What Are We Dying For?
Hyo Jin Moon July 1, 2007 Belvedere, 7:00 am
Here are my notes from Hyo Jin nim's speech Sunday 01 July 2007. My ability to convey what was actually said is limited. These, at most, convey some sense of what Hyo Jin nim said and are not a verbatim record. Hyo Jin nim's website is: www.canaanstation.com To see two of the projects that Hyo Jin nim is working on log on to: definingmoment.tv and definingmoment.eu Joe Kinney
Rev. Andrew Compton is the MC: All welcome Hyo Jin nim and Yeon Ah nim and offer a standing bow.
(Hyo Jin nim bows to the audience as he approaches the stage.)
Good morning. (Good morning)
It never gets any easier, (Laughter) and it shouldn't.
What are we dying for?
People here, including me, are dying for faith, right?
And life is about proving the faith that we believe.
And what is faith? How much do you know about God? How much in terms of percentage? Do you know him absolutely 100% or what?
Life is a risk and we choose our path and that in itself is a risk, the choices that we make; and we have chosen to follow faith.
What is that faith? And if I ask you individually, almost like a job interview, I'm sure that everyone has a different degree of answers.
You might in general say something, "I want to know God" but there is all sorts of variation.
That is reality and how do you come to that on a conclusive basis to say "This is faith."
You like changes; that's why somebody who stands here has to live a miserable life of unchanging misery. Because its miserable, but you have to change.
What are you dying for?
Look at yourself as a… Father is always talking about us being the microcosm of the universe. And just on a social level, a societal level, yes, we are law makers. Individually speaking we are managers. We make things. We are creators.
We do make laws to ourselves, don't we? We give ourselves (laws) and say "OK this is my standard. This is my law, and I will do my best to follow it." And as you grow they can change. But at the same time, once you make the law you have to manage yourself and that's what you do.
What you see in society is just a magnification of what you actually go through in your own individual self in life. That's it. And some people do get carried away in body mechanics. That's just pure physical things. That's just body mechanics.
But what's greater? When you can make a standard and manage yourself to live up to that standard and prove yourself, then what happened afterwards?
You have to take yourself to the next level. What is that? Expansion. And where does that come from? How do you expand? You have to educate yourself right?
Education is important right? Knowing the beauty of God and all His creation; that takes a whole lot of education to understand its beauty and its purpose. It takes a whole lot of effort to make that expansion.
How much do you know about your own potential? Because education in its ideal sense provokes people about their potential, because if you don't you can't expand. And if you can't expand then how the heck can you know about God who himself is expanding in love?
Who do think you are to say that I know everything about God's love? Based on God's love, a new face that I see is pat of that plan, that realm.
How can I know you automatically? What kind of arrogance is that?
When you talk about dying for faith you really have to understand that the risks that we take, we take it for a reason. We want to grow. We want to expand. We want to ultimately understand how we can unite with God.
Many times on a physical, you know reality, sometimes it's even difficult just to get to know the next person, a friend. How sociable are you? And if you're not why aren't you that way? I'm sure that you have a whole lot of excuses and blame. And I'm sure it's justifiable to the way the world is.
In this age, if you look at secular politics, all the presentation is more important than the deed. You see so much pretentiousness and all that stuff. People say that a picture is worth a thousand words, well action is worth a thousand pictures. How's that?
Putting something into action for the right reasons, for the sake of others, for the sake of stuff we believe that is good, is difficult. And you're going to do it till the day you die? Difficult.
Because is about, like I said earlier, is proving your faith.
Having said that: I want to thank you (gathered here) because you are changing my ways. I used to be detached. (Laughter) I was indifferent. I was vulgar. I lived in rage. I am grateful to you too, you are helping me to change my ways. Little by little... I've got a ways to go…
How can you change without give and take, relationships, opportunity, reality? Some things you just don't want to change if you're by yourself. You know what I'm saying?
Changes come when you reach out, when you want to reach out, for what ever reason. That's how changes are. And that's how you grow in faith.
It doesn't matter if you have to serve a purpose in a position of unchangingness, the symbolism of it. Still you need to have that give-and-take relationship so you can change too.
Because you have to expand right? And it takes time to fill so you need that unchanging stuff to balance the change then you go to the next level. Then you go to the next level. It's that kind of stuff.
But finding that gratitude in misery is difficult, but if it comes with the territory, you can't complain. Right?
Everybody suffers right? One way or the other right? (Laughter)
There is no exception.
Please, know what you're dying for and prove that ultimately you have the greatest faith.
That's a good competition slogan. (Laughter)
Take care of your self. (Two taps on the podium)