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Let Tiie Dead Bury The Dead He said to another man, "Follow enc." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father" Jesus said to him, "Let the dead burr their own dead. but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Luke 9:59-60 Jesus' teaching was crystal clear on the standard of loving God. When one of his disciples asked him if he could go and assist in the funeral of his father, Jesus told him to stay with his mission and "Let the dead bury the dead." Standing in the Presence of God November 7, 1982 When a follower asked Jesus if he could go home to bury his deceased father, Jesus said, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead." From these words of Jesus, it is clear that the Bible contains two different concepts of life and death. The first concept of life and death concerns physical life. Here, "death" means the end of physical life, as was the case of the disciple's deceased father who was to be burred. The second concept of life and death concerns those living people who had gathered to bury the deceased man, those whom Jesus called "the dead." Why did Jesus refer to people whose bodies were alive and active as the dead? He meant that since they had not accepted Jesus, they were far removed from the love of God and were dwelling in the realm of Satan's dominion. This second concept of death does not refer to the expiration of physical life. It means leaving the bosom of God's love and falling under the dominion of Satan. The corresponding concept of life refers to the state of living in accordance with God's will, within the dominion of God's infinite love. Therefore, even if a person's physical self is alive, if he dwells apart from God's dominion and is in servitude to Satan, he is dead as judged by the original standard of value. A similar conclusion can be drawn from the Lords words of judgment upon the faithless people of the church in Sardis: "You have the name of being alive, and you are dead." (Rev. 3:1) On the other hand, even though a person's physical life may have expired, he remains alive in the true sense if his spirit abides in the kingdom of heaven in heaven, a realm in the spirit world where God governs through love. When Jesus said, "...he who believes in me, though he dies, yet shall he live" (John 11:25), he meant that those who believe in him and live within the realm of God's dominion have life. Even after their physical bodies have returned to the soil, their spirits enjoy life in God's dominion. Jesus also said, "...whoever lives and believes in me shall never die." (John 11:26) In saying that believers will never die, he meant that those who believe in Jesus during their earthly life will obtain eternal life not in this world, but in spirit, within the bosom of God's love. They will be alive, both in this life and the next. Jesus words assure us that death, in the sense of the end of physical life, has no effect on our eternal life. Exposition of the Divine Principle Resurrection 1.1 Loving Jesus First "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn a man against his father; a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law -- a man's enemies will he the members of his own household. "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me." Matthew 10:34-38 Did Jesus tell his followers to cherish everything and be nice to everyone? On the contrary he said, "Do not think I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword." Even John the Baptist said, "Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand." Why didn't he say "Rejoice, for the kingdom of Heaven is coming?" True repentance is not easy. First you have to repent for the historical mistakes made during the dispensation, and then do what was left undone. The strict requirements of Jesus' teaching are contrary to what we want to hear and in opposition to what we want to do. Compared to today 2,000 years ago was a very spiritually dark and closed age; yet even under those circumstances Jesus said, "He who loves father and mother more than me is not worthy of me." Do you think the people of that unenlightened time would have welcomed Jesus? If Jesus came today; he might proclaim that people should love him more than the President. He would walk into a wedding and say that it is better to live singly and forget about marriage in order to love Jesus. What if he said, "I don't want you to wait for marriage for eternity, just until I say that it is possible?" Do you think that the pastor who was presiding over the ceremony would say 'Jesus, you are right. This couple should wait to marry"? No! They all would say he was crazy and want to toss him out of the church. It is not surprising that the people of Jesus' time thought he was a crazy man who was unfit to live in society. Eternal Happiness February 25, 1979 When you are cold, you put on warmer clothes; when you are hungry, you feed yourself. You take really good care of yourself, but do you do the same for God? This is a very important matter for your life. We all have only one lifetime; at the end of your life, the serious question you must answer will be how well did you actually love God. The question has already been raised by Jesus, as recorded in the Bible. He demanded of people that they love him more than their own spouses or children or anyone else. Love is of all different qualities. What is the standard for loving that we need to meet before we are actually qualified to say to someone, "I love you"? We need to know where we are in relation to that standard. Jesus' standard of loving included everything in a person's life: his loved ones and his precious belongings -- everything. Each person has a claim on his own environment, his family his country; and his world. All of that had to be abandoned, if necessary; in order to love Jesus; this was the clear-cut standard which the Bible records... Suppose you went to heaven and God asked you, "How much did you love me while you were on earth?" Could you answer him, "Well, Heavenly Father, I wanted to love you but my wife prevented me"? Such an answer is not acceptable. You need to be sure while you are living that you are not only willing, but able to love God. Standing in the Presence of God November 7, 1982 The role of religion is to teach people to set their standard of love higher than the satanic world's standard. The religious man is one who demonstrates higher love than anyone in the world claimed by Satan. For the sake of God he can then deny the value of anything in the satanic world and thus recreate the value of everything in relation to God. As religious people, we should be triumphant to this way of love. God's love will begin after we demonstrate our love, which is the very reason that Jesus said, "He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." This is the true heart of God's Principle. We should become people who can demonstrate a greater love toward God and toward Christ than toward anybody else in the world, because at that point God's love will begin. By loving the Lord, men and women can surpass the point at which man fell and reach the level of perfection. The Desire of All Things June 17, 1977 Original love is far greater than worldly love. In this world, one man has stood up and said, "Love me more than you love anyone in the world." Anyone who could make such a statement must be the most extraordinary man in history What that man is actually saying is that you should remove yourself from this world and find God's viewpoint in order to make a new beginning. If you tell God that you want to make a new start from the original point and make a new world, then he will say "Welcome, my child! I have been waiting for you. I need that kind of solution for this world." If God did not respond in that way, then God would he responsible for the problems. God will have to respond to such a person. Jesus knew God as a personal God of heart, and he represented that love to the world, saying, "Love me more than anyone or anything else." Jesus' position was absolutely extraordinary. God welcomed Jesus entry into the world, but Satan held him back. Parents, Children and the World Centered upon Oneself June 5, 1983