The Purpose of Creation

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In the previous article, we’d examined the fundamental structure by which everything in the universe can exist individually, interact with other things, and multiply as a result of that interaction — the structure that’s called the four position foundation. Then, on the basis of that understanding, the Divine Principle explains how the very purpose of creation is achieved through a few specific configurations of this structure.

The Divine Principle from a Unification Thought Perspective

It’s important to remember the Divine Principle position that the (relative) center of the created world is we human beings; we had covered that in the last session. Only one being is more central than ourselves, and that is God. In short, we were conceived of as the children of God, and we were created to be the objects of God’s delight, God’s joy, and God’s love. So by growing up into God’s filial children, we would fulfill the very purpose for which we were created. This would be accomplished by us following some very simply-stated instructions. We were to:

“be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion… over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” • Gen. 1:28

Divine PrincipleThese are called “the three great blessings”: to become fruitful, to multiply, and to have dominion”. And then the Divine Principle explains each one. The first great blessing — to become fruitful — is described in a single paragraph:

“The key to God’s first blessing is the perfection of individual character. …In order for an individual to perfect his character, he must form a four position foundation within himself whereby his mind and body become one…with God as their center. Such individuals become the temples of God, achieve complete oneness with Him, and acquire a divine nature. They experience the Heart of God as if it were their own. Hence, they understand His Will and live fully attuned to it. …Accordingly, when people realize God’s first blessing, they become God’s beloved who inspire Him with joy. Sharing all the feelings of God as their own, they would never commit any sinful acts that would cause God grief. This means they would never fall.” • Exposition of the Divine Principle, p. 38

Next comes a single paragraph which explains the Second Great Blessing — to multiply. But Unification Thought goes to some lengths to expand our understanding of the First Great Blessing, so let’s look at just a couple of things that it has to say.

Your Individual Value

First is the notion of “individual character”, more specifically, the value of our own individuality. To put this into context, I need to explain the concept of perfection that I had before finding this one: I’d previously thought that, when I reached perfection, I’d merge into a great cosmic consciousness and lose all sense of my (lesser, imperfect) self. My model was influenced by the understanding of enlightenment, especially through Zen in the martial arts. The attainment of perfection is connected to the idea of “emptiness” — a supreme state of surrender, where one is spiritually elevated above all desire, concern and connection to the individual self; this ideal state is represented by the remarkable image of an empty circle.

In contrast to that view, the Divine Principle explains that the value of a person who’s fulfilled the First Great Blessing is absolutely unique, for all eternity:

“Every human being possesses a unique individual character. No matter how many billions of people are born on the earth, no two will ever have exactly the same personality. Each person is God’s substantial object partner who manifests a distinctive aspect of God’s dual characteristics. Hence, that person is the only one in the entire universe who can stimulate that distinctive aspect of God’s nature to bring Him joy.” • Exposition of the Divine Principle, p. 164

That’s absolutely something that mustn’t be skimmed over, because it implies that each one of us has unique eternal value — we are potentially an irreplaceable “one-off” in the entire, eternal life of God. To explain the rationale for such a statement, Unification Thought presents the notion of the “individual image” and its special implication for human beings. In short, the individual image of every living species is a reflection of their individual image in the mind of God.

“…every existing being has some individuality… which comes from the Individual Image in God. From the countless Individual Images in God comes the individuality of each person…” • Explaining Unification Thought, p. 18–19

A Unique Image of God

SNN0645A---_1865713aUnification Thought mentions some established scientific knowledge that has a fascinating link to this idea of unique individual images within God:

“Why is the DNA of each person different? Each person’s DNA is different because the Individual Image, which exists within God, dwells in the chromosomes in the form for DNA. In creating human beings and all other creatures, God envisioned a form and nature peculiar to each created being. The peculiar form and nature exist as an idea in God’s (mind). That idea is precisely what the Individual Image is.” • Essentials of Unification Thought, p. 14–15

And it offers a very intriguing insight into the workings of God’s mind when an individual image is being designed:

“Once the Purpose for creating something—such as a bird—is formed by Heart… God thinks… ‘How can I realize the idea of a bird? What color should it be? What should the shape and structure of the feathers be like? How should the bones and muscles be constructed?’ Next, He makes a specific plan for creating the bird. Seeing the plan, He feels with His emotion, ‘It is not good,’ or ‘It is fine.’ If the plan is unsatisfactory, He corrects it. Then He decides, with His will, to realize the plan…” • Explaining Unification Thought, p. 35

This description of the effort God makes to design a bird is very poignant. But it makes me wonder how much more God works to imagine a beloved child… For Unification Thought explains that, while the individual images of all other beings are designed for their entire species, the individual image for human beings is designed for each individual.

There’s one distressing caveat to this beautiful process: it’s a description of an ideal situation, where husbands and wives conceive children only after having become spiritually mature. In that case, I can imagine that God could participate unimpeded with the parents’ creation of a child, working fluidly with the qualities that the father and the mother bring to the creation of their child. So that, guided by the laws and processes of God’s Principle, the child that emerges is a reflection of their father and mother, but also something new and special on their own — the result of the unique, individual image that God’s participation can bring to the creation of the child. But in a world where parents do not (to put it mildly) fully realize their divine nature, there must necessarily be some impediments to God’s ideal process. So I expect that — as a master chef has limitations imposed by the quality of the available ingredients — God’s process too is limited by the imperfections of human parents.

God’s Unending Creativity Unleashed

Still, the creative process is a divine one, and so God’s input has bearing on the creation of each one of us. Unification Thought puts it this way:

“… The individual image of a human being is… peculiar to each individual person. That is the reason why the faces and characteristics of human beings are clearly distinguishable from one another. Thus, in the case of animals and plants, the individual image differs according to each species, while in the case of human beings, the individual image differs according to each individual person. The first manifestation of human individuality is the uniqueness in a person’s appearance; though there are over six billion people in the world, no two individuals have exactly the same face. The second manifestation is in behavior, which is different from person to person. If we regard appearance as the unique characteristic feature of one’s hyungsang, then one’s behavior can be regarded as the unique characteristic feature of one’s sungsang, because behavior is a direct manifestation of the mind. The third manifestation is creative activity. Not only artistic creation, but any activity in which one’s creativity is expressed is included in the concept of creation. This creative expression will differ from person to person. In this sense, if one lives one day to its fullest, expressing his or her creativity in everything they do, the footprints of that day become a work of art. Furthermore, the footprints of one’s entire life course become a life work of art.” • New Essentials of Unification Thought, p. 162

Unification ThoughtComing back to where I’d started — the First Great Blessing of being “fruitful” — I feel that we’ve perhaps overlooked the beautiful significance of the individual in the definition of “individual character.” I’d once thought that, when I reached perfection, I’d be enlightened and merge into a great cosmic consciousness and lose all sense of my (lesser, imperfect) self. But after understanding the perspective of Unification Thought, I have come to a much deeper appreciation of who I am, of the gift of potential within me, and of who I might become. Not only to myself, and not only just to those who care about me during my earthly lifetime — but even to the infinite God, in the course of eternity. That — by fulfilling the First Great Blessing — I can fully become an individual who is irreplaceable in the life of God, someone who delights God in a way that is completely unique to who I am.

This does not make me arrogant, or fill me with self-importance, but rather, it evokes a profound humility and gratitude that is hard to describe. And to think that all of us, each one of us, has this kind of unique potential…

After living with this perspective for most of my life, I have finally come to feel that God, the all mighty Creator, is so much closer to me than that — rather, the Creator is my Heavenly Parent: someone who knows me, thinks of me, is aware of me and all I do; and who wants me to fully understand, fully know, and fully feel the confidence and especially the joy from that certain knowledge — at the very least, as much as my own Dad and Mom want me to understand their heart for me.

And that’s all from the first sentence in the definition of the First Great Blessing. Next time, we’ll continue exploring some of the rest of its meaning.

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  1. The Blessing of Love - February 20, 2016

    […] actually an extension of the position of the Principle and Unification Thought that we’d studied a few posts back: that a fully-realized person is an eternally unique individual, the likes of whom has never […]

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