realm of attendance, you must have the heart to comfort God. God is a grieving God, and you can comfort Him by making painful conditions of devotion through which you can participate in God’s sorrowful circumstances. The providence of restoration introduces us to these circumstances, by revealing the indemnity conditions that people have made before God. (17-245, 1967.01.29)
15 From now on, you must lead a life of righteousness through attendance. By leading a life of attendance we can become a family of filial children, patriots, saints and divine sons and daughters. In the Era before the Coming of Heaven we fought with Satan. That time has now passed, giving way to the Era after the Coming of Heaven, the era of the kingship of peace. This is inevitable. It is necessary for each one of us to follow this path. It is not someone else’s path, but yours. If you do not follow this path, you will have trouble in the next world. (492-237, 2005.04.16) |