What does the ideal world God originally intended look like in daily life, and how is it realized on earth?
God's original ideal for humanity was a world where individuals achieved perfection, families formed centered on divine love, and all creation lived in harmony, governed by love and truth. This vision entailed personal spiritual maturity, joyful family life, and a unified global family stewarding the Earth. It's a world reflecting God's nature, where humanity truly thrives in joy and peace.
The concept of an ideal world, one that God originally intended, is a profound aspiration woven throughout scripture. It speaks of a time before sin entered the world—a state of existence characterized by perfect harmony, love, and fulfillment for humanity and all creation. This divinely conceived world is not merely a theoretical construct but a blueprint for daily life, encompassing individual character, family relationships, and our interaction with the natural world, all centered on a loving relationship with the Creator.
The Foundation of Individual Perfection
At the heart of God's original intention was the individual's complete growth and maturity. Each person was meant to develop their internal spirit and external body in perfect unity, aligning their mind and physical actions with divine principles. This meant cultivating a life where our spiritual nature—seeking truth, goodness, beauty, and love—guided our physical desires for sustenance, procreation, and shelter. Such a life would naturally lead to spiritual health and vitality, much like a well-nourished tree produces good fruit (Matthew 7:17). This personal journey of growth is essential, as the quality of our spirit is nurtured by our deeds and words, providing "vitality elements" that enable our spiritual body to mature fully, reflecting God's image. Such a person becomes a dwelling place of the divine, for “ye are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwelleth in you” (1 Corinthians 3:16).
Families Rooted in True Love
Beyond the individual, God's ideal world centered on the family as its fundamental unit. Just as He created male and female in His image (Genesis 1:27), the union of husband and wife, rooted in absolute and unchanging love, was meant to establish a true family. This family would expand, creating a lineage of children nurtured in righteousness, forming the bedrock of a heavenly society. In this ideal, parents would guide their children with wisdom and love, fostering an environment where every member could realize their full potential. The family unit, mirroring the divine relationship, was intended to be a place where God’s love is tangibly experienced and then extended outward to the community and the world. This is why God seeks “a godly seed” from the union of husband and wife (Malachi 2:15).
The Blessing of Responsible Dominion
God's original plan also included humanity's role as stewards over creation. He blessed Adam and Eve to "replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion" (Genesis 1:28). This was not a call for exploitation but for responsible and loving care of the natural world. In the ideal world, humans would live in perfect harmony with nature, understanding its delicate balance and tending it with wisdom. Our actions would benefit all living things, transforming the Earth into a flourishing garden that reflects the beauty and order of the divine. The natural world would respond to humanity's love, creating an environment of abundance and peace where all needs are met, a world where “they shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD” (Isaiah 11:9).
A World of Interdependence and Shared Values
Ultimately, the ideal world is a global family under God, characterized by interdependence, mutual prosperity, and universally shared values. It is a world where divisions and conflicts are absent, replaced by cooperation and mutual respect. All people would recognize their common origin and destiny as children of God, fostering a culture of heartfelt understanding and altruism. This is a world governed not by force or fear, but by divine love and truth, where justice flows like a river and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream (Amos 5:24). The principles of heaven would be established on Earth, leading to lasting peace and joy for all.
Spiritual and Physical Harmony
In the world God originally intended, the spiritual realm and the physical realm would exist in perfect harmony. Our life on Earth, when lived in alignment with God's will, would serve as preparation for an eternal life in the spirit world, just as a prenatal period prepares us for physical life. There would be no fear of death, as the transition to the spirit world would be a natural continuation of a well-lived life—a joyful homecoming rather than an end. Thus, every action in our daily physical life contributes to the growth and development of our spirit, ensuring a vibrant existence both here and beyond.
How That World Becomes Actual on Earth
This world is not a scene that descends ready-made from the sky. It is built the only way any world is built — by people, in the order in which human life is actually organised. One person who governs their own mind and body becomes a husband or wife who does not withhold love. That couple becomes parents whose children learn love before they learn rules. Those families become a neighbourhood where property needs little protection, because no one there gains by another's loss. Those neighbourhoods become a nation whose institutions exist to raise people rather than to manage them.
This is why the prophets described the restored world in domestic pictures rather than political ones: "But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid" (Micah 4:4). What they are describing is ordinary life with the fear taken out of it — work that is not exploitation, marriage that is not negotiation, borders that are not frontiers.
Nothing here waits on technology or on a change of government. What it waits on is people who begin at the point they can actually reach, which is their own character and their own household.
Living the Principle
To strive for this ideal world in our daily lives means to consciously choose a path of spiritual growth and self-mastery. It means prioritizing true love and ethical conduct in our relationships, from our families outward. It calls us to be responsible caretakers of the Earth, demonstrating reverence for all creation. By cultivating a lifestyle of faith, prayer, and study, we nourish our spirit with "life elements"—God's love and truth. When we live an altruistic life, overcoming selfish desires and embracing a "mind of the spirit," we actively participate in building this ideal, transforming our immediate environment into a reflection of God’s kingdom, one heart, one family, and one world at a time (Romans 8:6).
These answers explain the Bible in the light of the Divine Principle, the teachings of Reverend Sun Myung Moon. Read about the author, Sun Myung Moon.
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Sources and further reading
- The Holy Bible, King James Version — Scripture quoted and referenced throughout the answers.
- The Divine Principle (full text) — The complete text of the Divine Principle, the teaching of Reverend Sun Myung Moon that these answers explain.
- Unification texts library (tparents.org) — Large online library of Unification texts, sermons and collected speeches, including the Cheon Seong Gyeong.
- Short video lectures in English — Playlist of short English video lectures presenting these same principles.