"As we live out our earthly life, we are at the same time moving toward the eternal world. Most people pass through life like this: they are born, grow from youth to teen age to their 20s and 30s, reach middle age, and then gradually fade into old age. They live their lives like a setting sun. We, on the other hand, know the existence of the spirit world. We know that this earthly life is short, while the world after death is eternal. Therefore, we live our earthly lives as the time to prepare ourselves for the eternal world. Our life in the physical body is a preparation period. It is like taking a course at school where the tuition is the price of our entire life. Knowing this, we cannot but strive to fulfill our responsibility in order to achieve a result that would properly represent our life. (140:121, February 9, 1986) Which is more important, the flesh or the spirit? It is the spirit. The flesh can live within a limited timeframe of seventy or eighty years, but the spirit transcends time and space. No matter how good a life you may enjoy in the flesh, you will die in the end. The flesh is meant to die. Hence, we should not live according to measures of physical life. The flesh exists for the spirit, not the spirit for the flesh. You should not cling to physical things as people in the secular world commonly do. (20:326, July 14, 1968) In spirit world we breathe love. Those who fail to love on earth will suffocate in the other world. Earthly life is a training ground where we train ourselves to breathe in the other world. That is why we should love others more than our own spouse. (121:294, October 29, 1982) It takes good nurture in the mother’s womb to be born as a good-natured and healthy baby. Likewise, to be born well into the spirit world from the “womb” of earthly life, you should grow by taking after God’s divine heart and character. In the process you should work hard to overcome obstacles, even if it means risking your life. (14:17, April 19, 1964) Religion is a means for us to learn the laws of heaven while we are alive on earth. It exists to train us while on earth to possess the character whereby we can adapt to the laws of the original homeland when we arrive there one day. (77:189, April 6, 1975) How precious it is to be alive on the earth! It is only one moment, our only one chance. Compared to eternity, our earthly life is nothing but a dot, so short. Therefore we should rise above any thought for our physical life and prepare for the spirit world. (207:99, November 1, 1990) You all think, “I am young. Surely I will live another 40 or 50 years.” Do you have a guarantee from God? Rather, it would be better if you thought you might die soon—maybe within a year—and you had only a short time left to prepare everything. Live with this kind of concept. The sooner you expect to die, the better. Then you would be busy preparing the true substance that will enable you to build your “house” of eternal life. How serious would you be if you really believed that you had only two more years to live? Visit a cemetery; go to a funeral and see death. It is necessary to do this in a life of faith. Jesus said, “Whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Expecting to die soon, you would determine to die for God’s Will and for Heaven. Then you will live eternally. (102:122, November 27, 1978) ...RSMM
Posted on: Fri, 07 Jun 2013 19:24:05 +0000