First let me say that I’m feeling that our Heavenly Parent is closer than ever. God is close. The barrier or distance between us is shrinking away. We can see this in the recent matching testimony by ***, where her father, and even her older brother and younger sister, had intuitions and premonitions about who True Father would choose for her one year before he actually matched her to her husband. This kind of thing is more and more possible now. We have to trust ourselves in our communication with our Heavenly Parent.
In our reading today, from “a bald head and a strawberry,” Hyungjin-nim revealed that he gained a deeper heart following the loss of his older brother, Youngjin-nim. Also *** and ***, a second-generation couple in our church, who have exceptionally deep and patient hearts, both suffered deep losses in their personal lives like Hyungjin-nim – one being crippled in a terrible accident that simultaneously took the lives of two friends, the other losing her elder brother in an accident when she was just a teenager.
In my life as well, the loss of a stable home following my parents’ divorce eventually led me to deepen my heart, through shedding many tears and healing the hurt I suffered.
Is it necessary to suffer the loss of someone you hold dear before you can deepen your heart? Must we suffer to have a deep heart? How will we deepen our hearts in the restored world, or how would Adam and Eve have deepened their hearts in the original world, if they had not fallen?
We can say that in the ideal world, strong and loving parents would ensure that their children not grow up to be shallow and immature, not by hurting them, but perhaps by scolding them to help them deepen their heart; and in the restored world, where the spirit world is close at hand, the ancestors would come down to help the parents in this task. Even in this world, good parents do this.
Then what of the original world, before the fall? How would Adam and Eve have deepened their hearts? What was God’s plan for educating Adam’s and Eve’s hearts? I believe the answer is found in the struggle with the archangel Lucifer.
Lucifer was allowed to stay in the Garden, even though our Heavenly Parent knew how dangerous he could potentially be, because Lucifer knew how much God loved Adam and Eve, even more than they did themselves. He had seen God create the entire universe. He had helped God create it. He had come to know that this whole universe was a gift for his children, Adam and Eve. This was the source of his resentment, jealousy and confusion. But it was also the source of the knowledge that Adam and Eve needed to become mature and sincere towards God. Thus, by being forced to solve the painful heart of Lucifer, to win his heart, they would have naturally discovered how much God loved them. They would have deepened their hearts. Without having to deal with Lucifer, Adam and Eve could have grown up shallow and heartless, never understanding how much God loved them.
This is why God could not remove Lucifer from the Garden, and why he continues to tolerate his presence in our lives. It is also why Abel must go through Cain to restore Heaven. Cain represents Lucifer, while Abel represents Adam. True Father has said that Abel cannot go to Heaven without Cain, and vice-versa. Now we can understand why. Through the painful, resentful heart of our Cains (and we all have them) we can unlock the secrets of the love of God. Isn’t that miraculous? By loving Cain, we can understand the love of God. This is just one more reason why we must do Home Church.
So, there is no way to avoid suffering. Whether it comes by accident, or through parents’ love and scolding, or through unlocking the painful heart of another, we must all go through suffering in order to understand the love of God, our Heavenly Parent. And this is not to be feared or avoided, but welcomed. How else can we reach our fullest potential and maturity? How else can we live with God?
The important thing is not to fall into resentment and recrimination when we experience suffering, but to remember that it is the key to unlock the love of God. I would call this ability to heal suffering and recognize its potential “the Creative Power of Suffering.” Let us make an effort to discover and train this ability in our daily lives.
Let’s sing together “Suffering Heart” from the Holy Song Book. True Father wrote these words, and it is very deep. We can treat it as a prayer and reflection. This song is often neglected because of its length, but I think it could be a very appropriate way to end our sermon today.
Darkness gaining power within, tempting my soul to fall.
Weak is my heart, blurred are my thoughts, soon I am overcome.
Blind to the truth, losing the way, thinking of myself;
So I can see how sin began sprouting within my soul.
So I can see how sin began sprouting within my soul.
When my Lord came over to me, I would not hear His voice;
Blinded and deaf, closing my heart, I ran away from Him.
So I remained lost in desire only for myself.
Grieving the Lord suffered for me, going again to the cross.
Grieving the Lord suffered for me, going again to the cross.
To restore the black lonely night held by the power of sin,
Deserts He crossed, walking the way, climbing the rocky peaks.
Searching for us people of sin who deserve to die,
How then could I ever begin thanking the Lord for such grace?
How then could I ever begin thanking the Lord for such grace?
To defeat the power of death, fighting the realm of sin.
I sought the Lord, longing for Him, Bridegroom of my soul.
Tortured my heart, suffering alone, fighting deepest pain,
Finally today I greet the Lord, gaining all comfort from Him.
Finally today I greet the Lord, gaining all comfort from Him.
Joy eternal lifting my heart, swelling within my breast;
Now I behold, Heavenly life, glory and happiness.
Always before stung by my sin, I was doomed to die.
Finally today I am reborn, filled with abundant new life,
Finally today I am reborn, filled with abundant new life.
O my dearest Heavenly bride, now you’ve come home at last,
Deserts you crossed, searching for me, climbing the rocky peaks;
You persevered, faithful to me, longing for this day.
How you’ve become lovely to see through all your suffering and pain,
How you’ve become lovely to see through all your suffering and pain.
Come, O come, together we’ll sing songs of eternal praise.
Taste now my love, treasure so pure, Heaven’s gift for you;
All of my heart waited for you, yearning for this day.
All of my heart waited for you now I can give you my love.
All of my heart waited for you now I can give you my love.