Aim to understand the meaning of the 3rd Blessing
Aim
* To understand the meaning of the 3rd Blessing
* To understand why the 3rd (Dominion) blessing has not been fufilled
Materials
* Divine Principle: Ch.1 The Principles of Creation
* Stories – a)Mikku and the Trees, b)The Tailor, by Nancy Schimmel,
* visual aids:
– large diagrams of the three blessings
– Photos of trees (maple, cherry, cedar, walnut, birch, pine)
* children’s worksheet
* packet of sunflower seeds, compost, pots
Lesson Outline
1. Review the Three Blessings
2. The Third Blessing
3. Story – Mikku and the Trees
4. Discussion
5. Activites – worksheet, plant seeds, extra story
6. Review the aims
7. Prayer
1) Review the Three Blessings
God asks us to do three things in our life called the three blessings.
1. Be fruitful (become an ideal person)
2. Multiply (create an ideal family)
3. Have dominion (build an ideal world).
To fulfill the First Blessing we must: Unite our mind and body centred on God’s love .
To fulfill the Second Blessing we must: Create an ideal family centered on God’s love
To fulfill the Third Blessing we must: Have loving dominion over the creation centred on God’s love
2) The Third Blessing
1) Dominion of Love – What does dominion mean? It means control, rule or sovereignty. A king is the sovereign of his country and rules over his people. Man is meant to rule over the creation
with love. In order to do that we must fulfill the first blessing and become people of love, so that we feel the same love that God feels towards the creation.
2) Joy from creation – God created the universe to bring joy to man. Before creating the first person, God made all things in man’s image. Therefore, we share many qualities with the things
of nature. The beauty of a rose is precious because it corresponds to the beauty in ourselves. The calmness of a blue sky reflects the calm feeling in our own heart. Nature moves our emotions and this gives joyful feelings.
3) Joy through our Five Senses – We experience joy from the creation through our 5 senses
SIGHT – we see the beauty of nature in colourful flowers, mountains, oceans, the night sky,
SMELL – we smell the scent of flowers, pine trees, food cooking
HEARING – birds singing, rivers flowing, cats mewing, rain falling
TASTE – sweet fruit, salty meat,
TOUCH – the fur of a cat, the bark of a tree, a cool breeze, the warmth of the sun
4) The suffering of creation – Since mankind has been separated from God, we have not been able to love the created world and treat it properly. Instead of dominion of care and love, our rule over the earth has been one of greed and waste. We became insensitive to the beauty of creation. It suffers because of man. We destroy the rain forests, pollute the air, and kill endangered
animals. The creation suffers because of man. The Bible talks about the creation waiting in eager longing for the time when it can be freed from its suffering, when mankind restores it position as
the lord of creation.
3) Story- Mikku and the Trees
This is the story of a man called Mikku, who respects and cares for trees instead of chopping them down. He is rewarded with a magic wand that gives him anything he wants from nature. But he is warned never to ask for anything that goes against nature. At first he does this, but later he becomes lazy, proud and boastful and he does ask for something against nature. He wants the sun to be hot during winter. He gets what he asks for but the sun becomes so hot that Mikku disappears.
4) Discussion
1. In the story what could the following trees be used for?
BIRCH – bark makes baskets, twigs make brooms
CHERRY – cherries to make cherry pies, pink blossom to give beauty
MAPLE – maple syrup and maple sugar
PINE – gives cones for Mikki’s fires
CEDAR – shelters deer on Windy nights
WALNUT – gives nuts
2. What can the trees be heard whispering?
“You care for us . . . and we’ll care for you.
“You care for us . . . and we’ll care for you.”
3. What did the little man give Mikku?
A wand that gave him anything he wanted from nature
4. What warning did the little man give?
Never use the wand to ask for something that goes against nature.
5. What did the creatures give to Mikku?
– Bees gave honey
– Birds gave berries
– Moles plowed the fields
– Ants sowed the seeds
6. As life became easy how did he change?
He became lazy, proud and boastful. He got into the habit of giving orders.
7. What mistake did Mikku make?
He wanted the sun to be hot in the middle of winter. The hot sun shone on him and he disappeared.
8. What can we learn from this story?
* Trees give us many things, and we should think carefully before chopping them down
* If we care for creation it will give us something back. A gardener who spends hours digging, planting, watering and weeding will create a beautiful garden that he can enjoy. Man and creation are meant to live in harmony.
* If we misuse creation it can turn against us. Many people think pollution of the environment is a cause of global warming. In recent years there has been more and more extreme weather:
Heat waves (India – 1,000 people dead from heatstroke and dehydration in 2003),
Powerful hurricanes (Hurricane Katrina was the costliest and one of the five deadliest hurricanes in the history of the United States – New Orleans, August 2005)
Floods (Pakistan 2010, Australia 2011)),
* It shows us the greed of man. God gave the things of the creation for us to enjoy. Trees have many useful purposes and we should not destroy them without reason. For example, huge numbers of trees have been destroyed in the Amazon forest, by farmers so they can use it for grazing land for cattle. The purpose is only to make money, but the whole balance of nature is affected. The wildlife is destroyed, forest people must leave their homes and the loss of trees affects the atmosphere (the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide)
5) Activities
* Complete the worksheet – Match each picture with the name of the tree. Write the use for each tree. Write what you can learn from the story.
* Seeds – Plant sunflower seeds if time. Or give a packet of seeds to take home
* Extra story – The Tailor
Another aspect of the Third Blessing is to not only love the natural world, but to take care of the things we use. To keep our home clean and tidy, to recycle paper, not to waste food. We need to
develop sensitivity towards the things we use. This sensitivity grows as we fulfill the 1st Blessing.
This story is about taking care of things and not wasting them.
What did the tailor make with the cloth?
an overcoat, jacket, vest, cap and button
What can we learn from this story?
1. Re-use what we have, rather than throw it away (bottles, plastic boxes)
2. Repair things that are broken or worn out (torn jeans)
3. Value what we have (electricity, turn lights off)
4. If we take care of things they will last longer. e.g. clean your shoes regularly
6) Review the aims
* To understand the meaning of the 3rd Blessing
We should have loving dominion over the creation centred on God’s love. To do this we must fulfill the 1st Blessing, so we feel God’s love for the creation
* To understand why the 3 rd blessing has not been fufilled
Man became separated from God. He is greedy and insensitive to creation
7) Prayer
