Sun Myung Moon, Young Whi Kim and Won Pil Kim
December 1989
Compiled by Nancy Barton
Sun Myung Moon:
Do you embrace good and bad together? When you have the spark of true love, it melts and purifies all evil things. Jesus told us to love our enemies. He forgave the Roman soldiers who hung him on the cross, but would you do the same? If you were treated so evilly by someone, could you forgive him? This is the secret. When evil is forgiven and embraced, it is eventually melted and purified.
When you embrace your enemy, the spark of the love of God will melt away evil. Even Satan cannot help but surrender in front of the true love of God. When you are giving the true love of God, the smallest woman should feel, "My love can melt even the biggest man." That is the kind of confidence you should have. That is the way I live my life. I want to embrace the entire world and every kind of person, even the most disagreeable one.
Textbook of Love
(2/5/84)
How many of you have really walked down the street in the heart of God, and how many tears did you shed on behalf of God? Someone might mistreat you, but forgive them and come back with hope. Next time you visit him you can have hope that he will be a new man and treat you differently. You are always being deceived by people, but always be their friend anyway.
Even though you are always being deceived, people will become different with time. Know that the power of God is there, that God is not leaving you alone; if you have that much forgiveness and generosity and prayer but still the other person doesn't repent then don't worry about him. Spirit world will come down and chastise him.
When God sees how much you truly represent Him and He is moved by your heart, then God will feel anger and want revenge, exclaiming, "I cannot leave this situation alone! I must come down to help." That kind of togetherness with God cannot be found when you are sitting idle, waiting for God's blessing. You must be out there in the forefront in order to meet God.
The Tradition of the Unification Church
(12/11/77)
The only way to get back to the original state we were in before committing some crime or making some mistake is to pay back or indemnify what we did wrong. We cannot erase the past, but we can restore it or pay back the debt, and the sooner we do it the better. For instance, the way for America to be forgiven for what Anglo- Saxons did to the Chinese and other Orientals, including the American Indians, is to have the Asians and American Indians embrace them in forgiveness. The criminal cannot declare, "I must be forgiven." It doesn't work that way. The victim has to come and say, "I forgive you."
We can now understand why I have come from the Orient and worked so hard here in America. I had to find a valid way to plead before God, "Because of what I have done here, please forgive this country." America cannot simply say, "Oh God, please forgive us." America has to build up a valid indemnity, and I have been trying desperately to discover the means through which this country can come to deserve forgiveness.
The Future of the Religious Person
(9/1/86)
Jesus was crucified on the cross; however, he dramatically demonstrated his love for humanity by forgiving and loving his own enemies. That deed made him a victor of love. Love conquers all and nothing can displace or overthrow it. Once you occupy this highest pinnacle of love no one can topple you.
The Ones Who Can Receive God's Love
(10/1/77)
When people argue about something you have to embrace them with this power of love. You have to face your opponents and forgive them so that your own repentance will be actualized and you can bring these people to God.
Let Us March Forward to One Heavenly Father
(11/13/77)
Patience can be the motivation of recreation and restart. When you are patient, you can forgive your enemy. By forgiving your enemy, you can occupy him. Satan or your enemy will draw a line between you and him. If you keep standing on the other side, there will always be a gap there. But if you step to his side, to embrace him, then he will either retreat or be embraced by you. By your forgiving him and embracing him, you can occupy him.
Opportunity for Happiness or Unhappiness
(3/2/75)
If your friend or even your spouse commits any mistakes, you must feel like forgiving him, saying to yourself that "It is my responsibility to have let her or him do that." Every sin, every mistake of theirs is nothing if you take the responsibility for that. On the other hand, those who sinned or committed mistakes must be frank in confessing their sins and mistakes. Do you understand what I mean? (Yes!) From this viewpoint, you must criticize and analyze yourselves. Are you like that? (Yes!) This is a great thing, and this is the knack of how to become a godlike man.
Human Relationships
(3/9/75)
You can claim to be a good person but once you commit some kind of mistake you must beg forgiveness from the person you have wronged or from those associated with him. Otherwise you will not be forgiven.
The Responsibility of Cain and Abel
(11/1/76)
You single people must keep your purity and give your heart to God first. You who have committed earthly sins such as lustful acts need to repent and work out the entanglements of your life. You will be forgiven if you repent and forever leave behind those ideas; only as a purified person can you be admitted to the Kingdom of God. Without purification you are incapable of receiving God's pure love.
The Spirit World and the Physical World
(2/6/77)
You must believe that persecution is a beautiful way of going through many things. We each are filled with our own individual sin, but when you are persecuted unjustly by other people and can persevere instead of fighting back, then you have discovered the quickest way to have your sinfulness forgiven),•y God. In the midst of the worst persecution, not only your own sins are forgiven, but also the sins of the person who persecutes you may be forgiven in a certain way, and you can receive further blessing for that. This principle is universal and brings all manner of result everywhere.
How to Witness: To State Leaders
(4/1/77)
You cannot just ignore some mistake without apologizing to the other person.
The Responsibility of Cain and Abel
(11/1/76)
If you just bury some anger in your heart without apologizing or speaking out to resolve it, then it will multiply as resentment and remain within you forever. In every area of human relationships you must not try to cover everything over and persevere with resentment still growing in your heart. You must take it out and analyze it and one of the two must apologize to the other or make some compensation.
The Responsibility of Cain and Abel
(11/1/76)
If someone has prayed tears for a person, then it might be excusable for him to offhandedly say that a person deserves some retribution, but if he has never shed tears, then he must never denounce even an evil person. Otherwise, he will be racing straight down to the lowest realm of spirit world. Do not condemn anyone. Man's fallen history has been prolonged because of that attitude. When we have a good and loving mind toward even an evil man, God will certainly bring a positive result. You are distributing God's blessing to everyone, and if an evil man makes even a small condition of goodness, you want to give him much blessing as well.
The Age of Repentance
(9/1/78)
My attitude is to forgive and forget.
Where Do We Go?
(9/17/78)
The gratitude felt by unforgivable people when they are forgiven is much greater than that felt by those who are forgivable. In my heart I want to forgive even Satan after everything is restored.
Way of God's Will
p. 170
Jesus prayed for his enemies: "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34) Even at the moment of death on the cross, Jesus was so earnest in forgiving. His very last act was motivated by his love for his enemies. He was the supreme form of giving -- a paragon of love. The example of Jesus Christ is the absolute standard for all mankind.
God's Hope for Man
(10/20/73)
Young Whi Kim:
Jacob's youngest son, Joseph, was hated by his elder brothers. They tried to kill him, but couldn't because he was their brother. Instead, they sold him to the Ishmaelite merchants, who took him to Egypt. After many years, famine came and Jacob's family had to move to Egypt. At that time Joseph met his older brothers who wept because they had done such evil against wept because they had done such evil against their brother. Then Joseph said to them, "It wasn't you who sold me into slavery, but God. He made you sell me to the Ishmaelites to prepare me for this time, because He knew that our family would go through starvation. I was made captive through my brothers in order to lay the foundation to receive my family in Egypt." This was Joseph's answer. This is a good example for us. If he had hated his brothers then what would have happened? Jacob's family could not have stayed in Egypt and built the nation of Israel. Joseph's heart is a good example for us all. We may encounter difficulties but they will never be as bad as those Joseph faced. Joseph had such a heart that he could forgive his elder brothers who were actually his enemies because they tried to kill him. He forgave them and subjugated them with his heart of love.
In the same way, among ourselves, I or some other brother or sister might have done something wrong to other members. In that case, the injured one also must have the heart of Joseph and then there will be nothing he cannot forgive. When we really become like this, God will come to us and give us His blessing.
Guidance for Heavenly Tradition Vol. I, p. 81
How can you cleanse a resentful heart? Forgive the person who hurt you, because when he made the mistake, he was on Satan's side. By forgiving him, you put yourself in a higher position than he. You already become the victor. And if you forgive the person who caused you trouble, your mistakes will be forgiven. This is the principle of give and take action. If you give your life to others, life will be given to you. This is the reason we witness. By giving God's life to people, we receive life. We have to cleanse all the feelings among our members. We need to have good feelings and attract loving spirits. If we do this everyone will be attracted to us.
Guidance for Heavenly Tradition Vol. I, p. 175
Of course it may be difficult to overcome our suffering and forgive someone. Remembering back you might think, "Because of him I couldn't do what I wanted. I was put in a position to suffer. To forget and forgive might be very difficult, but if you can, you will be standing in a higher position than the other person. Then he must ask your forgiveness. If he doesn't do this on earth, he must in the spirit world. On the other hand, if you cannot overcome, you will be in the same situation as the one who wronged you.
So, the forgiving one is the winner. If you fight with someone, and later ask his forgiveness, he will ask forgiveness from you. The first to forgive will be the final winner. And we know that by forgiving others we are also forgiven. So, even if you did wrong, by forgiving those who hurt you, your mistakes can also be forgiven.
Guidance for Heavenly Tradition Vol. I, p. 207
Won Pil Kim:
Even though you are told many times to forgive, you cannot. Why? Because you have your own idea, not God's idea. We should never forget that Father has God's heart at the center of his heart. In order for us to become a true child of Father, we have to have the same heart as he has. The leader who says that his members are not good, is not good either. Nor are the members who say that their leader is not good. It is the same with a relationship between a husband and wife. Nothing is worse than a husband speaking ill of his wife, or a wife speaking ill of her husband.
When a leader says that his members are bad, he is proving that he is bad as well in front of God and the True Parents. In restoration, a Cain will lose his way if he grumbles and complains to his Abel even if the Abel is not well qualified. Then how can a Cain overcome his complaints? When you find your leader is not good, then you must realize God is teaching you that you are not good either, before your Abel and God. You must think in this way and then help him with a thankful heart. Then you, a Cain, can be an Abel for your Abel.
Father's Course and Our Life of Faith, p. 70
When people judge their enemy in this world, they do so with hatred and power. We judge them by serving them and God more and more. That's the difference. They kill with hatred and return the hatred by committing murder in society, which also becomes full of hatred. We must have more love for God and the people, and serve instead of hating.
Father's Course and Our Life of Faith, p. 119