Sun Myung Moon
December 1, 1982
Belvedere
Translator - Bo Hi Pak
People admire champion athletes. But do you know who was the greatest wrestling champion of all? It was Jacob, whose opponent was an angel. God was the umpire of that competition. When you ask other people who is the most famous boxing champion, they might think of the movie Rocky, but we in the Unification Church think of biblical characters such as Jacob. How different the two are! There is no comparison.
If there were a tournament for religious leaders, don't you think I would be an extraordinary champion? In any competition, the important point is who will be the judge. Who will decide whether I am the champion? Jesus was the chosen contender and he fought in the ring, but did he win the battle? My opponents have always been nations or governments. In Korea, I faced the government, in North Korea it was the communist government, and here in the United States, the legal battle is defined as the United States of America versus Reverend Sun Myung Moon. Ultimately, when I go to Moscow, I will contend with the Soviet government.
Today I am definitely struggling with the U.S. government. It is like Reverend Moon and Uncle Sam are wrestling! You Moonies form an incredible cheering section. Uncle Sam's group shouts out, "Uncle Sam, you cannot be defeated. Go on. Hit him!" "Boo," the Moonies reply. Who is the umpire? It is God. Even if the United States declares a victory, God will say, "No, you made a misjudgment. That is not the correct verdict." Who will be the ultimate winner? The key question is always who will be the judge.
To be a religious person, you need some religious purpose in your life. Is the Unification Church the right place to come? Among religious doctrines, does my teaching come first or last? Who knows? God knows. No matter how loudly you may declare it, I won't believe you if you are the only ones saying it. But if God declares that my teachings come first, I will trust His word.
I am a religious leader, but that does not mean I focus only on religion. I may speak about business, health, art, literature, science -- every aspect of human life. All human pursuits, even journalism, should serve the highest purpose.
The United States is a country with a free enterprise system. There are an incredible number of wealthy people and wealthy groups such as the Rockefeller Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, and the Ford Foundation, who should be serving this country. Therefore, when Washington, DC, the nation's capital, ended up with only one, very liberal newspaper, The Washington Post, I waited for some rich people with a lot of resources to come forward and publish a patriotic newspaper there. Since no one did, I stood up and said, "Let's do it."
Was creating The Washington Times a good or bad thing to do? For whose sake was the paper created? It was to serve America and the largest purpose. Ultimately, God shall be served. Did I get any personal benefit from it? No, but that is perfectly all right because I am not seeking personal benefit. I am a religious leader, but every day I have to deal with finances because there am so many projects that need money. People always come to me requesting funds for one project or another.
There is a lot of money in the Chase Manhattan Bank, in the Bank of America, in the various Swiss banks, but my bank is a pocket bank! That's the only bank I have. My pockets are always empty, however, because the needs are always larger than the pockets! I am always looking for more funds to support our various projects.
When I wondered what I should do to support our projects, God said, "Reverend Moon, don't you know there is a beautiful solution? We have great young people. Let them go out and bring in the necessary funds." What kind of attitude should you have as you raise funds? Will you go in slow motion, or run and challenge the goal? Actually, the ideal motion is that of a fighting spirit.
Also, since we need more people, I am sending you out to witness. Suppose God said, "We need not only a Washington Times but also a Boston Times or a Baltimore Times," how should I respond? God is telling me we need all kinds of Times, so maybe we can create a Times Club-the Times Club News Companies! This is plural thinking, rather than singular thinking! Is it a good way to think?
Such a connection of heart fills us with joy. We are happy people because even though we receive all kinds of persecution as we go out, when we get together we can laugh with heavenly humor, rejoicing over the truth.
When God looks around, what location will He find most amusing? None other than Belvedere. Why is God's attention so drawn to this place? Nowhere else can God find so many Westerners sitting in front of one Oriental leader and laughing. This in itself is an extraordinary vision of unity. Another aspect of Belvedere's humor is that the Western world is a chair-culture, but here nobody cares about chairs. You can sit on the floor for hours and hours and enjoy yourself! So God must really love to look down at this unusual setting.
Most pastors worry keeping their services short enough. Their sermons rarely exceed 15 minutes because they say no soul is saved after 15 minutes! They feel that the entire service should not exceed 40 minutes. But you come here and don't even look at the clock. One hour, two hours, three and even four hours pass, and you still laugh. So God must find this a fun place to be!
Is God really interested in this place? Where else can He find such an unusual assembly of people who work hard but give every ounce of their energy to serve the world? Where else can He find people who raise funds and never keep one penny in their own pockets? If there is a God, He has to be on our side. The conclusion is that simple.
Let me ask you another tough question: To whom will you listen, your spouse, me, or God? Suppose I tell you that since you are over 30 you should start your family life, and then God suddenly overrides me. Whose direction should you follow? Certainly, if I give a certain instruction and God says no, you would follow the higher order. If you have a rare opportunity to go to the theater with your wife and suddenly I call you, would you still go on your outing? Would you cancel it?
Would you like to live deeply indebted to others or be debt-free? One couple may borrow money to go to a movie, but another husband and wife make a love-pact and then leave for separate missions. Which life would you prefer? Are you sure you want the second one?
This morning I have been explaining the universal principle that the mind and body need to unite and harmonize, centering upon truth. When you extend mind and body to the ultimate scale, they become the spiritual world and the physical world, or heaven and earth. One is internal and the other external. When they are harmonized, everything in between becomes harmonious and free from contradiction.
I have also been helping you understand the significance of your face. Every day when you rise, look at yourself differently in the mirror. After listening to this morning's sermon, look at your eyes in particular and by examining them, you can tell if your thinking is lowly and physical, or more lofty and spiritual. The eyes are clear indicators. Because the eyes represent God, their shape and their brightness reveal your story. When you ask your eyes whether they like this world of truth and spirit, they should say, "Yes, yes, that's it!" When you have MFT duty and you tell your eyes you are going fundraising, will they cry or laugh?
Your nose represents Adam and Eve, therefore, you should be straight, true and faithful. The nose develops last on the face, because Adam and Eve were the final beings created. Because the nose represents the center of the universe which is able to communicate with God, it is vertical. Also, the function of the nose is breathing. That is a symbol of mankind inhaling both the physical and the spiritual elements.
Why do people get married? A nose functions properly when it has two nostrils. By the same token, a single man or woman is not complete. All your organs should function for the sake of truth.
You should tell your mouth to speak the one truth. You have only one tongue, not two. Looking in the mirror, tell each organ you want to take in only the truth and digest only the truth. Don't listen to anything that is lowly or ungodly. You are responsible to control the organs of your body.
There are seven openings in your face, plus your hands and feet, making 11 items. Tell your hand not to touch anything except godly things. Your original, pure mind says your hand should not touch a woman's hand until you are married. Your eyes should look only in the right direction, your nose should smell only the right things, your mouth should eat only the right things, your hands touch only the right things and so on.
As soon as a man and woman see each other, 12 different organs, or instruments, are mobilized. The opposite sex is the most effective mobilizing force! If a woman asks her eyes what they would most like to see, would they answer another woman? No, they want to see a very rough, hairy man! What do your eyes exist for? They seek an object. Likewise, the nose seeks an object to smell. It is most logical that the organs of your body function for the sake of your object, not for yourself.
Is a woman supposed to live for the sake of another woman? A woman's original purpose of creation is for the sake of man. And a man exists for the sake of a woman. Therefore, men and women need each other; they have to meet.
In what phase of your life do your faculties reach their peak function? It is when you have the greatest sensitivity to love -- in your youth.
American women usually don't want to be in the lower position; they want to take the upper position and have power. They want to be in control. But biologically, God made women as a container. Therefore, in order to fulfill that function, you need to be in a low position. Only love brings a man and a woman together. A new baby, new life, is conceived in the very center of a man and a woman. This is where each of us originated.
This brings us back to today's theme: the original race from one lineage. Where did each of us come from? We came from the center of love of our parents. Which comes first: life or love? Love gives meaning to life, now let us ask which comes first: love or God? This is a very huge question, but the explanation is very simple: God also exists for love. Without the reality of love, there would be no reason for God to exist.
This is clear from an observation of life. Human life didn't precede love; it was love which created life. Where does consciousness originate? It is the same answer: consciousness starts from love. Even your eyes originate from love. Your eyes, ears and nose all look forward to living with love and going to a loving place; your entire body is heading towards the destination of love. You are searching after love.
It is entirely natural for you to search for love because this was how your life began. When a newborn baby cries out, it fills the father and mother with joy. Would a mother criticize her newborn for crying? Even wet and messy diapers are a source of joy; the parents are glad to serve the baby by changing them. Do you write down a charge slip for every time you change a diaper or feed your baby so you can present your child with a bill later? Would you tell your child, "It took this amount of money to raise you, so please repay me"? A parent's mind does not function that way. Parents always want to give mom and serve mom; they find joy in giving.
As you keep on giving, do you find yourself depleted and empty? No, you will be replenished over and over, beyond what you have given. When you invest energy you receive some return. In the physical world, it is impossible to obtain 100 percent return on your energy output. The output is always greater than the return. However, there is one exception and that is the power of love. In the realm of love, you always get back mom than you give.
God is eternal and cannot be diminished. For thousands of years He has been pouring out His love without becoming any weaker. By giving love, God has prospered. According to the laws of physics, fuel and energy are always needed to operate a machine, and eventually the supply of energy runs out. God has been operating this entire universe from the beginning until now and He has always been spending without receiving. He has been pouring out Himself, but He has never become empty because in the realm of love, the more you give, the more you receive. Therefore, everything balances out and a revolving action can exist.
This replenishment of love is an incredible new discovery. Because of this, eternal life can be seen as very logical, even scientific. In the world of love, by giving you become more active and by receiving you be-come more prosperous. Therefore you can go on for eternity. You were born in love and you live and grow in love; you will continue for eternity in a love that will never diminish. This is the most beautiful secret in the universe. Do you follow?
Eternal life is made possible only with love. That is why the philosophy or creed of the Unification Church is always to give out to the world. Can anyone of you say you have nothing to give? No, you can always give love true love that will never be depleted, true love that will never diminish.
Think of it. When you know someone is giving you 100 percent genuine love, you want to reciprocate, don't you? What's more, you don't want to reciprocate just 50 percent of what you received, but more than 100 percent. That's love. According to the principle of love, when you receive 100 percent, you want to return 100 percent, or even 150 percent.
Eternal love is created in the family. When individuals are joined as husband and wife and live together for eternity, their interaction is a spiraling motion that goes to the core and then heads outward. It is always circling in and out, in and out, like breathing. There is a mother's side and a father's side, but there must be some circuit of interaction between them; otherwise a child could not be conceived.
The father and mother breathe in harmony and rhythm. Father and mother experience ecstatic joy when the child is conceived and take delight and satisfaction in its birth. We are born as individuals and grow up with brothers and sisters; then we become husband and wife and live with the universe. So we experience three levels of life while on earth. The final stage of life is linked to universal consciousness; human beings are the center of the universe and dwell in love forever.
What kind of world is the spirit world? It is the eternal world. It has no air like ours on earth but its atmosphere is love. There people breathe the air of love. All human beings are meant to experience this.
The original race comes from the same bloodline. We all go through three stages of life. These three stages create the heavenly four-position foundation. We experience brotherly love, parental love, and ultimately divine love. Along the way, we become husband and wife and develop conjugal love.
We start life in the watery atmosphere of our mother's womb where we receive oxygen and nourishment through the umbilical cord. However, even inside the mother's womb, lungs are developing for breathing air, which is the atmosphere of the next life. Do you follow? The unborn baby has a nose, but since the umbilical cord provides oxygen the nose doesn't function until birth. However, along with the lungs, the nose perfects its capacity to function within the mother's womb.
When the time of birth arrives, the baby experiences a revolutionary shakeup! The previous system for receiving oxygen and food-the umbilical cord-is cut and tied. Since the former existence is severed, as far as the baby is concerned it suffers a kind of death! The end of the world has come! All its previous environment-the placenta, the umbilical cord-is broken, and the fluid that surrounded the baby drains away.
But birth means entering a new womb -- that of the universe. We are all living now in the universal mother's womb. In the previous life, we lived in a liquid atmosphere; here we breathe air. While surrounded by amniotic fluid, we were preparing for this present atmosphere. By the same token, while living in this universal mother's womb, we are breathing air but also we are developing our capacity for love. We are preparing for one final stage.
Before birth, many of the baby's capabilities we re latent; the nose and the lungs had developed, but they remained dormant. By the same token, the capacity to live in love, which we must nurture while we are on earth, remains dormant until we experience another birth. This new birth is a revolution like our first birth; it involves some destruction as well.
In the spirit world we don't need a physical body, a physical atmosphere, or physical clothes. There, we take off our shackles and see new horizons as our latent capacities begin to function. We put our ability to breathe love into action. In the sight of God, what people call death is actually a new birth and our entry into eternal life.
To be able to live in that atmosphere of eternal love, we have to prepare our "love lungs" here. Thus in our short time here on earth, we must nurture our capacity to love and our sensitivity to it. Eventually, we will leave this universal physical womb and be born into the divine womb -- the spirit world, the universe centered upon God. God exists at the core of love, so when we awaken into the new world, we too, can exist at the core of love. We can become. the center of love.
When we are elevated to the sphere of God's divine love, we have total freedom. We can have a body if we like; or if we don't want a body, we don't have it -- we can be like God and function exactly like Him. Love is an absolute prerequisite for this; without love we would choke to death there. Once we are the center of the universe, we can go to the realm of perfect resemblance to God. Ultimately, every person is entitled to be exactly like God; when we move into the divine realm, God is in us and we are in God; we are inseparable.
A seed represents a circle. A seed has a covering called a seed coat. Inside there are two parts called cotyledons and between them, in one comer, an embryo. An embryo contains the mystery of life. When it germinates, the two cotyledons provide its initial nourishment. Before you were born, who was the source of your nourishment? Your mother. Now, who is your nourishment? It is the universe.
Like the seed, everything in this world exists in relationship: there are men and women, plus and minus, subject and object. People are like embryos nestled within this world. The child grows and flourishes, blossoming during the teenage years. Men begin to seek women and women seek men. Love-centered activity ultimately bears fruit: a child, which is another seed.
The Unification Church teaches the incredible truth that God exists in dual essentialities. So we might say that God is like a big, super seed! Within God is the embryo, the life essence. In our life's journey, we begin as an embryo, are born and grow throughout our lifetime so we can ultimately return to God and be like Him.
We need to have give and take with the universe, but how can we keep it up for eternity? It is only by love. The virtues of meekness and humility will sustain love for eternity, because when one is meek and humble he meets no resistance. He can keep giving out and move wherever he wishes because there is no opposition. So the secret of being able to move without resistance is meekness and humility.
Why must we be sacrificial? It's not an easy thing. There is no better way to develop our capacity to breathe the atmosphere of love in the next world than by leading a sacrificial life. Sacrifice is the most dramatic and intensive way to complete the love lungs we need in the next world.
All living things go through the same basic process of growth. When seeds germinate and receive sunlight, moisture, and various fertilizing elements they start to sprout. Plants go through three stages, animals go through three stages, and human beings also go through three stages. This is entirely logical.
Look at a cricket. This little insect comes in the summertime and sings loud songs! The egg was laid perhaps in some warm place underground; it hatched into a larva, became a pupa and finally an adult cricket. The ultimate stage of the cricket is the flying, singing stage.
Mankind also grows through three stages. When you reach the spirit world you will realize why you had to live this way on earth. Our ultimate goal is to become like God -- to become perfect like Him and become friends with Him. The fear of death can be eliminated because there is no more death. In the truest sense, death is a new birth! Those who try to deny the existence of spirit world are pitiful people.
Think of the launching of the Apollo and Columbia spacecraft. Once in orbit, they reach a zero gravity stage. They need no additional fuel to maintain their orbit because they meet no resistance at all. By the same token, once we are elevated into the spiritual plane of life, we will find no resistance. We will be able to travel throughout the entire universe in a moment, at the speed of thought.
If there is a star made out of diamonds, wouldn't you want to go see it? Perhaps there is a planet made out of gold and silver. These celestial bodies may be billions of light years away, so even by traveling at the speed of light you would not be able to reach them. But in the spiritual realm, you can go there on the spur of a moment by thinking you can be there instantly. So would you rather live here in this clumsy world for eternity, or upstairs?
Each blessed couple has received a special kind of energy from me. When I gave you the Blessing, I actually gave you a special commission. The Blessing is like plugging into the outlet of the True Parents. As soon as you turn on the switch, You receive the energy of True Parents which enables you to fly throughout the universe without any limits. That is what the Blessing is all about: commissioning people as heavenly "supermen" and "superwomen." Isn't that good?
I am eager to explore every corner of the cosmos. Given the physical distances of this universe, it might take many billions of light years, but in the spirit world everything is right in front of you. If you want to see something, it appears before you; you don't even have to wait!
Life on earth is a time of preparation. When you are elevated into the spirit world after your life in the Unification Church, will you look for me? In the spirit world there will be two types of people seeking me: those who really served God, True Parents and mankind here on earth and those who didn't. If you are the first type, you can call me when you enter the spirit world and I will embrace you immediately. But if you didn't live this way and didn't develop your love lungs here on earth, I won't be able to embrace you automatically.
My responsibility is to guide you to pass the standard of the spirit world. No matter how difficult it may be, my duty is to push you out so each of you can meet its qualifications. Inside its mother's womb, the baby is preparing to dwell in the atmosphere of air. By the same token, while you are here on earth, you should be preparing your love lungs for the next world. Are your preparations complete? I want you to attain the highest value. Will you be the center of the universe? Will you live for the sake of God, mankind, brotherly love and True Parents?
When you are fully resurrected, you attain the same value as God. The creation of a human being is actually the creation of another God! This is an amazing truth. That is the true, absolute value of mankind. Today, people have lost that value. People have reduced themselves to dirt, below the level of even insects. Do you like that kind of life? So do you want to undergo this training?
Some women in the Unification Church are very conscious of their beauty. "I was born a beauty queen," they say; "but Father gave me this ugly-looking man for a husband. I can't accept that. I just couldn't live with him. Them are lots of handsome men out on Fifth Avenue in New York. Why couldn't God and Father pick one of those for me?" Is that how you think?
In some cases I matched a very sensitive woman to a dull, insensitive man. If she can love that man, her love lungs will really develop. When a sensitive woman can make a dense man become sensitive, she becomes a master genius! Actually, the all-knowing God created only 95 percent of our being, and He asks us to create the remaining 5 percent. So a woman can go to God and say, "You gave me 95 percent of a husband, so I will create the remaining 5 percent, making him a whole being." The ideal woman resolves to create her husband.
What do you think I am doing this morning? I am remolding, recreating you. That is the secret behind the ideal, to remake men and women. All morning long, I have been working so hard to remold you! Because love is the motivating factor, I am not even aware of how much time passes. I don't think of hunger, either. When I speak like this for three hours I am working intensely to remake you, and I don't feel any fatigue. But as soon as I return to East Garden, both my legs give out. Only love and desire could generate such intensity; I could never do this out of a sense of duty.
We can reach perfection and become ideal people by passing through the three stages we have spoken about. Therefore we have to adjust our life according to those three stages. The original race means the race connected by the same blood lineage linked together like the features of the face-eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. All races and all people are supposed to be linked like that.
The eyes represent grandfather and grandmother, the nose husband and wife, and the mouth truth. This forms one family, one blood race in which everything is connected and no one is isolated. I exist for the sake of my grandparents, my parents, and my children. Grandparents exist for the sake of their children and grandchildren. These bonds must develop on earth, which is our workshop for perfecting these relationships.
The original race is very precious. You are born with a certain face. Would you ever want to replace your eyes? No. For your grandparents to divorce and remarry would almost be like replacing your eyes, wouldn't it? Your father and mother are like your nostrils. Would you like it if they were to separate and remarry? That would be almost like chopping the nose in half and replacing it. Don't you want your brothers and sisters to be of the same blood race? You long for your original brothers and sisters.
Something that is original has undergone a continuous process, from beginning to end. The original essence never diminishes or disappears. In conclusion, what is the meaning of perfection? In order to be perfect, you must master all the relationships within a family. You should be able to put up with all kinds of grandparents: bad, good, talkative, cheerful, whatever.
If your grandmother cannot take care of her bodily functions and you have to clean up her urine and stools, can you do it without complaining? You should be able to deal with such a grandmother joyfully and happily. That is a sign of a perfect person. Your grandfather may be the most tough, stubborn, arrogant and demanding person, but you should be able to digest everything he does. You should become the kind of person that your grandmother will reach out to when she is dying, in order to thank you for serving her.
You men may have a wife who fights you or even bites you -- someone like Socrates' wife or Lincoln's wife but if you can digest her, control her, and work out a solution, she will eventually surrender before such genuine love from her husband. Or you women may have a husband who is ill tempered; if so, you should be able to win him over.
You should be able to gain the victory in the six different stages of love: grandfather and grandmother, husband and wife, son and daughter. The number six represents a satanic number, so there are six stages to overcome in your family. In the Bible Jesus said that your enemy is within your own family; your closest relatives can be your biggest obstacles. But later they will remember that they gave you too hard a time, and at the moment of their death they will say, "You are number one. I am indebted to you. I will give you everything because you deserve it." Men and women who win such love are perfected people.
Do any of you protest this conclusion? Do any of you think God will come down and say, "No, Reverend Moon, you are wrong. You are not conveying my teaching. You are giving your own teaching"? Or do you think He will say, "Reverend Moon, your definition of perfection is absolutely correct"?
God's perfection is similar. At the end of their life, all people will say, "God, please take everything I have; it is all Yours. My only desire is for You." So God is in exactly the same position. Now you can understand that when people are hard on you, it is not necessarily bad. They are playing the role of difficult grandmother or grandfather, husband or wife, son or daughter. You can say, "Thank You, God, for this opportunity to develop dignity and authority."
Jesus Christ's goal was to become a perfected man. The greatest saints followed this route he took. Today I am striving to achieve this goal of perfection. Since Mother is too kind and good, I need other women to give me a hard time. That is why I get such a hard time from you American women!
What kind of person do you want to become? You should strive to develop the kind of universal mind God has. If you can think like God and act like Him, you will be perfected men and women. Even Satan will acknowledge your perfection. Then God can "I accept you."
Every day, all kinds of people come to Robert Morton, the editor of The News World, to complain about something, to demand favors, or to argue with him. They take his time and energy. Should he try to deal with them on their level, or should he just love them? If he can treat each person as his grandparent, parent, or child, eventually everybody will say, "He is very unusual, an extraordinary person!" Do you follow me?
The family is your workshop, training you to pass the heavenly test. What an incredible opportunity it presents you! Once you have attained the highest possible standard, you will serve everybody as if they were your grandparents, parents, spouse, or children, and you will be welcomed, accepted, admired, and loved wherever you go. When you continue such a process in the next world, your dwelling will be heaven.
Now you understand the training process which the original race from one lineage must complete in order to become perfected people and reach the Kingdom of Heaven. Would you prefer to hold on to your narrow way of thinking or adopt this gigantic perspective? You must make up your mind and then act on it. Will you do it?