Sun Myung Moon
December 11, 1977
Belvedere, New York
Translator - Bo Hi Pak
Man cannot live apart from his historical position. Everything he does, from making his food and his clothing to his everyday way of life derives from the background of history. Any society also has its inherited position and it maintains some link with the nation, either failing or succeeding on that level. Everyone is affected by their family tradition, social tradition and national tradition.
With this in mind let us determine the meaning of patriotism. The patriot is the person who faithfully fulfills tradition as an individual in his family, society and nation. Who is a saint then? We know that Jesus Christ, Mohammed and Confucius were saints, and that all these people organized the traditional religions of mankind. They are the ones who left posterity the kinds of tradition that all mankind benefits by. Were they people who always did as they wished, living every day in fun and laughter? No, from an earthly point of view those saints lived very unfortunate lives, far more difficult than average. Why did they live that kind of life? These saints were not concerned about their own freedom; instead they wanted to be totally obedient to the one divine will and they subjugated themselves to live that way.
Even though they had individual desires, those saints always thought about God and His tradition and how it could be manifested on the individual level. When they looked at their own families they always thought about what the authentic family would be in the sight of God. In observing their own society they always wanted to know from God's point of view what society should be. They also had a fervent desire to know what traditions a nation should have in the sight of God. Naturally they also wondered how the world should serve God.
These saints were people who wanted to follow that tradition not only for the sake of life in this earthly world, but also for the spirit world. Their goal in trying to establish God's tradition from the individual level all the way up to the level of spirit world was ultimately to find union with God. This striving for unity with God was the tradition they wanted to leave behind here on earth.
They knew that God is sovereign not only of this world but of spirit world as well, and this is why the tradition of the saints could have permanent impact on earth and afterward in heaven. These saints lived for the future, even though their contemporaries may have persecuted or accused them. Those saints were living in hope for the future and even though they suffered in their own time they always upheld their vision and kept striving for its fulfillment.
The Basis of Trueness is Love
Once again, what is a saint? In one word, a saint is a true man, a man who can live in the past, present and future and in whom God can have confidence. A true man will never be corrupted over time, or seem less holy down through history. Such a man is like God, who is unchanging in value throughout the past, present and future. The value of a true man cannot be changed through time; his past value is his present value and his future value equals his past value. What is the fundamental basis for determining this? Is this demonstrated by a man's faith not changing from the past, present or future? By a man's actions not changing in purpose with time? What makes God true throughout the ages? Definitely the basis for trueness is love.
God's love is constant and if a true man is defined as being in the likeness of God then his love also is unchanging in the past, present and future, both here on earth and in spirit world. We must fully understand this basic principle of the true man. You might proudly claim to be a true man because you don't lie to anyone but does consistent action alone distinguish a true man? What about consistently speaking in one uniform manner?
No matter how consistent that man is in action or in speech, without love he is not a true man. Your natural parents are probably truthful with you, never lying or equivocating and their actions are consistent, but is that enough to make them true people? They must be in the likeness of God by having their love the same as God's. If a husband, for example, is diplomatic and affectionate and always faithful to his wife, would that alone make him a saint? What more would you want in a husband? It is not formality or appearance that counts, but love in the likeness of God.
If something resembles a husband or parent, can it be called love? It must be something like God, not just like a husband, to be love. If you just cannot help but respond in love then what you have encountered is truly love; the mind and heart have to feel love in return, without having any choice. If you love someone, for example, do you ever wish that he would disappear? Love wants to bring him close, day and night. That is the feeling of love.
Here in America is it true that all parents and children feel a deep closeness? What kinds of sons and daughters are you, real or counterfeit? If you were to tell your parents that they were fake would they agree, or would they exclaim, "what are you talking about!" If a relationship is artificial and formal then people become strangers. For example, compare your family relationships to the true feeling of love; do you want to be close to your parents always, or do you wish that they would leave you alone?
Americans often demand the right of privacy, insisting that their parents stay out of their world and not bother them. Is there privacy in the world of love? Does God have a schedule of love, being available a few hours in the morning, then in the afternoon and again in the evening? When speaking of love there is no privacy in God; He has no schedule. If there is someone who wants to receive love 24 hours a day and 365 days a year, then God wants to be with him. Love is the one thing that God wants to be intoxicated with. If you are really the personification of that love of God then would you be happy just momentarily or 24 hours a day?
You women have been looking forward to having the kind of husband who will bring you right into heaven. As a woman you have three tests to go through; first you must receive the love of parents, and then love your husband and your own children in that manner. Then you can go right into heaven. There has to be some kind of standard. No one can enter heaven in just a mediocre way.
Let's talk about the providence of God. Some might say that it is a providence of war, that God enjoys seeing people clash. Jesus was a messenger of God who criticized people for being blasphemers and being like serpents and he certainly made some people angry. If Jesus had told the Jews that they were wonderful men of God, would he have been killed? Without exception the other saints like Confucius and Mohammed also declared to the world something it didn't want to hear.
Why am I being criticized so much today? Am I telling Americans that they are the greatest people on earth and that I love them? I am being criticized for declaring that Americans are ruining themselves and their country. I understand very well that Americans don't want to hear anything like that even from their own children, but when all of a sudden a stranger comes from a foreign country and criticizes America, they get particularly incensed!
Every Sunday morning I repeat things that even you don't want to hear, but still I say them. You repent and accept it all because you have hope and you want to make a new beginning, but the rest of the world doesn't accept what I say and resists changing. Attitude is very important. Unlike the rest of America you think, "No matter what you say to us, we will accept it, knowing that you will only lead us to better ourselves. You are not here to destroy us but to raise our standard."
You might look back on your life and remember how you had all kinds of freedom before you joined the Unification Church. Now here you might feel deprived of your freedom, and what's more, you are pushed out into the hard work of fund raising and witnessing. The weather is bitter cold now but in the early morning you get up to come to Belvedere to hear me. You live crazy lives. Why do you have to do this? Isn't there another way? If you slept twelve hours a day you would still have twelve good hours left to work so why should you bother with being so uncomfortable? Wherever we turn there is always controversy, whether we knock on doors or start a business. Even when I go down to Alabama there is controversy. Americans want to know why I am bothering them. Are we going to become rich? Not at all.
Please Accept Your Tribulations as Training
Actually we are here to spread love. Even if the people hate us, we still want to spread the love of God. We want to talk about the love of God, on doorsteps and street corners and in airports and bus stations. Every word and every deed is the gift of love, a manifestation of love When you ask people to donate they may snap, "Don't bother me Leave me alone! " But if you still forgive them then they are the ones who are indebted.
We have a responsibility to share the love that comes from heaven. Representing every race and all the people of the world, you were hand-picked by God to distribute His love. God always works to set anything up conditionally in the beginning, and in our case you are conditionally spreading God's love when you go fund raising with peanuts and flowers or chocolate. Have you ever thought about it this way? Every morning in the darkness you go out selling newspapers but are you making a lot of money? We are actually gaining nothing and money-wise we are losing, yet still we do it.
You were assigned to 360 homes but do the people like you to knock on their doors? You do it anyway because you are chosen and ordained by God to give out His love. I want you to know that you are all the heirs of God and candidates for sainthood. There are all kinds of people walking on the same street you do, but is there anyone else going down the street in genuine innocence, simply trying to give away the love of God? Early in the morning are you motivated that way, day after day?
Some people may misunderstand us but eventually they will know our true motivation and they will bow down, knowing that we are truly doing unselfish things for the purpose of God. People test you Moonies when they accuse you but then they find that you are strong and firm inside, not boneless like jellyfish. You are not just talkers or salesmen but you have something solid inside, something that they can feel is bigger than themselves. You are individuals who can look straight up to the future, who know the present and also the past. People will see in you the hope of the universe, because you are representatives of God. After all the kinds of suffering you have gone through, people would expect you to look tired out, but instead they see that your eyes are shining and your posture is confident.
We want to polish ourselves and become new. When you go to the riverside or seashore you can find well-rounded, polished stones which are very beautiful. On the mountainside, however, you find stones that are all jagged and irregular in shape. Which kind of stone would you like to be? Why do you prefer the round, smooth stone? You say that it is the most beautiful, but that is just its external appearance. Its smoothness shows how hard a time that stone has gone through, how much it has been tossed by the water and slammed against the sand. It is not easy to make a hard stone smooth. Unification Church members all start out like the stones on the mountainside, with lots of sharp edges, but each time the waves and rocks beat against the stones a little more wears away, making them smoother and smoother. Those tribulations break off parts of you and it's very painful, but inside you still say, "I want to persevere and go on."
Once you are seasoned and polished and hardened then you have a well-rounded personality. The beauty of a round shape stems from its sameness on all sides. Try this experiment sometime; pick up a ball and draw faces on it from all sides. You can draw on it from all directions and it will look the same, but you cannot draw too many faces on an odd-shaped stone.
Which would you rather be, a sharp stone or a round one? You are like God and God basically has a round character. He likes roundness and everything that God makes always has some round aspect. I can see one evidence that God loves Oriental people by the fact that their noses are more rounded and smooth!
You actually become smoother faster when you do things like selling the paper, bumping against the harsh cold air and the hardness of the people. Would you rather be very meek in selling the newspapers, or would you enthusiastically go from person to person? After you have been trained in this fashion you have keen eyesight and can evaluate what kind of man or woman a person is.
The public may look at a small sister as a simple person, but all of a sudden when she starts talking a beautiful sermon comes out! They will gasp, "Where did you learn all that? You are talking about big things! " That's her Unification Church training. The MFT experience will give you basic training for dealing with all kinds of people. Even without your realizing it you are becoming the best diplomats, with a sixth sense about people This is formidable training which is impossible to get in any other way. MFT is really your most difficult task. A person's money usually stays way down deep in his pocket and doesn't like to come out but you are trying to talk it out! It really takes concerted effort to move a person's heart.
In meeting you, a person might momentarily feel closer to you than to his own wife. You can make such a deep impression upon him in the shortest possible time because you can analyze a person. Instead of wishing that you hadn't approached him to donate, he will think, "I wish you could be my own daughter," or "I wish you could be my own brother. What a wonderful person." If you meet that same person a second time you know that he will greet you first. He might say, "I'm so glad to see you again! Shall I buy again?" You might use wonderful diplomacy and say, "You already donated once so you don't have to give again," but if he insists then you could tell him, "Well, if you really want to help then you could give a substantial donation and get a whole case."
When you come back with a good result at the end of the day, instead of being proud of how much money you have you must be jubilant that you could distribute more of God's love. Then secondly appreciate the money coming in. You must look at the merchandise you carry as being containers of the love of God. If you have candy and think of it as the love of God, would the candy be happy? If it has a personality, the candy will feel, "I want to be eaten by a man who appreciates the love of God in me as much as the person who sold me." The candy wants to be possessed by such a person, and would even say, "If he doesn't eat me himself then I want to be eaten by his loved ones."
If the person truly appreciates the candy then it will not just be candy but a tonic for good health. Two purposes are being served. First, it gives joy to man by giving love, and second it brings joy to God. Does that make God joyful because God loves money? No, in the sight of God it is not money; it is the appreciation of His love. When you raise funds and come back with result you must pray and offer that money to heaven, saying, "God, these people appreciated Your love and received it. Would You remember them and add Your blessing to their homes?" Indeed God will respond to you and His blessing will go to every home which gave that money.
You are like God's water holes, offering the water of God's love. Would you like to be a pipeline the size of a finger, or as big as a giant water main? Would you just stand still, or be energetic and actively embrace the world? You know the answer, but knowing it is one thing and doing it is something else.
Spiritually you look like the jagged stones from the mountains, and you need perseverance in order to become round; many things have to be chipped away so that only the genuine portion will remain. What color stone would you like to be? I like white. White paper is capable of receiving all colors. Blue paper cannot show blue ink, for instance, and black paper cannot accept any color. I like white because I want to embrace everybody of every conceivable color. Wouldn't you like the kind of man who is capable of accepting anyone? The person who can embrace all circumstances and who is disturbed by nothing is a prince of peace. He has inner tranquillity all the time. If you are that way then everybody can come and share themselves and you will accept them all.
If You Truly Represent God, He Will Vindicate You
Is pushing you out for fund raising right or wrong? If you really love to tackle that mission more than you like eating and sleeping and loving, then by doing it you will discover a far greater love than you ever knew. I want you to have that gift. When you apply yourself in your mission more than you love eating and sleeping and loving then you will inevitably discover a new world of genuine love and value.
Then it doesn't make any difference where you go. You can go to the dungeons of hell and still have spring all around; I will be there with you and God will be there with you and you will never be alone. Spiritually I will take you by the hand and lead you in each direction. That discovery of new value and the sense of permanent love cannot be found in a comfortable classroom. That kind of experience can only be obtained through actually knocking on the door of the Harlems of this world. By that experience alone can you taste love, which is why I am pushing you out.
Please take it seriously and do not feel that you are being used. If you willingly go that path you will discover new value and meet God there. 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.
I am living in this fashion now but this is not the way of life I prefer. I felt much closer to God when I was in prison, when there was no bed to lie on and I just dozed leaning against the wall. In that kind of life I found God right beside me, always watching over me. I long for that depth of relationship with God.
The power source which sustained the saints in history was found in that kind of circumstance. When there was agony and hardship they found God, not in comfort. I don't need good clothes or a warm welcome from people because the only thing I care about is the love of God. If someone stripped me naked and then threw me out into the cold, God would still be loving me, and I would not feel the chill. Are you that way?
Some of these sisters' faces are cute and innocent and charming, but I wonder how much longer that beauty will last, how much longer I will see those faces here each week. Maybe someone will lure them away. When you feel you cannot stay here any more because it is too hard and you can't stand it, then all of a sudden you will find something more attractive outside, perhaps someone who will ask you to come with him. Many women are captivated by their own beauty and when they look in the mirror they admire their nice complexions and slim figures. When they are confronted with the MFT mission they are horrified and insist that they need beautiful clothes and nice things.
Why did you get up early to come to Belvedere on a cold morning like this? What a life! Did you come because you want money or food? If you really want true unchanging love, you must realize that it is not going to be gained in very relaxed fashion. You have to go to extremes and there you will find it, but once you have it you will have unperturbed happiness even at the bottom of hell's misery. Now when you look at a movie about an ordinary person living an ordinary life do you find it interesting? I'm sure you are more interested in people who are doing extraordinary things.
In Hollywood there are all kinds of glamorous stars but are they really like they are on film? Are they true men and women? History is on record like a film and you are the leading actors and actresses in manifesting the true love of God. Have you ever thought that you were starring in the dramatic movie we are making at the moment? Should you be dressed like a king or queen, or would it be more dramatic if you wore miserable clothes? What about wearing your shoes backwards? There is a very striking explanation of why you should-shoes are going toward the secular world and you want to go in the opposite direction! You may have a ragged suit with many holes but since you have tasted the world as it is, you are now going in the other direction. You women can think that God is your leading man. Could you find any better?
The archives of heaven are being gathered right now, with God recalling every suspenseful situation, and your name will appear there, too. Suppose you were present when some climactic moment was being filmed but you were dozing. How would you like to see that played back later on? If a person is very ugly then whether he is dozing or not doesn't make any difference in how he looks, but a charming face asleep is not attractive m
Only the Love of God Can Unify the World
The most dramatic and stirring life is the search after permanent and eternal love. A lot of people think that the presidency of their nation is the ultimate position, but presidents become slaves to their responsibility. Many successful people think that their lives could only be more fulfilled by being an influential member of government, but the permanent rank you want is not of President of the United States but that of a genuine searcher for the true love of God. Let people say anything they want about how we are evil people. One thing is true: the Unification Church is here to find the true, permanent love of God.
How can we create unification? The way of unification is simple. You heard how people tremble when they read in "Master Speaks" that I said we will conquer the world, but how could we possibly do that? With bombs or fists? You say that we will use love, but whose love? My love? I am a mortal man who may change, but the love of God will not change. God is eternal and if the love of God is burning in each individual's heart then we don't have to worry about how the Unification Church will unify the world because the love of God will do it.
Do you feel that the love of God is the solution to everything? Is there no better happiness than obtaining the love of God? Even asleep in bed you would still be dancing with that love! This is not just an amusing thing; it is absolutely true. If you are fervent in focusing yourself on that love then you can penetrate not only this world but spirit world as well.
If you are intoxicated in that love then you can see all of spirit world and hear the music of that world. Your nose will not just breathe air but the atmosphere of spirit world, which is love. Your whole body will move in conjunction with spirit world; then you will be on cloud 9 and your feet won't touch the ground. I searched after that love and I know that is it not stored in a palace, but found inside the boundaries of hell. Those who do not reach out for that love shall remain in hell.
When you understand this, the teaching of Jesus becomes very relevant; "For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." That's the truth. The bottom of hell is a real gold mine because there anyone can find the true love of God. Since God's love is blocking the exit of hell, however, anyone who does not know the love of God cannot come out. Hell in the spirit world is beyond the reach of anyone on earth, but you can digest physical hell. In order to liberate hell in the ultimate sense you must start here on earth. The New Yorker is on the avenue of prostitutes, 8th Avenue. I might assign our women to kidnap the men who go to the houses of prostitutes and liberate them from sin. Then you can really straighten out this country of America.
You need to really be experienced and toughened by training so that you can tackle any kind of extraordinary mission. Hearing this, you may be trembling inside, thinking, "What kind of religion are you teaching? I just want to pray and meditate and go to heaven, but now you are pushing me not only into fund raising but into confronting prostitutes. How could we liberate people like that who are at the bottom of human misery?" Someone has to liberate them and reach out for their salvation. They are also lost daughters of God and His heart is broken because of them. If you are in the likeness of God's heart then in order to liberate God you must get down to liberate your own brothers and sisters. Fund raising and witnessing are only kindergarten training; the real tough training is still ahead of you!
I asked God what kind of tradition He would like to set up here on earth. Do you think He answered, "My tradition is to conquer the world, period. I want power"? If seizing power were God's only objective then it wouldn't take more than ten seconds; He would have done it already. God is all-powerful and He could knock everybody out if He wanted to. Suppose God's tradition was to become rich or to acquire knowledge for the sake of humanity. Would He have done it already or not?
What Has God Been Lacking That He Should Suffer?
Then what's the problem with God? He seems to have everything already, but if you ask God whether His tradition of love is fulfilled, God will say nom God will answer, "My son, love cannot be fulfilled by oneself alone. I need a partner." God has not found that perfect object here on earth yet and that's why the world is still suffering.
Not just anyone can be a partner of that love of God because His love is perfect and supreme; whoever will be capable of becoming a partner of that love must have a record of loving the entire world, past, present and future. Such a person should be able to demonstrate that love of God here on earth, but no one has reached that level. Have you seen that incarnate God here on earth? Because God has not seen that individual either, He has been waiting and working for thousands of years.
If that almighty and perfect God puts His trust in you then do you automatically become the object of that love, without any basic transformation? The world has become like it is because no one is capable of qualifying as the recipient of that fullest love of God. What does God need? Certainly He does not need power or knowledge or money; what He needs is an object who can handle His love. How much have you been thinking that God is supreme, that you could sacrifice everything and still feel that God is priceless? Have you ever been totally filled with the love of God, wanting to serve Him totally for the fulfillment of His purpose?
Look at your own heart and discern if it is pure or stained. In all your concern about your own marriage and how old you are getting did you get distracted from concern for the love of God? I know you want to be recognized by me but if you feel ignored then you only get discouraged. Most people today think that God is either all-powerful or dead, but you must realize that God's ultimate search is for the object who will become the recipient of His love, not for supernatural power. Nobody else even thought about how God might be suffering except Reverend Moon. I have experienced God's broken heart and I know how He searched for many thousands of years and could not find the partner on earth who could respond to His love.
God cannot be tired, but even that tireless God is almost at the point of fatigue. I want you to know that He is almost ready to say, "There is no hope for mankind. Forget it." But I am one man who can say on behalf of all humanity, "God, just be patient a little longer. We are not going to disappoint You. If You will wait, we will bring the result to You."
My only worry is about God deciding not to give me a chance, about seeing the day come when God says, "Reverend Moon, even you cannot remedy the situation. I must give up on this world." This is the worst kind of condemnation I could receive and that's what I worry about. I want you to know that God is serious about the situation of mankind. Realizing that the destiny of all mankind is at stake would you think about having your own little home or about how soon the blessing is coming? No, if you are truly the sons and daughters of God then you must be crazy about the mission, busy comforting God, saying, "God, give us a chance and we shall never disappoint You. We will never let You abandon this world." That's the Unification Church way of life.
God is breathing your words and actions, for they represent His only shred of hope in the entire world. The things that I tell you to do are so extraordinary that only those who are determined to give their lives and die for the cause could fulfill them. Even if we commit our lives there is still no guarantee that we will get to the ultimate goal; the situation is that serious. God's world of love should conquer the world of hell step by step and liberate it. The love of God is our weapon.
It's not going to be as simple as going out to get money. You are going out every day, either witnessing or on MFT, to expand the territory of God. Whatever your responsibility, you have to cling to the mission and cry out day in and day out. You must make your mission wet with your tears and give everything you have-your body, soul, mind, your knowledge, your possessions-and commit yourself to fulfilling your mission. I committed everything to the American movement because the focal point of the heavenly dispensation is now here. I committed my life, my fortune, my family, my know-how, everything I have. Not one penny has been held back. Your position is to make yourself just the same. If you don't like doing it then I am sorry; you cannot be prosperous in that case and just have no right to be here.
What has God been lacking that He should be suffering? God hasn't found His object of love here on Earth. There is only one organization of people who can think in this fashion; you cannot find anyone else besides the Unification Church trying to remedy this particular situation. When John the Baptist saw Jesus he called him the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. In the same way, hosts of angels will look at you and proclaim that you are the messengers of God's love. That's the way they must describe you if you truly go this difficult way.
You are the children of God who are carrying the burden of God's love to disseminate it to the rest of the world. No matter what happens, when you see the evil of the world you can't say, "God, I just abhor all that. I want You to cast down Your brimstone and fire and burn it away." That's not the love of God. When you are mistreated by the world you will say, "God, I want You to have hope for them. Give me a little longer and I will claim their hearts and raise them as Your genuine sons and daughters." This is how Abraham tried to dissuade God when He was ready to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah.
Each year is most precious now. Seeing the manner in which 1977 has gone by I feel that it is shameful to welcome the arrival of 1978. I regret not pushing all our members a little more in 1977. I wish I had done it so that everyone would have brought more result and we could have welcomed a greater morning together in 1978. Any of us may become a sacrifice, but the important thing is that God's front line moves forward and His territory is expanded. Do you understand that heart? Do you think I just hate you and am trying to destroy you, or is this a genuine expression of love?
What is the tradition of the Unification Church? Not money, not knowledge or power. The love of God is the Unification Church's tradition. I have nothing to be proud of. I am a miserable man from the earthly point of view, a lonely man who is accused and persecuted. How can I complete a foundation for the love of God while I am still living here on earth? The world which is controlled by Satan hates me because I want to be a messenger of God's love to the world.
Restoration of Vertical History
We are rooted in the tradition of each era in history. The Old Testament is the era of the servant while the New Testament is the era of adopted son. The Unification Church is coming into direct son ship and to do that each person must become better than adopted sons, better than any Christians here on earth. In what respect must you be better? You know that Heavenly Father is searching after His object of love, thirsting for love. A servant always expects some reward and even an adopted son also wants to get more; these religions always expect some blessing from God and worry about their own church, wanting insurance from heaven. God is not the exclusive possession of the existing Christian churches, or of any other religion. Each person can say, "God is my God." I am His child and I discovered that God is impoverished in love and His heart is broken. Everyone else may want blessing and material wealth, but the true child will tell God, "We will take care of giving them all those things. In the meantime we want something else; we are going to be objects of Your love and respond to You."
We are accomplishing the vertical restoration of history in the horizontal way. Each person must inherit the love of God. Each one must inherit from the Old Testament the love of the true servant and then consummate it, as well as the New Testament love of the true adopted son. On that foundation the love of the true sons and daughters can be encompassed. The Old Testament era made an offering of material things and in the New Testament era Jesus as the son was given as the offering. In the Completed Testament era we must do both, restoring material offerings to inherit the Old Testament tradition and offering man in the New Testament tradition.
That's what you are doing in fund raising and witnessing. The persecution you encounter is an encapsulation of the Old Testament history and you must accept it as restitution. It is a test of whether you are still changeable or not, whether you are really permanent or temporary. Even the communists are irate about our fund raising and use this topic as a forum for denouncing the Unification Church.
Should we stop because people are upset? If people oppose us we will only do that much more. When it becomes more difficult, we will work even harder. Each person must restore the Old Testament era in his way of life, needing only about 2.5 years of dedicated effort. After passing through the Old Testament era each one must do the same for the mission of Jesus, which is fulfilled by witnessing. That might take another 2.5 years of dedication, making five years altogether. God created man on the sixth day, and in a seven year period paralleling the seven days of creation each person can enter the era of the direct sonship of God and go beyond the level of the fallen realm. When you reach this level then you are eligible to receive the blessing. At that point you still must go through another 2.5-year period, the final test of your absolute loyalty.
Marriage in the Unification Church
Why is it the Unification Church tradition that even after marriage you cannot have a family immediately? Adam's fall occurred at the top of the growth stage so you are given blessing at that point, but you must still go past the third level. In restoration the two of you must reach perfection instead of repeating the fall. Even though you are husband and wife, together you must love God more. That is how you will fulfill the final period. Selfish and illicit love brought the fall but this time God-centered love will make restitution.
The youngest age for a man to be blessed should be 27, because after three years of separation he will be 30, the age of Jesus when he started his public ministry. Some brothers might be outraged but if they feel that way they should pack up and leave. In America parents get worried if their teenagers don't have a boyfriend or girlfriend, but we are just the opposite. What would I gain by installing such a demanding rule? Nothing. If I didn't have to worry about God's rules and about spirit world then anything would be all right.
Men and women must be hard on themselves if they intend to pay the historical debt. Each person has to be firm with themselves and cry out for restoration. Sexual desires are torture to withstand, particularly in energetic young people, but in order to pay the historical debt you must overcome them. Only something greater than the urge for sex can overcome it, and without having some greater power from God you could not do it. That is the supreme test. You must show God that you can surpass the urges of satanic love. Just grit your teeth and become totally numb to that sexual level. Then God will give you the blessing of love. That is why the age of thirty is the magic figure.
You know how promiscuous American young people are and outside our Church you would be free to love at any time of day or night, but here in the Unification Church you are really paying the debt of the rest of the world. It is probably the greatest of all torture and normally those are desperate years. I set the minimum standard as three years of giving yourself for God and forgetting all earthly carnal urges. You must make restitution and cleanse and purify your past.
If you look at the early marriages of high school boys and girls in the everyday world, you will see that few of them last even six months. Half of all marriages nowadays break up, but even though your marriage comes late it is built on a solid foundation and has permanency. It has a purpose and a chance of absolute success. If I were to set the age of forty as the minimum for marriage then when couples got together there would be no question that they would be united completely into one! If I told them to get a divorce if they wanted to then they would reply, "Get a divorce after waiting this long? What are you talking about?!"
The length of time you live in happiness is not the most significant thing; if you live only one year as husband and wife then you want to live it with dramatic intensity, not drag it out for thirty or forty years. This tradition of marriage is a very beautiful way of life. You unmarried members should not just think that you are single but that you are actually living with God; as you lie down in bed, think, "God, let's sleep together." God is always with you. The more you long for a mate, the greater is your chance to succeed in marriage.
Restoration of the Old and New Testament Eras
In your own lifetime you must restore the Old Testament era, New Testament era and Completed Testament era, and before your blessing you must pass heaven's examination. You can graduate from the Old Testament era by restoring material things and offering them to God, in our case by fund raising. By investing your heart and body and soul you earn the material which you offer to God. Whoever wants to spend the money on his own needs first and give what's left over to God should not even go out fund raising. The person who works hard and even adds his own money to the result, even one penny, is beautiful before God. In that case you have completely fulfilled. I know this law of restoration and I don't like to spend anything you raise; I would rather add my own resources. Your parents may think that Reverend Moon is depriving you of your earnings and slave-driving you, but that is far from true.
The condition for the New Testament era is met by witnessing, giving your heart and soul and mind to restore the people. By linking this effort with your own family members, your entire ancestry will be benefited. I sacrificed my own family because of this movement, taking care of the members while my own family suffered, and eventually was sacrificed. That family will be given ultimate blessing, however, because that is God's way.
In order to save the world God gave up His own son as a sacrifice. To win salvation for mankind you must not only give up yourself but your own family and children as. The person who is given a witnessing mission sometimes wants to slip away and not go out, but when you go out for witnessing you have to give not only your entire heart but even commit your entire family, trying to do more than any pioneers in American history. When you feel that even in doing that you are not doing enough, then you have passed through the Old Testament and New Testament eras.
It is your good fortune to be able to witness. Many people say they don't have time to witness, but they are lacking in heart, not time. Those swindlers who think they can get by and go the easy way are wrong. If the easy way were possible, I would be the first one to relax. One lifetime is short enough so why should I have to live this seriously if there were an easy way? I cannot deviate from the Principle, however.
In the beginning, God, Adam and Eve and the angel together made up the whole universe. Originally these three were linked by love but long ago the linkage was severed. This is the fallen world so restoration must begin at the bottom, with all things of creation. Next the loyal servant must be restored, who was the original angel. Since the angel betrayed God in the beginning, no matter how badly anyone in that angel's position is treated, he must not rebel again but always be obedient. Every member of the Unification Church starts in the position of serpent. for awhile, first fulfilling the position of heavenly angel. The outside world represents the satanic angel and it constantly harasses you, yet you must be superior to that. No matter what they say, you must still love God and follow with burning conviction. Just forget yourself and remember the suffering of God. That's what counts. If you will not be shaken and will remember that because of the love of God you are different then you will be surrounded by true love, and while the rest of the world may decline you will prosper.
Why will the world hit you and persecute you? You have to prove yourself superior to them and without this confrontation you have no way to show yourself. Unless a fighter gets into the ring he cannot prove how good he is. If people oppose the Unification Church and then surrender then that's a real surrender, but if in the very beginning they accept us they will soon complain if God doesn't love them equally. God lets the world persecute you so He can give you the key to the Kingdom of Heaven and not have anyone accuse you of not deserving it.
The time to worry is when there is no persecution. When you go out witnessing do you want a companion so you can enjoy it more? How many men did God start out with? How many Messiahs came 2,000 years ago? God sent only one Messiah here on earth, and there was only one Adam in the Garden of Eden, only one Eve who fell. There is a deep reason for you to go out witnessing all by yourself.
When you finally do bring three spiritual children then your headaches really begin! Often you might not want to deal with those men and women, but you must persevere and embrace them and love them with God's love. Through the first year, second year and third year there will be all kinds of upheavals, but that's the way you can prove that you will not change, that no circumstance can defeat you. In the meantime you will prove you are better than your own parents or brothers and sisters, and better than your teachers.
I want you to know that even Peter, who supposedly was Jesus' chief disciple., betrayed Jesus at the end of three years. This test of betrayal is the formula of faith which all men have had to pass through. You must be able to sustain your faith without food and without rest; you have to give much comfort to your spiritual children. If you have food, then you want to give it to them, almost being their servant in every way. You may wonder why you do this, but remember that this is the way I went. When you see me now you may think I never suffered, but actually I have passed through the misery at the bottom of the world. I have fulfilled the condition of giving all kinds of service to all kinds of members. If you feel now that you just cannot help but love me, it is because a long time ago I set the condition in the most dramatic manner of demonstrating love for all men and women.
You Must Know the Circumstances of Jesus, True Parents and God
Let me ask you, do you really love me? No, I think you complain to me in your heart about not being given more blessings. Even if your blessing doesn't come soon, will you still love me? In the end you will have demonstrated such unselfish love and devotion that even a hoodlum in your neighborhood will treat you like royalty and bow down in respect. At one time he probably tried to do all kinds of evil toward you but even he will bow down. That is the glory of our way of life.
This is an unspeakably hard life to live and that's why once you live it you will receive the most supreme love of God. It is hard, but I tell you that this road cannot be avoided. If you cannot finish it in this world then you will still have to go that route even after you go to spirit world, and then you will vividly remember what you could have done differently that would have changed your situation. Hell is the world of regret, and in that regret you really don't have room in your mind to think about your husband and family.
Actually the blessing is not of prime importance. What would you do with your marriage without even solving these fundamental problems? Only after putting yourself entirely in the love of God does marriage make sense. You must go down to the dungeons of hell and search there for the love of God. I did not search for or enjoy God's love at the throne of God; I reached out to that love in the worst kind of suffering, with blood and tears. You don't know how I was tortured many times and practically killed.
That is the basic formula and without it you cannot find God's love. When you go all the way to your limit and feel like you are dying, there things begin to happen. When you are so hungry from working without food that you feel almost ready to faint, at that moment things start happening. No one can give you that experience, or buy it with money. Unless you experience this you will not understand. You must feel that you are representing God and that every motion you make is on behalf of God. You must put yourself in God's place, walking on the road of restoration.
Many mothers in the world went through incredible suffering to feed their children or to give them an education. Just like them, you are taking the suffering road to give God's children salvation. Is there any room for complaint? Can you get tired? That kind of mother cannot be tired and neither can you. Every penny she makes helps send her son to school and guarantee his success. Every drop of sweat you shed will bring hope to the people of the world.
Go out in the position of father and mother and love the world and then come back. Gathering a billion dollar fortune is less precious than fund raising with peanuts or flowers, knocking on doors. You must go out to witness because otherwise you will not know Jesus' circumstance or True Parents' circumstance or God's circumstance. I am still working at making money and still witnessing. If you pass through all these stages then heavenly love will link them all; God's love will come down and your love of God will go up, making one whole linkage.
Once you go through this condition with all your heart then you shall have your own things and your own children and your own world of God here on earth. By paying this vertical indemnity you shall do all of this. Only after I did all this has God given me the right to own material things in His name. Because I passed through all these three stages I can now have a family. That is the result of going precisely the same path, through the Old Testament era, New Testament era and Completed Testament era.
While you are setting this kind of vertical condition you are doing horizontal things like fund raising and witnessing and getting the blessing of God to create your family here on earth. It took God 7,000 years to complete this one cycle but you are doing this horizontally on earth in seven years. If God suffered for 7,000 years to make this possible, can't you even do it gratefully for seven short years on earth?
Your love of God connects every aspect of restoration. What is the connecting tradition of all these loves from the Old Testament, New Testament and Completed Testament? The axis is the love of God. You must put yourself in the position of Abraham, Noah, Moses and all the central figures and love God more than they did. Noah sustained his faith for 120 years, and you must be determined to be better than Noah.
Abraham lived comfortably in Ur of Chaldea when all of a sudden God told him to pack up and take off. Now you live in the comfortable New Yorker and have hot water and nice beds, but if I told you to pack up right away would you respond like Abraham? Abraham became a wanderer, but are you better than Abraham? If you haven't even thought about it, how could you be better? At least start by thinking about being better. After that would you put it into action? When God asked me to go to America, could I have exclaimed, "God, what are You talking about? I finally have enough room here in Korea to be comfortable and anyway I don't like America"? I knew that all kinds of persecution would come, that my responsibility would be to shake the world into outrage against me.
Before I came I talked with my closest disciples and told them that I would be a target of worldwide persecution in three years. I prepared them to remain in Korea and gave them instructions, knowing ahead of time what was coming. At that time they said, "What are you talking about? No one will know you." They never believed it, but what I said at that time was absolutely fulfilled. I am a mysterious man in one sense and you think you know me but you really don't.
Are you better than Abraham or Moses? Are you better than Jesus? In one sense you are better because without dying on a cross you can have a blessed home and children here on earth. Jesus was crucified but the Unification Church will not be demolished. Even in his lifetime Jesus worked only in the little nation of Israel, but our IOWC is going all over the world. The world is our stage; the universe is our stage. If you are better than Jesus then you should be doing bigger and better work than Jesus.
Are you better than Reverend Moon? Give me a reason why. You are better than Reverend Moon because I am getting older but you are younger and you shall remain longer than I will. When I die will our movement go up or down? If my lifetime goal were to build all kinds of boats so that we could move out to sea then if I were to die would you want to finish or would you just think it was a big headache? After I die will everything move faster? If you say so then you must show me while I am living what you can do after I die.
You should never be satisfied by being better than me. Step out and say, "God, I am Your son so I am going to be better than You! " You will not insult God if you tell Him, "I love You with all my heart and soul, and because I love You so much I want to inherit Your mission. I cannot afford to let You suffer any further. Won't you stay behind and let me finish?" Will God be very mad or very joyful? He will be smiling ear to ear. God will say, "I've been waiting for this day and it has arrived at last."
Would you like to have your sons and daughters be inferior or superior to you? How could they be better than you if you are perfect? God will like your attitude and He won't accuse you of being greedy. He wants your children to be so heroic and beautiful that it will be His joy to watch them. Having such children is God's promise to you.
If you have no love when you voice all this ambition then you will insult everyone by saying you are better than they are. Saying you are better than God would be unforgivable. But if you do it with love, out of love of God, then it becomes their joy instead and with that desire you can go everywhere. Such unprecedented love was never manifested anywhere and you can be the first pioneer in the conquest of love. Anyone who possesses the greatest love in the universe will receive the respect of everyone, no matter how exalted. We are looking forward to the fulfillment of that supreme love. Is it believable when you hear me?
Before I die I want to bless all the races of the world, and love them and feed and clothe them. That's my philosophy and way of life. I want you to be the same and even better. There is so much persecution that there are few occasions for me to manifest that love, but because you have more time ahead of you and the world will eventually accept you, you will have a chance to love the world more. You need to taste three kinds of tears-tears of longing for love, then the actual taste of love, and finally the fulfillment of love. These are the tears of joy you must taste.
That is the tradition God wants you to leave and once you fulfill then anywhere you go you will be in the forefront of heaven. At any ceremony Jesus and God will want to put you in front because you are the conqueror of love. How beautiful or handsome you appear doesn't make any difference; what counts is your state of mind. If I stayed a number of days at the New Yorker, I would walk on every floor at 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning and really love that building. I would look for those who are cleaning or preparing food for brothers and sisters. Those are the people who advertise their heart without words.
If there are 1,000 residents in the New Yorker then feel that at least you must do one thing more than everyone else. Get up first and go to bed last. When you pray, feel that you are praying for all one thousand. Perhaps you will fall asleep while you pray and then wake up the next morning and start the day; God loves the person who lives that dramatic kind of life. Whether I am here or not doesn't make any difference. You are the heirs of the love of God. That is most precious under the sun.
The American people are waiting for the birth of such a man. All humanity is waiting for the birth of that man. Did you see the movie, "Oh, God!"? By the end of the movie the main character had become miserable because he was persecuted and kicked out of his job after he met God, and he was very discouraged. But God said, "You are on a different level, the level of all the saints. That's not bad company, is it?"
Once you become the owner of the love of God there is nothing to envy in this world. The world is yours because nothing exists without a relationship with God and whatever God possesses becomes yours. Did you live like that in the past? How about in the present? We have one hope: to live like that in the future. Once you live like that your own history will begin. So far the past has been someone else's but the moment you live as possessor of God's love, there your history starts. With that background you can knock on the door of heaven.
The Unification Church is going to inherit that tradition of the love of God, past, present, and future, and it will remain as your own accomplishment. You shall be a conqueror of God's love in that tradition. Before now your hands got dirty working in the secular world, but now you can want your hands to get dirtier working for God. You once ate much good food in the world, but this time you want to eat solely to do God's work. You must think that everything you have already done you can do more intently for the work of God. If you train yourself like that then in everything you do you will feel the explosion of God's love around you. Do you know it or not?
If you can say, "Father, I know it now and I want to make my own history in winning the love of God and leave my tradition behind," raise your hands please. Let us pray.