The Three Great Blessings: To Have Dominion

Lesson Objective: Understand that the 3rd Blessing means appreciating and taking care of creation as God does.

Divine Principle Reading:

The meaning of God’s third blessing is the perfection of a human being’s dominion over the natural world. To fulfill this blessing, the four position foundation of dominion must be established centered on God. Human beings and the natural world, which are the substantial object partners of God at the level of image and symbol respectively, must share love and beauty to become completely one. 17(cf. Creation 5.2.3)

Therefore, when human beings realize God’s third blessing, the entire universe becomes yet another good object partner giving joy to God. Had God’s purpose of creation been realized in this way, an ideal world without even a trace of sin would have been established on the earth. We call this world the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. When life in the Kingdom of Heaven on earth comes to a close, people are to enter the spirit world and naturally enjoy eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven there

The natural world is an object partner which exhibits human internal nature and external form in diverse ways. Hence, ideal human beings receive stimulation from the world of nature. Sensing their own internal nature and external form displayed throughout the creation, they feel immense joy. God also delights when He experiences the stimulation of His original internal nature and original external form from the universe; this is possible when it becomes His third object partner through the harmonious union of human beings and the natural world.

Activity: It’s Our World

1. Explain:

    1. The third blessing means to take care of God’s creation and society as God would.
    2. Outline the four position foundation: God- Mankind- Creation- Kingdom of Heaven

2.  Explain:

  1. When we fulfill the 3 blessings, we are one in heart with God as a society.
  2. We would live not just for ourselves, but become citizens of the world.
  3. We would see taking care of the world as our personal responsibility.

3. Discuss how we can take care of the natural world:

4. Brainstorm ideas together

    1. Use lists of simple practices to do at home: http://www.wikihow.com/Help-Save-the– Environment

5. Explain:

  1. Just as the creation is a reflection of God, so does creation reflect us.
  2. We feel joy through the stimulation given by creation.
  3. When spiritually mature people understand and appreciate creation as God does, the creation would respond with beauty and abundance.

6. To practice appreciating creation the way that God does, show photos of creation and ask the youth to choose one that is most impactful for them:

7. Share:

  1. What photo did you choose?
  2. What part of you does this picture reflect?

Concluding Point: The 3rd Blessing is the way in which we bring God joy by creating the Kingdom of Heaven. We can practice this by taking care of our environment and learning to appreciate creation.

Activity: Becoming an Owner

1. Explain:

Another important aspect of the 3rd Blessing has to do with how we use our potential to impact the world.

2. Answer these questions in a journal/notebook:

  1. If you didn’t have to worry about making money, how would you like to spend your time?
  2. What about that makes you happy? What specific part of your answer would be most fulfilling?
  3. What are you good at?
  4. What subjects in school do you excel at?
  5. What technical skills do you have?
  6. What interpersonal skills do you have?
  7. What kind of hobbies do you have? How do you like to spend your time now?

3. Pair share:

  1. Share a brief summary of your answers.
  2. Help each other to think of possible career paths that have to do with your answers.
  3. Decide on one possible career path that you have an interest in.
  4. Think of one way you could use this type of career to help create the Kingdom of Heaven.

4. Group share (Optional): Have everyone share what career path they have interest in and how they could use that to help create the Kingdom of Heaven.

Concluding Point: An important aspect of the 3rd Blessing is how we use our physical bodies to impact the world. God does not have a physical body and needs us to create the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.

section-threeManish Saluja