Reverend Sun Myung Moon
April 29, 1979
Belvedere, New York
Translator - Bo Hi Pak
What is the ideal world? In the Unification Church we teach that the ideal world equals the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Therefore, I set this year's slogan as Home Church and the Completion of the Kingdom of Heaven. Even though mankind may not have some vital focus in their lives, everyone looks forward to having some ideal world. What is the definition of that ideal world? People say that the ideal world is the place where we can find freedom and peace, where all mankind can be united in harmony. There is no focus or clarity to their concept, but when we in the Unification Church talk about the ideal world, we have complete focus.
If we are talking about freedom, peace and unity, which should come first? You say unity should take precedence, but others would say freedom, while others would say peace. Without how could there be peace? Without unity how could there be freedom? In the Unification Church we accept the values of all those great words, but most important of all, we have a central theme which is prerequisite to all of them-that is love. Peace centering upon love is true peace; freedom centering upon love is true freedom, and unification centering upon love makes sense.
Without this central principle of love there can be no unified discipline. For instance, what the free world and what the communist world mean by freedom are two different things. They also talk about peace in an entirely different way. Communists talk about unity, but not according to our definition. Even if those words are defined differently yet the central theme is love, there still can be harmony and interchange and peace. Basically the love that all people yearn for is the same, but we are talking about a love whose backbone is formed by the central theme of cause and effect, beginning and end. With alpha and omega there can be no change or tarnish from start to finish.
Today, we in the free world see many kinds of love, and the problem we have is finding a true discipline or standard of love. Commonly people think that when men and women have a good time together, that is love. In many cases that enjoyment is an expression of carnal desire and there is no real beginning or end, just a phenomenon with no direction. That kind of love could not form the foundation of peace and freedom and unity. People talk about love today, but tomorrow they could become strangers or even mortal enemies. There is no guarantee of happiness there, only chaos and setbacks.
That kind of love causes destruction and does not possess what we call the central theme of true love. I want you to understand that Satan mobilized the force of such love to destroy our world. Using this kind of love as bait, Satan is taking true freedom, true peace and true unity away from us. We know about Satan, but there is also a God, the opposite of Satan. God is talking about love but of an entirely different kind, one which has a beginning and end, with some background and tradition. From this standpoint, the satanic expression of love is truly His adversary.
The word sin refers to violation of the law of the love of God. God abhors sin, and misuse of love is the crime God abhors the most. It is the Principle that ultimately the law and love of God will prevail. Therefore, whoever indulges in unprincipled love can only perish. In Italy the lustful and immoral city Pompeii was destroyed by instant calamity. Sodom and Gomorrah perished under the same law. The Roman Empire once prevailed in the world with unparalleled power, but it collapsed when it violated the will of God. America today is no exception, so it must not violate the law of the love of God or it too will be destroyed.
People commonly say there is much freedom in America, but is there true freedom here? Here in America people talk about peace and freedom and unity, but there is no real peace and freedom here. Unless you as individuals live up to the law of the love of God, your destiny will be the same. No one can violate that law and still flourish.
Today the Unification Church, more than anyone else, is anxiously working for the ideal world, or Kingdom of Heaven on earth. We are pursuing true peace, freedom and unity more than anyone else. We conclude that there must be one principle of true love obtained before that can happen. within this true love we must rediscover ourselves. True love is Godlike. It has been the goal of saints through thousands of years and is the ultimate goal pursued by all religious people on earth today.
What are we going to leave our descendants? Not money or the corrupted traditions of the tree world that seem to be flourishing today; the tradition that will flourish in the sight of God is the tradition of true love, not of power or knowledge. Your social standing, appearance or distinguished manner will not remain. If you truly love your children and want to give them a lasting gift, hand down the tradition of true love. Once you give them that, you have already given them freedom. We in the Unification Church are the people who have already committed ourselves to the cause of true love and determined that this is going to be our way of life. We are here to discipline ourselves and fulfill the tradition of true love.
That is the very thing which God and all the saints in history have been hoping to achieve. All mankind is waiting for the day of this fulfillment of true love. Wherever you go, it you are armed with true love you are the locomotive pulling everything behind you. God will follow, the saints and all mankind and your descendants will follow you. Do you know of any exceptions to this? This is a universal law, so whether you come from East or West doesn't make any difference. Would there be different laws for the spirit world and this physical world, or do they both come under one God?
How much do you love this way of life and how much are you pursuing it? How many of you want to get married? What is the qualification? Maybe you think it is enough to be a man or woman to get married. Perhaps you feel that because people think you are beautiful or handsome is qualification enough.
If there is a man with one eye who possesses true love, and another, more handsome man who does not possess true love, whom would you sisters choose? How much would you be willing to tolerate in that man of true love? What would you young men say about such a woman? Even if she had gray hair? Even if you have a social reputation or a degree from the most famous university, a man or woman without true love is still human trash. Worldly honors and social prestige are always secondary.
The qualification by which heaven judges whether you are entitled to eternal heaven is not knowledge, power or prestige; they would do no good because they are not even considered when you talk about the Kingdom of Heaven. I'm sure some of your parents achieved some high social standard, but that alone cannot command respect. In many cases such people lose respect because eventually people realize that they lack Godcentered love. If your parents have no social standing but they truly love each other and center on unselfish love, then they command the respect not only of their children but of the town they live in.
We constantly talk about the Kingdom of Heaven, but what is it? We mean the world in which absolute love is the center around which everyone is united. That love is what we call the purpose of creation. In order to head toward our purpose, we need a direction to go in.
If I were going to Korea I would go to Kennedy Airport and board a plane. How could I be sure that particular plane would take off and find its way to Korea? What would lead that plane in the right direction? In most cases the passengers do not worry because they believe in the capability of modern navigation, but what would happen if the navigator ignored his instruments in order to take an extra nap, or decided he wanted a little variety in his route? If he decides he wants liberation from the prescribed course, would you be happy? Why not? Because that kind of freedom invites disaster.
If the compass decides he wants fellowship with the other instruments and he leaves his place to visit them, he might think he is promoting peace and unity, but is leaving his proper position really going to bring peace? The most important element of peace and harmony is the necessity for each being to keep his proper position. Every instrument in the cockpit is placed to fulfill its particular mission so that the whole plane can reach its goal. Those instruments never sleep, but concentrate on the one goal of getting the plane to its destination.
The commanding will is the will of the captain, which commands the instruments toward the one goal. The wings and flaps don't go in their individual directions, but follow the directives of the compass. Anything trying to avoid that discipline and exercise its free will would head that plane into disaster. Abuse of free will is random will, and never produces good result. The important thing is that all components are set to cooperate with that central goal, even though they do so involuntarily.
Our human world works like one plane, with one navigator directing mankind toward one ultimate goal. What is directing us? A captain of a plane can do anything he wants, but even he does not have absolute freedom. In the same way, God is the ultimate authority in the universe, yet even He does not have absolute freedom to do as He chooses at random. There must be some universal compass which leads the entire creation, including Almighty God, bringing it into one common direction. What is that? Isn't it money? Chunks of gold? Surely it must be power? Isn't it power when the President of the United States can sacrifice the good of one tiny island nation like Taiwan in order to start a relationship with a giant like Red China?
Whether small or big, any nation can be the object of a political goal. Some day even America will become the prey of someone's ambition. If President Carter can abandon the small nation of Taiwan, certainly God with His power is capable of doing the same to America, right? Would you welcome seeing God using His power at random, or would you protest, even to Almighty God'.'
Criticizing President Carter's foreign policy in this way will never benefit me, but I will say nevertheless that injustice has been done and it must be judged. Even if the American government tries to restrain or inhibit me, perhaps even evict me from America, I will not be stopped. If I am truly speaking with God's authority, there should he nothing for me to be afraid of saying. I must pass the judgment of history, which otherwise will accuse me of failing my mission to proclaim God's truth. I'm sure my words disturb some Americans, and even some of our members might request that I he more diplomatic and say something nice about the President.
American women are always a target for my words. Americans are famous for picketing and demonstrating, so why don't you form a picket line one Sunday in protest? If you women don't like to hear me say certain things then you can leave and I will work with the men. If I give the word then they won't marry that kind of woman, so what will happen to you? Would you enjoy your life alone? That's your weak point; you need men. The last thing the poorest diplomat would do is criticize American women. But I do it; however, I do it with a loving heart. The President of the United States must say nice things about women in order to get their votes, and American husbands must be careful with their opinions because otherwise they will have their allowance cut off. But I have to speak out. I have been told many times by different people that it is bad diplomacy to say critical things about American women, but that only inspires me to speak more!
What is the universal navigator that everyone likes, including God, all creation, and every kind of person? True love. That is easy to say, but have you tasted true love? Do you know it? You may not quite understand true love, but somehow you know logically it must be central. True love alone has the universal qualification. What makes people lonely? Lack of love. In America there are many senior citizens who may have achieved fame and wealth and security in their lives, but who now weep all day because they are lonely. No one cares for them unselfishly or comforts them. This is a tragedy.
Millions of American young people have grown up in this affluent society and could easily lead prosperous lives, but many of them run away from home because of loneliness and lack of love. The Unification Church is here to pioneer true love so that no one is without love. We want to create that kind of world. We have one navigator leading our world to that goal. to the Kingdom of Heaven. What is that compass? That is true love. True love navigates even God.
Do you think God feels He does not need true love because He already has total authority? Since God is almighty and absolute, God needs love more than anyone else in the universe. Do you think God can fulfill love all alone? Does He laugh and dance all by Himself? Love needs an object to complete a circuit, and even God cannot violate this law. He needs someone to love and be loved by. Are men or women in a position to love God? Men and women together or separately? If men and women must love God together, what is the sequence or order? Who will be in the forefront of that love crusade? Will love hit two people at the same time or one at a time?
Do you women love your mother and husband with the same intensity, or one more than the other? Would you kiss them at the same time? You can embrace your mother and then love your husband, but it's impossible to go in two different directions at the same time so there is an order. We said that men and women are equal, but there should be a certain order or discipline between them. Equality is one thing and fairness is another; blind equality does not necessarily represent fairness. There is always a certain sequence or priority to be followed. God definitely loves both men and women as His children on an equal level, but there is a priority or sequence.
Which one comes first to God? Why do you women say men come first? In everything there is a double layer, one internal and one external. When you make a circular motion based on this external layer, it goes in all different directions and ultimately is self-destructing. Lasting, peaceful circular motion is always set up around an axis. If you use that central line then no matter how fast or how long you turn there will be no destruction. In everything we need this central axis, which is formed by the person who can take and fulfill the responsibility. The more responsibility that person bears, the farther he advances toward the central position.
Who is designed with a greater capacity for responsibility, men or women? That central responsible subject is man. In biblical tradition the blessing is always given to men because men are ultimately responsible. Blessing always accompanies responsibility. Mankind has traditionally lived like that, with women leaving their homes to marry their husbands and take their names. During war and all the dangerous, pioneering times in history the women were always behind the men, assisting. Men are in the subject role and women in the object role.
Do you prefer feminine men or strong, masculine men? Do you women know why you prefer rugged masculine men? Because that is the quality you don't have. That's because God created men and women in complementary relationship. Women are made for conquest of love by men; when genuine, unselfish love conquers you, you are intoxicated by it instead of repulsed by it. You know that at a certain point you will become a prisoner of love but you want to remain and give everything you have for the sake of your man. That's the way God designed woman.
The more you are conquered by love, the more you want to give. That's the spirit of love. I am a tough and rugged man who cannot stand any injustice, but even though I have a fiery temper I was conquered by the love of God and became totally helpless. In that love I was made a lamb. If I weren't caught up in the love of God then I could not stand all the criticism that has come to me, but because of the love of God, the more people criticize the more I like it. In the name of God I can be persecuted and tortured.
God deliberately tests me sometimes by hitting me and allowing more persecution to come, but when I overcome because I am truly intoxicated by the heart of His love, He will recognize me as His son, the proof of His love. God gives me more tribulation so He has a condition to give me more love. If I can absorb and even welcome whatever persecution I meet, then in the love of God there is nothing I cannot do. Love is the central theme. Out of love God is allowing persecution, and I am enduring it because of love. Would you like that kind of love?
Equality is good, but not with blinders. Because you are not losing anything you don't take exception to this, do you? If a woman has to go out at night, she naturally often asks a man to go with her. You women are built as object, not subject. Even if your brother is much younger than you, he goes out at night all by himself without asking one of his sisters to go with him. That's the complementary order of the subject and object relationship which God established.
God created Adam first to be next to Him, and then Eve to be next to Adam. The East Garden family has that order too. The firstborn is a daughter so she is next to me, and then Hyo Jin next to her. Even the son cannot just assume that position. He does not complain when his elder sister is given first treatment. Why? There is order in love, a sequence of love, flowing to first fruits, then second fruits. God created one at a time in order, not two at once, so there is a certain flow and timing which remains as the universal order. Who received the first love of God then? Adam. I'm sure no one can complain about this because it is God's universal order, established in subject and object relationship.
If we look at the entire creation as a Boeing 747, then true love is the compass and navigator which guides the whole plane with all its passengers in the correct direction. I have been called all kinds of things, such as a dictator worse than Hitler. Do you think I have the power to do everything at random according to my will? Am I without principles and law? What is guiding me? True love. I am more obedient than anyone else to the law of true love because I am upholding that law and giving my life for it. Here are people of all five colors of skin in one room. Why did you come here to follow me? Because we have one common goal. Is true love colored white, yellow or black? It is all colors. We arc not just talking about it; we are building it. A good example is our service here where we have all colors and races under one fatherhood and hound by true love.
Is this the result of my dictatorship? No. The Moonies' life is not an easy one. You witness and fund raise very intensely and often you ache all over. On the surface it looks like a very miserable life, but underneath is a burning desire to be a central man of true love. You give meaning to your hard work; you are not doing it because someone forces you to but because your own desire is burning and you have peace within you. That is true love. When you are activated by true rove' everything you do shall have beauty and glory. If you are communicating with God then you cannot leave Him.
We may receive persecution from the entire world, but the true love of God is upholding us. This love is invincible because this true love is what mankind needs. Because they have to receive that love through you they have to come. Once you reach total oneness with God in His true love then you can enjoy absolute freedom and do anything with God. Then no deed is ungodly and even when you do things that might seem nasty, they will bring you closer to God. No deed done in true love is ugly.
Suppose God is mad about something, hut His little three year old grandson comes toddling over to say, "Grandpa." He cannot help but smile because that one word came out of the child's pure love. Perhaps God is making a life or death decision about the universe, but even at that moment that one word of true love can melt His heart.
In the Unification Church we are pursuing the Kingdom of Heaven on earth and our central theme is true love. That is our navigator. Are we doing the right thing or not? When you think about that at night or during the day your answer is still yes. What if you are kidnapped and you think about it; will your answer still be yes? If you are truly intoxicated by the love of God then no power under the sun could make you a prisoner. A thousand deprogrammers would be powerless.
I was born as an obscure Korean, but then my march started, first throughout Korea and national persecution, then to Japan and more persecution. Now I have come to America and the entire world is paying attention, but still I am marching on. What is the power behind me? Many formidable adversaries have confronted me, but I never get tired and am still going strong while those opponents have all stepped out, one by one. Are you tired? What power enables you to continue? I know that honestly speaking you don't quite grasp love yet but you know something nice is coming. You want to touch it and come close to it. There must be such a power because otherwise the Unification Church could not go on.
Would you men like to have me as your elder brother? Why? How about you sisters? I have some quality, some flavor. Even though you lose America or even the whole planet earth, once you grasp true love all of that and even God will come back to you. True love encompasses everything. Once you grab the top, everything else will follow. Do you agree? If that is the case, what worry do you have?
Without pure motivation, everything you do becomes a burden. You may like to come to Sunday service and you may like Divine Principle' but without love you won't want to fund raise or do home church. When you are motivated by true love, the greater the tribulation that comes, the greater the value and ecstasy of your joy. I pray to God that if people don't love Him then He should let them oppose me. Then under persecution I will truly exemplify God's love to them. I want those people to know God through me so I asked God for that opportunity.
To be honest, most new members first became involved, not because they loved the Unification Church. but because they were curious and came to investigate. Then they were caught by the net of true love. When they are hooked by true love it is a life or death matter and they cannot take it lightly. When a fish is hooked it tries desperately to get away and in the process it gets hurt. The same analogy works in the Unification Church. If the hook is true love, don't try to thrash and kick but taste it and enjoy it. If you know the taste of true love then the problem of being hooked is all solved.
Sooner or later the world has to agree with my conclusion that the true compass to the ideal world is true love. No one can deny it and even our boldest adversary needs to be benefited by it. Our march is in the direction of love.
You must realize your own position. If you are in the middle of the Pacific but you think you are arriving in Tokyo and try to land, you face absolute disaster. You are a passenger on that plane of love over the middle of the ocean, but in a way you are trying to land right now. By trying to gain unearned fruit without working, you are courting disaster. No matter how much you desire to land, if you are in the middle of the Pacific Ocean you cannot do SO. You have to cover the whole distance to reach land.
Usually the flight to Korea is 18 hours long, but recently it has been getting shorter and now it is 16 hours. If the trip takes 16 hours, the wise man does not get all anxious to arrive there in 13 or 14 hours. Instead he will think that to reach the destination takes 36 hours and he prepares accordingly. He takes plenty of food and things to do and is ready in his mind to fly for 36 hours. Then when he lands after 16 hours, the extra hours are like a bonus. If you are deeply asleep when the plane lands because you didn't expect to arrive so early, someone will have to wake you up and chase you out of the plane. When you arrive that way you always feel that you earned 20 hours so you have more time to work. Then you can use that time.
Our ultimate destination is the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. There are seven different stages to go through to reach it; one is individual heaven, next the family, tribe, race, society, nation, world, and then Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Do you know which stage you are in? Are you still waiting on the ground, or have you taken off? Do you have enough fuel)? Did you double check all your flight instruments? Are you sure your compass is working.? Can you have confidence there will be no accidents en route? What if a head wind comes and pushes you back; will that deter you? Are you prepared for a long, long journey?
Is your yes from your mouth or from your heart? Do you want me to test your readiness with some hard work and tribulation?
A plane always has a specific capacity for passengers and the airline always wants the plane to be filled before it takes off; otherwise, they lose money on the flight On this plane you can take your family and entire home church, which is your tribe. Should it include only white people? Of course you want it to include all races. The tribe will go to the nation, the nation to the world and the world to the cosmos. If our thrust is strong enough, we can go not only to the world but beyond to embrace the spirit world and whole universe. When you finish after covering the entire world, you won't need a plane any more because from the world level you will be launched to the Kingdom of Heaven.
The interesting thing about a moon launch is that the moon may be up in the sky in one direction, but the rocket actually is launched in the opposite direction. The spectators may not be able to see any sense in it. In the same way many people say we are crazy because they think we are going in the wrong direction to the Kingdom of Heaven, but we have a compass with clear direction, a spiritual compass leading ultimately to heaven. If that compass leading your heart is true love then you are bound to reach heaven. The rocket may seem to be going through unnecessary maneuvers, but if the compass of true love is working it will definitely take you right into heaven.
When that rocket lands in God's love, that love will explode and rock the entire universe. God will be activated in true love and begin to dance. When God is dancing, will the entire world dance with Him? When Cod starts dancing, His entire creation will harmonize with Him and begin to dance also. He might even step on someone's head in His excitement, but would you chase Him away or ask for more? You can grab His foot and keep Him from going away.
The contest of giving true love is the ultimate competition between husband and wife. When you can say without any hesitation that you have loved your partner in the true love of God, then no matter how handsome or beautiful he or she is, he has to bow down. True love is the ultimate gauge of value, not appearance or social standing. A wife can ask her husband if he has given true love to his family, and if he is defeated in the competition of true love, he has to bow down to her. If a subject is defeated in true love then he must humbly come under his object.
This question works on every level, as between a head of state and the people. If you ask the President if he has loved the people as much as his parents loved him and his answer is yes, then he is a great President. If not, he is a failure. What is the expression of that true love? Unselfish giving in everyday life is the true expression of that love. That's the way parents live for their children and that's the way God has been living for mankind. Any subject demonstrating unselfish love toward his object is living true love. Where there is a man in the center with that true love, the Kingdom of Heaven shall be there. That love will go beyond every power here on earth and win over it and then the power of unity will bind everything together into oneness like glue.
Our goal is the ideal world and our direction is true love. The manifestation of that true love in our daily life is unselfish giving every day. Also' you will always remember your position. When you get closer and closer to the goal, many burdens and responsibilities come upon you because the time of fulfillment is near at hand.
I want you to understand that you mustn't think that every day is a holiday once we reach the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, for the closer we come to the goal, the greater are the responsibilities. You shall be preparing the entire world to lift off to the ultimate heaven and you must be ready with all the necessary equipment. A spaceman has many limitations on his movement with all his equipment. Your great responsibilities will also limit you, but you must welcome it because it prepares you for a great launching.
You may think MFT work is difficult and witnessing is difficult, but I want you to be prepared for even greater responsibilities. You must be willing to tackle them. Inside the Unification Church we are going to bear the greatest of all burdens because we are trying to help prepare the rest of the world for takeoff. We have so much responsibility that sometimes we don't see too much love. It seems there is nothing but work every day, but I want you to understand that the great moment of launching is like an emergency and we must be ready.
We easily talk about unifying the world, but is actually doing it an easy task? We are the objects of scorn today. There is more persecution and more misunderstanding coming, but we must persevere and go on to the goal. Do you want to retreat? You know this principle is the truth and we are tackling it. We need wisdom to know the truth and our true position and our direction. We have one unity of spirit in the Unification Church.
When I go to Korea your spiritual antenna is automatically focused there because you don't want to live your own way, but God's way. You raise your antenna high so you can receive heavenly signals and then your body and mind are at peace. If you try to go your own way you feel restless and upset in your heart. God's spirit works like a magnet to link opposites like the North and South poles. There is a magnetic field between us, and if you try to deviate you feel disturbance inside. You must go in the right direction of true love.
The month of May will soon be here and you single members are waiting for news of the matching, aren't you? You should ask yourselves if you are people of true love. What is your answer? No matter how you look, unless you possess true love you are not qualified to be matched in heavenly blessing. If you want to get married, go ahead and do so. Why not? Your antenna tells you that just getting married is contrary to your true direction. You know it in your heart.
We need a goal, direction and everyday practice, and with that we can definitely reach the goal and live the unselfish way of life. This is the central teaching of God throughout history and the central revelation brought by Jesus. This is what I have talked about this morning. Our job is to perfect these four pillars of heavenly life with a humble heart. Our job is to perfect ourselves so our two eyes will never see anything wicked, so our brains will never think anything evil and our mouths will never speak anything ungodly. This is what we have set out to do and we work with sweat and labor to fulfill it. If you become one with this, then you can proudly say Aman.
God bless you. Let us pray.