Everyone on the path of faith will be tested. Scripture records that the great people of faith were tested many times. Abraham endured ten trials of faith. Satan tested Job with the loss of family and property.
Muhammad had to overcome many obstacles as he struggled to proclaim the message to the idolaters of Mecca. Jesus was tempted in the wilderness and tested again on the way to the cross.
Hindu and Buddhist saints also faced life-and-death trials, and with absolute faith, overcame them. Overcoming tests gives us strength and toughness of character.
Testing also accompanies grace, either before or afterward, to qualify us to receive the grace and retain it.
Father Moon explains the reason why people of faith encounter testing by referring to the Book of Job’s account of the bargaining between Satan and God.
Since human beings fell away from oneness with God, God accedes to Satan, “the Accuser,” the right to test human beings to prove whether they are indeed worthy of returning to God’s realm.
Satan ruthlessly looks for any hint of selfishness that would disqualify them and give him a claim over them. Only the most faithful and selfless people can pass his tests. Sometimes a test requires us to deal with an inconceivable situation.
The famous Qur’anic passage of Moses and al-Khidr, the “Green Man,” presents a trial where Moses must believe in things entirely contrary to common sense; but he cannot. In the Hindu Ramayana, Sita the wife of Rama proves her fidelity by jumping into a blazing pyre, and in a Buddhist sutra a seeker throws himself off a cliff to certain death; both pass the test and are unharmed.
And how inconceivable was it to Abraham that God would ask him to sacrifice his son? We include accounts of several of the tests in Father Moon’s life.
Sun Myung Moon
Satan Tests People of Faith
Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. The Lord said to Satan, “Whence have you come?” Satan answered the Lord, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” Then Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for naught? Hast thou not put a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But put forth thy hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse thee to thy face.” And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only upon himself do not put forth your hand.” So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord. Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house; and there came a messenger to Job, and said… “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house; and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness, and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead; and I alone have escaped to tell you.” Then Job arose, and rent his robe, and shaved his head, and fell upon the ground, and worshiped. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong. Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord. And the Lord said to Satan, “Whence have you come?” Satan answered the Lord, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you moved me against him, to destroy him without cause.” Then Satan answered the Lord, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. But put forth thy hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.” And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your power; only spare his life.” Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord, and afflicted Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. And he took a potsherd with which to scrape himself, and sat among the ashes. Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God, and die.” But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” Job 1.6-2.10
Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And he fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4.1-4
Once there was a person who sought the True Path in the Himalayas. He cared nothing for all the treasures of the earth or even for all the delights of heaven, but he sought the teaching that would remove all mental delusions. The gods were impressed by the man’s earnestness and sincerity and decided to test his mind. So one of the gods disguised himself as a demon and appeared in the Himalayas, singing, Everything changes, Everything appears and disappears. The seeker heard this song which pleased him so, as if he had found a spring of cool water for his thirst or as if he were a slave unexpectedly set free. He thought, “At last I have found the true teaching that I have sought for so long.” He followed the voice and at last came upon the frightful demon. With an uneasy mind he approached the demon and said, “Was it you who sang the holy song that I have just heard? If it was you, please sing more of it.” The demon replied, “Yes, it was my song, but I can not sing more of it until I have had something to eat; I am starving.” The man begged him in earnest, saying, “It has a sacred meaning to me and I have sought its teaching for a long time. I have only heard a part of it; please let me hear more.” The demon said again, “I am starving, but if I can taste the warm flesh and blood of a man, I will finish the song.” The man, in his eagerness to hear the teaching, promised the demon that he could have his body after he had heard the teaching. Then the demon sang the complete song, Everything changes, Everything appears and disappears, There is perfect tranquility When one transcends both life and extinction. Hearing this, the man, after he wrote the poem on rocks and trees around, quietly climbed a tree and hurled himself to the feet of the demon, but the demon had disappeared and, instead, a radiant god received the body of the man unharmed. Mahaparinirvana Sutra 424-33 (Buddhism)
When the future Buddha sat down at the foot of the Bodhi tree with his soul fully resolved to obtain the highest knowledge, the whole world rejoiced; but Mara, the enemy of good law, was afraid. He whom they call the God of Pleasure, the owner of various weapons, the flower-arrowed, the lord of the course of desire—it is he whom they also style Mara, the enemy of liberation. His three sons, Confusion, Gaiety, and Pride, and his three daughters, Lust, Delight, and Craving, asked him the reason for his despondency, and thus he answered them, “This sage, wearing the armor of resolution, and having drawn the arrow of wisdom with the barb of truth, sits yonder intending to conquer my realms—hence my mind is despondent. If he succeeds in overcoming me and proclaims to the world the path of final bliss, all this my realm will today become empty…” Then, seizing his flower-made bow and his five arrows of infatuation, the Great Disturber of the minds of living beings, together with his children, approached the root of the Bodhi tree. Placing his left hand on the end of the barb and playing with the arrow, Mara addressed the calm seer as he sat on his seat preparing to cross to the further side of the ocean of existence, “Up, up, O Kshatriya, afraid of death! Follow your own duty [as a member of the warrior caste] and abandon this path of liberation. Conquer the lower worlds by force of arms, and gain the higher worlds as well! That is a glorious path to travel, which has been followed by leaders of men for generations. This mendicant life is illsuited for one born of royalty to follow… But even when thus addressed, the Shakya saint, unheeding, did not change his posture. Mara then discharged his arrow of love at him and set in front of him his daughters Lust, Delight, and Craving, and his sons Confusion, Gaiety, and Pride. Still he gave no heed and swerved not from his firmness. Mara, beholding him thus, sank down, and slowly pondered, “He does not even notice the arrow… Can he be devoid of all feelings? He is not worthy of my flower shaft, nor my arrow Gladdener, nor even my sending my daughter Rati to tempt him. He deserves the terrors, attacks, and blows from all the gathered hosts of the demons.” Then Mara called to mind his own army, mustering them for the overthrow the Shakya saint. His followers swarmed around, wearing different forms and carrying arrows, trees, darts, clubs, and swords in their hands; with faces of boars, fishes, horses, asses, and camels, of tigers, bears, lions, and elephants—one-eyed, many-faced, three-headed… One of them, his eyes rolling wildly, lifted a club against him; but his arm was instantly paralyzed… Another hurled upon him a mass of blazing straw as big as a mountain peak…. Despite all these various scorching assaults on his body and his mind, and all these missiles showered down upon him, the Shakya saint did not in the least degree move from his posture nor deviate from his firm resolution… Then some being of invisible shape, but of preeminent glory, standing in the heavens and beholding Mara thus malevolent against the seer, addressed him in a loud voice unruffled by enmity, “Take not on yourself, O Mara, this vain labor; throw aside your malevolence and retire to your home; this sage cannot be shaken.” Ashvaghosha, Buddhacarita 1319(Buddhism)
Sun Myung Moon
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
Due to the Human Fall, Satan tramples upon human beings and dominates the whole earth. To turn this situation around, we need to employ the principle of indemnity.
Since Satan treated human beings with contempt, human beings should win Satan’s respect and deference. They should do this by themselves, without the help of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, or God.
Whatever sinful condition Satan presents them with, they should be able to overcome it. Only then can human beings become God’s victorious sons and daughters.
On your path you will encounter many trials from Satan. Especially if you become open to communicating with the spirit world, you will face many trials. If you fail Satan’s tests, Satan will accuse you, saying, “You are not qualified,” and block your way. (3:210, November 1, 1957)
Consider the suffering of Job. First, his happy life vanished when he lost his possessions and children. Then he was cast into a situation where his friends scorned him and his wife accused him, and where his whole body was covered with wounds and itched so that he had to scratch it with tiles.
Yet through it all, he never held a grudge against God. Instead, in silence and contemplation he overcame the pain, and through his illness, he experienced something of God’s love. Because Job was that kind of man, Heaven could bless him with possessions and children even more than before. (2:114-15, March 10, 1957)
Satan originally belonged to God. Therefore, he knows the original way he should go and through which the universe becomes one. Yet why did he become Satan? It was because he was self-centered. Instead of centering upon God with true love, he set himself up apart from God and lived with self-love.
Satan knows that God is entitled to claim every person who has true love. Therefore, when a person of true love appears, Satan will give him back to God, saying, “He does not belong to me; he belongs to You.” But for love to be true love, it has to transcend every barrier, whether in the individual, family, tribe, nation or world.
If you want to become a true person who possesses true love, you must go beyond all these levels and connect with the cosmos. That is the principle. Therefore Satan says to God, “You may choose Your man, but he still lives in my world.
Before you can count him as belonging to your nation, he has to overcome all kinds of persecution, even beyond the national level, in order to prove himself worthy of Heaven.”
When Satan gave this condition to God, God had to answer, “You are correct.” Satan continued, “Anyone who is dedicated to the greatest, universal purpose, and who consistently lives for the sake of others with God’s love, belongs to Your nation.
Nevertheless, I will be there to claim him as my own if I find any evidence of self-centeredness or attachments to the things of my realm.” (124:65-65, January 23, 1983)
Satan sometimes tests you based on the original content of creation. The question is whether or not you have become a person of the original standard. If you resist, Satan will say, “God, this person has the wrong concept and does not meet the original standard. To prove it, give him to me and let me thrust him into hell. I am sure he will fall.”
Job was tested ten times, yet still he was grateful and said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away.” Job always went to zero. Thus he fulfilled the formula.
Because of this, Job received new blessings a hundredfold and a thousandfold. He was a model of a victorious person during the age of restoration.
Although he was struck ten times, he always kept a grateful heart, remained at the zero point, and held on to absolute faith in God. Therefore Satan drew back from Job, and Job could be revived and granted all his desires. (246:20-21, March 23, 1993)
Satan tempted Jesus three times. First, while he was fasting for forty days, Satan tempted him with food. He appeared before Jesus and asked him to change a stone into bread.
This would be good news to a starving person, but Jesus refused. He clearly stated, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” This means that Jesus refused to yield any conditions to Satan pertaining to the necessities of life.20 (3:121, October 13, 1957)
Throughout my life I experienced tribulation. Satan came against me with all his power, using the cruelest methods. Just as in the story of Job in the Bible, Satan told God, “He is only able to achieve something because You blessed him.
I demand to test him by taking everything away from him; then I will see if he is so strong.” Satan made that demand concerning me several times, and God had to push me into life-threatening situations.
Likewise, you must face the fact that God will not help you directly. Instead, you will encounter terrible difficulties and feel completely helpless. You will think that although you deserve God’s help, God is nowhere near you and does not help you at all. However, if you overcome that trial, God’s help will surely arrive—although indirectly. (117:160-61, February 28, 1982)
Although Reverend Moon may be a person of some importance, and although God loves him, he is not exempt from the course that human beings must go through during which they are to take responsibility to indemnify sin without God’s help.
In other words, I had to overcome Satan on my own. In the beginning, Adam was given his appointed task to subjugate Satan and Satan’s world in order to establish the realm of God’s ideal. Therefore, I should likewise overcome my environment to reach the realm of God’s ideal. Do you understand?
To pay my portion of indemnity, I had to be driven out, stripped of my clothes and chased out into the cold. Therefore, I discarded my coat and gave away my meager portion of food. I willingly paid that price, to the point that even Satan took pity on me and had someone offer me a coat.
That was a wonderful moment, when Satan gave me that coat. It meant that no one in the satanic world would ever take away my clothes ever again… We all have to go through such a battle.
We go through hardship and persecution, are stripped of our clothes and beaten, but then people on Satan’s side appear who will dress us and bind up our wounds. By going through such a course, people will come to our side. (124:303-04, March 1, 1983)
Satan said, “I will see how strong Reverend Moon’s love really is,” and tested me by taking my son Heung Jin. Satan tested me in this: in this moment of grief, who would I love more, God and humankind, or my own son? I could not seek revenge against Satan. I would not give him an opening.
I only devoted my efforts to liberate the nations… I determined to make Heung Jin’s passing an offering to mobilize the spirit world and lay a victorious foundation for Heaven to advance the work on earth… I understood one principle: the priest who offers a sacrifice to God does not shed tears.
Through the offering he should glorify Heaven, support humankind and strive to establish the conditions to restore everything in the satanic world. Therefore, there were no tears on my face as I offered up my beloved son and laid him to rest. I stood proudly in my public position.
When Satan saw this, he could not help but respect me. He had to acknowledge, “Reverend Moon, you are indeed a man of Heaven.” Hence, even though the realm of death struck the life of Heaven, I made up for the loss and went beyond it with the power of love. (130:162-63, January 8, 1984)
No matter how Satan tries to test you and jump on you, if you sacrifice yourself there will not be any problem. If you make excuses for yourself, however, Satan will overpower you. (Way of God’s Will 3.4)
Sun Myung Moon
Trials Are to Prove that We Belong to God
And verily We shall try you until We know those of you who really strive and are steadfast and until We test your record. Qur’an 47.31
Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and my mind. For thy steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in faithfulness to thee. Psalm 26.2-3
We will test you with a bit of fear and hunger, and a shortage of wealth and souls and produce. Proclaim such to patient people who say, whenever disaster strikes them, “We are God’s, and are returning to Him!” Such will be granted their prayers by their Lord as well as mercy. Those are guided! Qur’an 2.154-57
Blessed is the man that endures temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. James 1.12
Every soul must taste of death, and We try you with evil and with good, for ordeal. And unto Us you will be returned. Qur’an 21.35
With ten trials Abraham our father was tried, and he bore them all, to make known how great was the love of Abraham our father. Mishnah, Avot 5.4 (Judaism)
After these things God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” Genesis 22.1-2
And Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and Jacob’s thigh was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for the day is breaking.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.” And he said to him, “What is your name?” “Jacob.” “Your name shall no more be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” Then Jacob asked him, “Tell me, I pray, your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved.” Genesis 32.24-30
After the death of Ravana, Rama sent for Sita… When Sita eagerly arrived, after her months of loneliness and suffering, her husband received her in full view of a vast public. But she could not understand why her lord seemed preoccupied and moody and cold. Rama suddenly said, “My task is done. I have now freed you. I have fulfilled my mission. All this effort has been not to attain personal satisfaction for you or me. It was to vindicate the honor of the Ikshvahu race and to honor our ancestors’ codes and values. After all this, I must tell you that it is not customary to admit back to the normal married fold a woman who has resided all alone in a stranger’s house. There can be no question of our living together again. I leave you free to go where you please and to choose any place to live in. I do not restrict you in any manner.” On hearing this, Sita broke down. “My trials are not ended yet,” she cried. “I thought with your victory our troubles were at an end…! So be it.” She beckoned to Lakshmana and ordered, “Light a fire at once, on this very spot.”
Lakshmana hesitated and looked at his brother, wondering whether he would countermand the order. But Rama seemed passive and acquiescent. Lakshmana gathered faggots and got ready a roaring pyre within a short time. The entire crowd watched, stunned, while the flames rose higher and higher. Still Rama made no comment. He watched. Sita approached the fire, prostrated herself before it, and said, “O Agni, great god of fire, be my witness.” She jumped into the fire. From the heart of the flame rose the god of fire, bearing Sita, and presented her to Rama with words of blessing. Rama, now satisfied that he had established his wife’s integrity in the presence of the world, welcomed Sita back to his arms.21 Ramayana, Yuddha Kanda 118-20 (Hinduism)
Sun Myung Moon
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
Three years after a person learns the will of God, he will face a big trial. This is to individually indemnify the position of Peter, who followed Jesus for three years and then denied him. (Way of God’s Will 3.4)
As a year consists of four seasons, in your life there is a spring-like period in which you receive a blessing, a summer-like period in which the blessing grows, an autumn-like period in which you bear the fruit of the blessing, and then a winter-like period of trial. Be grateful for trials.
They come from the love of God to separate us from Satan. If you endure and overcome them, a spring-like period of new blessing will follow. (Way of God’s Will 3.4)
When God is about to give grace, He puts the person through a test, either before or after the grace, to prevent Satan’s accusation. Moses’ course provides examples of this. God granted Moses the grace… to depart from Egypt only after he had completed the test of living in the wilderness of Midian for forty years.
Only after giving the test in which God tried to kill Moses did He grant the three signs and ten plagues. Only after giving the test of the three-day course did God grant the pillars of cloud and fire.
Only after giving the test of crossing the Red Sea did God give the grace of manna and quail. After giving the test of the battle with the Amalekites, God granted the grace of the tablets of stone, the Tabernacle, and the Ark of the Covenant. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Moses and Jesus 2.3)
The first human beings should have been absolutely determined to keep God’s commandment not to eat of the fruit, yet they fell at the risk of their lives when the Archangel tempted them.
Accordingly, for Jacob to… restore the foundation to receive the Messiah, he had to triumph in a fight at the risk of his life with an angel, representing Satan. Jacob was desperate to overcome this trial as he wrestled with the angel at the ford of Jabbok.
He triumphed and received the name “Israel.” In this trial, it was God who tested Jacob by putting the angel in the position of Satan. God’s purpose in doing this was not to make Jacob miserable, but to help him secure the position of Abel and complete the restoration of his family by winning the qualification to rule the angel. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Moses and Jesus 1.2)
It was nerve-wracking for God to watch Jacob in that battle. Since the angel was fighting on behalf of Satan, God did not want Jacob to give up, but He could not say anything to Jacob.
Imagine how anxious God must have been to watch each moment ticking during the battle between the two? Jacob did not give up even to the last moment. He would not let go of the angel no matter how desperately the angel tried to shake him off. At that point, God publicly acknowledged Jacob’s victory, and the angel, as Satan’s representative, had to acknowledge it as well.
Hence he blessed Jacob with the name “Israel.” At that moment, all the hosts of heaven shouted for joy. They deeply exhaled, now that anxiety over the outcome was relieved. (20:229-30, June 9, 1968)
Even God Himself kicked Reverend Moon to test him. He said, “Reverend Moon, you are a heretic. I don’t know you!” Yet no matter how strangely God treated me, I had already grabbed onto God’s coattails. I told Him, “Heavenly Father, no matter how Thou dost treat me, Thou canst not dissuade me from my path.” This dispute dragged on for forty days.
Since God opposed me, Jesus, Buddha, Muhammed, and all the saints in the spirit world also joined in, “Reverend Moon, you are a heretic! We will not accept you until you change your teachings.” Yet throughout those 40 days, I did not change one iota. I was steadfast as a rock. They all saw that I would not change even if they persisted for 400 years.
After 40 days the atmosphere cleared; the showdown had to end. God had to resolve the dispute and issue a decree. He stepped forward and said, “I have been testing Reverend Moon during these 40 days… and I can now declare before heaven and earth that he is the greatest victor in all of history.” (161:41-42, January 1, 1987)
Sun Myung Moon
Trials Forge Character and Build Unshakable Faith
And you shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments, or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know; that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but that man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord. Your clothing did not wear out upon you, and your foot did not swell these forty years. Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you. Deuteronomy 8.2-5
Mencius said, “Shun rose from the fields; Fu Yüeh was raised to office from among the builders; Chiao Ke from amid the fish and salt; Kuan Chung from the hands of the prison officer; Sun Shu-ao from the sea and Po-li Hsi from the market. That is why Heaven, when it is about to place a great burden on a man, always first tests his resolution, exhausts his frame, makes him suffer starvation and hardship, and frustrates his efforts so as to shake him from his mental lassitude, toughen his nature and make good his deficiencies.” Mencius VI.B.15 (Confucianism)
And to keep me from being too elated by the abundance of revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to harass me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I [Paul] besought the Lord about this, that it should leave me; but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities; for when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12.7-10
Life is like a hill. Mawu the Creator made it steep and slippery, To right and left deep waters surround it, You cannot turn back once you start to climb. You must climb with a load on your head. A man’s arms will not help him, for it’s a trial, The world is a place of trial. Fon Song (African Traditional Religions)
Moses… found one of our servants to whom We had given mercy from Ourselves and taught him knowledge from Our very presence. Moses said to him, “May I follow you so you may teach me some of the common sense you have been taught?” He said, “You will never have any patience with me! How can you show any patience with something that is beyond your experience?” He said, “You will find me patient, if God so wishes. I will not disobey you in any matter.” He said, “If you follow me, do not ask me about anything until I tell you something to remember it by.” So they both started out until, as they boarded a ship, he bored a hole in her. [Moses] said, “Have you scuttled her to drown her crew? You have done such a weird thing!” He said, “Didn’t I say that you would not manage to show any patience with me?” He said, “Do not take me to task for what I have forgotten, nor weigh me down by making my case too difficult for me.” They journeyed on and when they met a youth, he killed him. Moses said, “Have you killed an innocent soul, who himself had not murdered another? You have committed such a horrible deed!” He said, “Did I not tell you that you would never manage to have any patience with me?” He said, “If I ever ask you about anything after this, do not let me accompany you. You have found an excuse so far as I am concerned.”
They both proceeded further till when they came to the people of a town, they asked its inhabitants for some food, and they refused to treat either of them hospitably. They found a wall there which was about to tumble down, so he set it straight. Moses said, “If you had wished, you might have accepted some payment for it.” He said, “This means a parting between you and me. Yet I shall inform you about the interpretation of what you had no patience for. “As for the ship, it belonged to some poor men who worked at sea. I wanted to damage it because there was a king behind them seizing every ship by force. The young man’s parents were believers, and we dreaded lest he would burden them with arrogation and disbelief. We wanted the Lord to replace him for them with someone better than him in purity and nearer to tenderness. The wall belonged to two orphan boys in the city, and a treasure of theirs lay underneath it. Their father had been honorable, so your Lord wanted them to come of age and claim their treasure as a mercy from your Lord. That is the interpretation of what you showed no patience for.”22 Qur’an 18.65-82
If the Holy One is pleased with a man, He crushes him with painful sufferings. For it is said, “And the Lord was pleased with him, hence He crushed him by disease” (Isaiah 53.10). Now, you might think that this is so even if he did not accept them with love. Therefore it is said, “To see if his soul would offer itself in restitution.” Even as the trespass offering must be brought by consent, so also the sufferings must be endured with consent. And if he did accept them, what is his reward? “He will see his seed, prolong his days.” And more than that, his knowledge [of Torah] will endure with him. For it is said, “The purpose of the Lord will prosper in his hand.”23 Talmud, Berakot 5a (Judaism)
Sun Myung Moon
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
Undergoing many trials in your life of faith, lay the foundation of victory and make yourself a solid rock which God can trust. (Way of God’s Will 3.4)
God is with you only after you win over your environment. (Way of God’s Will 3.2) You should have a mind to test whether you qualify as God’s good object partners, whether you are living in one accord with Him.
How can find out whether you have the qualifications? You should throw yourself into situations of suffering and hardship. Sometimes you may think that you cannot survive the ordeal. However, these tests are the means by which you can prove your worth and establish your value. (66:45, March 18, 1973)
As we walk on and on, shall we say our way is steep? We cannot compare our anguished hearts with the anguish of Thy heart or compare how we are mistreated with the footprints Thou didst leave in Satan’s realm, where Thou wast blocked at every turn. Even as we go along this steep way, may a sense of mission well up in our hearts to take responsibility for the Will of Heaven. (4:293-94, September 14, 1958)
God is unchanging. However, in order to create unchanging people, He tests you by appearing as a changeable, capricious God. But God’s capriciousness is only from your viewpoint.
God appears to contradict Himself when He sometimes says, “Do this!” and later says, “No, do that!” First He says, “Go!” and then He says, “No, come!” God tests you by appearing to change from one moment to the next in order to find whether you are a person whose faith in Him will never change. (66:46, March 18, 1973)
During the Korean War that broke out on June 25th, 1950, I would see mothers carrying their young children on their backs, refugees on the road to the South. Yet the children were too young to know that they are traveling as refugees to escape from war. A child, having been told that he and his family are going somewhere, is at first happy to go and even hums.
Then the mother who has been carrying him on her back loses strength along the way and makes the child walk. After a while the child says, “Mommy, no. I’m not going if you don’t carry me on your back. Carry me on your back, carry me!” What should a loving parent do in such a situation?
She ought to carry the child, but if she carries him, both of them will die. What, then, should she do? She should make him walk. If he refuses to walk, she must threaten him and even slap his face to make him walk. By all means, they must reach their place of refuge. What would you do if you were the mother? Would you leave him behind to die, or would you drag him by force?
Which is the best way? Leave him behind to die? You do not like either alternative, but what will you do? You have to take him, no matter what. You have to drag him mercilessly, even by tearing and pulling his ears, or by making a hole in his nose and pulling him by a leash. Under the circumstances, that is real love. (32:256, July 19, 1970)
Makest Thy cruel winds whip the faces of these young people; stir up the storm wind and hurricane to push them and drive them back. Amid wind and frost they will remain honorable, become rock-hard young men and women, and emerge as victors. (121:187, October 24, 1982)
Sun Myung Moon