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| The
Principles of Growth
Growth in the Physical Cosmos
The growth of humankind's natural environment is empowered
autonomously, in accordance with the principles of creation.
Given the elements required for growth, plants and animals
pass through three stages of development to reach maturity,
guided by natural laws created by God.
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Animals and plants, lacking
a spiritual nature, do not consciously participate in their
own growing processes: God endowed their internal characters
with instructions and instincts which guide them to fulfillment
according to the purposes for which they were made.The same
holds true for the physical bodies of human beings. Given
the necessary elements, such as sunlight and air, food and
drink, men and women grow naturally to full physical maturity,
becoming physically capable of reproduction and exercising
dominion over nature and all material things.
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The
Indirect Dominion of Law
Human beings are not only physical, however. They have a
spiritual nature as well as a body, an inner being through
which they are linked with God and other people. Since this
internal mind of human beings governs their entire identity
and life, its growth to maturity is ultimately more important
than the growth of the physical body. What then is spiritual
growth and how is it achieved?
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Since humankind
was made to receive and reciprocate God's love, the most important
purpose for men and women is learning how to give and receive
true love. Essentially, growth of the spirit is growth in
capacity to give and receive pure love. This development of
love is what enables men and women to resemble God fully and
realize the three blessings. In the formation stage, a child
begins this process by receiving and giving love with its
parents and older brothers and sisters.The child expresses
children's love in responding to the love it receives. As
it grows, it learns to give and receive more in the intimate
circle of its family, |
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by loving relationships with relatives and friends, expanding
the circle of love. Eventually, he or she develops the capacity
for mutual love. On this foundation of fully mature love,
a man and woman are prepared to enter into a relationship
of conjugal love and take full responsibility for children,
giving them unconditional parental love.
The growth of love is accomplished in accordance with God's
law.
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| Before individuals are fully
mature, they must be guided by instructions from God so that
they do not misuse their capacity to love. It is the role
of parents to communicate the laws of true love to their children,
through word and deed. Children who grow into men and women
learning how to love according to God's principles live virtuous
lives and fulfill the purpose of their creation. True parents
are fully qualified to guide their children to maturity and
fulfillment of the three blessings. In particular, the father
and mother, with the wisdom and compassion of true parental
love, know when a child has reached the level of maturity
to enter into a relationship of conjugal love and become a
parent, and can provide the best advice in selection of a
spouse. |
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| Love is a spontaneous expression
of heart. It cannot be programmed into a person or forced
from someone. It must be freely given and received. For this
reason, God created human beings with the freedom to make
conscious choices. Humans learn to give and receive true love
by learning to make the right choices in life. just as someone
needs to study and internalize the rules of mathematics or
language to become a master in those fields, so too an individual
needs to master the rules of love to become mature in its
practice. Once heart is perfected through this maturation
process, all its expressions of love flow freely and spontaneously
in accordance with the rules of true love. |
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Since God is the
source of all love, the principles of true love are His creation
and thus any expression of love in contradiction to His rules
would be temporal and false. It is these laws, together with
corrective instructions that are variously articulated by the
world's religions, as, for example, in the Ten Commandments
given to Moses, the Sermon on the Mount of Jesus and the Five
Pillars of Islam in the teachings of Mohammed. All religious
laws derive from one: human beings should not misuse - the love
of God. Described metaphorically in both the Bible and the Koran,
this is the only law God gave to the first man and woman, Adam
and Eve. They were told they were free to enjoy the Garden of
Eden in its entirety, with one caution: they were not allowed
to partake of the fruit of a particular tree. This prohibition
meant they were warned, at the cost of their lives, not to engage
in illicit love. (A full explanation of these scriptural accounts
is given in Chapter 7.) |
The rules of love
have to be articulated because people are born immature and
have to pass through a learning process, guided by the laws
of God, to reach maturity. Therefore, to cultivate true love
and grow to completion, individuals must exercise their free
will in obedience to the laws of God.
God's laws contain the instructions that people must follow
to reach the goal of full maturity, but in starting life as
infants, men and women cannot comprehend such laws and have
no knowledge of God at all. For this reason, the role of parents
is vital. Parents have to educate their children in the application
of God's laws to personal behavior and life in general. Through
parental discipline children learn how to grow in harmony with
the principles of God's creation. Until men and women have completed
the three stages of the growing period and become fully mature,
they remain only partial images of God. This means that the
communication between God and humanity during the growing period
is limited by human immaturity, very much as the relationship
between mature parents and their children is limited by the
immaturity of the children. As the children grow in understanding
and love, their relationship with their parents deepens and
broadens. So it is with God and humankind.
The goal of human growth is to achieve oneness with God: full
compatibility of heart and love. In that stage of being, true
love will be perfected, all-embracing love in the image of God's
true love, and human actions will be completely at one with
God's will. To reach that goal, men and women must deliberately
obey the word, or laws, of God. During the period of human growth,
when God's control of human beings requires the mediation of
His laws, individuals remain in the indirect dominion of God:
they are not yet completely accessible and responsive to God. |
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