God bless you, Brothers and Sisters. Do you what FBE is? It means “Fantastic, Beautiful, Elegance,” which Heavenly Mother describes her children with. Even though we are nothing and the least in the world, we are everything to Father and Mother. Now let us live the life of “Fantastic, Beautiful, and Elegance” to please Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother. The Lunar New Year will start soon in Korea. And I would like to say my greeting to everyone in the world who are called in the name of Elohists, “God bless you and Happy New Year!!”
Four Worthies or Four Gentlemen
Apricot
In Korea, the gentlemen in the old days loved four plants for its particular characters. The first one is an apricot flower. An apricot opens its blossom in February, which is still in the middle of winter. People thought the apricot flower shows the quality of endurance we should follow. Just like an apricot which gives out its blossoms in the middle of cold winter, we must overcome all the difficulities and hardships and give out the beautiful fragrance in the middle of all the adversities of life.
Orchid
The second one is an orchid, which represents “noble elegance”. The orchid lives and blooms in a deep mountain far away from the world. In the same way, the gentlemen of the past thought a noble man must separate himself from the world and worldly desires. Instead, he must give out beautiful fragrance like an orchid by acting and speaking like an noble man showing the good qualities and nature in him.
Chrysanthemum
And the third plant is a chrysanthemum, which has a similar character like an apricot. A chrysanthemum blossoms in the late autumn when there is a frost in the early morning. When all other flowers withered, a chrysanthemum alone gives out its blossoms and fragrances. And a chrysanthemum flower has so many petals that the center of its flower is seldom revealed even when it is fully blossomed. People interpreted this as one of the important qualities of a noble man. Like a chrysanthemum, a noble man must not reveal his deep thought easily to others. Rather, he should be restrained and reserved.
Bamboo
The last plant is the bamboo. A bamboo is ever-green, which represents the unchanging and lasting character of a noble man. In those days, a noble must serve just one lord in his life time by showing his immutable loyalty to a king just like a bamboo. And also a bamboo grows straight up to the sky without bending or giving out branches to many different directions. This also shows the honorable and righteous qualities of a noble man. A noble man must not yield easily to the force coming from outside. Rather he should have a loyal and faithful mind toward one king that he serves. In the same way, we must be faithful to our Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother.
Conclusion
These four plants were called “the Four Worthies” becasue each of them has a unique noble character. In the same way, I think Heavenly Mother wants us to live like this as noble sons and daughters of God. Mother said we can do everything we want to only if we are changed spiritually to be the children of God. In the greeting for the year, Mother said that we must be changed and transformed. Let us be changed and let us live a life of “Fantastic, Beautiful, Elegance” just as Mother told us. God bless you.