Sun Myung Moon
February 13, 1977
Belvedere, New York
Translator, Bo Hi Pak
The name of our church is the Unification Church. The process of "unification" requires two parts, subject and object. Within an individual, for instance, the mind and body must unite, and every individual needs horizontal as well as vertical unity. Man's happiness is experienced by receiving vertical inspiration from the hope and ideal of God, the center of the universe, and by putting that particular ideal into practice on the horizontal level. That vertical and horizontal unity brings human happiness.
We are learning through the Divine Principle that the subject and object together bring unification. In a man the mind as subject and the body as object should unite together. When this unification comes about then God can be present with that person. Where does God dwell? The juncture where the body and mind meet is the place where God dwells. The Bible teaches that "The kingdom of God is in the midst of you." Heaven exists in the deepest unity of the human mind and body.
How can we unite our minds and bodies? Can unity be established if the mind is going in one direction and the body another? Do your mind and body unite automatically without any effort? There must be some central motivation, some catalyst to bring these two together. God is this catalyst, and around Him the two can be cemented into one.
What is the characteristic of a mind and body when they become completely one? They create a perfect 90 degree angle between them. The mind is searching for the highest possible goal, the highest hope and ideal, while the body is trying to fulfill the highest ideal through action. This is what men are pursuing. Who determines which ideals and deeds are noble? Do men get together to decide the standard? Since men are temporal beings they could not determine what the everlasting standard should be. An eternal standard could be set only by someone higher than man, someone in the position of subject over all humanity. That someone is God.
Even fallen man desires a high ideal and noble deeds
There is an eternal motivation in this universe but man could not have been the source of that motivation. God was, is and will be the everlasting motivation in the universe. He establishes the human ideal. Therefore, we are in the position to unite with that ideal and accomplish noble deeds through our own efforts. Then realistically, what kind of person should I be?
I can think of myself in two ways: I can become a man who follows my own standard, deciding for myself what kind of man I should be, or I can become a man of eternal motivation, seeking to live up to God's standard of perfection. Finding God's divine standard is absolutely important. For fallen man, the problem is how much we know God. Because of the fall of man a haziness developed and we lost the ability to see God. However, even without crystal clear vision we know that there is some ultimate goal for each of us to strive toward. In the fallen world men are searching for an eternal motivation. In order to reach man's highest possible goal of perfection there must be some corresponding clement, even within the heart of fallen man, that can resonate with God's eternal motivation. Without this invisible element linking our desire and God's desire, we would have no way to pursue that cosmic goal.
You are each a child of the fallen world but, along with the rest of fallen mankind, there is a desire in your hearts to reach out for a high and noble ideal, and you desire to do noble deeds. Where does this desire come from? Who planted such a noble concept in your hearts? Some might say, "That's a quality given to me by my father and mother." But where do they get such a desire? Communism has provided one answer. In communist theory matter is the source of everything. Do you think that matter can create the spiritual qualities and desires of man's heart? Dialectical materialism is coupled with a theory of evolution which explains how material things evolve to ever higher and more sophisticated levels. However, within the human heart basic feelings and desires will never evolve but remain from generation to generation. They will not change over time.
If mankind belongs to the animal kingdom then will the monkey or any other animal some day evolve to the point where they feel as human beings feel? Will they have man's sense of justice and morality, and a desire to elevate themselves through some noble concept? Will time create that in monkeys? A monkey will never be a man, even after thousands and millions of years have passed. There is no evolution of such heart-felt desires or spiritual motivation.
We conclude that man was created from the very beginning as man, and that God gave him a spiritual capacity, plus a desire to be like God and reach His standard. These desires are given only to men, not to monkeys, and they remain unchanging through time. Why? The simple conclusion is that God is subject, not matter. From the very beginning He created man to be His object, infusing him with His own unchanging qualities. We eternally remain as a mirror of God, and because God's qualities do not change, we also have no way to change.
As human beings we always act in certain ways and our hearts always harbor certain desires. This is already important proof that there is a subject beyond us. God is invisible but we are created to mirror His subjective characteristics. In this world everything exists in a reciprocal relationship. There is nothing that exists independently. God permitted no such existence in this universe. Consequently, everything always exists in subject-object relationships.
As the subject, what is God's purpose for creating the objective world? Was His purpose just the creation of the object itself, or did He desire to reach out and experience greater glory and joy by having subject and object? As subject, God created the object and dreamed of having the subject and object united together; He looked to the future, desiring to achieve ever greater joy. As human beings we always desire something greater, thrusting ourselves out to seek some cause of glory. In reacting this way our minds precisely reflect God's own mind.
God looks forward to achieving some result greater than Himself. Only by being centered on some greater desire can a true subject and object be united into one. Our desires are always focused on uniting with something greater than ourselves; we want to progress to greater achievement and greater unity. A resultant being always resembles its cause or origin, like a reflection in a mirror. When the objective result completely mirrors its subject origin, the
The purpose of the object and the purpose of the subject must be parallel, not contradictory, and in that parallel existence unification will emerge. Man's basic desire is to be noble himself, and to always have a direction for fulfilling a higher goal. If our desire is to soar in that direction then our deeds will not be arbitrary, following one direction today and another tomorrow. In that case we will have a direction and principle that continually lead us toward one goal. Our purpose exists first, and when we are striving to reach that purpose we automatically have direction.
God has a goal and purpose, and in order to achieve this goal He created subject and object. There must be a goal, and some direction or principle to follow in order to achieve it. This is the principle of the universe. Every individual has two directions to follow: the ideal pursued by his mind, and the deeds pursued by his body. Human life was not supposed to be lived at random, by arbitrary whim. No, there must be a principle direction or goal, and self-discipline.
In our daily lives we are always making some effort. For instance, we want to acquire good teachers and good friends. We want to go to important colleges and universities and receive a Ph.D. We want to follow a good leader. These are our subconscious concerns. Why? When we analyze our desires we discover our subconscious effort to strive toward the highest ideal and the most noble action. Our mind seeks the highest goal, and desires to make constant effort in that direction.
A person may think that his goal is to become a Ph.D.; however, even after reaching the pinnacle of success that person will still not be completely content. He will discover that becoming a Ph.D. was merely one method to further pursue his higher goal; in other words, he will realize that the Ph.D. itself was not actually his goal. As you elevate your ideal then the stage where you can live and manifest that ideal becomes broader. The higher your goal and ideal are, the broader your space will be for living that particular ideal, for backing it up with actions.
Let us reach a conclusion. The true man is the person who lives without contradiction, the person there. noble deeds which match his noble ideal. That man will serve the world and be welcomed by the world. A man who thinks about good things but does not do good deeds is not a true man.
When you acquire a fine ideal, you can have direction in your life and your mind can set good goals. But when you try to pursue that way of life on earth there will always be opposition, and you will have to make constant efforts to overcome the roadblocks. By every standard, such a person is a true, God-centered man.
In the sight of God, man's value will be elevated when his noble ideal is matched by noble deeds. To acquire eternal value you must live your ideal, and your value is further elevated to the extent that you must overcome obstacles to live your ideal. Your eternal spiritual value will be elevated in the sight of God with every step you take in living up to that particular goal.
As we are striving upward God is striving downward
As you pursue your ideal through your deeds your value is elevated along a diagonal line. At each level there is always a 90 degree angle formed by the vertical line of your mind and the horizontal line of your body. Without losing that 90 degree relationship between your mind and body you must elevate yourself to the highest possible point. You stand at some point along the diagonal line marking the path of your achievement, but always before you is the goal, the final point where the complete unity between God and man is perfected. At that point the dwelling of God will be with men.
This unity is the point of perfection, the highest point of human value for eternity. Man is striving upward toward that goal, and God is striving downward toward that goal. As we achieve each higher level our sphere of influence will be expanded to the family level, tribal level, and national level. When we bring ourselves to the highest point, our sphere of influence becomes infinite, encompassing the entire world. God is coming down to the same degree and will meet us on the worldwide level. God's ideal and action will match ours perfectly. This is the most important conclusion: our perfection is God's perfection. Therefore, our achievement of highest value here on earth automatically becomes spiritual perfection in the spirit world as well, meaning that we do not have to repeat everything after we get to the spirit world.
Here on earth we must liberate ourselves from sin and elevate ourselves into perfection. When we understand the need to match ideals with deeds, we will understand why God emphasizes life here on earth so much. If only life in spirit world is meaningful, why did He create life here on earth in the first place? Jesus said, "Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." This is a most important teaching when you understand what I have just explained. As we live this principle here on earth, what we accomplish affects not only our lives on earth, but decides our eternal life in the spirit world.
Perfection cannot be attained by man alone nor even by God alone. Man's perfection can only be attained in relation to God, and God can only achieve His highest perfection in relation to man. Even in the very concept of creation God and man are inseparable. The fulfillment of God's goal and man's goal is not accomplished up in the air. God wants to see that perfection attained here on earth. This is why we do not actually rise up to God's position. Instead God comes down to us because He wants to make His dwelling with men. Some people might ask how we could know this. Let me ask you, do you like a man who just talks, talks, talks, without even accomplishing one single deed? Do you like people who say, "I have a great idea and a great philosophy and I can unite the world," but they turn around and do nothing about it? Do you prefer a man of action or a man of empty words? You respect the man of action.
This is precisely how God feels. Is there anyone who has a bigger ideal than God? God wants to have His ideal actualized but because he is spirit He cannot do it by Himself. He needs man to actualize it. You thought God was almighty and all-perfect, but actually He has a weakness: without us even God cannot be perfected. God is not floating around up in heaven; His entire attention is right here on earth, focused on every human soul. God is seeking true men and women here on earth to fulfill His desire in action and deed.
I want you to come to an important realization: Your one life here on earth is your most precious and unique opportunity in all eternity. This is your chance to resurrect not only yourselves but also God. You can perfect not only your own goal but also God's goal. What a great opportunity! In this respect our lives here on earth are so precious. The invisible God who put all the creation together cannot exchange anything for one man's life on earth.
Why is man's physical life so important? God and all the creation cannot be brought to perfection without man. Therefore the value of God plus all the creation still cannot surpass the value of one true man. One man is that precious. That man is the key to the realization of man's perfection and God's perfection. According to the Bible you cannot exchange even the entire universe for one man. "For what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole universe and forfeits his life?" Even the entire universe is of no value to you if you lose your own life.
God is longing to achieve a day of happiness, but He cannot be happy by Himself. He can only rejoice together in oneness with man. God has no way to have joy unless He comes to man, and man comes to Him and they become inseparable. That realm alone is where true ecstatic joy can be discovered. Then God and man will become completely united in mind and body and in thought and action.
Think of it as a great ballet. In order to create the beauty of ballet the partners must dance with equal intensity. If one dancer is dancing ecstatically but his partner is just watching, then their dance lacks the beauty of harmony. God is seeking the same intensity of joy in unity with man. In dance, great joy cannot be expressed through a stationary pose; instead you have to move around, leap and spin and so forth. Isn't that true?
Our realistic conclusion is that God not only needs man, but wants to dwell with man. God wants to live with man in mutual intensity. If one is hot and the other cold then they are not of the same intensity. When God is ecstatic with joy He looks for man to respond 100% with the same intensity. When man shows his joy then God wants to respond 100%. This is God's dream of the creation of the world.
When you hear this, do you feel gloomy or happy? It seems that you feel good, but how does God feel? He is also listening to this morning's sermon. Do you think He feels good or is He saying, "Reverend Moon, this morning you're embarrassing me!" God reacted just as you did. God is saying, "He sure is telling the truth!"
Today the fashionable idea is "human rights," or "civil rights." That is a very superficial idea actually. We are talking about God's rights and human rights equally. Human rights without God are worthless; God's rights without man have nothing to do with the ideal. We have to initiate a movement which can demonstrate how we find our real dignity when we put ourselves on an equal level with God. God's rights are our rights. What are you doing here in the Unification Church? The Unification Church came to ignite the world through a spiritual revolution. We are not just talking about human rights or civil rights but about the restoration of God's rights in society. That is the kind of revolution we are after.
This kind of noble ideology was never before seen in history. The Unification Church is really the first to proclaim this concept. For example, communists proclaim that their ideology will liberate the poor and the proletariat. But the poor are only one segment of human society. There is no concept of God in the ideology of communism. And yet without God, nothing is really valuable. The communists' concepts and way of life are grossly different from our way of life. God already accepts our way of life, but people must accept it too.
Love, happiness and hope come from your object
The ideal world can come only through unity between subject and object. We are talking about the two worlds of God and man. Where is the starting point of the ideal world? Will it start from you or from me? Saying that you will start it is only 50% of the answer. Alone you will never make it. You need me, and together we will make it. God will answer the same way; God and mankind must begin restoration together. From mankind's point of view, mankind and God must begin. There are always two parties. The ideal was never born single-handedly.
Is this convincing to you? Do you feel it to your bones? When you talk about the ideal world or the ideal man you are automatically talking about subject and object. Without subject and object you c-not even dream of the ideal being born. To attain such a thing as "happiness," "ideal," or "hope," you must have two parts, subject and object. If you just go out all by yourself and look into the blue sky you can never say, "I am happy! I have hope! I am filled with the ideal." Love goes a step deeper.
Do you love love? You cannot truthfully say that you have everything and do not need anyone to love you. Love needs someone to love and someone to be loved by. Love, happiness, joy, hope, and the ideal-these things cannot be generated from 'me." These are blessings coming from the object, and originating in the object; consequently you are the recipient of them. Since you receive love, happiness, and hope from your object, you should be humble. Meekness is needed to accept these things.
As a meek person you empty yourself and make yourself clean. Then you can contain more and more until total perfection and blessing flow into you. However, if you arrogantly shut the door and never make yourself empty there is no way that blessing can flow into you. Love is more precious than life itself. The ideal and hope are more important than life itself. To receive such blessings of love, hope, and the ideal you must be in the position to sacrifice yourself. Since love is greater than life this is logical, and you must invest your life for the sake of love.
The very central truth of my revelation is this: Happiness and love come when we live for others, serve others and give of ourselves sacrificially to others. All the subjective power of God will flow into the person who gives unselfishly of himself, investing himself for the sake of others. His meekness makes that person totally ready to receive a limitless amount of blessing.
The secret of life is to be a good object. In contrast, an arrogant person clings to his own ego and desires, claiming that subject position for himself. When a subject meets a subject they repel each other. Thus there is no way that two subjects can have a reciprocal relationship.
Satan became Satan because of arrogance, and he advances on the basis of arrogance. If we attack Satan with the same attitude of arrogance then we cannot win over him. It is impossible to unify the world with arrogance. We must use a completely different tactic. Satan will crumble when he sees a person of humble meekness who really gives himself to serve the rest of the world. Satan has no way to conquer such a man. We conclude that Satan's purpose is destruction and his weapon is arrogance. God's purpose is construction and humbleness and meekness are God's weapons. Therefore all religious teachings throughout history have emphasized common points: humbleness and meekness of character, and sacrificial service.
Today we know that the Unification Church is going through a stormy period here in America. We are under a hurricane of persecution everywhere as Satan's world attacks our church. If we turn around and attack them in the same say, using the same methods, no one will win. If we utilize Satan's weapons it would only be self-destructive. In order to win over Satan we must utilize God's weapon: humble meekness. We will let Satan hit us, but we will survive; we will demonstrate the way of virtue and the true power of God's spirit. Even after he has done his utmost and his power of persecution subsides, we will still survive. In the sight of God then, he will have no excuse to accuse us, and after that we will be able to do anything.
God's tactic to win
This does not mean that retreat is God's tactic. Not at all. We are using God's principle to win, but our attack is different. As our attackers advance to strike us we will not retreat but ready ourselves to take beating after beating. As we advance they will prepare a second and third wave. Ultimately we will reach the goal and they will have to yield the world to us. Then we can stand up and proclaim the truth.
In the wilderness Moses struck the rock at Horeb twice, a grave mistake in the dispensation. He should have hit the rock once, but in his anger toward the people he struck it twice while remaining in the same position. This is not allowed in the Principle. If he had moved forward and then hit the rock again, God would not have been offended. However, he stood in the same place and hit the rock twice, and that mistake damaged the dispensation surrounding his mission. This law applies also to Satan. If we absorb Satan's initial blow then he has to move backward or forward before hitting us again. Satan cannot attack us twice from the same position. Therefore we must survive that one blow and go on. That is our tactic.
Throughout history the scope of the war between God and Satan has been expanding. Why? The satanic forces are attacking the heavenly side, but they cannot strike twice from the same position. Therefore they attack and then expand their position, then attack a second time in order to expand their position again, and so on. Through continual expansion they advance forward toward the final battle, which will be worldwide war. Satan always initiates the attack but Satan always is the loser. In World War I the satanic side attacked first, but God's side won. Again in World War 11 the satanic side attacked the Allied side, but the Allies won the war.
The third World War is taking place right now in the confrontation between the communist world and the free world. Without question Satan always takes the initiative to attack God's side. Now many communist agents, spies and saboteurs are infiltrating the free world, many more than the free world is sending to the communist world. The agents are not sneaking in to strengthen America, but to sabotage and destroy it. This is characteristic of communist tactics, showing clearly that they represent the satanic side. Their actions fit the pattern of Satan's actions; they always come to destroy, instead of build or save.
The communist world disregards all human relationships. A son kills his own father, and a wife her own husband; there is a complete disregard for human relationships and family structure. These deeds are the final manifestation of satanic ideology. There is nothing worse than this. Communism is the ultimate form of satanic ideology. To destroy the family is to destroy the basic structure of human society, as well as the fundamental basis of human value. What is worse than this?
Satan is god in the communist world. The Communist Party is in the supreme position of God, and all men are subject to the domination of the State. Communists do not say, "Each individual represents the Party, and the Party represents the individual." Instead there is no regard for individual value. The individual becomes a slave of the State and the Party. This is the worst kind of satanic dictatorship, destroying all human value.
Ironically, in criticizing me our adversaries say that I am a Hitler or a Stalin, maybe even worse than Stalin. However, the dictatorships under Hitler or communism have always disregarded individual rights to accomplish their objectives for the glory of the Party or the State. Such regimes will do anything and sacrifice anyone because they have no regard for the value of the individual. I operate on an entirely different principle than the communists.
Here in the Unification Church do I drive you into slavery and then reap the results while I relax and live an easy life, or do I push you out of love, knowing that great blessings will come to you? Actually, I myself am determined to do more than you. Rather than pushing you from behind, I am ahead of you, pulling you, pioneering the way before you.
Our course is entirely different from that of communism. As true men and women you must know God first. This is our most important and unchanging standard: You must know God, His ideal, His goal and His direction, and then you must try to live His ideal. Where can we find true unification and God's ideal? Trying to achieve unification without love is impossible. We unite at the point where the vertical line and horizontal line meet. God dwells where there is total unity. Where would you want to meet God? At the top of a hill? In New York? The place to meet God is in your heart and mind. If you make yourself a dwelling place of God then you do not have to go to God; God will come to you.
You must cherish God's ideal as your ideal and God's goal as your goal. When you want to make a total, conscientious effort to live that ideal then the dwelling of God will automatically be within your heart. Can you say without hesitation that your mind is totally focused upon the ideal and will of God, and that whatever you do is done with God? When you eat, are you eating with God? When you look at something, do you see its beauty together with God? When you can totally give yourself up in seeking the heart of God, then the dwelling of God can be realized in your heart and then you can become an individual who can embrace the world. Such a man is welcomed in every comer of the world.
Is it possible that some of you have two opposing minds? One mind may be shooting straight up to God's heart, but your other mind sometimes works to drive you away from God. Your mind is supposed to go straight to God but your ungodly mind is going in the opposite direction. Then automatically your ungodly deeds make a diagonal line in the unprincipled world. The area above this horizontal line is God's principled world. A vertical line is intersecting that line with the right side representing the spirit world, and the left side representing the physical world. The area below the horizontal line belongs to the dark, unprincipled world of Satan. Any action that is fostered and consummated in this realm always turns out to be against the will of God.
You can either follow God's plus or be your own plus
God is the true universal plus. Any person who lives his life below the horizontal line is actually setting himself up as another plus, another god. He does not want to change and acknowledge the true God. Rather he wants to be his own God. The bottom of this lower world is the deepest part of hell. The highest area above the horizontal line is the height of heaven. You cannot dwell in two places at the same time; either you are above the line or below the line. It is important for you to decide where you will be. As an individual you can either follow God's plus or you can be your own plus and dwell in the world of darkness. As you expand to the family level, national, world, and cosmic levels you will remain in that dark world. Which realm you will dwell in is determined by your decision.
There are people who claim that there is no such thing as God, that they can be a god and mold this world as they desire. Although they want to become God themselves, in reality they are colliding with the true universal plus. Such people become the worst kind of dictators.
The person whose ambition is to subjugate the world for his own purpose will end up in the deepest part of hell. When you become a plus yourself you can have no connection with God because plus and plus automatically repel each other. The goat of our life in the Unification Church is to empty ourselves and become minuses. In this dark world we make ourselves into complete minuses, which will always attract the true plus of God. The magnetic power between the plus and minus can pull the minus up. Then we can create our world of light and no longer have to remain in darkness.
There are little satans everywhere in the secular world. When you become a total, absolute minus then you attract Satan as well as God, but because you have the greater plus of God holding you, you can never become the prey of Satan. That is how we can liberate Satan-by drawing him to God. When you become a meek, humble and serving person you are making yourself a complete minus in God's sight. When you make yourself completely one with God you can conquer Satan and then cleanse and restore him. You will even be given the power to conquer Satan. This is the only way the world can be saved. But it is not enough to just think this way all day long.
We claim the unique, unchanging love of God
Satan became Satan because of illicit love. I want you to understand that love is a very formidable weapon of Satan. You must be equipped with a greater, more principled love in order to conquer and liberate Satan. Satan is always trying to trick you with cheap love in order to destroy you. But heavenly love is beautiful and constructive in its sacrificial giving. Therefore heavenly love has greater power to overcome Satan and the world. Satan's love is temporal and will last only a short time, but heavenly love is eternally unchanging.
Ultimately these two kinds of love will clash, confronting each other in a showdown. This is what we call the "Last Days." America is facing the Last Days right now and we can see two extremes of love in this country: the carnal, dirty love of free sex and the deep-rooted, heavenly love now being proclaimed by the Unification Church. Secular love and heavenly love are confronting each other here in America.
As the scope of satanic love becomes greater there will be more destruction. Families will break up; people will become corrupted; life will become miserable, and more people will commit suicide. But as heavenly love expands, our lives become richer. We in the Unification Church proclaim the unique, unchanging love of God. There is a line of judgment separating these two worlds of love, and you must stand on either one side or the other. You can not be in both.
The Unification Church has one goal, ideal and direction. We all know the goal we are striving toward; however, the satanic world is only confused about its goals, which are temporal and changing. Our goal is not limited to our own individual achievements, but is leading toward the greater levels of the family, nation, world, and all the way to God. With one living, unchanging principle and way of life we want to penetrate to the heart of God. Satan's world does not have this principle.
Since our principle is God's principle, when we raise ourselves up higher to the family, national and worldwide levels and then to the heart of God, we will find perfect harmony and unity with God. What is the energy that drives us forward to bring us up to the goal? Love is the locomotive. As you press on, you leave behind a superhighway in the world of love which everyone else can take advantage of. You are pioneering the world of love and everyone can be a beneficiary of your accomplishments. This is the world of your love and God's love together.
In order to unite the love of God and the love of man, you must always remember the 90 degree angle of the vertical and horizontal lines. You must always make yourself the dwelling place of God, placing your mind parallel with God's mind so that God may dwell with you in word and deed. This is the simple formula: think of God every day and live with God every day. There can be no moment that our thoughts are diverted from the thought of God.
God's love can only manifest when you have individual unity between mind and body. You must reach that level in order to be eligible for the blessing. As men and women come to the age of 18 their sensitivity to love begins to blossom. Adam and Eve were supposed to be living God's principle when they reached that time of blossoming love. Then they would have been completely anchored in the love of God. Their love would have intertwined with the love of God and not been ruined by satanic temptation.
Your foundation of life should be built on the Principle when you are young, before that true sensitivity of love begins to blossom. When you practice God's principle as a youth and grow up in that atmosphere then when the sense of love, comes it will automatically become God's love. If you have been brought up in that environment then you see and hear things from God's point of view.
When a man appears who was raised in God's love, the entire world is automatically influenced by him. This man of God is a spiritual magnet of heavenly love, pulling the universe to him; even without thinking, everyone will move toward that man, the center of the power of love. Even if people want to do something else, their desires will be automatically drawn to that man. Soon that man will be surrounded by many people. This is the universal power of the Principle working.
The love of God is different from the love of men and women, who only attract each other. The love of God attracts everything. It is the greatest magnet in all the universe, attracting men and women and all the things of creation. That is the nature and power of the love of God.
If we create a church that is truly a dwelling place of the love of God it will become a magnet and people will find themselves in the church without even thinking, pulled by some mysterious power. In the early days in Korea when I was actually pioneering the ministry myself, the church was the powerhouse of the love of God. Many housewives who would be going to the market for dinner would end up at the church. Their husbands would be waiting for a good dinner which would never come! The wives would return with a lot of spiritual food but that does not fill an empty stomach. There were many such episodes.
Have you experienced this vibrant power of the love of God? Even in the secular world, when two people are in love there is a pulling power between them. They are always seeking excuses to visit even when there is no reason. That same power works in the universe; the power of God has a much greater pulling force and everything is drawn to it.
Would only white people be drawn by that force, and not blacks or Orientals? No, there are no barriers because this law applies universally. That is why unification is possible with God's love. This is the principle of return; all that is of the Father returns to Him. Your mind must be parallel to God's mind and God's ideal, and then you must try to express that mind in your actions. The meeting of the mind and body is the dwelling place of God.
As a fundraiser, if your mind is parallel with God's ideal and your action is selling, then your fund raising will be a manifestation of the ideal of God. You can be all frowns, approaching the people with a most unhappy face, or you can have a shining face, speaking for the ideal of God. Even though the external action of selling may be the same, there are two totally different kinds of heart in fund raising.
The person of God thinks, "This peanut is really heavenly dynamite. I will push a button and anyone who buys this will feel it explode in his stomach, making him a man of God. What a great commodity I have! " Your mental state determines the outcome of every situation. If you really think the peanuts are God's heavenly love bombs, then they will be love bombs. It is up to you to decide, not the peanuts. When you sell, do not ever think that you are the one selling those peanuts. Rather God is the one selling them and they are God's commodity.
Now do you understand why the vertical and horizontal must be united? A person may declare, "I have a noble ideal in my heart." But if his actions are timid, unwilling, and hesitating, then Satan will say, "What kind of son of God are you?" Satan will laugh at you. It is most important that you live according to your own heart.
Many people come and hear the Divine Principle and many of those people leave. After reading the Principle and hearing me speak many people say, "I really respect Reverend Moon and the Unification Church. I love the philosophy and it is absolutely the will of God, but I simply cannot follow that way of life." So many people do not act; they accept the vertical line but they cannot accept the horizontal line. Only those who can accept both can remain in Unification Church. That is how you are different from the rest of the world.
Make yourself a magnet with the pulling power of God's love
The basic principle of your mind and body must be that you are willing to serve, in both heart and deed. Then this unity and harmony will expand from you as an individual to the family, tribe, nation and world. At the same time you will leave a great sphere of influence behind you. Through the love of God you have already conquered much territory. This is my way of life.
When I came to America I did not think that America belonged to the white people. Instead I thought, "This is God's dwelling place, God's nation and God's people. Here is where my people are dwelling." I came to this nation in the name of God, and when I look at God's country and God's people here, I feel more responsible for them than the man in the White House. My job is larger than his: I must bring these American people closer to God and unite them. I must create a spiritual superhighway so that they can travel quickly to God, bringing greater achievement and glory for Him.
This is what I think about every moment of the day. This is how I act and how I ask you to act. I am pushing you toward this goal, and while doing these things I have become famous and controversial. However, my heart is parallel with God's heart and my mind is parallel with God's mind. All my actions originate in that thinking and for that reason I have been initiating this most sacrificial standard in our movement.
God is definitely dwelling with me. As a result of His pulling power I have become a magnet in this country, pulling together sensitive, searching people. Children are the most sensitive, genuine and unstained people, but children do not understand the theory and principle of the heart of God. That is why I come to you. You young people are closest to children in heart while still adult in understanding. Young people such as you are the most sensitive group of people in America. When I look at your youthful, shining faces I see true greatness.
Actually if you American young people were even more genuine and pure I could pull you much faster. The environment of American society rusted you too early, even in your teens in many cases. You can still be pulled by God, but quite slowly. However, if American young people could preserve their purity and genuine heart, then it would take only an instant to pull them to God's side. This is what witnessing is all about. There are people outside who can be pulled by you as soon as they are touched.
An extraordinary revolution of love is taking place in the Unification Church, and many remarkable things are happening. Once men and women in love discover the Principle, they suddenly find that they have a much greater love to pursue, and all their former dates and love affairs become tasteless and cheap. Young people can see a greater intensity of love in living this teaching.
Sitting right here in front of me are people who chose to disregard their secular love, and give their first love to God and the True Parents instead. Even though your parents love you, some greater love is pulling you here and you want to stay. Isn't that true?
If this kind of love is not present here, you cannot even talk about the unification of the world because it would never happen. But the most moving beauty of this love for God and the True Parents springs from the fact that it is not just temporary, lasting only one or two years. This love will continue, and become even more intense. Unfortunately there are many who have not even experienced an initial love. Why is that so? They have not committed themselves 100%, lingering instead on the fringe, all the while knowing in their hearts that this is the best way of living the true universal principle. Because they have not quite committed themselves to living and acting for God, their realization of God's love is very shallow.
Some of our members say, "When I first joined the Unification Church I felt ecstatic joy and excitement, but that was three years ago. Now I feel tired, despondent, and discouraged. Somehow I have lost my original power." That kind of person may have accepted the ideal but never really lived it. Even though you have the ideal you must live it in order to make yourself the dwelling place of God. If you never make yourself a magnet with the pulling power of God's love, of course you will become weakened.
I am warning those blessed couples who only consider how long they have been in the Unification Church. Some of those people are destined for the trash can because they know the truth but never live it. Because they never make themselves a dwelling place of the love of God, there is no magnetic power or burning zeal radiating from them. If older members only eat good food and sleep long hours while the younger members are desperately trying to win people, they will never be admitted to God's kingdom, regardless of how long they have been in the Unification Church. Who is more of an old timer than I am? Yet I do not relax even one second. Anyone who shuns my way of life can never win my sympathy, and I will not give any mercy to him. This has to be made very clear.
I want you to know that the Kingdom of God will only come when the dwelling of God is with men. You must have the love of God in order to be the dwelling place of God. To achieve this your ideal must be matched by your actions. Unless these two are matched, the love of God has no dwelling place. If you practice that principle while you have a physical body, then you will fulfill the purpose of your life here on earth, and I guarantee that you will jump from this place to the highest part of heaven in just one leap.
Adam and Eve fell while they were young and filled with enthusiasm and vitality. In the same way, you must give all your youthful energy, passion, and enthusiasm in restoration. That is why the Unification Church is primarily made up of young people-you are offering your youthful zeal and passion for the restoration of the ideal that was lost by Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. You who commit your youth, your energy and passion for the sake of God, investing yourselves fully for the sake of His kingdom, shall be called sons and daughters of God.
No one gets tired in the atmosphere of love. Look at me -- am I a tired man? I have a young heart, even younger than yours, and I never avoid responsibility. If God says, "I am sending someone to help you," I respond, "Never mind. I will be responsible; leave it to me." The person who joins the Unification Church yet who still looks pale and tired out is really pitiful, but I have no sympathy for him because he has not truly become a Unification Church member.
The height of your ideal must be matched by the quality of your action. You must live as a balanced person, and then your life will become your own asset, like a territory that you have conquered and which no one can take from you. Your spirit belongs to heaven while your body belongs to earth, but both are yours. The value of your life becomes interchangeable, belonging to God but also to you. Wherever you go you are at home, with no boundaries to isolate you. The action and power of love are means by which we can expand our territory and continually progress to higher and broader levels.
We must conclude that the ideal can never come alive unless there is a subject and object united in harmonious give and take. Through love this ideal world shall become a reality. The dwelling place of God is not possible until your mind and body are united into one; then you can become a recipient of the love of God. The Unification Church must be totally balanced. We have the most noble, most powerful ideal, and we are not just a church of words-we are a church of action as well. Our ideal of unification must be substantiated with action.
Your conscience is God's secret agent
This is why the force of conscience is so active in your hearts. You know that you are not quite living up to the ideal and every day your consciences are pushing you to do a little more, driving you because you know the truth. You feel distressed and almost guilty when you have overslept a little in the morning, but who is accusing you? Your conscience. If you have not done enough witnessing or fundraising during the day, then even though no one but your conscience is watching, you think, "I didn't do enough today; I feel so bad. I must do more tomorrow."
Some members say that their conscience bothers them so much since learning the truth that they completely knock themselves out, and they mutter, "Why did I have to find this Unification Church principle! If I didn't know the truth my conscience would never have bothered me. I wish I had never learned this truth." But it is too late! Have you had this experience?
You must realize that your conscience is a good thing, and a real asset for the Unification Church. Your conscience is God's secret agent, and it knows which path has the greater blessing for you, and the greater life waiting for you. Thus your conscience is ruthlessly driving you in that direction. It is your savior in a way, because it is directing you to the place where you can receive more love from God.
Once you taste the love of God you will never be contented with any lesser level of life. Do you shy away from the love of God? Is that pushing action of your conscience good or bad? The Bible says, "And you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." Now you know the truth and it must liberate you from darkness.
When your body tries to relax you must be ruthless to discipline it. The person who can discipline his own body is really a man of God. When you drive your body, it is for the sake of goodness. Do not get mad at your body, just smile and say, "Come on body, let's go. It's time to wake up now so we can go out to witness. Don't stay down there or you will be the victim of Satan. You are far better off to stay with me." That is a realistic experience in our daily life, isn't it?
The Kingdom of God can blossom when you overcome your body. How many of you have been listening to me but could never quite live up to what I have been saying? Today you know what I am teaching and why. You know what to do, and you know why your body is your worst enemy. Those who can say to me, "I will do it," please raise your hands. Let us pray.