Sun Myung Moon
May 22, 1977
Belvedere, New York
Translator - Bo Hi Pak
There is no one who likes unhappiness. A sad person has sorrow and agony in his heart because no matter how much effort he makes, happiness eludes him. How does someone come to be in this position? The problem is simple; the unhappy person does not have an object to whom he can freely give, or from whom he can freely receive. Even if he possesses a most precious treasure, no one can enjoy happiness if he has no personal relationship of give and take.
The largest diamond in the world could not bring you any excitement and stimulation if you had no one to share it with. Why is it said that blind people are unhappy? The eyes are important instruments in the give and take relationship because you can identify your object with your eyes and then establish a give and take relationship. It is also said that a hungry person is an unhappy person. The body needs food and when its reciprocal relationship with the physical world is broken, that person is unhappy.
Unhappiness is the condition in which a person has no way to freely have give and take. The amount of give and take you can have will determine your happiness or unhappiness. Since everything works under this law, what is the most precious thing for man? You said love, but the word love itself does not have any meaning. If someone is alone then love does not surface. When you speak of love, you automatically think of two units in perfect harmony and unity through give and take. Love is the force that will unite internal and external, subject and object into one.
Once that unity is achieved, the value of each becomes equal. For example, men and women are very different; men are tall and women are short. Men have rough beards, and women have smooth skin. Men's hands are rugged and women's hands are feminine. When men and women are separated they have very different values, but when a man and woman marry and are united into one by love, they share each others values and characteristics. Through love the value of each becomes equal, with both sharing in their total value, knowledge and honor.
Why is man born? The communists say that man lives to eat, that matter is everything. How would an idealistic man answer? There are many men of justice who might answer, "We want to work and produce," but these men go out and work only eight hours a day! The democratic world and a country like America think in that manner.
What could unite people as different as men and women?
Perhaps you sense that those answers aren't quite complete. You may remember your parents insisting that you study, but you sense that studying is not man's purpose either. Politicians may live as though their purpose in life was to obtain power, influence, and control, while many other people live for money. Great artists of the world might say, "We live to produce masterpieces and to enjoy beauty." But still something seems to be lacking in all these answers. All of these are very important reasons to live, yet somehow our body and spirit are still not fully satisfied.
What is man supposed to live for? What purpose is man fulfilling? Joy and happiness are the results of a certain cause. When you say that man lives for true love, then somehow you are satisfied, feeling that you have found something big enough to fill you and more. Love is intangible and it cannot be touched, but somehow you can recognize love, and at hearing words of love you feel good.
Does a woman need someone to love, or is she satisfied to love just herself? Who is that someone, another woman? No, she needs a man. The same is true of man; he cannot love by himself but needs a woman. The amazing thing is that before the teen years boys do not like girls too much. When children play, the boys want to play with boys, and the girls with girls.
Boys and girls are very different when they are young, with boys being aggressive rascals who destroy everything, and girls being interested in quiet games and dolls. When we see their drastically different characteristics, there seems to be no chance for boys and girls to become one. They are so far apart that it is almost impossible to unite the two when they are young. Nothing else can bring boys and girls into one but the amazing, mysterious power of love.
Most of you do not know what it is like to be married. I trust that in the Unification Church we can truly find virgin men and women. You are now at a most precious stage, but you are looking forward to the greatest dream of your lives, even though you may not know precisely what love truly means. When men and women reach a certain age they have some power of attraction for each other. Women, for example, want to beautifully present themselves to men. Why? For themselves? No, they are conscious of someone looking at them and they want to look nice. This perfectly parallels a fishing expedition; they are trying to throw some bait to the men. Sometimes they wear necklaces, earrings and make-up to show off.
In looking at human behavior, we see that women always send out waves of love first, trying to be attractive so that they will be detected. Men are rather dumb and slow in responding. Neither do they wear necklaces or makeup. Men and women are quite different in their development, with women maturing much faster than men in matters of love. All the way through high school women are much more sensitive to love than men. When I observe my own children, I see that the girls appreciate things more deeply and also get embarrassed more easily. We can conclude that God made women this way so that they could grow in purity, and in their marriage become the focal point and illumination of love. That is the way of life God created for women.
The desire for love influences every action
What is a man's way of life? Men also respond to love. When a man gets mad his temper flares like fire, and love is almost unthinkable at that moment. Still, that is just one side of a man. A man is eventually melted by a woman, drawn by her toward the way of love. This is a very important universal law, that men were not made for men and women were not made for women. Men were not made for the sake of power and domination, but for women. When God undertook to create man He already had a blueprint for woman, and tried to adapt His creation of man accordingly. In the same way, when God created woman, He already had His blueprint of man in mind, and He created woman to match. It feels good to know that God had the love of our mates in mind when He created man and woman.
Why did God create man and woman to begin with? Their purpose was the consummation of love. The origin of all creation began with love. God's blueprint for men and women came from His thinking about the ideal form of love. This is a most astonishing fact. Love was the motivation for creation and out of that motivation men and women were conceived to perfectly give and receive love. God designed men and women to live a life of love, to be fruitful in love, and then to dwell in love for eternity. We come to the conclusion that we were born for love, and that our reason for living is to love and to grow toward the perfection of love. This is the purpose of life.
If we examine the history and motivations of war we will see that love was actually the motivating factor behind war. When the circuits of love between people and nations are severed, they then strive to conquer each other so they can resume some give and take of love. Perfect love is so powerful that it can melt the heart of the enemy. No matter how intensely two enemies have hated each other, love is so powerful that love can heal even that rift. The basic definition of good and bad comes out of the motivation of love. If you like someone very much it is usually because that person understands you, or is in favor of you. If somebody hates you then it is difficult to like that person.
No amount of money, knowledge, or strategy under the sun can unite enemies. Only perfect love has the power to unite even enemies. If a communist were asked if love had the power to unite, his answer would be, "No, that's impossible." Communism totally denies the power of love; love does not exist in the communist ideology. Do you suspect that regardless of their ideology communists know deep within their hearts that love is more precious than matter?
By centering upon materialism, the communists put matter in the subject position. Because this view conflicts with basic human nature, the Marxist ideology must be wrong. If the communists really want to build an ideal world then they must proclaim love as the supreme power in all the creation; otherwise they are lying to their own hearts. How could love, the greatest force in the universe, be contained in something as small as matter? Because a small container cannot become bigger, we can conclude that communism could never conquer the world, and never truly build a utopia for mankind.
Human logic can never comprehend God or man
Throughout history there have been great philosophies and philosophers who searched for the true meaning of human behavior and happiness. Each one of them must always answer one fundamental question: Does God exist? Every philosophical battle ultimately returns to that one fundamental question and still this question has not been solved. Could a definitive decision be reached if philosophers gathered together at a convention to take a vote? If they voted yes, would God exist from that moment, or would God be there even if they voted no?
Scientists who try to prove God's existence by scientific methods are foolish. Imagine scientists trying to find God in glass tubes. Will God suddenly come into being when man discovers Him, or has He always existed? Religious people are much wiser; they have already made up their minds that there is a God, and not only that He existed from the very beginning, but that He will exist throughout eternity.
If that is a valid statement, then religious people are the most powerful and happy people. Philosophers try to prove or disprove God through logic, but God is so big that He doesn't fit into human logic too well. This is a very important statement; if you could prove God's existence through logic then God would be small enough to fit into human logic, meaning that man could create God and know all about Him.
Can you show me your mind and explain it to me? If you could grasp your mind 100% then you could create your mind, but you cannot do that at this time because you don't know your mind totally. This shows the greatness of your mind. Man also has a mysterious aspect, and human logic can never perceive the greatness of God or man.
Man has acquired tremendous knowledge and developed vast technology to the point where man thinks he can become like God and do anything. Man has become arrogant in his knowledge, but God knows that all man's data is really like a peanut compared to the truth of the universe. The person who totally believes in limitless truth and energy and tries to embrace it is the greater person.
The men who can make the greatest contributions to human history are not scientists or philosophers, but those who have infinite faith and can unite with the universe. Therefore, you see that the religious leaders, not the scientists or philosophers, have made the most impact throughout history.
The great philosophers and scientists in history are not referred to as saints. Why? A prerequisite for sainthood is the perception of God. Without God, sainthood has no meaning. We are all scientists to some degree, but the great saints throughout history, for example, Moses, Buddha, Mohammed and Francis, all centered their lives upon God. Even though they did not use the same term for God, their lives all started out from one common ground.
The saints of history did not teach that the most important thing is power, money, or knowledge; they basically taught one thing: love. They taught of two kinds of love, the vertical love between God and man, and the horizontal love between man and man. No matter how much knowledge a philosopher or scientist may have, if he does not know love then he does not truly understand man or man's behavior, or the principles that guide man.
Perhaps a scientist will make a tremendous discovery which results in a great contribution to human society. If he is a bachelor with no family, then in spite of his great discoveries people will wonder if he could be truly happy. If he does not know love then he does not know the true value of man's life. The greatest way of life is the pursuit of true love. That pursuit of true love is the backbone of human history, and will continually make an impact on human history. This is why I did not become a philosopher or a scientist, but a religious leader.
Who will bring hope to mankind? Not scientists or philosophers but the religious men who proclaim the supreme beauty and power of love shall give vision and hope to mankind. Do you think true love has the power to unite the races? Today the racial problem in America is grave and it is apparent that Christianity is not being practiced in the truest sense. Jesus Christ's gospel is far greater than racism. Christianity in America is declining. Until the emergence of a new, revived Christianity the world will not be able to advance toward God.
Why have we found happiness in religion?
Having all this information as background, can you explain why Unification Church members are happy? First of all, we are happy people because we are religious people. We are seeking to make the greatest contribution to mankind and to experience true happiness. We are happy to be religious people because there is a possibility that we can reach God and consummate His love. In no other field is there a way to reach God. Once we recognize that going a religious road enables us to reach God and practice His love then we are happy people. Furthermore, we know that the possibility of love is not limited to our own lives; we can bring the gospel to mankind and transform our whole world into a world of happiness.
Do you believe in God or do you know God? We can each say, "I know my mind is real, and in ' the same way I know that God is real. However, for the same reason I cannot fully explain my mind I cannot fully explain God." Your mind controls your way of life and you obey the directives of your mind. Similarly, you know God is there, dominating your life and giving you mandates and guidance. Your mind handles the horizontal elements of life, while God controls your way of life in a vertical or universal sense.
You are glad God is with you. That is why Unification Church members are happy people. You know God as the subject of love, and therefore you can become His object, creating a circuit of love with Him. Because you know God so well you can say, "God, You are almighty and omnipresent, but no matter how great You are, You need me because without Your object You cannot be subject. I am Your partner and without me You are not perfect."
Does that sound arrogant and boastful? How can you praise God as the creator of all things in heaven and earth and then say to Him, "You are merely my subject?" The only way you can say that is by shooting a beam of true love into God's heart. When God is struck by your true love He is rendered helpless.
The essence of love is the equal value given each person through unity. The situation of God existing alone without man is unthinkable. Subject and object cannot exist without each other. If man did not exist then God would vanish. There is no way that God could continue alone, and without man the universe would have no value.
Imagine a man who has achieved the pinnacle of power, perhaps becoming the President of the United States, with the power to influence international affairs. Even if his wife is a very humble, uneducated woman, if she has made a relationship of love with her husband then her position is instantly elevated along with his. Would the President want her to remain secluded because of her humble origin, or would everyone have to pay due respect to the First Lady, regardless of her background? Even if that woman has come from a background as low as the sole of a shoe, to the degree that they pay respect to the President everyone would have to respect her.
The power of love can bring a person from the lowliest to the most supreme position, and the universe will not complain but will bow down to that person. Christianity teaches that even though you are lowly sinners in the bottom of hell, you can be raised up the level of sons of God; yet even though Christianity preaches that ideal, no one has ever had the power to become a sinless son of God. Christians teach, "God is the creator and you are sinful man. God is way up high and you are on the bottom." Christians still think that a tremendous gap will always exist between God and man. Being convinced of this theology, they criticize the Unification Church, saying it is impossible for men to become like God. However, they then contradict themselves by calling God 'Father.' The same God they feel they cannot come near they approach as Father. This is an incredible contradiction which we have to correct.
When you have true love which can penetrate God's heart, you can lead Him around any way you want. If God does not accept this theory, then you can ask, "God, are You a God of love?" If God says, "Yes, I am a God of love," then you can explain to Him why He needs you as His object. Love needs an object and God needs love; without an object God cannot be God. In all His world of creation, who would love God most? Man would love God most, so man is indispensable for God.
You must love God without hesitation. This is the greatest contribution the Unification Church is making to human history, explaining the most genuine version of God. The Unification Church is making a contribution by bringing the living God into man's life. We ourselves live in that conviction. We can raise ourselves up to the level of God because in the name of love we are making ourselves objects to Him, not in word alone, but in reality.
We don't need a concept of God. We need God as our subject, coming into our very tissue. Unless we practice this then we cannot even talk about the Kingdom of God on earth. I am needier dumb, nor am I following some blind faith. Any sermon I give has already been tested and proved in my own personal life.
I can only pursue this life because of God's love.
Why are you happy in the Unification Church? You are not worshipping a conceptual God, but a living God with whom you share your life. Without having any breakfast and sitting on this cold floor, you are still happy people because you are sitting in God's lap, embraced by His love.
I am amazed that you sit for long hours, even when your back is aching, and still listen attentively. I feel a great joy watching your expressions because sometimes you are completely overwhelmed. What do you gain from this? You won't be fed a meal; instead the love of God will come to you out of this. I have been persecuted, cursed and criticized for thirty years, yet I am the happiest man. Out of this suffering way of life I have teamed about God and His love. God is always intervening in my life with love, and I feel the love of God down to my bones. When there is not much persecution then God relaxes, but in an emergency, when a terrible battle is unfolding here on earth, then God intervenes every second of the day. Because of God I have no reason to fear persecution, and I even welcome it.
I can pursue this kind of work because of the love of God. Of course I get tired and find it difficult to go on sometimes, but I go forward willingly. The harder I work, the more I can feel God and I am a happy man. Does persecution discourage you or does it give you power? Many of your parents have nice homes and good food, and they want you to stay home with them instead of listening to me. Even so, you still come and endure a hard way of life. This puzzles people and they ask, "What is Reverend Moon's power?" They study us scientifically, logically, but they cannot come up with any answers, because answers aren't found in logic or test tubes alone. Until you know the love of God, you will not know the reasons for our dedication.
The women sitting in the audience this morning smell of sweat and not perfume. I know you did not have time to take a shower or do your laundry because every moment of your day is dedicated to working for God. You need rest for the next day's work and instead of taking a shower when you have ten or fifteen minutes, you would rather take a nap. Besides that, I don't speak very many comforting words, like, "My sons and daughters, you are doing well and I am glad you are working so hard." Instead, I push you out and give you a hard time. You must be crazy if you still come to listen to me!
When people with Masters degrees and Ph.D.s join our movement, the first thing I ask them to do is to fundraise with peanuts. I am sure they are shocked, "Even though I am a Ph.D. I still have to fundraise with peanuts!" But I strongly feel that no matter how many Ph.D.s someone has, he will not be able to love mankind unless he can love a bag of peanuts or a bucket of flowers in the name of God. He must feel that he is elevating the value of those peanuts and flowers to the highest degree, and put himself in the peanut's position. Then each peanut will say, "I am loved by a Ph.D.!" and the flowers will feel, "My Ph.D. loves me." That love will restore the dignity of all things, particularly things like peanuts and flowers, which mostly have been sold by beggars or played with by children.
The Unification Church members will love the peanuts as God's creation, and love the flowers for revealing the beauty of God. By doing humble things like this you are elevating the dignity of nature and all things which God created. All things have felt mistreated by cruel and greedy men, but now their dignity is being restored as God's creation by unselfish men of God and they feel that God is restoring their true value. The man who loves all things of creation can love God. The man who disregards the things of creation cannot love God.
Imagine how dramatic it is for a wealthy woman with many diamonds to join our church and then place more value in a bag of peanuts than in her diamonds! The peanuts would feel, "Now I have more value than diamonds! I have been elevated to kingship in the peanut world! " If you treat all things of creation this way, then God will treat you this way. You are like the peanuts of the world, but God has picked you up and said, "You are my child."
In knowing God and His love there is immeasurable depth
Now you know the meaning of selling peanuts. You may think it is impossible for a Ph.D. to fundraise with peanuts in the street instead of teaching in a university, but as a son of God I have traveled the road of beggars, not only selling peanuts, but doing every kind of menial task. There is nothing I have not done, and there is nothing I cannot do. I can work in a factory as a laborer or a foreman, or I can come to Belvedere and teach the word of God. I never fall behind anyone or anything. The professors and great philosophers of the world will listen to me; the intellectuals only know about a very small segment of the universe, while I am teaching about the most precious truth of God. If I can bring such truth then I am certainly entitled to come before America and the whole world to proclaim it.
Am I a good teacher? I make you American young people work so hard, and even have you stop dating. Does the rest of the world consider me as good a teacher as you do? Even after receiving the blessing and working so hard you cannot live with your husband or wife right away. Is this standard what makes me a good teacher? Most people criticize me for doing things in a strange and unreasonable way, but you support what I say. What has happened to you? You are the kind of people who don't care what parents may say or what newspapers may write. The important consideration is whether we know with certainty that we are in the position where we can receive the love of God.
I am a man who does not fear guns or bombs or death threats. The one thing which could make me tremble would be the departure of God's love. I will do anything and everything to possess the intensity of God's love. If doing crazy things is the only way to keep the love of God then I will do them. I would not trade the love of God for the sovereignty of a nation or even for my own family.
I actually own nothing and my pockets are empty. What do you gain by following such a gentleman? Don't you mind? You have to buy lunch for me instead of my buying lunch for you. If you really think about it you have met someone quite mysterious. It's hard to judge or measure me.
Compared to Gerhard's fist my hand looks like a peanut, but with this small hand I can do everything. One label is not adequate to describe me because I have been successful in so many different areas. I look like a fisherman, a farmer, a laborer, a religious man, and even sometimes like a gangster and a fighter. There is no way to describe me in one word.
How can I do so much in one lifetime? My secret is that I know the love of God, and in knowing God and His love there is immeasurable depth. God is really greedy in a way because He wants everything, and for this reason I have to go in every direction in order to respond to God. Because everything I do is for the sake of God, everything I touch is successful. No matter how rough I am or how hard I push you, it is never for my sake but for the sake of humanity. My conscience does not hurt because God knows very well that I am only working for His benefit.
God's standard of love is horizontal as well as vertical
I said at the beginning that the person who can freely give and receive is a happy person. Is there only one correct direction for give and take? You must become the type of person who can have give and take in many directions, such as front and rear, up and down, and left and right. God is like this type of person. Christians should know that God's ideal is not limited to vertical give and take between God and man, but rather that God wants men to have give and take on horizontal level in all directions as well. The person with a circuit of give and take of life like this is the happiest person.
No matter where people stand in relationship to God, to the right or the left, in front or in back, high or low, everyone wants to have give and take with God. You know love is the most precious thing to God. Satan, who has been trying to steal God's most precious things, would certainly try to steal love. When you understand this, you can automatically understand that the fall of man occur-red through the misuse of love. Love fulfills God's will when used for God's purpose, and fulfills Satan's will when used in an impure way. The entire history of restoration is a history of God seeking to restore the order of love.
Satan's love is temporal and destructive while God's love is eternal, constructive and progressive. The free sex which is rampant in America today is a form of love, but it is temporal and destructive. When Satan destroyed true love, morality was also destroyed, and Satan was able to destroy man's entire history. Eventually people may even want to change the Constitution and the laws so they will be free to behave like animals. Satan knows the supreme value of God's love for God's world, and because Satan wanted to destroy God's ideal, Satan stole the love of God and used it as his own tool. God loves pure love to the utmost degree, but at the same time He abhors Satan's love. Satan's illicit love is a one-way street to the bottom of hell; the world is running down that street.
God does not even want to look at Satan's world; Christianity, however, without knowing God's strict standard of love, is for the most part permitting itself to degenerate into social functions for dancing, drinking and easily accepts the rapidly declining standards of love. A true God could not condone such churches, but would feel like throwing them into the ocean.
God is patient, however, always trying to make one more effort to save America. I proclaimed to this country that I came as a firefighter because America's situation is like a house on fire; I came in the position of doctor because this nation is like a sick patient. I am sure the American people were irritated at those words, but I deliberately said those things to aggravate Americans. If America won't listen to God's word then I will use America's young people to accomplish God's will. Parents will see the 180 degree turn their children make from a satanic way of life to a God-centered way of life, and they won't be able to deny the truth of what I say. I am fully aware of all the accusation and persecution facing us, but let people strike us anyway.
Three elements will ensure America's survival
America needs to repent. Famous theologians, scholars, ministers, and all Americans must repent together. If you people here do not know how to repent then America might not know how to repent. Americans must look at their own children, and you are the oldest of those children. They know that you are not dumb and they are wondering why you are all here. You would not remain in the Unification Church unless you were wise people.
We must restore God-centered morality or else America is destined to collapse. The Roman Empire collapsed from within, of its own moral corruption, not from outside attack or infiltration. America is in far worse shape than the Roman Empire was because there is no tradition left in this nation. Once the moral center is removed from America it will collapse and no trace of it will be left.
Once America crumbles, all types of fighting will begin. America has proudly called itself a melting pot of peoples from all over the world but that is not America's accomplishment. If this nation keeps the Christian spirit alive and strong then God will protect and sustain the melting pot, but if America loses its Christian foundation then America will no longer continue to be the harmonious melting pot of the world.
Can the Unification Church help? The loss of three vital elements could destroy America: the moral standard, racial harmony, and the Christian spirit. The corruption of these three elements is the internal problem of America, but also there is the external threat of communism. The Unification Church can renew America. First, True Parents are needed. Then through the blessing you can become true husbands and wives. Finally, you need brothers and sisters to form a true family. We are talking about living as true families.
The providence behind America's democratic traditions
The Japanese and Americans were enemies thirty years ago during World War II, and the Koreans and Japanese have historically hated each other, yet now a Korean man has come to America with Japanese people and is trying to save America. In the Unification Church, historical enemies have become united as one body and are trying to save another enemy. There is no parallel to this outside the Unification Church. The Bible says to love your enemy and Christianity has emphasized that you should love your personal enemy, but we in the Unification Church go beyond loving personal enemies to the level of not only loving national enemies, but of working to save them. That is the messianic ideology.
When Jesus was on the cross, his prayer was for forgiveness, not only for the Roman soldiers nailing him down, but also for the entire Roman Empire. Our goal and ideology is to perfect Jesus' ideology by not only loving our personal enemies, but by even leaping over national boundaries to save and unite nations that have fought each other in the past. When this is your living ideology, you will be actualizing the ideology of the Messiah.
Two former enemies, Japan and Korea, are now working to save America. Are the peoples of those nations living comfortably, or are they suffering more than you? Are the members from those nations working harder than the American members? America is the most powerful country of the world, yet people have come from abroad trying to save this country, and they are working harder than the American members. Realistically speaking, we are doing things unparalleled in history.
I know history will reveal that I spent more missionary funds here in America than anyone has ever spent for other missions throughout history, but all of that was for the sake of America's mission, not for the Unification Church. Agencies of the government are investigating the Unification Church; the IRS for example, has been investigating us for several months. They have not found anything wrong, but they keep looking for some way to trap us in a criminal act.
America has received many VIP's in its history, and in God's sight I am a most precious guest who has come to help this country. How could America treat this guest so terribly? It is a sign of America's collapse. When God looks at America, He thinks, "America, I am totally disgusted with you now. You could not even embrace one Korean man in this large country. Instead you are trying to chase him out. What kind of God-centered America are you? For 200 years I worked to train Americans to live harmoniously with all people so that finally one man could come to this country bringing my ideology and be warmly received. For the sake of that man this country has been given enormous blessing, but now that the final moment has come, this nation is failing." God allowed a certain permissiveness to develop in this country so that America would receive His new ideology. That is one reason God allowed democratic freedoms in this country. Contrary to God's plan, however, America is tolerating satanic things like free sex, but trying to limit my religious work.
Even though America has treated me shamefully, I am not happy that God is angry and ready to chastise this nation. Most people would say, "God, You are absolutely right to chastise America. I can't stand these people." But instead my prayer is, "Please be slow with Your wrath and hold back Your anger. Be patient and give me a chance."
My covenant with God for America will not continue indefinitely, but has a specific time element. That is why I have proclaimed that by 1978 the Unification Church must achieve a certain goal in America, and by 1981 the Unification Church has to accomplish specific results worldwide. I am following God's timetable, and my work is a commitment for a lifetime. You American citizens are supposed to do this also. Should you fall behind me or be ahead of me? But if the downhill trend persists, even you will decline as well. I want to make you go ahead of me. That is why I have been pushing the Japanese members to work harder in order to inspire and stimulate you American members. You accidentally joined the Unification Church, didn't you? Can you bear your responsibility, or do you still need me in America? If your answer is that you want me to stay that means you want me to work harder!
We are responsible for every aspect of the world
The Unification Church is doing historical work. Now Western members admire the Oriental culture and some Americans want to marry Orientals. A new culture is beginning in the Unification Church, one that transforms enemies into brothers through love. Satan cannot do that; only God can do that and this love is the ultimate power and principle by which God can conquer Satan. From God's viewpoint the Unification Church is quite orthodox, and will definitely be prosperous.
I created the Unification Theological Seminary for the sake of Christianity, not for the sake of our members. The professors who teach there are not from our church, but from other faiths, being Roman Catholic, Jewish, Greek Orthodox, Presbyterian, and Methodist. It is really for the sake of their own denominations that the seminary pays them to come together there.
Many scholars, from Harvard for example, have come to observe the seminary. They saw that the Unification ideology wasn't taught there, but that the professors are often teaching their courses from the point of view of their own faiths. After observing my way of doing things, these scholars concluded that I am either a number one fool, or a number one genius! But now that the first class is graduating after two years, what has happened? All the professors have been influenced by the students. The process has been reversed; instead of the professors only teaching the students, the professors also have been taught by the students.
Our professors are all famous theologians, but when I asked them ten questions about God and mankind, they could not answer even one. Our members are students of the professors, but they know the Divine Principle so well that they are able to clearly evaluate all the different philosophies they are taught. They affect the professors with the spiritual power and insight of our faith and ideology.
Do you know what I am going to achieve through the Science Conference, or why we need the New York City Symphony? We are responsible for all of God's world, not just theologians. The Unification Church is grabbing God with one hand and grabbing the world with the other in order to connect the two of them. We are also grabbing the world with both hands to glue it together in all directions horizontally, front and back, left and right.
The center of give and take is God's love, and the ideal of God is for everyone to have give and take in all directions centering on His love. Self-centered love exists in the world around us, but in our world God is the center. Unification Church members are happy people because we live the way God lives, and love as God loves. We are teaming to become like Him and be people with many directions.
You know God is your Father, but are you really God's sons and daughters? You must achieve a higher level as sons and daughters of God than Adam and Eve, who fell. Only from that position can you call God your Father. The Unification Church standard is the highest of any religious teaching in history, and once you achieve that standard then Satan's infiltration and accusation are no longer possible. That is the level you eventually achieve.
Once you elevate yourselves beyond Adam and Eve's fallen position then you can unite with God in love, and there is no power under the sun that will separate you from Him. The deepest love of God has never been tasted by any people, including the saints of history. You are truly setting your sights high and the achievement of your goal is quite near. You are truly happy people.
Without man there is no heaven
What makes you happy? You are the people who know God's way of life. The Divine Principle is a serious and important truth. Nothing exists without principle or law, and you are learning God's principle, not only in theory but also in practice. You are going to live that Principle.
Another important point is that you are not just living a God-centered way of life for yourselves, but you are pioneering the way and laying the foundation for the future and for posterity. God wants you to incorporate these three elements: First is heart. Become the people who can understand the heart of God. Second is the Principle. Become the people who understand the Principle of God. Third is tradition. Become the people who will leave behind the correct God-centered tradition. God created the world through the Principle for the sake of love, and everything exists under the Principle. The greatness of the purpose of creation is that God wanted to create mankind to have the true heart of God and to practice the Principle of God.
Why does God need Adam? God is subject while Adam is in the object position, and unless Adam can first unite with God, he cannot be the subject on the horizontal level. Why does God need Eve? Unless Eve can first become one with God she cannot take the object position on the horizontal level. That means true love cannot even be discussed without God as the center. Who is master of love, men or women? In order to become a true man, every Adam must unite with God. At that moment of unity he becomes a man; otherwise, he is only an animal. Women are just the same. The prerequisite for saying the word "man" or "woman" is a concept of God. Without God the words man and woman do not exist.
The prerequisite for God to think of man is love. When God thinks of man, He first thinks of love and then He thinks of the Principle; He automatically thinks of man's position, and of how man is the living, walking representative of Himself. God is the internal and invisible God, whereas man is the external and visible God. That is God's way of thinking.
When you go to spirit world and call, "God, my Father," God will say, "Yes, my son?" His answer does not come from the blue skies up above but from within your own heart and mind. God is dwelling in your mind, and when you listen to your mind you listen to God. In Corinthians, God spoke through Paul to say, "Do you not know that you are God's temple, and that God's spirit dwells in you?"
Mankind is the visible form of God, manifesting the masculine and feminine characteristics of God. Together men and women are the total visible form of God. We read in Genesis that God told Adam to name the animals of creation. Adam had little understanding of the creation, but because God was dwelling with him he was able to name the animals. When does the Kingdom of God start to exist? Heaven can exist only when God and man are together. God and man together create the Kingdom of God, and without man there is no heaven.
When you go to spirit world you can speak with God but you cannot see God. God is invisible not only to this physical world, but also in the spirit world. God needed to manifest Himself in a visible form in order to have some connection with this physical world, and that visible form became Adam and Eve. Man was put in the supreme position to be the visible, walking form of God.
Why did God create man? God longed to realistically express and consummate His love, and to fulfill His ideal for the creation of all things. By accomplishing the ideal of heaven and earth through man, God could be fulfilled. We can conclude that God needed man and the creation for His own self-perfection. Unless man becomes perfect, God remains a God of failure, not a God of success. This is how I am making the greatest contribution to mankind and to the new culture of the world; I am bringing the living God down to man and bringing man up to God. God and man can finally become one in this New Age.
Those who want to become the central hosts and hostesses of the universe, please raise your hands. Why do you feel that way? You consciously or subconsciously understand what you are, and that your position is God's position. Because God is your Father, and you are His sons and daughters, you are in the same category and have the same rights as God. I am not just concocting this sermon this morning. I went before God and Jesus Christ with this truth and it was upheld before all of heaven. You will see this clearly after you die.
You can breathe God's love when you go to spirit world and the love of God surrounds you; when God's love is not there, however, you suffocate. Love serves as the atmosphere in the spirit world, whereas in the physical world you breathe air. You must practice breathing love here on earth so you can breathe love when you are elevated to the spirit world. That is the purpose of a religious life.
When true love is given it returns with a plus
Love starts when you put yourself in the position to serve others. From the very beginning men and women were created to serve one another; it is only through a woman that a man is fulfilled and through a man that a woman is fulfilled. This basic principle of life cannot operate when you do not exist for each other. I want you to know the difference between the two kinds of love. A love for others is the true love of God, but a selfish love is the love of Satan. When you marry, do you want to be loved or to give love? If you want to get married to only receive love then you are manifesting the selfish love of Satan.
When you give love it always returns with a plus. When you give a certain amount of love it is never lost, but will ultimately return increased. Through give and take, love will multiply and prosper for eternity. Love will return with a minus to the greedy person who always wants to take, simply because he has already kept some portion for himself. The true love of the Kingdom of God will never exist if you are intent on only receiving love. The condition for the Kingdom of God to exist is to love and serve others. Satanic love is exactly the opposite.
Why is there divorce? When people marry only to make themselves happy, their relationship cannot last long. Because these people are selfish and greedy they take more and more through the years from their family, society, nation and world. In the end, they find that they have lost everything. Man has come to the point that he must change his way of life 180 degrees, by living to give love. Then the world will certainly change.
The scholars and philosophers of the world have never imagined having the kind of universal gathering that I will have in order to declare to the world that all the ideologies of history which do not teach absolute unselfishness are destined to vanish. Only the ideology which teaches of service to others will survive.
Why are you the happiest people? Because you know you can become God-like men and women. When you meet God you can ask, "Are you my Father? If so that means I am your son and I resemble You." God will say, "Yes, I am your Father, and I want you to be just like me." Then you can say, "I am here living and acting just like you. Do you feel good or bad about this?" God will exclaim, "Oh, I like that!"
If you are ambitious then you will not stop there. You might propose to God, "Father, I want to go one step further and be better than You. I am more handsome than You! I can be more dramatic than You, speaking and doing things better than You do. How do You like that?" Would God then say, "You rascal! What are you talking about? You cannot be better than me"? No, God would say, "What a son I've got! I surrender to you! " God would even humble Himself that way because God recognizes that genuine love is supreme.
When you search after supreme love, do not expect an easy road. You must do your utmost to reach that goal of the greatest love of God. When you pursue that goal single-mindedly you establish yourself as a host and hostess of the nation, the world and the universe.
I want to do for you as much as I have already done for some of the Korean and Japanese members, such as buying houses to let them settle down. As the True Parent, I want to do more for the black, yellow and white members than your own natural parents would do. Before I go to spirit world I want to set that condition and fulfill my pledge as a parent in the name of God's love. You would only follow me wholeheartedly if my heart were unconditionally pure. Because of that love, no matter how many people are in a room, it seems empty compared to when I am there. Even if there are not many people in a room, after I enter the room seems filled.
Everything is precious if done in love
If you can feel God, and live and eat God's love, then regardless of hardship, you are the happiest people under the sun. Whether or not our Church has many physical possessions does not measure my value. If we lost everything we own I would not be sad or shrink from this mission. Even if something happened to all of you one morning and not one of you remained, I would not be shaken; as long as the love of God is intact and strong, my intent will persist. As long as the love of God exists, the universe is never empty but completely filled with love. Sometimes I feel so happy that I think even God envies me.
I have already decided to live and die on this course. I cannot alter this course because it is the only route to the love of God. The greatest, happiest man under the sun is the man who is born through love, practices love in his lifetime, and dies in love. That man is not only the happiest man here on earth, but that man can proclaim himself the happiest man before the throne of God. He can report to God, "God, I am the happiest man under the sun, not only in the physical world, but also here in the spirit world. I have fulfilled my purpose as man on earth, and now I am here in front of Your throne. Please accept me." God will bless him, saying, "You are indeed my son. I am proud of you." That is the highest possible blessing, and it will remain eternally.
I know that anyone who follows the Unification Church tradition to the end will inherit that position. That is the culmination of anything you might strive for. You may wonder if I am lying, but do not worry. You will find out for sure when you die. Do you want to go to the same level of heaven that I will have? Do you want to go to the level of heaven that the Japanese members are striving for? Then you have to work the same way I am working, the same way the Japanese members are working.
In reality I want the American members to be better than Japanese, even better than me. Not only will I be very proud of you, but that will be one more reason for you to be welcomed in the sight of God. This same principle works all around us. All parents want to be proud of their children, and God is no exception. Do you want me to leave you alone to maybe achieve the goal, or do you want me to discipline, chastise, and push you so hard that you have no choice but to achieve the goal?
I always think of the analogy between the Unification Church way of life and golf. I am the golfer and you are the ball that I send flying down the fairway. I want to have my ball land right next to the hole so that I can just tap it in, not somewhere in a sand trap, or even on the edge of the green. Actually I want to be the golfer who makes a hole in one 100% of the time. If you say, "Oh, Father, you hit me too hard. I don't want to sail through the air," then you are not worthy to become a hole in one.
Everything is precious and sweet if done in the name of love, even a spanking. One morning I was speaking and one brother was sitting right here. That morning I used that person as an example and hit him. Afterwards another brother was arguing with him, "I was supposed to be sitting in that position! Then I could have gotten hit. You took my seat! Next time you must not sit there." The next Sunday the other brother came early to get that seat, and was waiting to be hit by me. As it turned out, that morning I did not hit anybody.
You represent all the races of the world. Since I have laid the foundation for the Unification Church all over the world, everywhere you travel you find my home, and therefore your own home. If you went to England you would call the English Unification Church "my church." You are happy people because the Unification Church is one home and one family. Without any question you are the happiest people. You have two eyes and you certainly have the right to shed tears, not just of sorrow for God, but of joy. The Unification Church way of life is exciting, whether it be fundraising or witnessing, and when we take action all of America is embroiled in controversy.
The skunk is famous for its bad odor, but would the smell be bothersome among the skunks themselves? How do you know; have you ever been a skunk? The world might say that Unification Church members smell worse than skunks, but that smell of sweat and dust is the most perfect perfume to God; He likes that smell. Because you don't see God you don't realize how often God comes. Many times I lived like a beggar, dressed in very humble clothes, having no place to go and having to sleep overnight in the street. God's presence was with me all the time. If I were to describe my experiences with God you would not believe how fantastic they are.
Moonies have a Moonie smell. Does that make you happy or unhappy? People may think you smell bad, but as soon as they find God and smell God themselves, then your smell will be like perfume to them. The time will come when the world will discover this. In a way you are the first heavenly skunks. Everybody will want to become baby skunks. If you sisters really want to follow me then you will marry a better man than 1. Furthermore, he will be more wonderful because he will be a much younger man than I.
We must not be deprived of our dignity. Our pride is heavenly pride. Let us together strive forward until we meet God on the ultimate level, the level of perfection. Let us pray.
