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"Second-generation followers, "third-generations followers," and so forth refer to those who inherit faith from their parents and grandparents whose journey of faith has inspired them and helped them realize the preciousness of the path. "First-generation followers," on the other hand, are those who, without inheriting faith, start to follow the path as a result of their own experience of coming to know God the Parent and becoming aware of God's precious blessings and parental love after, for example, suffering from illnesses or troubles or being motivated by recommendations from their relatives or acquaintances. In the Divine Directions, God the Parent tells us:[L]ook at the path the first generation trod. It was a long path filled with difficulty. With the second generation there were difficulties of the second generation. As for the third generation, they will not have any difficulties. But human beings are shallow. You live for the moment of joy. You are shallow. You pursue your own enjoyment. This may do for the time being, but if you lose the merit of generations of virtue, you will be lost. It will not do. Osashizu, March 21, 1889 What you are today is only possible because of the hardships and difficulties your parents endured. Your present path is possible only because they repeatedly devoted their efforts and accumulated layer upon layer of effectiveness. Osashizu, August 3, 1895 Those of us who are following in our predecessors' footsteps are fortunate enough to receive blessings and live our lives without difficulties and inconveniences by virtue of the seeds of sincerity that our first- and second-generation forebears sowed in the cause of the path of single-heartedness with God and single-hearted salvation while going through many hardships. Instead of being complacent about our situation, it is important for each and every one of us to steadily build virtue by our own efforts and sow seeds of sincerity worthy of being accepted by God the Parent. We should not forget our predecessors' joy and elation or slow down our progress in following the path as faith is handed down from generation to generation. Rather, building on the virtue and efforts of our first- and second-generation forebears and fully embracing their joy of faith, we should earnestly follow the path day after day so that we can immerse ourselves in fresh joy and elation as we receive further blessings. Then we will even be able to savor greater joy of faith and attain a higher level of spiritual growth than our predecessors could--such is the role and mission of those of us who follow in our predecessors' footsteps. Even nowadays, the number of first-generation followers is increasing. However, from the point of view of the history of the path, which saw early followers receive the teachings directly from Oyasama and guide others to the path, many followers are now in the third and fourth generations. There are surely many areas where we can understand God the Parent's intention more clearly than before due to our predecessors' efforts and virtue. Yet, what is important is to live an earnest life of faith as a path seeker so that our understanding of the teachings is not merely based on our accumulation of knowledge but on a conviction of faith as fervent as that of our first-generation predecessors. Deeply appreciating our predecessors' efforts and virtue in the blessings we receive and taking our own steps along the path of true sincerity and single-hearted salvation, we can vividly experience God the Parent's wondrous blessings and boundless parental love--which will ensure that our fresh and powerful joy of faith keeps pulsing and that the path of spiritual growth as a whole continues into the future. |
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