The Sixth Principle: Align with heaven to share blessings on earth

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LESSON 26: Sharing Blessings with Others

 A. A family which lives by true family values is a family that naturally brings the expansion of blessings.

1. God is the origin of all true blessings.

2. It is God's Will that we receive His blessings for the sake of transferring them to others.

3. If we act so to make these blessings available to others, then we will mobilize heavenly fortune, because we are acting in accordance with heaven's spiritual laws. By doing so, we become a like a vital cell in God's living body, the body of God and True Parents.

4. We can imagine a family which is united so closely in love that they feel and act as one body. If we expand this concept to the world and cosmic level, we can grasp the meaning of a family of the body of God and True Parents.

B. A family of the body of God and True Parents.

1. It is a family existing in internal unity with God.

• It is described on the level of individuals in John 14:20: "You will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you."
• 1 Cor 12:13, 27: "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, and all were made to drink of one Spirit. . . . Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it." (see also Eph. 4:15-16 and Col. 2:19)

2. To be a member of the body of God and True Parents is an internal reality. It means that we as a family have perfected love to such a degree that we become one body with God, as united with God as the feet and hands are united with the personas mind which directs and cares for them.

C. This is the family which can gain the cooperation of the spirit world, and activate, or mobilize, heavenly fortune.

1. Heavenly fortune is the power of God which upholds the cosmos.

• Heavenly fortune operates according to principle. Naturally it upholds those who move in harmony with the cosmos in accordance with its universal laws.
• In particular, we must understand the basic spiritual laws of the spirit world and the physical laws of nature. These laws govern the operation of all entities:
  • The proper alignment of mind and body, male and female.
  • The two sides giving and receiving in harmony.
  • Growth to completion as an individual before entering into unification with my partner.
  • The part operating for the sake of the whole
  • The development from the individual to the family, clan, nation and world.
• Working within these principles brings the protection and energy of God and the whole universe.

2. Every religion teaches that by faith and righteousness, we connect to God's power and protection.

• Psalm 23 expresses David's faith in God's protection: "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want . . . ."
• Rev 3:10 expresses a covenant between God and the righteous: "Because you have kept my word of patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial which is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell upon the earth."
• Hindu scriptures express the same assurance: "Quickly I come to those who offer me every action, who worship me only, their dearest delight, with undaunted devotion. Because they love me, these are my bondsmen, and I shall save them from mortal sorrow and all the waves of life's deathly ocean." Bhagavad Gita 12.6-7
• Taoist thought concurs: "A sacrificial vessel: The superior man, taking his stance as righteousness requires, adheres firmly to Heaven's decrees."
• Islamic scripture encourages the same: "O you who believe! Be mindful of your duty to God, and seek the way to approach unto Him, and strive in His way in order that you may succeed." Qur'an 5.35

3. Mobilizing heavenly fortune.

• By living according to the natural spiritual and physical laws, we are in harmony with the cosmos and are protected by the cosmos.
• Heaven protects those who uphold the way of heaven. This is because heaven is one ecological circle. Violation of the circle of life brings death, because one is cut off from the flow of energy which brings life and growth.
• The fallen world has a weak connection with the way of heaven. Those who follow the path of goodness must digest and endure persecution with patience and love.
  • Keep striving for goodness even when no result comes.
  • Such sacrifice puts wealth in your heavenly bank account.
  • If you don't reap the reward, your children will.
  • Suffering is not a way to blessing if it is taken as victimization by self-centered people. But the suffering of the righteous, which is for the sake of God and to save other people, has great merit.
  • There are two totally different meanings to suffering:
    • Those who bring suffering on themselves by immoral or selfish actions: financial manipulators, drug or sex abusers, atheists, traitors.
    • Those who endure suffering to help others: Schweitzer, Mother Teresa, all such people.
• We each can decide which path to take.

4. We invite heavenly fortune when we act together to spread God's blessings to others.

• Love grows when it is shared.
• Thus we conform to universal law, and can mobilize heavenly fortune all the more.
  • A virtuous cycle, increasing momentum, getting "on a roll."
  • Invest the smaller for the larger purpose.
  • This is a heavenly secret to a successful life.
• Our aim as a true family is to multiply God's blessings of abundant life to our surroundings.
• Of all God's blessings, the greatest is His Blessing of holy marriage. It is the Blessing which endows the power to receive and give unlimited blessings, like teaching a man to fish, rather than just giving him a fish. We will discuss this more in the next lesson.

D. This is the higher purpose of all families: to be in service of neighbors and relatives, one's hometown.

1. Every individual and every family should be in partnership with God and each other.

2. Avoid family-centered life, which is a form of selfishness.

• Do not just think that your home is your castle.
• Do not favor your own relatives (nepotism).
• In fact, we should work first for the benefit of other families, not our own. This is the practice of patriotism, sainthood and holiness.
• Beware of hoarding your blessings! Such families lose their heavenly fortune.

3. Hospitality: a traditional virtue.

• Taking in orphans and raising them as one's own.
• Helping poorer relations.
• Kindness to strangers, especially those in need.

4. Voluntarism: helping the community.

• Charity, philanthropy.
• Tithing time and money.
• The CEO of a major corporation coaches a local children's soccer team, or works in a soup kitchen.

5. Leadership: becoming a center of the community through active service. The person who sacrifices for others will attract others' support and confidence.

6. The family which extends itself to others also expands itself.

• Its members have varied experiences with different kinds of people.
• It experiences expanding love for others.
• It experiences more of God's love.
• It finds purpose and unity in serving God together.

To give heaven's blessings, we must know what these blessings are. They are not just food and drink. We will look at this in the next lesson.

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