The Dignity of God and Man

Sun Myung Moon
April 1, 1977
World Mission Center
Translator - Bo Hi Pak

I want to explain God's concept of creation focusing on the dignity of God and man, His supreme creation. Through the establishment of the dignity of God and men, certainly men would be fulfilled and perfected, and God's ideal and purpose would be consummated. If the perfection of men had been fulfilled in the very beginning, then with God and men together in complete harmony the ideal world of God's love would have prevailed.

If that had happened there would have been no sorrow for God. Instead God would have experienced the birth of His joy, in which He would have been praising the dignity of men. If God could treat men with such dignity then of course men's glory would be without end, and men would always have come to God in deepest admiration, respect and love.

In that case God and men would have become one, pursuing one common destiny. Adam and Eve would have had the same dignity as God. The perfection of one man and one woman was to be the perfection of God and the perfection of the entire universe. The home of Adam and Eve was supposed to be God's home and God's own family, and then that family would have become the focal point of the universe, the heart of God's world.

If that focal point had been established then the spirit world and physical world together would have become one. But today, the spirit world and physical world are totally separated. You know that you have a mind, but you are not sure where that mind dwells. Nobody can explain the mysteries of the mind because none can see the mind or touch it. However, if I asked if you have a mind, even though you could not show it to me you would not deny that you have a mind.

In the same way that our own minds are real to us, God would have been a living reality to us. Your mind dictates your actions and the relationship between God and men should have been the same. Now we must be careful of our words before we speak, but what about a perfected man? A perfected man is automatically a reflection of the universal mind, which is God. No man of perfection would be able to deny God. In addition, the dignity of true Adam and Eve would remain for thousands of years, so that all their descendants would maintain the same dignity that Adam and Eve enjoyed.

The relationship between God and man would have been of perfect oneness; God and man would have walked together for eternity. You cannot separate yourself from your own mind, and in the same way all men would have been unable to separate themselves from God. That would have been man's perfection. If there had been no fall and that perfection had prevailed, such men would have become the nucleus of the universe.

Invisible God made visible through man

The perfected home would have become a unit or model for the heavenly society, nation and world, such that no matter how far the world of men expanded, it would always resemble one man. Then who should be the center of the universe? Actually the central axis of the universe is formed by God and Adam and Eve. Why would God need Adam and Eve? Why do they need Him? For two purposes.

First of all, God's ideal of love would be fulfilled through Adam and Eve. Secondly, and this is very important, the invisible God would have been made visible through men. In other words, Adam was supposed to be the visible form of God, and through him the invisible God could have made a relationship with the visible, physical world. God's ultimate purpose for the creation of Adam and Eve is this: After being perfected here on earth in oneness with God, Adam and Eve would have passed away into spirit world. There Adam's own spirit body would be like the body of God, and inside that spirit body God would be dwelling as Adam's mind; God Himself would be the mind of Adam.

Today we have our mind and body, with an inseparable relationship between the two. Similarly, when Adam and Eve were perfected here on earth and then were elevated to the spirit world, God would have become the mind of Adam and Eve and they would have been the spirit body of God, so that God and men in spirit world would have been inseparable, one body. In this world people speak about dying, but actually there is no such thing as death. Instead of dying you just pass into a new realm after giving up your physical body. Your mind or spirit body becomes your body in the spirit world, and God will become the center of that body as the mind of your spirit man.

If you go to spirit world without reaching perfection here on earth, you will never be able to accommodate God as your mind in spirit world. You will be like a person here on earth with a body but no mind. It may seem impossible, but that is the situation. If your mind were removed could you still be a man or woman? Here on earth our supreme mission is to prepare ourselves to welcome God as our mind in spirit world. The whole purpose of our physical lives here on earth is to make ourselves dwelling places of God so that when we pass into the spirit world our minds can become spirit bodies in which God can dwell. That is the preparation we are going through here on earth.

What a supreme position we have been placed in! We are all supposed to be the bodies of God. As the Bible says, we are made as the temples or dwelling places of God. If Adam and Eve had initiated perfection here on earth, becoming one with God, their children would have been the children of God. Children always resemble their father and mother. When we are born as children of God then we would certainly resemble God and be in His image and likeness.

Now you can see realistically why we call God our Father: we are His children. We are now looking for God, but if Adam and Eve had been perfected, seeing them would have been seeing God. Adam and Eve's position would have been God's position because they would have been the bodies of God. In spirit world God should have been dwelling within Adam and Eve. God indeed is the Creator and center of the universe and if God had made His dwelling in Adam and Eve, then their position would have been the center of the universe as well, both physically and spiritually.

In Genesis it is written that Adam named the things God had created. Actually Adam was the instrument God was speaking through. In other words, God was naming every creature through Adam. God dwelled within Adam and in that way exercised lordship over all creation.

So far men have not known the true relationship between God and men. To repeat, there were two reasons that God created man: first as the fulfillment and manifestation of His love, and second, as the visible forms of God. This is a most amazing truth. Through perfected Adam and Eve as the nucleus of the universe, God wanted to expand His Kingdom here on earth. No matter how big man's world might become, God would still be the center of it. Clearly the culture of mankind should have been in one sphere, which we call the Adamic cultural sphere, truly God's own culture here on earth.

We are living to restore the dignity of God

God's intent was to have one culture, but since the fall of man, what has come about instead? The terrible separation between God and man resulted from the fall. An impossible situation has occurred. The separation took place and because we are the reflection of the spirit world, a separation between our minds and bodies also occurred. Do you realize that there are two persons living within you, two minds? The conflict within ourselves came because of the fall of man.

If in the very beginning God had created you with a split personality or two conflicting minds, we would have to conclude that God Himself existed with a split personality, having no unity or harmony from the very beginning. Or if that is not the case, then we would have had two origins instead of one. But that is not so; God is one harmonized being, and we have only one origin. This separation occurred only because of the fall of man.

The topic of my message is "The Dignity of God and Man." Where is that dignity God wanted to speak about? Can we restore our dignity by ourselves? Can God restore our dignity by Himself? No, it is a joint project; the restoration of the dignity of man can be done only by the joint effort of God and men. Then what should we do? First of all, we have to understand the original reason why the dignity of God and men was lost.

The whole problem began when individual creatures-the angel, Adam, and Eve-became self-centered, thinking about themselves first. That was the beginning of the wrongdoing. Furthermore, they wanted to perfect or fulfill their love with themselves at the center. In order to restore the dignity of God and men we now know what has to be changed. To undo the wrongdoings we have to reverse that way of life. We must make God the center of our lives, not ourselves, and we must seek to fulfill our love, not with ourselves in the center but with God in the center.

What is the purpose of our lives? I want you to know that we were born and we are living to glorify God, to put God before all. And we are living to restore the dignity of God. Then why do our minds exist'? They certainly exist for the sake of God, and our bodies exist solely for the purpose of God. Could they exist for some other purpose, or for someone else?

Our mind and body are in the position of subject and object here on earth, and their common goal, their purpose of existence, is solely for the sake of God. Both are dwelling at the same point and both are focusing upon the same goal, with the mind dwelling in one dimension and the body in another. However, when we became self-centered this complete unity and harmony between the two was distorted; mind and body became out of focus with each other. In order to bring them back into focus they have to move opposite the directions in which they have been going. Once we form perfect unity of mind and body, then we will become the dwelling places of God, and God will come into our houses for relaxation.

Because of the fall of man, the mind and body moved out of focus. Actually the mind has remained God-centered, but the body moved so that Satan has been controlling it; it has been turned around to the point of being completely out of joint with the mind. Who will turn this body back to its original position? Do you expect Satan to do that? Will God come down and turn it back? If God could intervene directly to bring man back to his original position, then God would have done it a long time ago. Men must achieve this.

Were you born as direct heirs of Adam and Eve, or were you born among the multitudes of the world's population? Since the beginning of human history, countless generations have been born. To look back in search of the starting point would be very complex and involves tremendous distance. The American people are descended from all the races of the world, making it simply impossible to research back to the very beginning. As a result, here in America you have no history of some central origin. Through many thousands of years of human history, God's position and men's positions have been completely separated. In addition, man's mind and body have become adversaries, going in completely different directions.

A recent philosophy has been proclaiming that the physical body, not the mind, is the center of man. According to the communist ideology matter is the ultimate origin, and the mind does not really exist except as an illusion. What they are saying is that the mind is an outgrowth of the body and dies with the body. Is there even the slightest hope in that ideology for man's mind and body to become one under God?

The God-centered mind is always self-giving and public-minded, but the body is always selfish and seeks to satisfy itself, avoiding sacrifice or difficult situations. The body is only searching after its own benefit. You have a conflict within you between a body with selfish desires and a God-centered mind. If you see something pleasing, your body says, "Get it! Grab it!" In contrast, the God-centered mind says, " Wait a minute. You must use that for the sake of God and the world." You feel that conflict, don't you?

You must have iron will power to say to the body, "Body! I will subjugate you; you must obey me. Come and join me." Is there someone besides our God-centered mind who wants that situation to occur? Our good minds and God together want to declare war against our bodies. However, the body has one ally which is Satan, saying, "I'm going to hold onto this body. It is my victim, my prey."

Our ropes and anchors to Satan

Satan is always trying to create obstacles so that the body is unable to re-join the mind. Satan has a rope around our bodies which is tied to an anchor deep in the sea. The body is trying to float and swim to the ship, but the anchor holds it down. Satan is saying, "You cannot go without my permission."

What is that anchor? Self-centered love is the anchor and selfishness is the rope. There must be some power, some sword, which can cut that rope and send the anchor to the bottom of the sea. Once that anchor and rope is cut off then the body is free and can automatically come back to the mind. You are like a ship floating on the water; do you have an anchor or not? I can see that you have many ropes and heavy iron anchors pulling on you.

You can see then that we have to hope for God and our minds together to become like sharp swords which can cut those ropes. That is the role of the religions which God has been raising up throughout history. Their purpose is to create the atmosphere where God and the mind together can cut the rope and anchor of temptation and selfishness. This is why Jesus taught, "He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." This is a most logical statement.

Unless you completely cut off self-centered love then you have no way to be free. The Bible does not use diplomatic language; we are taught the naked truth in the Bible. It says that your closest family members are your worst enemies because family ties in many cases become a burden, another rope trying to entangle you. Is that realistic?

That is why the religious way of life is always cruel to your own body. Religion has no sympathy for the body and is continuously subjugating it. When we understand God's purpose and ideal then we come to the conclusion that religious life is the arena where God has been trying to achieve His goal. So far some people have caught glimpses of it, but no one has completely crystallized the truth.

After hearing this, has the spirit world become more realistic to you, as well as the true relation between the spirit world and physical world? Do you really know what is wrong with this world and with yourself so that you know how to restore your original godly position? This is why the Bible says, "and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." When you chop off the anchor of your fallen body which is stained by sin, then what kind of person do you become? You are transformed into the holy body of God, your original role. By doing so you are not only restoring yourself and men's true position, but more importantly you are restoring God's own position and dignity. Do you have the courage and determination to cut the rope of Satan away from you? Do you want to bring your body back to the original position of oneness with a God-centered mind or not?

Why do you eat breakfast? Why do you sleep? When you go to bed and your head is snuggled into the pillow, have you ever thought, "God is lying down on this bed, because I am the temple of God." Have you ever said to yourself, "God, won't You rest with me now?" And then in the morning when you wake up and get out of bed do you think, "God, You are already awake. Good morning, Father." That is the way you must live, feeling God's presence with you in every action, feeling that God is going before you.

Men and women, do you want to get married or not? Does that mean that you are going to marry, or that God is going to be married through you? Have you ever thought, "I am doing a favor for You, God. By my marrying, You will meet Your better half through me." When you sisters become brides then God can become a bride through you; the same is true when you brothers become grooms. As you are walking down the aisle to the wedding music, not just you and your mate but the two essentialities of God are walking together, and in happiness they are joined by the blessing.

In love you can climb up on top of God

You can feel that God is just tickled to death inside and does not know how to contain Himself. You are happy by knowing that God is happy; always God comes first. Has your life been molded as a "God first" way of life? Would you prefer a life of putting yourself first or God first? Which one is more dramatic? God's expectation for the love between Adam and Eve at the very outset of His creation in the garden of Eden, and His hope for the perfection of your love now is the same.

How can your love become eternal and unchanging? It is possible because God does not change; the same God who was with Adam and Eve is with you. Even though historically speaking Adam and Eve lived many thousands of years before you, Adam was supposed to have had the father's role to you in the spirit world since he was supposed to be the dwelling of God Himself. Had this occurred there would have been no generation gap between father and son. The love that you feel and the love that Adam and Eve feel would have been the same emotion of love with no gap or barrier. In that love you can go anywhere, even climb up on top of God. Love brings intimacy and complete oneness; there is no formality in love. Therefore, even though a man becomes President of the United States, he exercises no formality with his wife. They do not bow and give some long greeting every time they meet.

Do you want to dwell in that intimacy of love with God? We all agree that we want to share that intimate level with God. Then we have to chop off the rope; it is not going to be that easy but somehow we have to chop it off and let the anchor plunge down to the bottom of the sea.

You have to dominate your satanic body, always thinking about putting God in the center of your love. Even if you have to chop off your arm or your leg, if that is the only way you can chop off the rope of Satan then you should do it. You will never be a loser. Speaking of it as a commercial investment, you cannot get any better deal than this one.

Your mouth said yes, you would like this deal, but look at yourselves closely. Are you really in a yes position, or somewhere in between a no and a yes? Do you really know what needs to be done to become a man of God? You said yes, but even though now you think you understand, when you go to spirit world you will truly know how real this problem is. But do not wait until then; it will be too late.

Do you really want to be centered on God 24 hours a day? Aren't your minds going in 120 different directions, thinking about past dates and girl friends and boy friends, or wanting more education and social standing and a little better way of life? Don't you think, " What am I doing here! I have to go out and witness and fund raise every day!" I am sure that many different kinds of doubts creep in. You can see from the criteria I laid down this morning that you have been living with doubts and suspicions, ups and downs. Is such a man really going the fastest way to the goal or not?

You must be single-minded; just chop off temptation and do not look back. Do you think there is some big gap between you and me and that I am a miracle man? We have only one difference: I have completely subjugated my body, while you are taking longer. Wherever I go and whatever I do, during the 24 hours of a day there is not one moment, not one split second in which I separate myself from God. This is absolutely perfected in my way of life. That is the only difference between us.

Let the people oppose and persecute me; I do not even have time to listen to them because I do not want to divert my mind from God. If I am thinking of God more intensely than they are opposing me then these things will automatically be taken care of. You know that often something looks impossible, but for the sake of God we must do it every moment of the day. I am just driving myself, that is my way of life.

I want to be extreme in my thinking

You must always love God and always feel, "God, there is nothing I cannot do." How do you manifest your love? Love is reciprocal, needing a circuit. I always want to be extreme in my thinking, and love to the absolute extremity of love. Most people want to love a handsome man or a beautiful woman, but I think the opposite. I want to love the ugliest man and woman, the oldest man and woman, those whom society ignores. I want to pay attention and be able to love them more than anybody else.

God is convinced that you are capable of doing this. God knows that you are capable of loving in an extremely different way from most people. In America there are many overweight people. One time I saw one huge woman pass by, weighing maybe 500 pounds. I thought, "Can I love her as much as God loves her? Can I compete with God and win, loving her more than God loves her?" It is an exciting challenge to me. Put yourselves in God's position. Suppose that woman is God's only daughter and God is looking for some good husband for her but nobody is interested. God is very irritated, and then a man comes up, "God, don't worry about it. Let me love her." That man has already won the heart of God; God is absolutely melted by that man's deed.

I have been living in that fashion, but when God gave me a bride, do you think He picked one who is very ugly or very beautiful? Because I was thinking in one extreme, God rewarded me in the opposite extreme. That is how this viewpoint works. Can I bear the cross of love? That is the worst test for any person! This is why we should always ask ourselves, "Can I love my worst enemy, and take his child to be my spouse?" Can I love the ugliest, most impossible person? If God is convinced that you can do it, then you are totally victorious in His sight. This is an even greater crucifixion than the crucifixion of Jesus.

We have all put ourselves in the position of God's adversary. We are in the position of His enemy. From His viewpoint we are extremely dirty, ugly and smelly; we have been rebellious traitors and are the children of traitors. However, God has not only been forgiving these traitors and bringing us back to be in His position, but God wants to bestow upon us His supreme blessing and grace.

God is a pitiful God; He wants to dwell in love with His enemies, His impossible, rebellious children. When Adam and Eve rebelled against God they indeed broke His heart. Ever since, God has been a tragic, sad God, but he has never given up hope. He is always searching after treacherous and rebellious men, trying to find the slightest ray of hope to restore them to the supreme position of His sons and daughters. You can see how infinite and abundant the love of God has been.

If that is the truth then even if my body turns to dust a thousand times over I will still be grateful. I could utter no word of complaint to God because His love is far greater than anything I can imagine. This is the position men should take, "God, I just want to do Your will. Anything You want I will go and do." Even after saying that some men are most treacherous and rebellious, thinking, "God, what about my position, honor and dignity?" How ridiculous it is in the sight of God! He can't even think of those things.

If you really know your own position you know you have nothing to say about God, no complaint to make. That has been man's position. All men have been living in the dungeon of hell in complete darkness, but a ray of light is coming down from heaven so that we can be restored into the highest part of heaven. It is indeed the most unbelievable grace that we can imagine. We must grab it at any price. Do you understand God's heart?

Let us awaken to the truth of our position

Today is April 1. So far we have done our jobs in our own way. We have been living without even thinking of man's supposed dignity, and never thinking about the dignity of God. We have been thinking on a very trivial level, "I'm a member of the Unification Church and I have my position and my rights and dignity." We know now that we must shatter that type of thinking.

Today we must revolutionize ourselves. Let us once again shatter ourselves and awaken to the truth of our position. We want to reach out to a new, heightened goal, and proceed there with the utmost determination and sacrifice. The God that we know is a suffering God, a heartbroken God. We are His sons and daughters and we must be in a position to comfort Him. In order to do that we must understand His heart so that we can take His burden upon our shoulders. That is the only way we can comfort God.

We must stand in God's position where He was persecuted for many thousands of years. No one has suffered more throughout history than God. We will not complain but be grateful to take the worst kind of suffering that God might have. God has been so misunderstood, wanting to save the world but instead being cursed by the people He loved. People have said there is no God, but they are blasphemers. Instead we will each say, "Let the people of the world come against me, I will pray for them and bring salvation to them as You have done throughout history. I can die for that mission, Heavenly Father."

If God wanted to take revenge against the traitorous and rebellious actions of men then He would have already destroyed mankind many thousands of times over. But at each betrayal God forgave. Can you say, "God, I know Your heart. Now let me forgive the world. Give me Your suffering and let me suffer for You, even more than You have suffered. Then when I return to Your throne, I will ask You to forgive the world. After suffering so much for You I will ask You to forgive them because of me." Silently God will nod.

We must feel that we are liberators of the sorrowful, broken heart of God, that because of us God will say, "I suffer no more. Because of you I do not feel anguish and sorrow in my heart." We should be able to stand in that position.

How can we liberate God's historically suffering heart? Let me give you an analogy in human terms. Imagine that your youngest brother was killed in an accident, as well as your wife and son. Instead of expressing your own sorrow at your personal tragedy you go to your mother and say, "Mother, I know your heart is broken because of the death of your youngest son. I think of your heart more than my own tragedy. Can you be comforted by me?" Your mother will say, "Certainly I can. My son, you have suffered more than 1, yet after all that you still forget yourself and try to comfort me."

The highest possible way to comfort God is to not worry about your own claim or reward. Forget that. Just think of going from morning to night, think of how you can comfort God best. That is the supreme form of loyalty.

You have a choice between two ways of life. One is the eternal secret way in which God wins; the other is the way of temporal glory and honor here on earth. Which one would you prefer? Would you put yourself completely in service to God, or do you want to work for your own sake and your own honor? As the leader of the Unification Church I must always think how best to lead the members. Since I know the suffering heart of God I want to bring the Unification Church through the worst possible suffering. Under those circumstances we will say, "God, I want You to be comforted. I have no word of complaint, nothing but gratitude." Knowing God's own world and own heart, and really loving you, I have to lead all of you on that route. I myself have taken that route. Do you want to follow me?

Unless you go that route then you have nothing to do with God in the ultimate sense. You will have no intimacy with God, no closeness. Therefore you will not be able to lift up God to His true dignity. If you have failed to lift up God then you can never restore your own dignity. In this way of life alone there is hope to liberate God from His sorrow and by doing so you can liberate yourself from sorrow. All will be lifted up together into the ultimate dignity of God and man. Do you want to participate in this battle?

We want to live the pattern of God's life

You must think, "I want to bear the cross of every individual man and woman of the world." God is not in Heaven sitting on His throne, enjoying the show. No, He wants to bear the burden of mankind. God is always thinking, "How can I bear the cross, the burden of My family?" God always thinks how He can bear the cross and the burden of the nation and the world, "How can I fulfill the responsibility of heaven and earth?"

You can say to God, "My life here on earth is short, far less than 100 years. Compared to eternity it is a spark of light, but during this short time I will think of nothing but Your mission. Give me the cross that You have been willing to bear." Think of it, God's suffering is vast, persisting for so long throughout the whole span of history. Our suffering, no matter how big, is just a spark of light, yet with it we can set an enormous condition.

We must put ourselves in a position to comfort God, always having that intention even though we may not always succeed. "God, I am sorry I did not quite live up to Your expectation yesterday, but today Father, I will do it." In our short span of life here on earth we want to live the pattern of God's life so that God will be able to say, "My son, you have lived precisely as I did. You suffered as I did and you worked just like I did, thinking and agonizing over the same things. You have fulfilled the work that I intended to fulfill. My son, I am proud of you." We must be in that position.

We should be willing to say, "I want to live to the utmost degree, and no matter what God's desire may be, there is nothing I cannot do. Furthermore, I want to volunteer for the worst possible mission that God has." Then God will say, "My child, you are very good. You were not supposed to suffer or live like that, but for my sake you suffered and worked so hard. For my sake you gave yourself and died in a tragic way. My heart is filled with mercy toward you. I almost want to say, 'I am sorry,' but don't worry. I have the power to restore your honor and your life in the greatest glory of all on earth and in heaven.

"I expected Adam and Eve to be perfected, but they failed My expectation. You are their descendant but you deserve a far greater position and far greater honor than was originally reserved for them. Before heaven and earth I declare that you deserve the highest honor. Adam and Eve were supposed to be born of God, live of God and die of God. They did not, however, and because you did, you are greater than Adam and Eve." That is what God will say to you.

My ambition for you

I want you to clearly know my own will. My ambition for you is not that you become important statesmen, Senators, Congressmen, or the President. I do not want you to be billionaires here on earth or to receive acclamation and honor from all mankind. My intention is that you become men and women who can live life in a God-centered way so that you are born of God, you live for God and you die for God. Then when you are elevated to spirit world you will absolutely receive the honor of God and of all heaven and earth. That is the kind of men and women I want you to become here on earth.

In external appearance your way of life may be tragic, and other people may think that you are living miserably. But do not forget the reason behind it: the true pride of God. You have a choice and no one can force you. Which way will you take? It is not easy.

When an adversary comes to attack and slander you or falsely accuse, the general human tendency is to fight back and seek revenge. But the moment that you feel anger and the urgent impulse to attack your opponent, think of God, "God, what do You think in such a moment? I know; You forgive, and if I cannot forgive this enemy, then I am eliminating all the hope of mankind. If I do just as ordinary people have done, then I am eliminating the hope of God. I cannot do that." God thinks this way.

If God became really angry, then would He say, "No more! I am finished with you and done with it!" If God quits then there is no more hope for mankind. For the same reason you must feel that if you explode in anger, then the hope of mankind will vanish. We cannot have that kind of heart. "If I curse someone, that curse shall become universal and shall remain. I am responsible for that." Can you make yourself that important?

I want you to understand that God is not a God of glory. God has been the God of suffering, the God of heartbreak and tragedy. You cannot comfort God in fine clothing; you cannot comfort God in a most relaxed, comfortable situation. You cannot praise God in a position of honor. God will not want to receive it. Instead you must come down to be even more miserable than He is. In that way you can comfort God.

Before you search after the glory and dignity of God you must first conquer tragedy, heartbreak and misery. In that position you can raise God into glory and honor in His dignity. That is the route the Unification Church is taking. Right now America truly misunderstands me, spreading false accusations and allegations. But I am praying to ask God's mercy and blessing upon this country. My prayer is, "God, let me receive all the misunderstanding You have received throughout history. Let me take all the ridicule You have taken throughout history. Let me undergo all the pain You have undergone in history. Otherwise I am not worthy to stand in front of You."

Now let us imagine that I died under these circumstances. Maybe because of the misunderstanding and false image the media has created of me in America, the American people would applaud my death, saying, "That troublemaker is gone. That controversial Reverend Moon has died." They might celebrate. But I want you to know that at least one person in the universe--God--will cry. That is what counts.

I have taken up that role. Do you see that Jesus took that route and died in precisely that way? But God bestowed upon Jesus the power to restore His highest dignity and honor. Also in heaven God gave him the power to lift man up from his misery, from the very bottom of hell. Jesus has absolute power to resurrect everything under the sun. I feel that if even one man or one woman comes forth from among you who can live up to that standard, then my life is a success, not a failure. One man is a universe.

Maybe every single one of you will perish. If only one person is victorious and consummates God's way of life, then that one man shall set the tradition of the Unification Church and on that rock God's tradition and Kingdom shall indeed be built. Those who want to participate in erecting this tradition of God, the Kingdom of God here on earth, raise your hands. If you really feel that you want to participate in that, then I want to assure you that the glory and honor of God shall rest with you. Thank you. Let us pray.

The Greatest of All Is Love

Sun Myung Moon
March 20, 1977
Belvedere, New York
Translator - Bo Hi Pak

Do you like love? What is love? Describe the shape of love; is it long or very thin or round? It is a very difficult task, but if we ever tried to describe love in one word, the nearest thing might be "fullness." The ultimate question for man is this: Is life or love more precious? You say love is more precious, but can you explain why love is greater than life?

In history, poetry and literature we commonly hear that love is greater than life, but no one has precisely described why. Which began first, love or life? Indeed the beginning point of life is love, and no matter how much life you have, it alone could not bring new life into this world. Only love can do that. The love of your father and mother together brought new life upon this earth. No matter how great a life a single person may live, alone he does not have the power to give life to another.

Let us look into the origin of the universe. What is the fundamental cause which brought the universe into being, energy, life or love? Have you ever thought about what motivation was involved? Some scientists claim that the universe began with a huge explosion of energy. While existence certainly begins with energy, what is the origin of the energy? Is energy self-creating? Energy results from the interaction of plus and minus; it can only exist in a circuit of reciprocal give and take action between a subject and an object.

Here in this room there is also give and take action between you as the audience and me as the speaker. If there were no one in this room to listen as I gave an energetic and powerful sermon then I would look very foolish. Without give and take there is no re-creation of energy, and if I were speaking to an empty room, would I gain more energy or lose power instead? But since you are here, very excited and energetic, our mutual give and take becomes increasingly intense and stimulating.

The most fundamental energy for the existence of this universe was created by energetic give and take action. Universal truth can be described as the substantial interaction between two entities in this visible universe. The entire invisible world as well, functions according to this same principle. We can conclude that nothing can come into being or remain in existence unless it is in a subject-object relationship with the action of give and take maintained between them. This is true in the mineral and plant worlds. Do insects sing for their own enjoyment or to get the attention of another? Why do animals call each other? For their objects.

Without your object you are very poor

How much do you like your object? It is interesting to discover that we have more intense feelings toward our objects than toward ourselves. Do you sing or dance for your own satisfaction? Even though you may sometimes dance alone, in your own mind you envision some object watching you.

Would you like to live in laughter and joy, or in tears and sorrow? When you are alone do you normally feel like laughing out loud? If you went around smiling and laughing without an object, you would be considered a crazy man. Laughter, singing and dancing are all human expressions of joy and happiness, but when you do these without an object or audience they make no sense. Clearly our way of life requires a partner with whom we can interact. When two loving partners share laughter, song and dance, their joy will become ever deeper without limit. When love is inspiring you then your singing and laughing and dancing becomes so wonderful.

In every field of art the greatest masterpieces are the works which describe the most beautiful, limitless love of men. When you experience those masterpieces you are stimulated in your feeling of love and the joy of that masterpiece comes alive. If we removed everything about love from the masterpieces then would any life remain?

Which do you prefer, laughing or crying? In reality the muscles involved in both are quite similar. When you look at the faces of someone laughing and someone crying, both their mouths are open and their eyes are squinting and tears are rolling down their cheeks. What may cause you to cry? You may feel sorrowful after some great loss, or when your expectations have not been fulfilled, but the deepest sadness arises when you become separated from your object, your partner. At the bottom of all sorrow is losing your connection to your object so that you can neither give out nor receive.

The definition of great unhappiness is the loss of anyone to whom you can give and from whom you can receive. You are most unhappy when you have no one to love and be loved by. Isn't that true? If you lose a great deal of money or valuable property you may be unhappy, or having no one to teach or learn from you may feel sad, but is that the worst kind of unhappiness? The most unhappy person is the one who has lost the person he loved and who loved him, so that he has no one to share his love with.

You would prefer to live your life in laughter and joy instead of sorrow and tears, wouldn't you? In order to have that laughter and joy you would have to get power and earn money, right? No? Did you know that already? Maybe you vaguely knew, somehow, but after hearing this you truly know that love is the most important and fundamental aspect of life. Do you just think, "It sounds reasonable," or do you deeply know that this is true?

Which is superior, man or woman? Even if you are a giant superman, a tall man with big muscles and very handsome, without your object you are a very poor man. Suppose you had a choice between being a superman but remaining all by yourself, or being pint-sized but having an object, someone with whom you could have give and take. Which would YOU prefer? Are you sure you would want to be pint-sized? There are some people who are not answering; however, their eyes say yes! That is the simple truth.

If your love is only a joke, your life will be only a joke

How much do you need your mates? You absolutely need each other so that you might discover and experience love. In saying that you absolutely need your object, you could never mean, "Well, love is nice to have but it's not essential." When you went on dates before you came to this church, was your motivation to find absolute love? If you answer no, that means you were not really serious about love and your actions were closer to an animal's. Would an absolutely happy person go after such love? That kind of carnal, unprincipled love should be wiped out. Can you say, "Yes, I have experience of love, but with deepest seriousness I am now searching to discover love that is even greater than my own life."

Which world did you belong to in the past, heaven or hell? Without exaggeration fallen man has been destined to death and hell. If you do not know that your search for true love and life is not a joke, your life will not be anything more than a joke. Love is greater than your life, so love is not a joke. The most divine and holy world is the world of love.

After acquiring that absolute love a person really knows the value of that most mysterious and holy world. When you know that divine and mysterious world your laughter will be divine and mysterious and the expression of joy in your singing and dancing shall also be very divine and mysterious. Anyone who dirties this most valuable love with cheap, carnal things is the worst kind of criminal in the universe. Regardless of whether you are a man or a woman, anyone who seeks to contaminate your love in an impure way is your worst enemy. Because love is greater than life, that person would be committing a crime worse than that of taking your life.

The American way of life, including many of your lives before you joined the Church, is just a quest for very shallow, instant, animalistic love. If you were that way then you have never truly experienced that divine and holy love of God. Your shallow fun could only become progressively more shallow, soon becoming boring and tiring. When you stamp on that most precious pure love you become just a worthless person; you can kill such love.

Is American society advancing toward heavenly prosperity, or declining into secular hell? Shall we leave America alone or shall we do something about it? Will the President of the United States or America's economic power be able to change it? How about almighty science? Who will do it? If we truly know that Americans are going in the wrong direction then we have a responsibility to inform and educate them.

In less than one hour I have explained the true meaning of love, and now you are convinced that the way of life you had been pursuing was the wrong one. You must search for the true way. If your father and mother or teachers were encouraging you to pursue cheap love, should you follow their instructions or not? Suppose the American government followed a policy of encouraging Americans to enjoy their fun and follow their animal instincts. If that were written into the Constitution would you blindly obey or not? "I would be different," you say, but with everyone else going in the opposite direction how could you change? Would you have the energy and drive to go all by yourself? Whatever the circumstances, you are now determined to go because you have hope for the rest of the world, even though the entire world may come against you. That world is wrong because it does not know the truth, but you have truth so you have hope. That is why you should go on even all by yourself.

If someone came forward to proclaim such love would you follow him regardless of whether he were black or yellow or white? Why do all you white members come and give me a hard time? Because of you, the American government, American families and churches are opposing me. What makes you so sure you should follow me if I am teaching about such a committed love for God? You trust the ideal and you have hope in the future. We cut ourselves out of this world because the world is in despair, and we choose to strive for the ideal, to gain true love, hope, and a constructive future.

Today's topic is "The Greatest of All is Love." Do you want to know why love is the greatest? How much of a fee would you pay for me to give you a very important lecture today? The only reason I would ask you to pay is that when things come free nobody takes them seriously. But if you pay $10 million for this one hour lecture then your whole body would strain to reap $10 million worth from it! If you paid $10 million for this one lecture would you waste that time dozing? If I said, "Go ahead and sleep," it would just wake you up more!

If love is taken away, will anything remain?

I will explain why love is so precious. The answer is rather simple: you are the product of love. The most logical and important principle of the universe is also the product of love. God created this world because He needed to have His own object for the give and take of love. Love is God's fundamental motivation for creating the universe.

Man was supposed to be born in love, grow up in love and live in love for eternity. That is man's destiny, Is there anything further you could wish to receive? This is the ideal way of life. Where could that love originate? That could only originate between a subject and object who have become so completely one in harmony and unity that eternally nothing could break them apart. The greatest love emerges from such as this.

Men and women marry to consummate love. At what point do Mother's life and my life become one? When we eat a good meal together? When we exchange money? Only when we become one united in love, right? Life begins when love brings unity and harmony between the two of us, and when life emerges then our ideal blossoms. When you are completely satisfied in love then your ideal is already fulfilled because there is no greater ideal than the fulfillment of love. This is the sequence: love brings unification, life and ideal. When our love brings harmony between us and new life emerges, then the fulfillment of our ideal also comes.

When two lives are welded into one, love will become more powerful and intense. When two lives become united into one, greater life, energy and power come and a greater ideal can blossom. If love is taken away will anything remain? Will there be any way to unite? Without love it is impossible for people to come together and give their lives to each other and say, "For you I could die." That kind of deep sacrificial feeling cannot be demonstrated without love. Without love nothing can bring you into fullness.

In contrast, the communist ideology centers on struggle; that is the key word in communism. If one class is struggling with another, is there any way to unite? Dialectical materialism analyzes progress as one entity dividing into two contradictory entities, which then clash with each other; out of that clash something greater will emerge. That ideology is striving for unification but because it eliminates love it can never bring true unification. Communists talk about a life that is not true life, and about an ideal that is not the true ideal. The ideal is impossible under communism.

The ideal is what can bring the highest and the lowest together into harmonious joy. If we confront each other in struggle can we have the ideal? That ideology of struggle is now creeping across the face of the earth, affecting millions of lives every day. The evil ideology of communism lures people into becoming ruthless and cold-blooded; murder and extermination is the daily diet in communist countries. In his lifetime Chairman Mao exterminated over 150 million people, and in North Korea alone 3 million people were murdered. The New York Times recently published the fact that over 600,000 people were exterminated in South Vietnam immediately following the war there. Is this the ideology in which we can find unification? Communism is truly the enemy of humanity and enemy of the ideal; needless to say, it is the enemy of God.

The fundamental problem of humanity is how to restore love

The key word nowadays in the Carter administration is human tights, and that is good; however, there is something greater than human rights which is life rights, life itself. Communism is not just violating human rights, but violating the very life rights of millions of people. In such an extreme situation talking about human rights does not make any sense; if this administration were really serious about human rights then it would speak out about the millions of people who have been deprived of the right to live. America must stand up to declare that communism is mankind's worst enemy.

We must preserve and safeguard the right to live. There are so many millions who have been deprived of such rights already. They are silent people, the prey of communism. When they stood in front of the firing squad did they praise the name of Stalin, Mao Tse Tung or Kim 11 Sung? Or in their inmost hearts did they desperately call upon the name of God, that somehow He could exercise His power so that the communists could no longer continue with such cruelty?

Without including love, you cannot even speak about unification and the ideal. The fundamental problem of humanity today is how to restore love. If we cannot restore love, do you think we can establish true peace or one world of brotherhood? Can we actualize the ideal without love?

You are actually the result of this wonderful principle, for you were a part of the uniting force of love of your father and mother, and your life came into being at that point. You participated in their lives and the blossoming of their ideal was the beginning point of your life. You participated in the love of your parents which had created unification and brought life; you participated in the love of parents which brought the ideal. If any one of these three are removed then the entire ideal will become crippled. You cannot remove the ideal; you cannot remove life and you cannot remove harmony and unification.

Parents and children will become eternally one even if the mother is a hunchback and the father the most ugly cripple under the sun; no one can separate them from their destined relationship as parents and children. Could you exchange your parents for someone more attractive? You are a part of them and cannot separate yourself from them. You are the result of their harmony, their life and their ideal. Don't you feel some built-in human instinct to defend them from criticism? Why do you feel so strongly about them? You are connected to them, and when something is harmful to them it is automatically harmful to you. Instinctively the loving relationship between parents and child creates the impulse to protect because in this universe there is an automatic protective force that preserves the entity of love. Now you can understand logically what you may have only felt in the past.

Are you going to stay connected with your parents for eternity, or at a certain moment should you separate yourself from them? Speaking particularly to women, when you get married and have a home, would you welcome your father and mother as well as your in-laws into your home? Prior to joining our movement were you thinking the same way that you do now? You might have preferred having a husband but no id-laws. Be honest. They are a burden. Is that kind of thinking selfish or unselfish? If you happen to marry someone who does not have his own father or mother, then in order to accomplish this ideal you even have to bring his godfather and godmother to live with you so that you have someone to serve and be united with. If you can think this way now it is only because you have come to understand the truth about how men and women should live.

Whose natural parents are divorced? You probably did not say anything at the time, but when your father and mother were separated, did you approve deep in your hearts? Was your disapproval just temporary, or will it stay with you forever?

Possessing love before you, your parents are greater than you

You have a built-in instinct that rejects being separated from this loving unity because it should remain for eternity. There is no such adjective as "temporal" when you talk about love; love is for eternity. All of you want to be in a loving relationship with your parents for eternity, and if this eternal circuit of love is broken for some reason, in the depths of your heart you can never accept it. That disapproval is not a crime or a sin, but the instinct of self-preservation. Until we have the logic and principle that will explain human behavior and human nature then we will never have a true vision of the future but remain in darkness.

Who is greater, your parents or you? Parents are supreme because they possessed love prior to your existence, and they will always be ahead of you in the possession of love. You emerged out of their love, and for that reason you will always be in a position to follow after them. No matter how miserable your mother and father may be, as long as you have a loving relationship you will never want to be separated from them, even after the termination of your lives here on earth. Is that right?

This morning I have presented the clear principle of love, so I do not need to say anything further, You can claim before your own father and mother, "Without me you have no true love because I was there and I participated. I was a very important element of your loving relationship." As a child you can say to your own parents, "I cannot be a part of you or one with you until there is unity and true love between you two. Your unity, your true understanding, and your true ideal is what will enable me to become one with you." A son or daughter can force his parents together in a way.

With true love between your father and mother you will begin to see true harmony and the ideal emerging in your home and you will certainly want to stay there. So many American homes today are just the opposite, which is why there is such a gap between parents and children. As long as there is a warm and loving atmosphere in a home the children would never want to leave. But even if the children may go away to the hippie life, if there is a loving atmosphere in the home they will feel pulled back and repentant.

I want to reorganize American homes under the principle of love. I want to see a revolutionary change come about in the American home so that the impersonal, functional unity there is transformed into true loving unity. That is the job I am undertaking. Thank you for your applause; do you mean it though? There are many people today who just do not want to look at reality, and when they hear about something like this they do not want to deal with it. They would rather point at me and snap, "You go home and do not bother me. Live your own life; why should you bother America?" When you read between the lines in the New York Times and Washington Post you will see, "Why do you bother America?"

If the networks all gave me two hours of time and 220 million American people could hear about the true meaning of the family, the true meaning of love and true relationships between parents and children, then we could influence America. The great revival of America's prosperity would hinge upon a couple of hours of listening. But there is so much negativity about me that such a broadcast will never happen.

Do you feel heavenly anger and wrath over this? Do you have determination in your heart to crusade and break down the negativity, that we might create the opportunity to change 220 million people? This negativity toward me is not just harming you and our way of life, but blocking the entire future of America and the world. It is a very serious thing.

Communism and Satan will always take a position in opposition to me; the free world, however, should seize its chance to hear the truth. Day and night we are striving toward the fulfillment of that goal. We must become substantial and respected in order to become influential for God. Do we need to succeed in such ventures as the newspaper company, the print shop and the university?

The emergency is upon us, and before the fuse runs out on this time bomb we must achieve our goal. I am anxious to get this done right away, and day in and day out we must push ourselves. This providence to restore the true love of God is now in motion and the efforts of all heaven and earth are focused on the restoration of this love in humanity. Love alone can bring fulfillment and perfection. Love alone can bring the true fullness of life.

True love will never be revolutionized

Can love speak to the past, the present and the future? We come to another principle. The value of love never changes. The value and principle of love for our ancestors a thousand years ago was just the same. Their love was supposed to bring unity, life and the ideal; a thousand years does not change that. A thousand years from now science may have improved our way of life, but the content of love will not have changed. Tens of thousands of years in the future this value of love will not have changed. God built the entire universe according to the reciprocal relationship between the two entities of subject and object, and as long as the existence of subject and object continues, the principle and the energy of love will not change.

According to dialectical materialism, matter is the origin of the universe. Does that make sense to you or not? If love forms the formal, central truth of the universe, how could anything else create the same result? Unless people are talking about love they are not really talking about unification.

Can you really believe that love is only sweet today because science has advanced? Maybe a thousand years ago love was sweet while today it has many artificial elements in it and has become sour and impure. However, as far as true love is concerned there has been no revolution or advancement; love has one origin and that one origin has never changed. Therefore, the contents of love will always remain the same. As long as there is harmony of love, life, and the ideal related to the original source, they will not change.

That world of true love is the world of unification we are talking about: the world of unity, true life and true ideal. If you have one life to live, where would you like to live? Would you prefer living in this artificial carnal world of love, or would you prefer to live in the world of true love and a God-centered life? Your answer is proof that there is hope for unity. If all of you think like that then there is a chance for true unification to come about, and then the ideal can be built upon His love.

Is God's original ambition and desire that the world and humanity taste unity and true life and true ideal, or could He care less about the way the world drifts? God's desire is the same as man's, and can only be fulfilled by the response of men. In the same way, man's desires can only be fulfilled when we receive response from God. Our ideal lies in God and God's ideal lies in man.

If you want to possess God's universal love you must become a personality of universal caliber. I want all of you to have universal personalities, but where shall we begin? With the Unification Church, or on the level of the country or the world? We cannot begin with just the individual because as I have already explained this morning a single person cannot impart love. There must be a circuit and the basic unit of that circuit is your home, your family. That is the building block.

You may conquer the world yet still not have harmony in your own home. Then you are not the person who will accomplish the ideal. President Carter may be a truly great statesman and have power to influence the entire world, but if in his own family there is constant fighting, is he a happy person? The ideal world begins in your home. Heaven begins in your home.

When Jesus came to proclaim the truth did he say that only a single people could be elevated into heaven? Jesus' blueprint of heaven included bridegroom and bride. When you read the Scriptures you can see that Jesus with his bride was to have been the foundation of the Kingdom of God. Describing the return of Christ, the book of Revelation clearly speaks of the marriage supper of the Lamb, where he will appear in his victory as a groom with his bride. One model home is needed to become the center of the universe, and the purpose of Jesus' coming was to build that model family.

No matter how much you tear the whole universe apart looking for the short-cut to unification, you will not find any better solution than this one. If there is God then this has to be His royal way. Suppose that up to now God has been dozing, truly unconcerned about having His kingdom here on earth, and then all of a sudden He hears me preaching this message here on earth; I am convinced that He would exclaim, "Well, my son, you have something better than I have. Let me borrow that!"

You have studied philosophy and science at universities and done library research, but did you ever hear about this? Have you been hearing a very expensive lecture or not? Are you newcomers here being forced by regimentation to believe certain things, or are you just joyfully responding to truth? You are experiencing the greatest of all extraordinary revolutions, a change of heart.

Our greatest inheritance will be the tradition of love

Are heaven and our homes two entirely different things or are they one and the same? Who is dwelling in our homes? Children. Who else? You should be there, husband and wife. Who else? You are indeed notorious Americans because you mention grandmother and grandfather last. Will all these components of your home be united by rules and regimentation? God's true love will unite them. The love of grandparents, parents, husband and wife, and children will all melt together into one unchanging love.

There is the action of life in that unchanging love, where they talk about the ideal and their hopes for the future. Anyone who has deep respect for the love between grandparents, husband and wife, and between parents and children is qualified to be a citizen of the Kingdom of God. The greatest inheritance grandparents give is the tradition of love to our parents, who then leave it to us. You are becoming husbands and wives, and your duty is to leave the inheritance of love for your own children. The sequence of inheritance is the same, and you cannot neglect any of those loves in a process of being selective. The same principle applies to each relationship.

The application of the truth means that as much as you love each other as husband and wife, with that same intensity you must be able to love your parents and grandparents. That same love will bring one heart in your home, which is the building block of the Kingdom of God on earth. You and your family will become a nucleus or brick of the Kingdom of God on earth, and when many families come together they will make up a society, nation and kingdom on earth. Can you see that all those relationships are equally precious?

In comparing American homes to this standard, do they live up to this particular principle? Are grandparents in America generally happy people? With whom do they want to live? It is a most logical conclusion that grandparents want to live with their children because that harmonizes with universal truth. God wants to live with His own children, and grandparents inherit that tradition.

When you become old would you want to live in a senior citizen's home and have only fellowship with nurses? Why not? Some day every one of you will be a grandparent; it is your common destiny. Senior citizen's homes may be more convenient, having medical facilities to handle emergency situations, but even though they may suffer some inconveniences, old people really want to have fellowship with their own children, laughing with them and looking at their grandchildren. When you become old will you not think the same way? Should we change the American way of life in terms of family structure?

The entire universe will listen when you meet in love

When will the universe become one? You never thought about that before. The center of the world is humanity, which means men and women, Men and women are the center of the universe, to inhabit and represent the entire universe. The unity of the entire universe results when men and women become one in love. That is the point at which the universe can become one.

If two men came together would the universe be joined together? Man represents heaven and woman represents earth, and because a man is in the subject or aggressive position he will take the initiative. Are you that kind of man or not? You are stubborn and instead of listening to anybody you want to be your own boss. You only listen when the truth convinces you and then reluctantly you have to yield. A man goes straight forward to where love is; nothing can conquer a man except truth and love. Men are that stubborn.

How about women? Do women want to take the initiative or be the recipients of love? Do you women want to receive a proposal from a man or do you want to do the proposition? Women are built to receive and men are built to initiate action. God has also given men and women particular roles in loving, with men taking the initiative and women the more passive role.

Heaven and earth become one when men and women become one, with man representing heaven and woman representing earth. But husband and wife are each greater than the universe: Your wife is not merely one woman or your husband merely one man. Each represents the entire universe. Because love is the moving force to conquer the universe, the entire universe will listen when you face each other with love. What kind of husband do you want? Do you want a husband who only drives you like a slave, or do you want a husband who looks at you as being even greater than the universe? Which kind of wife do you want? You each want to have that kind of preciousness.

It is natural that young men and women in their teens become very romantic, talking about the universe, losing themselves in music and reading romantic poems. They come to realize they can communicate with the universe, that the universe is a representative of themselves. When older teenagers think Of becoming men or women they view their lives with the highest ideals and most beautiful dreams in their hearts, dreaming in terms of the universe, and equating their lover to the universe.

When you have the urge to unite with such love, will you want to live in slow motion? This is the age of passion, and you want to be like a fireball, blazing into oneness with your love, and concentrating your entire self into your love. The Japanese expression "kamikaze" conveys that spirit. You want to express your ideal in the most dramatic, beautiful, extraordinary fashion, and you also love to exaggerate. "Boy, the entire world is mine."

Men and women actually start out from different extremes, but when they bring themselves together they feel the entire universe resounding with each step they take, and all of nature responding. That is young passion. When young men and women become serious, God also becomes serious. When they are very dramatic and romantic, God becomes romantic. When a young man and woman just engulf each other in a heavenly collision of love, the explosion is greater than thunder. When young passions collide even God will be shook up! When God is a part of young passion, that love is an eternal one, not a cheap thrill but something serious and precious.

Should the love between husband and wife be stabilized in one solid central point, or should it be blown around by the wind? The love of husband and wife should become a stabilizing force, like the bubble in a horizontal level. Diamonds also have a certain stable structure that will not change. When this universal force of passionate love brings husband and wife together to be completely melted into one, then are they poor, oppressed prisoners, or can they really feel freedom and joy in their love? That is the kind of adults you must become, not just foolhardy and superficial. You must concretely anchor yourselves as a stabilizing force of the universe.

The breadth of your love determines your eternal value

When you get married you will eventually all get divorced, right? Why not? Once you know this truth you must live the truth, and if you even tried to separate you would be completely upset by the pain of it. You could not survive. If your love does not change then will your joyous singing and dancing change or not? As time goes by you may change your format, but your motivation for singing and dancing would have no reason to change because they are the expression of joy.

Men and women as husband and wife become the stabilizing central pole of the universe, bringing together heaven and earth. In both the physical world and the spirit world, the value of a couple is the same, and the more territory they conquer and embrace with their love here on earth, the more territory they can deal with in spirit world. The scope of that area will determine their depth of understanding in spiritual life and their value in spirit world. Ultimately how much you practice this principle here one earth shall become a measure of how much territory you deserve in heaven.

When you move your position away from the vertical line then you can no longer even talk about territory or about the Principle. Only once you have become stabilized in the central point and move along the vertical line will you have territory. Without doing this, your existence will be like dust or like the morning dew, which comes and goes. Only that one vertical line of love will link you with the universe.

If a circle represents the universe, the area below the central horizontal line represents the physical world and above, the spirit world. You can draw thousands of vertical lines within the circle, but there is only one longest vertical line that passes directly through the center. That is the line of love that I have been speaking about. In this bisected circle, the right side represents man, and the left side represents woman, each being equally distant from the center. When this man and woman come together in perfect unity in the center, a vertical line automatically comes into being.

It is a universal principle that where there is a perfect plus a perfect minus automatically comes into being. When a perfect minus exists then a perfect plus automatically comes into being; we can see that in the principle of electricity. Thus, when the completed, perfected husband and wife come together heaven and earth automatically come together, and the parents can appear. In our human relationships as individuals, when God and the individual become completely one in vertical unity, horizontal brotherly unity is automatically there. Before that could take place, however, the fall of man destroyed the entire universal foundation.

The point where men and women join together is the very point where God wants to dwell. This central line is the line of love. God is dwelling in the center of love, this line of husband and wife. Once there is true love uniting husband and wife their home becomes the dwelling place of God Himself. The family is directly connected to the eternal love of God, and God-centered unity, a God-centered life and a God-centered ideal come into being. Once you grab hold of that love you have hold of everything.

The maturing process of love

My subject today is, "The Greatest of All is Love." This has been Part I. In Part II, I want to speak about how we should live and apply the Principle here on earth. If I start on this it will take all morning, but shall we do it now?

After you are born you grow intimately in the love of your parents, but as you grow toward adulthood you gradually become more independent. Toward what are you moving? You are looking for your own mate, aren't you? Will your parents say, "You rascal! You loved us this far and now you are giving us up!" Or will they say, "My son, my daughter, this is your day; I understood you. Go ahead, look for your ideal mate."

Are parents despairing and despondent at such a time, or are they joyful? Where men and women become one the atmosphere is enriched. Children are born in the love of their parents, and grow in their love. At that time their love is in the formation stage. When children grow up they move gradually toward their own love, and in a marriage their love enters the growth stage. Are husband and wife content to just love each other or do they want to have something else? When they have a loving relationship with their own children their love is fulfilled on the perfection level.

God created man's life here on earth to encompass three full cycles of love. In the formation stage we experience receiving the love of parents. Love in the growth stage is the conjugal love of marriage. Love in its perfection is love of parents toward their children. Will your parents be jealous when they see how much you love their own grandchild, or will they be happy to see that you and your own children are so completely in love? The maturing of love is a natural process, and everyone will welcome it. Parents and children have an eternal relationship. That formation stage of love remains eternally; conjugal love is an eternal love, and the love of parents toward their children is also eternal. That is the common ground of love in which there is no change.

The basic building block of the Kingdom of God is the home; however, God's goal is not to have one home alone, but to expand into a society, nation, world, and universe. God's goal also includes the spirit world. You have to reach all the way out to the world and then return all the way back to the beginning point, your home. Don't you want to embrace the universe with your own arms? Do you want to grab it so you can extract some benefit, or do you want to embrace it in love? If the universe you embrace all of a sudden discovers you are the worst kind of criminal or dictator, it will revolt against you. However, if you love the universe it will want to remain in your embrace. How much do you want to love the world? Your standard is to love the world more than you love yourself and more than you love your own things.

What criteria determines if someone is an American patriot? If someone loves America more than his own wife and family, then he is a true patriot. The universe hopes to be loved by someone who can give more love to the universe than to his own life. Anyone who can be truly sacrificial, loving the nation more than his own family and things, is indeed the supreme patriot.

Great men and holy men

Going deeper, we could classify great people into two categories; one category is great people and the other includes saints or holy men. What is the difference? Every country can name its great people or powerful figures like heroes and patriots. From that nation's point of view a person may be great, but he may still not be a saint or holy man. A holy man or saint is the one who loves the entire world more than he loves himself, his own things, or even his own country. An American who loves the world enough to sacrifice himself, his family and his nation is indeed in the category of holy man or saint, for that is precisely what God has done.

God is the cause, and the person who can perfectly reflect God in his deeds is a saint. Let us examine God's pattern of work in restoration history. In order to save the world God gave His only begotten son and even allowed him to be killed. God has been sacrificing His own faithful people time after time, allowing those closest to Him to become martyrs in order to save the world. God does not punish His enemies or destroy evil people; instead He continually sacrifices His own people, His own sons and daughters, sustaining His hope for the salvation of the world. Therefore, throughout history the holy people are those who demonstrated the utmost quality of God's sacrificial spirit. To which category do you want to belong, the great men, or the saints?

When parents see their children mature and become adults beginning their own families, will they be heartbroken? Do parents grieve to see their sons and daughters becoming independent from the old family ties? Of course if that meant eternal separation they would be sad, but their children are actually just maturing into another stage of life, and when children become parents themselves they can appreciate their own parents much more.

When husband and wife experience conjugal love they feel, "This is the very love our parents experienced before we came." And when they become new parents and love their own child they deeply feel, "This is the very love we received from our own parents. This is the joy they felt." When you become mature you will be in a position to more deeply appreciate your relationship with your parents. It may seem like the birth of your own children could create more distance between you and your parents, but in actuality, through your experience of loving your own children you will certainly experience a new depth of the love of your parents.

God's law is such that you mature in love and advance from one stage to another: from parental love to conjugal love to the love of parents for children. That same development occurs in a horizontal way. Your love for your family expands into your love for your society. That expansion will not diminish your love for your family but will expand it into deeper maturity Your love of society will grow into love of the nation and the world, and each time your love will progress into a deeper maturity. If President Carter were to demonstrate such sacrificial spirit in the service of this country, literally sacrificing everything including his family, then the people of America would praise him, and make efforts to help his family. When a sacrificial spirit is shown in that way then the bond between the government and the people becomes deeper, and more sympathy can be shown by both.

If you demonstrate extraordinary sacrificial spirit in order to achieve some higher cause, then once you achieve that goal people will praise not only you but also those whom you had to sacrifice along the way. If a family was sacrificed for the purpose of the society then it would become a heroic example for others, receiving recognition and praise, and also serve in creating greater unity within the society. Why am I telling you this? Suppose that instead of pursuing only its own selfish benefit Americans were to demonstrate a sacrificial spirit for the sake of the world. After achieving that goal of world salvation, America would not be left destitute, but would be in a position to receive glory and gratitude.

Were one saint to give up everything-his own life, his own family and surroundings-in order to relieve mankind from sin and liberate God from His sorrow, then everything that he used as an instrument of his effort, everything he sacrificed for that purpose, would be immortalized and praised in the end. Everything that he sacrificed would join with him as part of his ultimate fulfillment.

Anyone living God's way of life can never be accused by Satan

The Unification Church is pursuing that goal of liberation, gathering together such beautiful young people from all races and all the six continents. We want to become a sacrifice for the sake of world salvation and the fulfillment of God's will, and once we achieve that goal we shall never be forgotten. Once the day of victory comes, not only will you participate in that achievement, but your life shall bring all mankind into glory.

Why will you never be forgotten? Those who participate in the fulfillment of God's ideal will have lived God's own way of life, which has been to sacrifice His own family for the salvation of His tribe, His tribe for the society, and His society for the nation and world. Because that is the way God lives, anyone who also follows this principle shall never be destroyed of diminished. God is taking that route because once the highest possible Kingdom of Heaven is built here on earth, Satan will no longer have any way to accuse.

The true religion must go the road of persecution, and the religion which can unite the world is going to receive unprecedented persecution. We do not offer any excuses or complaints since we know this as the truth and still choose this life. Instead we will just humbly obey God's mandate and go through this way silently. The Unification Church is destined to walk that path. For the sake of God's providence, can you sacrifice you own family and nation, and even sacrifice this world? How can you say yes? Deep in your heart you know that you are not going to lose anything; none of your sacrifice will ever be in vain, but shall reap the highest results. This is what you know in your heart.

Considered solely in commercial terms, this guaranteed return is really a fantastic deal. The Unification Church looks like a helpless lamb being clobbered by nation after nation, yet never attacking anyone in return. Don't we know how to fight? No, we know how to fight, but we have a reason and God has a reason to be patient. God has not yet allowed His anger to explode because His purpose is to save even one more soul. God can judge mankind at any time, but He is delaying judgment in order to save as many people as possible. That is the way He works.

God's strategy of sacrifice will bring greatest harmony

If we achieve world unification through this process then no one in the past, present, or future can criticize or discredit our accomplishment. Those who are now trying to destroy us shall soon be in a position to realize what kind of crime they are committing and then be overwhelmed in their repentance. They are judging themselves; they are not judging us.

If God is the king of wisdom then we must understand why God has taken this route. He adopted this strategy as the means to win the greatest of all victories. This strategy will readily expose those who have no faith in God. In Satan's world such sacrifice ends a relationship, but in God's way the sacrifice or separation will bring greater harmony; the greater the degree of separation the greater the resulting harmony. For a common purpose we all go in different directions, and though there is physical separation there is no such thing as spiritual loss because we are united in the same purpose. In God's world physical separation will bring greater harmony and greater accomplishment.

The selfish way of life is the satanic way of life, and the unselfish way of life is the God-centered way of life. But the unselfish way of life is the short-cut to reach the ideal world of God and is a life that will grow and expand. We must adopt this as our way of life. Will you live that way of life only until you get blessed, or even afterward? Will you further pursue it to the ultimate fulfillment of the victory of God?

This is my way of life. Mother and my own children have become a sacrifice, but I cannot give up the mission. Even if I were to die before winning the final victory, the purpose and course of the providence would not be ended. Once the dispensation for which I sacrificed myself and my family was fulfilled then God would be responsible to restore me and my family. God will be able to give me anything I desire, and I will ask, "First I want the salvation of the world; mankind must live. Next I want to see my family restored. "Then God will fulfill it. Therefore, sacrifice does not mean losing. This physical world is not our ultimate existence and sacrifice is the divine right to participate in the fulfillment of God's ultimate goal. Then beyond this world we have another, eternal home.

If I live and die solely for the sake of mankind, then where will mankind go? Someday we will all meet in the eternal spirit world. The pinnacle of our lives is not reached in the few short decades of our time here on earth. The measure of how much heaven you deserve in the eternal world is determined by how much you demonstrate a sacrificial spirit for the sake of the world while you are here on earth. I want you to remember that.

Your parents may not understand you at this time and your own nation of America does not understand you, but I want you to understand that this is temporary. You can tell them to wait a while and be patient, and you also should be patient. This separation is not ultimate and eternal at all, but instead you are going to reap blessing for them and embrace them, and they shall be grateful to you. That is the way I have lived. In Korea I gave up everything and underwent the most intolerable persecution, always being chased and accused. I never lived my life for myself or my own family, but solely for the fulfillment of God's will. In America I am walking that same path.

Such a rich nation as America should be ashamed by its treatment of me and this church, but let their accusations come regardless. No one in the media wants to admit that I owe nothing to America, but that in reality America is indebted to me, both spiritually and physically. Other nations send their representatives to this nation to somehow convince America to give them more money and more help, but I did exactly the opposite. I came to give my own life and everything I have for the sake of this nation's prosperity.

America has scornfully mistreated not only me but you so far. However, once they know the truth and realize what kind of relationship we have with God then they will surrender to us. We have that goal and that hope, and even though we are being hit we still move forward. Nothing can deter us. All of our sacrifice shall bear fruit so our everyday way of life is the sacrificial way of life. Every bit of it shall be reaped, even if I myself become a sacrifice because of America's misunderstanding. If that is not the case then what I am teaching is all lies.

How is this nation going to pay its debt? I must leave some opportunity for America to pay back its debt, even if it is done by the descendants of those who misunderstood me during my lifetime. One way I can do that is through continuous, unconditional forgiveness of this nation. That has been God's way of life. God's heart embraces even His own enemy, and will never denounce or cut him off. This law is the force governing and uniting you people.

What kind of power can break us and separate us from that love? The power of love alone can conquer everything. Love will bring eternal victory and eternal heaven. When you possess that particular love of God then you can climb as high as you desire and do anything you want! That love alone can give you complete liberation. That is my destination, what about you? God bless you. Let us pray.

Leadership: To MFT Captains

Sun Myung Moon
March 16, 1977
World Mission Center
Translator - Bo Hi Pak

As a leader you are not only responsible for yourself but for your members. Anytime you are not leading you should always be thinking about what you will do when you are. You know very clearly that as a fund raising team leader your members will all resemble you. You have to clearly show them the way because unless you show them they will never learn.

Do you know which is the best team in the United States? Do you know who the best team leader is? I want each one of you to think all the time about who is the best leader and then pay close attention to him so that you can learn from him. You should ask him what he does to be the best team leader in all America.

If 74 people fund raise they will use 74 different methods; however, there is only one best way out of the 74. When someone is the best then everyone should learn his way. Those who have no idea who is the best can never be the best themselves. The way to improve yourself is to follow the example of the most successful man.

The first criterion of leadership is organization; you have to organize efficiently. Second, you must always have a sense of responsibility for your own team, and in addition you have to teach each of your team members to have a sense of responsibility. After you have done these three things then check how intensely you work. At that point your enthusiasm and long hours of work will mean everything. You will succeed when you have all of these.

You have to standardize your method of doing things. You must have a clear idea of what you are going to do, and all your members must know what they are going to do. If any of them has a better way of doing things, of course let him suggest it. Organization, a strong sense of responsibility, enthusiasm and long hours of work are all very essential, but there is still one more crucial element: clear direction.

The fastest, easiest way to find the best method is to adopt the best man's technique for yourself. After I came to America I first thought about how to create the most efficient organization. Once that organization was built then I felt that I had to take all the responsibility on myself. As long as I feel that way I can make you men of responsibility also.

I put these things into practice with more intensity than anyone else. I put in longer hours than anybody else. I am always thinking about which direction to go and which method to use. When you move into an unfamiliar area, you must first analyze the situation. When you think you know the best way, then put it into practice.

How are you going to learn about that precious new area? Going there to feel it out yourself will take too long. The fastest way is to send a few people ahead of the team and let them talk to real estate men and taxi drivers. Such people usually know an area and can describe it better than anybody else.

I had to really grasp the heart of the matter in planning for the Washington Rally. Because I could see the situation very clearly and other people could not, I just pushed ahead. In the same way you have to make a good estimate of your area. If you send some people out as your sensors, like nerve endings, and have them bring you back information, then you can immediately come to a conclusion and succeed.

I am telling you this because we should have the best organization in the world. We are not just writing names down on cards. Our planning and organization must be workable, not just idealistic. It is good if you have a sense of responsibility yourself, but it will not accomplish anything until all your members also have that same sense of responsibility. Your problem is how to transfer your standard to them. You have to study this process all the time.

Does anyone here think that he has the best organization? Can you say that you have been thinking about this all the time and training your members in such a direction? When Mr. Kamiyama reports to me, he tells me about the teams-who he thinks has an aptitude for fund raising or who might be better witnessing-but I never believe a word. A slow starter can prove to be the fastest runner. I only consider a person after he has had a chance to improve himself.

Just because a baby cannot run the moment he is born we certainly cannot say that he will never run. We have to give a person a chance to improve himself, and explain many things to him so that he will feet a sense of responsibility. In the beginning you may have to carry him along, not on your back, but by working with him side by side for two days, teaching him how to do everything. Do you ever think in that way?

Unless you feel that, you will just be using the people on your team, and after they finish working with you they will go downhill spiritually. You cannot borrow a person from another area or from other people and just expect him to work. You have to love and feed him, care for him in every way; then he will work wholeheartedly with you.

Who is a man of responsibility? He is the one who is determined to make his followers also men of responsibility. A false leader is always saying, "Do this and do that," but never does those things himself. He never works. The man of responsibility, the front-line leader, should always work harder and better than other people, then they will follow him. If you live that way yourself then you will not have to tell your members to follow you; they will want to follow you on their own. Perhaps you have lots of enthusiasm and your members are inspired to work very hard, but if they get very little result they will stop working. You have to be smart as well as enthusiastic. One good quality in a leader is not enough; you have to be good at everything.

If you know how to shoot a rifle or artillery but in the heat of battle you don't aim correctly, the shells may land on your own troops and kill your own men. This happens in real life. To know where to shoot, a gunner has to know generally what the terrain is like and where his men are, and then he can adopt the best method.

The first necessity is organization, the second is a sense of responsibility and the third is knowing how to put these into practice. In carrying these out you must first have enthusiasm. For instance, I automatically felt that I was going to come up here very early in the morning. Why? I never plan that I will work at one hour, and then rest at another hour. I never know when I am going to work and when I am going to rest; I may work for 24 hours. When other people are sleeping and eating then I always think about getting ahead by working more hours. In that way I will surely be the winner.

When the time comes I will put you to work in the middle of the night rather than in the day time, and then I will start your training program early in the morning. Do not ever think that because you never heard or thought about such a method of working that this is the Oriental way. In the Unification Church we have a unique way that is unparalleled by other people.

Are you going to be a loser? No one will sympathize with the loser. But you will never be losers. Never be discouraged by everything that people say to you; just go forward and win. So far in America, have I lost or won? I had to win because no one else is living up to my way of doing things. Are you going to be losers or winners?

Being winners will be relatively easy. The way do to it is to put in more hours and have more enthusiasm than others, plus excellent organization and a sense of responsibility. I know that all 74 of you have these qualities, but still you have 74 different methods to win, which are not all equally good. They rank from the best to the worst. To be successful you must adopt the method of the best man out of the 74 of you.

If you have put in longer hours and been more enthusiastic than other people, but were still unsuccessful, then there's only one explanation: your method is wrong. This is the one thing that you must always be wanting to learn; I am always thinking about that also. If you seek out the best method all the time, then in two or three years you will have much experience and you can become the top man.

At the same time, let your members give suggestions about the best method to use and give comments about themselves. If you are confident of having the best way, do not just insist that your members follow your way. If one of them comes up to suggest his own idea, even if you think he is wrong, do not say, "No, just hush up and listen to me." Rather, try to find the good points in his suggestion and agree with him on those. If you come to realize that someone is actually better than you in some ways, then you can always accept suggestions from him. You need to have vast information.

We do our best when we are competing with each other in a good sense. Do you have that sense of competition? Whether you succeed or not in the long run all depends on how I lead you. The criterion that I go by is not your face or your attitude; I give you a chance to come up with the best result. Naturally that has to be my criterion, no matter what faults you have. Is that a wrong way of evaluating people?

The man who is closest to the Principle should always bring in the better result, but even a genius may go up and down. If you notice in yourself a tendency to go up and down, then you must find a way to correct that. You have to make yourself dependable. A person may win some victories, but if he is also often at the bottom, then I cannot afford to depend on him.

If I see a high team average, I think that is good, but if I see that each member has a similar high average then I value that team even more because I know that it is a stable team. Once you are stable as a leader your team will grow. For your first few months or even the first year it is too early to tell about you. But after a long time, if your teams are still up and down, with some members having very high results and others very low results, even though your team average is very good, the situation reflects your poor organization. By looking at all the results together I can tell very much about what has happened on a team. Can you see things the way I do now? A good leader has to be leader of heart, but at the same time he has to be smart. He must be able to evaluate the whole environment.

When I came to America I broadened the way for fund raising all by myself. Did you know that? When I first came to America one leader was really elated because of the fund raising he had started. I understood the situation, but I thought to myself, "I can do ten times better than that."

I had an idea and told them the new standard. Nobody believed it in the beginning, and people said that I just didn't understand America. To that leader it was like a dream because we had no factory or capital. But very soon I accomplished that goal.

But now you know all these things and you are actually doing it yourselves. Now that we have bought the New Yorker Hotel and the Tiffany Building, when I say that I am going to buy the Empire State Building even business men are not surprised. They know that eventually we will have much more property. Now that people know that I can do anything I set my mind to, even Congress is uneasy for fear that I will want to control it.

We must have a more efficient organization and greater sense of responsibility about America than the Senators and Congressmen. Often they only think about how to stay in office, worrying that after the next election someone else may take their seat. A Congressman's wife may nag him to not work such long hours.

But we will think about America's whole situation and will work longer hours than anyone else to put these objectives and sense of responsibility into practice. I know how to do this, and once we all have this standard it will be very easy to outdo any existing organization. Does it stand to reason?

Be sure of what you are fund raising for. The objective is not to make a few thousand dollars; your overall goal is much greater than that. While you are Teaming how to get the best result, without even realizing it you are also walking the road to perfect leadership, so that in three years you can go to a state and effectively lead a thousand people.

This is not just wishful thinking. I am not just trying to stimulate you to do more in the short run. By doing this I am training you for the future. To amount to anything in the future you have to be able to raise your own money. Now you are pretty confident as far as that goes, right? You know now that you can at least make money, but you are still learning how to raise people. What you are hoping is that I will give you more people so that you can do even better.

I think that you have already accomplished half of your qualification. But the other qualification for leadership concerns manpower. If you can fund raise well you shouldn't have too much difficulty in securing manpower. This is what you will have to do in the future. I am thinking about using the top team leaders for witnessing.

Why would I change your mission when you are so experienced in raising money? Actually money is of secondary importance; restoring people is our primary goal. To do that, there is only one rule-to love the people in the same way that a father loves his son. That is the greatest rule in raising people. After that you can apply the basic principle of leadership which I just explained. Once you have a knack for good organization then I think that people will easily come to you and you will have many members in a few months or years. After that your success will be guaranteed.

If you know how to win people and educate them, and if you know how to earn money, then what else can you do? Actually even many Congressmen or Senators do not have these qualities to a great degree. You would be surprised how many Congressmen depend on other people to subsidize them in running for office. They depend on other people's help, whereas we depend on our own abilities.

Once you are trained I think that whether you will win or lose is just a formality. I will figure out how to give you a college degree, but that is no problem. We already have a newspaper, and the seminary that is underway is the prototype of our university. Always remember that you are well along the path with this clear objective. Some people accuse me of trying to use the American people, but that has never been true.

You may be wondering how this connects to the dispensation of restoration. God created the world of all things first, and then Adam and Eve. Because of the fall we must recreate Adam and Eve. This is our responsibility in the restoration.

When we have good organization, a deep sense of responsibility, and we carry out our plans meticulously then we can pull the spirit world down to cooperate with us. With the help of spirit world we are going to re-create all things. The next 3 1/2 years will focus on restoring men, very much like the period of God creating Adam. If we have the confidence to restore all things through fund raising, then we will have the confidence to restore mankind through witnessing.

Then what would you do to be with God? You must become parents, in which case your responsibility is to love all things and all mankind. That is the position of the True Parents. You are going to accomplish this with the True Parents, side by side, and become good ancestors for your own descendants. This course is very clear; we have to restore the lost creation, the lost people, and then become one with the True Parents and establish ourselves on God's side. This is the basic course which you will go, not only on a small scale but on the worldwide scale, even including the spirit world. This is why it is important.

We cannot help but win if we work hard enough to never be outdone by the past, present or future. Even the people who oppose us acknowledge our enthusiasm and say that they respect the Unification Church at least for that. If they have the least bit of respect for us they will eventually come to us.

When you are competing with other people to bring the result, you must automatically remember the steps for winning as well as the path of restoration. Have you ever thought about that? When we start to do something we had better be confident; otherwise what we do is not substantial. Before I do anything I always make sure I am confident.

The media tends to put labels on people; for instance, they call me an industrialist. Actually what they are getting at is that I know how to make money. I see great opportunities for raising money, even fortunes. They also call me an evangelist, meaning that I know how to win people or how to restore people. We know that their labels do not give the whole picture. Otherwise, how could we even continue here, with all the negativity and pressure from your families and society? However, we are still confident to go on, even stronger than before.

God created the world in a certain sequence and we are going to restore the world in the same sequence. When we examine history its pattern follows that same sequence. In the Old Testament days people offered animal sacrifice which represented all things. Through doing that according to the Mosaic Law, people of that era could show their faith in God.

In the New Testament era man was emphasized instead of the things of creation. Jesus Christ gave himself as the offering and many good men were martyred in the New Testament era. Now in the Completed Testament era God is restoring the True Parents and the true children.

In what position are we? It is impossible to go on the growth stage without the foundation of the formation stage or to enter the perfection stage without both the formation and growth stages. To make restoration complete we have to have all three stages, not just one. Since the formation and growth stages have been accomplished already, we are now in the perfection stage. There has been a vertical development of history, but now we are expanding it horizontally. Now beyond the level of the Old Testament and the New Testament age offerings, we are coming to the very core of things. In God's view the Old Testament stage is the outer layer, the New Testament stage is the middle layer, and the Completed Testament stage is closest to the center of the universe.

It is in perfect accordance with the Principle that the essence of each age is now being developed horizontally. The Old Testament era is represented in the things of creation; the New Testament era is represented by people, and the Completed Testament era or perfection stage is represented by the True Parents and true children. Now all mankind is being elevated to that stage.

When all this materializes, you will find yourself in a much more elevated situation than Adam and Eve. All they could do was pick fruits to eat, and they did not even have decent clothing to wear. If you cannot raise yourself to the parents' position, how can you say you are better than Adam and Eve? if you boost yourself to perfection then you are the fruit of the Old Testament and New Testament eras. When you are in that position, the world will move when you move, and it will stop when you stop. Is this more real to you than your breakfast, which you can taste?

I always teach you substantial things, not vague ideas. The point is that we should want to work even more than we desire to eat. If you are hungry and want to eat, but even more than that you want to do your work, then you understand how you ought to be. If you are concerned least about your appetite then you are OK. Do you think you can fail if you feel that way?

When you go back to your teams are you going to put all these things into practice? Do not ever think that rain is a barrier, or that you should stay inside and not work because of cold weather. Can you kill your appetite because it is too cold or because it is raining too much? Likewise we cannot say that we should not work because it is raining.

We have to work longer than the time that we spend in eating and sleeping. Then we will be successful. We must want to do our work more than we ever desired to love someone in the fallen world. nose who think they can do that, raise your hand.

Then why are you going to work so hard? Is it because you want to make a lot of money or because you want to get married? First you have to occupy God and His love and then get married. All of these will come to pass in that order. We have to go to the highest level of giving before we can occupy God's heart and receive God's attention; otherwise, God will elude us. We will not catch God if we do not do our utmost.

Now you know the real reason why you should do your utmost: to win God's love and recognition. Then and only then will you know the living God. Then you can receive all of God's love, and have His power welling up inside of you.

When you get plenty of sleep, then repent and re-determine yourself to work harder than you slept. After you eat some good meal then, too, you should think about working harder than you enjoyed your food. No one is watching you all the time except the only one that matters: God. I am telling you again and again that this is the kind of person God loves and that the True Parents love.

Because of the fall we must offer our economic activity and witnessing to God; this is the price we have to pay for the fall. Since this is ultimately the purpose of all men, we are going the right way. What can I be proud of after I go to spirit world? God will say to me, "You have so many true children of your own." This is my only source of pride before God. In turn you will go the same way; God will be proud of you when you have your own generation of restored children.

We must always review our lives and check whether we are going the right way or whether we need to be corrected. If we need to correct something, we must repent and do it. Our criterion is this: we need to be shameless before all things and all people. We have to do everything in order to achieve that. After that we must also be qualified to have children who care more for us than anything.

Do all things belong to you or to the universe? Before anything belongs to you it belongs to the whole universe. Before you can claim that things belong to you, you must have the perfect universal character. We have not known this because of the fall, but now we will elevate ourselves to become real children of God. Then God will say, "Yes, the universe is yours." God's children have the privilege of inheriting their Father's belongings. We have to understand clearly why we should do these things. Do all the people belong to you or to the universe? We cannot think lightly of anyone because we do not yet have a universal character. With such a character we can have all of creation with us, and all people and we can even possess God.

Do you feel confident that you have that universal character? We have money here that you can spend freely, but when you are hungry what do you think about first? Do you think first about eating, or about all the creation, all people and God?

Even the pocket money you can spend at will, must first belong to the universe. The universe would want you to spend it for the larger purpose first. If you do not do that then you are violating a strict heavenly law. In the future, when we ask, "Are you a man who is not shamed before man or creation?" then you ought to be able to say yes. When you are dealing with people, do not ever think of yourself as being in a higher position. Do not ever think of people as handsome or ugly. A person of universal character would never view someone else that way. We must become people unashamed of ourselves. If you can think about God and still not be ashamed, then you have passed the most difficult examination. If you are a man of universal character then all things will come after you and all men will try to belong to you. Even God will come to you. This is so basic that if it were not true, then there would be no reason for God to exist either, and even if God existed He could never realize His ideal without a universe of this character.

This training session is very short, but after hearing the words that I have spoken to you during this time you will certainly change, won't you? This is not only my philosophy, but this is in accordance with Principle.

I can make friends with all of nature, even with insects. If I go out to a field and find some insect then I quickly become friends with it. Can you understand what that really means? I know you are amazed to realize how much closer you feel to nature after a few minutes of my talking like this. Without knowing these things you will never get close to God, man or nature, no matter how many thousands of years you try. This is why the Bible clearly promises that you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.

If your team has earned a certain amount of money, can you then make a false report? Can you keep any of that money for yourself? That is just as dreadful as cutting your own head in half. Usually I do not have any money because money no sooner comes in than I spend it. But I always spend it for the larger purpose. I know the value of the universe, and I know that mankind and all things would want to see money spent that way. I ask the money in my pocket, "How would you like to be spent-on the New Yorker Hotel or on shoes for me?" A person should apologize to his money when he has to spend it on himself. I really think that when I buy things. As I give the money in payment I say, "I will see you again when I buy greater things." Since this follows heavenly law, don't you think the money would feel good?

We all know that even small insects have a direction; when the sun rises it has one direction too, doesn't it? Likewise, a godly mind has a clear direction. All things try to act like that.

When you are working on your mission do you sometimes think of me? Actually you should be shedding tears and then thinking about me. Do you sometimes want to see me more than you want to eat? Once you become like that then the spirit world will open to you and teach you everything. Then you will know what will happen to you and your team, and you can be prepared. You will not know intellectually but spiritually.

If you deeply want to learn more about God then that desire becomes like an invisible antenna and God and the spirit world will communicate thoughts and feelings to you. This will work for anyone, not just for some people. The most profound experiences will come when you really shed tears and want to see me in the midst of difficulties. Then spiritually I will appear in person and explain exactly what the difficulty is and how to solve it.

Such experiences are 100% possible. If you are not like that already then you still have room to improve. I have cried more than anyone else on earth, past or present, wanting so badly to see God. Only in becoming like that can you know my heart and receive this heritage. The world of that heart is absolutely real, and you are not very far from it. You need only to break through a few layers to also become like that. You have already heard the simple rule for meeting God. Compare which is stronger-your sense of hunger, or your desire to meet God. When you love and miss someone then compare that to your intensity of feeling toward God. If your feeling toward God is stronger, then you will know that you have passed the test.

When you go to sleep with this longing then the moment that you first open your eyes you will again find that longing for God. Even when you are hungry, try to think about other people. We may launch a weeklong campaign of not sleeping and then you will be better prepared to understand this. Without exception every worthwhile religion advocates denying yourself by overcoming your desire to eat, to sleep and to have sex. That is your checklist. You must always evaluate yourself according to these criteria.

Another way of putting it is that you should always have the feeling that you are in debt. Even if people do not quite develop a universal character after a lifetime of trying, if they have tried then they can at least stand on that, and they will go to paradise. But we have to think about the ideal and then actually carry it out. Our ideal is never static. Before you can carry it out you have to know all these things.

When you have finished your day's activity, then you ought to do still a little more if you really want to see God. In witnessing, if you feel that you have done a full day's work, push yourself a little more in hopes of seeing God instead of resting. This is an incredible way, but this is the only real way. It is not contradictory to say that it is a glorious way, too.

I can imagine all the things that have gone through your mind, feeling fear, wanting to be transferred to another position, wanting to go to seminary, or thinking how unfair it is that you are still on MFT after three years. But I want to remind you that in these three years you have been re-creating yourself, and that life in the world of the heart is actually the most profound. So no matter how long you are on MFT it can only improve you; that is why you stay there.

Always remember one thing -- God has never forgotten you. You may have forgotten Him, but He will never forget you. So as long as you are called to go this way, do it; that is the best way for you. No one is more qualified to complain than I am, but if I started complaining, it would make a mountain. Instead I dig deeper, like going down in a mine, and I find even more precious jewels. This has always been true. Actually the one who complains cannot go forward because he is putting limits on himself. Nobody is making him stop except himself.

So far, have you worked as a qualified man of God, or are you still experimenting? Do you cross back and forth over your boundaries or do you stay on one side most of the time? From now on, where will you dwell? On God's side? As long as you abide by your promise I can guarantee your success.

I have given the standard and it should be carried out. After accomplishing it then you can realistically hope for something better. But without achieving it first, your hopes are not so realistic.

As a team captain you should always figure out how much better you can do this month than last month. Then you can make a plan, taking into consideration all the personalities on your team. Make a workable plan and really stretch yourself to fulfill it. Are you going to do that?

Before leaving here for your own area, pledge to God in deepest prayer to show Him your new standard. Once you go out, try your best to meet that standard.

Your objective this month is to break your old record. Each one has to work in a very integrated way. You have to evaluate your situation correctly, so spend some time in prayer. Once you go back you will be different and will be a new example. Once you make your standard permanent then even if you make mistakes in the future, you will never fall below that standard.

It is important that you achieve that standard, because even though you may lose everything else you will still have that standard. Once it becomes established it will become your record, which will never change. Now you know clearly the path and direction to take. This has been our best meeting, and I will watch and see if you have truly understood what has been said.

Who Was I?

Sun Myung Moon
March 13, 1977
Belvedere, New York
Translator - Bo Hi Pak

The topic of my message this morning is "Who Was I?" Throughout the entire history of mankind the problem has always been "I." You are citizens of this nation but that category alone does not adequately describe who you are. You can trace your family tree, searching deeply into the root of your heritage to your grandfather, your great-grandfather, and continue all the way to the origin of human existence. When you say "ancestors," you always think of your grandparents, and perhaps your great-great-grandparents, but beyond that you have little concept of your ancestry. It is not real to you.

As we read about the thousands of years of human history we find that some people were evil and some good. As we took around at our society and nation we find that today also there are good people and evil people. It follows then that there were good and evil people both in history and in your ancestry. What kind of ancestors do you have? Can you be completely confident that you have no evil ancestors, or do you have a mixture of good and evil in your past? There are so many kinds of personalities; in your lineage there may even have been some traitors who betrayed the nation.

Actually you have two family trees: your father's and your mother's. These two entirely different family trees merge in you. In addition, your mother's tree and father's tree both have two lineages, and each of your grandparents also have two lineages. As we look far back in history your entire lineage can be seen to spread over a great area. You are the fruit of a vast family tree. Just to understand this tangled mixture of family trees is too tedious for us; we do not even want to bother. When we look at our present world we know that what is happening today on the horizontal level is a repetition of what has happened throughout history.

Who are you and whom do you resemble? The simple answer is that you resemble your father and your mother. However, you are the product of both your father's and mother's entire lineage, and every cell in your body contains some component of your entire ancestry.

In the back yard of East Garden there is an apple tree that is probably 20 or 30 years old. When it bears apples they represent 30 years of growth, not just the current year. We can say that the fruit is 30 years old. In the same way you are historical beings. Your "I" did not just pop out of heaven. "I" is linked to the past, the present and the future. When we dig deeper and deeper to find the ultimate cause of the universe, we will see that our lives are connected to the origin, which is God. Since God created mankind and the entire universe, then "I" must be in the image of that particular God.

If there is a God then He must be good. Therefore we too, should be born good in the image of God. However, from the beginning to the present time there have been so many evil deeds and sins committed that we are now quite separated from God. There is a large gap between God and our present selves. We are the extension of God who is good, but our extension of Him is stained and dirty. When God looks down upon the posterity of His own family tree He wants to get rid of all the dirt. You do not even need to know the Bible to see that there is a gap between God and us and that we have been stained.

How did we become stained?

What has made us so dirty throughout these many years of history? Were we born as sinful people to begin with, or have we just slipped into filthy places and become stained? Certainly we have slipped into filthy places, but does anyone like dirty things? When we look into the past, have there been more people working to cleanse sin or to multiply it?

What is the origin of this dirty situation? Actually it begins from "me," and I can say that I received it from my parents, who received it from my grandparents, and they from my great-grandparents. Sin is inherited from our ancestors, who are contaminated by sin. Then what made our ancestors dirty?

The essential truth is that our ancestors thought of themselves as being the center of everything; their own egos and selfishness are what stained them. If our ancestors had sought to make themselves clean, they would have emptied themselves and lived in sacrificial service to others. If they had found something more precious than themselves then they could not have become stained. But what could be more precious than themselves? They had to realize that they were resultant beings. Our ancestors should have recognized that there was an Original Being in the position of cause and subject, and that they were the reflection of that cause. They had to recognize first that there is a God who is the eternal subject of all humanity, that He is good, and that they had to live for Him. If anyone in history had consciously lived for God and for His purpose, that person could never have stained himself.

God and nature are universal

God is the center of the entire universe. He is not a small, local God; He is universal, and the reflection of that God is the entire universe. God is the subjective cause and the entire universe of creation is His object. God is in the center of the entire spirit world, while we men are the center of this visible universe, the physical world. Man has inborn traits that qualify him for this position, for instance, the desire to excel others and to stand out in the world, to be respected by all mankind. Do we have that ambition?

To become a person who is recognized worldwide you must become a person who lives and breathes the worldwide situation daily. Think of it, when you have bread in your mouth whose bread are you eating-your own bread or the bread of the world? If your food represents the entire world, which is more precious, you or that bread? If you are existing solely for your own selfish and egoistic purpose while your bread is representing the entire world, which is more precious? At every breakfast you should say, "Mr. Bread, sir, I salute you." Why do you laugh? You laugh because you feel it is impossible for the bread to be more valuable than you.

Think of the air that you breathe; it belongs to the universe and is in a universal position. Did you buy this air? Is it yours? When you breathe this air do you ever think about whether you are even qualified to breathe it? Have you ever thought of air in this way, "I'm breathing somebody else's air. Do I have a right to breathe it?" Or do you assume you have a right to breathe it?

Think of a glass of water; does it belong to you? Have you ever had the power to create one drop of water? The water belongs to the universe. The water and the air do not belong to evil or self-centered persons; they belong to the universe and to those of universal purpose. What about sunlight? Are the sun rays yours? They are in a universal position. If you are centered only upon yourself and you breathe this air and dominate nature for your own enjoyment, all these things will abhor being subjugated by you.

Sometimes we see people outside protesting against us. Have you ever thought of the water demonstrating, saying, "I belong to God and to the universe; I don't want to go into the body of this self-centered, egoistic individual. I protest! I'm not going!" Do you think water has sufficient reason to protest against evil people? How about grains of wheat, sunshine, and air? Do they have cause to demonstrate?

The most powerful things in existence in this universe are not the things that are man-made. The sun's rays, water, air -- these are some of the most powerful things in the universe because without them none of us can exist even for two minutes. Have you ever thought of this? This nation has the atomic bomb, but compared to the power of sunshine, air or water, the bomb is a peanut. Suppose the atoms of the air got together with a plan to change this evil world by having a revolution. Air has the power to change the world because within minutes everyone would have to surrender or suffocate.

Are all of these natural things individualistic or universal? Even one bird or small animal belongs to the universe and is a universal being. Have you ever thought about things in this way, about whether you even deserve to have all these things? Do you serve as a subject of these things? Do you have the right to possess and enjoy them?

You must become universal

All your surroundings belong to the universe. Unless you make yourself a universal being and become tied to the universal cause, God, you must realize that all nature around you will not want to be possessed by you or be of service to you. You must become their subject first by making yourself a universal being who is connected to the original cause. Then you are in a position to care for, love, and enjoy the universe. If you make yourself a universal being, connected to the fundamental origin of the universe, then the sunrays will want to come and warm your body. Water will want to get into your mouth and air will want to go into your lungs.

When nature is willing to serve you, that air, water and sunshine are far better than any tonic or medicine. The person who deserves the honor of the service of all nature will not catch colds or be seriously ill; he will be healthy for his entire life. Would you like to be someone recognized by the world as a worldwide person? What if you are clumsy, tall and very ugly? Even then you still have the right to become a person respected worldwide by making yourself into a universal man and by connecting yourself to the original subject of the universe.

Let us say that among several friends you have one who is always giving you a hard time, continuously nagging you to pay more attention to him. When you look at that person his face is ugly, always trying to snap at you, complaining that you do not pay enough attention to him. Such a person would come to you and then turn around and kick you. Would you want to be around him?

Compare that kind of relationship to your relationship with the universe. There are two kinds of people. Some continuously nag, "Why didn't the sun come out today? Why is the world so dirty? Why couldn't God make me happier?" Such people have only complaints toward God and nature. Will nature like them? Nature will turn around and kick them instead. Such people may try to make themselves happy by going to the health spa and exercising, but everywhere they go they will be surrounded by enemies; the air will shove them, the water slap them, and the sunshine bum them. That kind of person will never be healthy.

The entire natural world has but one universal mind, and as a result the relationship between you and nature should be thought of as the relationship between you and your neighbor. What makes your friend happy or unhappy? Your answer directly applies to your relationship with nature.

Why did our ancestors not leave us a clean, pure heritage? Why did they leave us an evil history? The answer can only be that they did not obey the universal law of service, that they violated the divine law of the universe, desiring to make everything serve them: "The world is mine and must come to serve me." That basic attitude is the worst violation of universal law.

In order to become lords of creation we must possess universal character and comply with universal law, meaning that we must become unselfish people, existing solely for service to others. We all want to become recognized as a center of the world, recognized by the universe. In order to do that we ourselves must recognize the value of the universe; we must live in the concept that we are here solely to serve the world. Unless you have that personality you certainly cannot become a central person of the world or the universe.

God is the center of the universe, the spirit world and physical world together, because He is perfect and exists solely for the sake of others. By living in that way God is making Himself the center of the universe. I am sure you understand.

We come to the one absolute criterion: Those who serve themselves, trying to take everything for their own benefit, will produce only evil results. Those who willingly and lovingly give for the benefit of others will bring wholesome results, and add benefit to the side of good. What kind of persons were your ancestors? By only thinking about themselves and their own families, they did not expand their personality to the national or worldwide levels.

No matter what you have previously learned, regardless of how good or well-spoken a person may appear, if he seeks to use everything for his own benefit he is evil. The person who thinks of the difference between his own children and other children is not a universal person; if his children are universal beings then all other children are also universal beings. His wife is precious because she is a universal being; therefore all other women are also important and precious. In this respect we have not liberated the selfishness of our egos. That godly way of life has not been clear.

What is a saint?

You want to become a good person who is respected worldwide, isn't that true? A saint is a person of worldwide respect. What is a saint? First, saints recognize God as the first cause of the universe and are primarily religious leaders, like Jesus, Buddha or Mohammed. They recognize God and try to live in service to God; their aim is to serve the entire universe and mankind. This service is their outstanding trait. Actually, saints are the type of people who want to make themselves the subject of the whole universe, becoming respected on the worldwide level by serving the world.

Which comes first, the universe or history? Does the universe come within history or history within the universe? Do you want to become an historical or universal person? Do you have confidence to become a universal person? What kind of God do we have, universal or historical? When you make yourself a universal person, are you making yourself a friend of God? All the saints of history were friends of God, the type of people who lived their lives thinking entirely of the well being of the universe, the well being of humanity and ultimately the well-being of God. Let me then ask: Who are you?

Think about the question, "Who am I?" Compare your personality to the personality of a saint, who lives for the divine purpose of the universe and humanity and God. How small you are or how big you are depends on whether or not you live on that level. If there were a certain academic standard to meet to become a saint, then what level would you be? Kindergarten?

Even to reach kindergarten at the University of Saints is not easy. What kind of student are you? Are you well groomed and behaving correctly, listening to the teacher, or are you a sloppy, inattentive student, dressed in smelly rags? What kind of standing do you have? Most of you have a very poor standing, even in the kindergarten of saints. You are so smelly that when the teacher comes to teach he just can't stand to be in the classroom and runs away.

With such a poor standing, can we come out and demand that God recognize us? Can we claim to be His son or daughter and ask for treats or some allowance? Do we deserve all His wonderful things? Do you think God will instantly respond to that kind of student? Actually you know what kind of God He is and what your standing is. The right thing for you to ask is, "God, please don't come now because I am not quite ready. I want to wash myself and go to the laundry first and get myself prepared for you."

What kind of prayer do you offer? Have you been humbly praying, "God, I know the truth; I am striving but I am not quite ready to meet you. Give me a little time to grow. Let me perfect myself a little further and I will be ready for You some day." Has that been your prayer, or have you been praying, "God, why don't you come? I am a member of the Unification Church; I follow Reverend Moon and I deserve your love! Give me your power and let me conquer the world." When we fully realize where we are, that kind of prayer is quite a joke.

We come to the most important conclusion that we were not born for ourselves. God created us to be the center of the universe, the center of His whole creation. God bestowed upon us the responsibility of taking care of the world and truly becoming respected as the lords of creation.

The more you serve, the more you become the central, subjective figure. Young people today simply think, "Why should I be foolish and worry about serving others; I'm going to live my own life." That seems to be very clever thinking, but actually it is violating universal law and is not clever at all.

If a wealthy father has many children and wants to write a will to divide his inheritance, which child will inherit the most? The child who really has the caliber and ability to use this material for the benefit of others and who has a sense of service deserves to receive more. By serving others you will become a central person, This principle is never going to change.

America many decline but this law of the universe will not change. No matter how powerful the communists are, even if they have conquered most of the world, if they violate this law they will decline. By following this principle you will become a strong, powerful, influential person, and you will remain in that position as long as you adhere to this principle.

Think about Hitler. He was arrogant, proclaiming that the German race was superior to all others and had the right to conquer the world. He felt that the entire universe should come under the German race. Joseph Stalin believed that communism was supreme and that the entire world should be subjugated by that ideology.

What is my position? Some of our critics say that I am worse than Hitler or Stalin. They can only say such things because they do not see the real content of my ideal, my heart or my ideology. However, the content of my philosophy is entirely different from Hitler's or Stalin's. I teach that you must go and serve the world.

Love your opponents

The Washington Post, New York Times, and all the media have committed a tremendous crime by unjustly attacking me and reporting allegations that I am evil and corrupt. Even so, I have never responded to that by seeking retaliation of a tooth for a tooth or evil for evil. Not at all. I only have a prayerful mind to forgive them. I can foresee that some day all the media shall become the instruments of God. There is hope that in the future the media will become of service to God, however inadequate and evil they are now.

Because the Unification Church has come under fire many parents have come against us, uniting with the deprogrammers and kidnappers. We are the focal point of much controversy, but if we turn around and fight back, there will be chaos in this country and all over the world. Revenge is not my way. Go ahead and take the beating. Love and embrace those who come against us and serve them. Eventually you will win because that is universal law. You are going to be victorious. The living proof of this is that under such extreme and continued persecution, our Church is growing and moving forward. Why is that? We are embracing the entire universe; the entire creation, and therefore universal law must defend us. No one can prevail against us. We are invincible.

All the saints and great men of history have gone the same path that we go now. They were persecuted by their contemporaries and even killed; however, the universal law embraced them and lifted them up to become saints, respected by the world.

My own conviction is this: As long as God and never perish. Do you members love me? What do you like about me? Your own fathers and mothers criticize me, saying, "Why did you take our sons and daughters to make them slaves?" Then why do you like me?

I know one secret principle that others do not know: In order to serve the world, you take the servant's position, but if you continue as a servant, then God will lift you up to become a master of the universe. I know this secret. American young people are bright and clever, and if they know this secret they can change within one week. That is happening in our church and you yourselves have experienced this.

We are redirecting our individual purpose 180 degrees to the purpose of serving the universe; that is why people outside say that I am brainwashing you. Is this brainwashing good or bad? Is it true that I am worse than Hitler or Stalin? I do not care what I am labeled as long as I can turn you around to become universal people. As far as serving America and loving this nation are concerned, I am certainly not one inch behind the greatest American leaders. I am not indebted to America; rather America is now indebted to me. America eventually has to honor that debt, and if America does not pay, then you must pay as representatives of America. Do you mind? The way that you can re-pay that universal debt is to turn around and serve this nation so that you can change this nation around. If you continuously live this principle, then within the next ten years those people who are opposing us today will look very shabby.

I am a strong man, but what makes me strong? I am not strong in terms of destruction or dictatorship, but rather I am strong in my conviction. My conviction is that I am living the universal law and working to bring young people under the same law. We serve and live together under the same divine law, and together we shall be victorious.

By doing this I have become famous and controversial, but does that mean that I am an evil man? There is one criterion. The world may think of me as evil simply because they do not understand, but we are convinced about the most important thing: God knows me; God loves me, and God thinks that I am Serve the universe good. That comforts me and is all I need. My other comfort is that you young people know me.

If you want to become the center of the universe, the center of the world, you have to have the desire and hope to serve the world and the universe with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. Accomplishing that will make you the center.

Actually I am asking you to become a slave of the universe. This is not easy, but if you do so, the universal law and God will elevate you to the master's position. Parents who love their children in actual deed become servants to their children. No matter how dirty a child is, the parents just change his diapers.

The true husband is like a servant to his wife; she may not even ask for anything, but he knows what she needs and voluntarily serves her with a loving heart. The true husband's actual position is almost like a servant. The wife's position toward her husband is also that of a servant. If you want to live a true life-as husband, wife, society, or nation-you must live the truth of service. By living and serving others you become true. In what kind of world do you want to live, a world where we serve each other or a world where we grab everything for ourselves?

When people are trying to serve each other they create the power of unity and harmony. God Himself lives that way; God is pure and genuine, but something went wrong with human history and it became stained by sin. For 6,000 years God has been tirelessly working to cleanse man's sin. He did not do this for just one year or for only one of you, but for thousands of years and thousands of generations, from your oldest ancestors down to the present generation.

God has been working extremely hard for you and for your ancestors yet so many people in the world are insisting that there is no such thing as God. How blasphemous! What heavy grief it brings to God! Imagine that one day you had an accident and an intimate friend took you to the hospital and saved your life. How would that friend feel if the next morning you woke up in the hospital and said, "Who are you? I don't know you." Your friend would feel lonely and rejected.

The relationship between God and man is exactly the same. If you really knew what kind of God He is and what He has been doing for you, would you be happy or not? The mere fact that God exists is assurance that He cares for you and struggles to make you happy. We must realize that we are indebted to God and to the universe.

That feeling must penetrate to your bones. If you want to become a godly person then you must first feel how greatly you are indebted to God. Next you must feel that you want to re-pay this debt in the shortest possible time. If you move in that direction then you will become a saint.

You must live in repentance: "Mr. Air, Mr. Water, I am sorry; I have been unjust to you. Mr. Food, Mr. Sunshine, I repent to you." Repent to your parents and above all, repent to God. Looking down on you God will say, "You're crazy! You don't have to repent." But how God will be comforted! Which is better, the repentance coming only from your lips, or the repentance that wells up from your heart, accompanied by an escort of tears?

We are sinners

Let us now consider what kind of sinners we are. What kind of sin has all mankind committed? We have been destroying the ideal universe, the ideal society, the ideal home, and the ideal individual. Mankind has even been destroying the ideal of God. Even in our secular, satanic society you are called a gangster or a terrorist if you destroy one family. How much more is it a sin when we destroy the ideal individual, family, society, nation and world, and even God? The sin that Adam committed by the fall is that very sin; he not only became fallen himself, but he destroyed the ideal perfected individual, the ideal home, the ideal society, the ideal nation and the ideal world, and he even imprisoned God. Adam was supposed to be the king of kings, in the position of visible God. Since the fall God could no longer exercise His power; instead, His influence and work have been limited because of the rebellion of men who turned against Him.

In dispensational history, who killed Abel? You killed Abel because your ancestor did. Who brought misery to Noah? You are the one because your ancestors did. Who brought suffering to Abraham, Moses and Jesus Christ? You, because your ancestors did and you are the fruit of your ancestors. Who put Jesus Christ on the cross? You.

Who was Jesus Christ? He was to be the king of kings, and he was supposed to be the True Parent of mankind, the Savior and liberator of all men. Yet you nailed him to the cross. Can there be any greater sin than this one? You are part of that sin because your ancestors committed that crime. Is there any greater sin than killing the one man of God, the one king of kings, the one True Parent who was given by God? You murdered him. Is there any greater sin than this?

Ever since that time mankind has been apathetic, claiming, "It's none of my business; I didn't do it." That has been the world's attitude for 2,000 years. However, when an arrow hits a tree branch, not only the branch but the entire tree is affected because the branch is a part of that tree. By hitting that branch you are hitting the whole body. If your ancestors killed Jesus, then are you a murderer or not?

The king of kings was to appear only one time, yet you killed that person. God sent the True Parent of mankind only one time and you killed him. For that act everyone deserves to die and suffer in hell. You must feel this to the bone. When you look at your hand, you can say, "This hand has committed the most bloody murder." You must feel that there is nothing that you can do to repay this sin, that you could give up anything, even chop off your arm or leg, or pull out your eyes. Even then your position is still unforgivable. You need to feel that this is the kind of sinner you are.

Feel repentance, shame and gratitude

Repentance must be accompanied by shame. You must feel the shame of your position before you can enjoy the sunlight, the trees, the grass, or the flowers, thinking, "Nature is so pure but I am so dirty." This is not hypothetical thinking; in this fallen world the person who feels that shame to the bone is closest to God.

A deep realization of this shame must be followed by a sense of gratitude; every little thing that God bestows upon you fills you with gratitude. Even when you see one bird in spring or the little spring flowers you should say, "God, thank you for this beauty. Thank you for this sound. I don't deserve this or have a right to enjoy this but you are now freely giving it all to me. Thank you, God."

Finally, God will call your name and you will feel absolutely flabbergasted. "God? Did You call me? Can I be called by You?" You feel how inadequate you are but when your hear the voice of God calling, you are completely fascinated and inspired, and you respond to the fullest degree. With such a pure heart you have every right to respond to God. Since you are an historical being, the entire weight of history is upon your shoulders. You must be able to feel man's history of sin and shame, and take the responsibility of it upon your own shoulders, for the sake of your entire ancestry living within you.

The sense of shame is followed by gratitude, and then by volunteering before God, "You called me and there is nothing that I cannot do. Give me the worst kind of dirty mission and I will undertake it. All my life is for You; I will do anything You want, whatever Your will is."

You are entitled to heaven after you go through this course, but actually even after you are elevated to the highest possible heaven you will still have no power to lift up your head. Then God will command you, "My child, lift up your head and look straight at me." On that day you can lift up your head. That is the way to become the ideal man and to achieve the ideal. Compare this ideal level to the present Unification Church members' way of life. There is a great deal of difference. What I am teaching you this morning is not just my reasoning, theory, or logic. We are talking about actual day to day life.

I love nature. I talk to the trees and waters and I have a freer communication with nature than anybody. Most of my life was not lived with smiles but in a vale of tears. There has never been any one who has cried more than I have. Even now, there is not too much to smile about in the course of each day. There is little laughter and much seriousness. Look at the world: The world is trying to tear me apart, but God is waiting. God is silent. How could I seek revenge? It is impossible; it is not my way. I understand precisely how God feels and I know that God embraces me, even though I do not ask Him to do so. I do not pray for such protection from God, but still I know that God is with me.

"Repent, for the Kingdom is at hand"

Who are you? You are sinners and you must repent. When the Son of God appeared in Israel 2,000 years ago, his first words were, "Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand." The Kingdom of God will never become a reality unless people repent. That is the first order of business.

John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus Christ, shouted out first, "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." This teaching is eternal; from my heart and soul I shout it out to you now, "Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand!" The difference between the Biblical teaching and what you are hearing today lies in the fact that you know why we should repent and you know precisely who you are.

Where is the place for repentance? Where should we go to repent? This is something we have to think about. It cannot be a beautiful, comfortable place, but should be a lowly place of suffering. In such a place you can experience realistic repentance. This is why I went down to the slum areas to repent for the sake of all humanity. I went to laborers' places, to the mines, to the docks, and even to prison. In those places I could realistically repent for the sins of the world. I never thought that I was too good to go to such places. I only thought, "Father, thank you for giving me this place where I can realistically repent. My repentance can become real because the suffering of the world comes with me."

When you are treated roughly by the world, please accept it with gratitude; remember that suffering is the ideal place for your repentance. When you go out selling peanuts and people curse you, shout at you, and even spit on you, thank God saying, "Father, you are giving me this place to repent because I am a sinner. I deserve to be spat upon to be hit, to be cursed."

If you live this way of life for three years you will be purified and accepted in God's sight. Even in the Unification Church arrogance is the worst enemy. People think, "I am a member of the Unification Church. I know the truth. I belong to Reverend Moon. I will work for three years and then have a blessed family, and then the world should come and bow down to me. I should be seated on a throne." If you think that way, how poor and miserable you are; what a poor standing you have as a member of the Unification Church!

Right here in our church there are two ways of life. If you are an arrogant person, then regardless of how many years you are in the Unification Church you will end up in hell, while the humble person will end up in heaven. Are you saints or sinners? The sinner belongs to hell and only because of God's special dispensation are you held back from going there. Only through His love is there a way for you to turn around and accept God and return to Him. This is His grace. Therefore we should be deeply repentful first and then thankful.

You must feel the pain of God and of all history. Your repentance must come deeply from your own heart and soul, and the expression of your repentance should be in tears, crying out with water streaming from your nose and mouth. Repent first and then be thankful. Through that process you will be cleansed.

You may feel that I am beyond all laws and that I can do anything, but that is not true at all. This same law is binding me right at this moment. I still have so much further to go and so much more to do. Can you understand? I want you to realize that you are anchored to sin. I am trying to lead you, but this anchor to the satanic world is holding you back. There is a line connecting you to the satanic world; you must be courageous and cut it.

Historically speaking we are born of Satan and automatically belong to hell; we are the citizens of hell. But only because of the love of God and by His special dispensation do we have hope to turn around and go to heaven. Through repentance we can achieve that. We must know that each individual has to go through the process of repentance.

Where do you repent? You must find your place of repentance. It is not in a holy or luxurious place; instead it is going to be in a place of suffering. Do you want me to go with you in repentance? Do you want everybody to get together and repent? Would that make you feel good? That is not God's way. Repentance comes only through a lonely path. You must plunge yourself into the satanic world and there seek out your repentance by yourself.

Become heavenly princes

Do you really know who you were and who you are now? Do you know your position? First through repentance and then through gratitude you are elevated to become princes or princesses of heaven. Your goal is not just to become heavenly citizens, but to transform your sinners' position into that of heavenly princes or princesses of God. That is the way you can be with God and with me all through eternity. Who are you? You are princes and princesses of Satan now. It is because of the love of God that through repentance and the process of rebirth you can become the heavenly princes and princesses of God. Do you think that task is easy?

Compared to the process of becoming President of the United States, your process of coming from the sinners' position to that of princes and princesses of heaven is far more difficult. Those who come into our church are candidates for the position of princes and princesses of God. When you come in you will be given unprecedented discipline, training and testing to see whether you deserve to become princes and princesses of God. Can you accept this? I want you to pass that test with an A+ and thereby become the princes and princesses of God. Thank you.

Our Family In Light of the Dispensation - Part II

Sun Myung Moon
March 6, 1977
Belvedere, New York
Translator - Bo Hi Pak

My message this morning is on "Our Family in Light of the Dispensation," the continuation of my March 1 message. I am sure you remember from that talk that in order to build ideal families we must become men and women of genuine gold. Adam and Eve were supposed to be the first ancestors, and mankind was to have extended out from them like many, many branches. A diagram of this looks like an upside down tree, with the single trunk on top, spreading out into many branches. What would be the root of this human tree? God would be, and just as healthy roots are hidden deep in the ground God is also hidden from view.

It is awesome to see what the earth can do. The earth is the source of thousands of different miracles-trees, flowers, fruits and all manner of infinite beauty. A seed may have the hidden potential for making red flowers, but a seed alone means nothing; it must be supported by the earth. Even people like our giant Gerhardt was born small and the ingredients of the earth helped him grow. Of course his parents gave him genes, but something in the earth made his blue eyes possible. The earth is the source of wonder and beauty, but the spectacular things which spring from this earth must have some source of infinite energy where all the wonders and beauty of life originate. That source is certainly God.

Is it true that the ideas of men control this world? The men who have deep vision and insight are the ones who actually control the world, not those who just have power or money or knowledge. An idea has the ability to organize and effectively put power and money and knowledge to use. However, even the men with ideas have deviated from their original state.

In striving to become prosperous men have actually been losing

Where did the separation occur-between the trunk and a branch, or between the root and the tree? A broken branch is no problem because the trunk can always reproduce branches and leaves without difficulty. Man's problem is the more fundamental one of separation between the root and the tree. There is absolutely no way that such a tree can survive.

We fallen men now stem from a different root: the root of evil. Then who are our ancestors? All Of our human ancestors have come from that evil root. Do you really know, not just in your mind, but all the way down to your bones, that your ancestor is Satan? Since Satan became the ancestor of mankind, men have been like his branches, and he has maintained control over men's actions. Like him, people pull things to themselves, trying to be prosperous, and for this reason people have been fighting among themselves ever since the fall of man.

Right now that same fallen human history is still continuing. Even though people are desperately trying to accumulate external things for their own benefit, internally they are all losing. For example, though America has been a powerful nation, it has often been trying to control the rest of the world for its own purposes. Even though America has become the central nation in the world, and is desperately trying to survive, make friends and gain influence, America keeps backsliding internally.

America's way of life has become extremely individualistic. How could a nation become selfish if it is truly centered upon the ideals of Christianity? When individualism becomes people's major interest then ultimately the people will lose everything. If God is lost, then the nation will be lost. In America today, how many youth are seriously thinking about the well-being of the nation? Not too many. By centering upon "self" a person can only lose parents, family and friends. The "self" may be trying to survive, but it can never endure alone.

Ultimately human value is being lost through individualism and love itself is becoming stained. Human life in America often resembles the life of animals. It has become very trivial, with little mutual respect. Are you the product of a society that has degenerated to that degree?

All through human history man has been foolishly striving to enrich himself, but in that process people are actually losing everything. That is a cold, historical reality. How is it possible that all mankind has been making such tremendous efforts to survive, yet losing everything in the process? No man in history who made the effort to acquire things for himself ever seriously thought, "Of course I will lose all these things some day." Yet in striving to become prosperous, men have actually been losing instead. If this were just a local phenomenon, in Tarrytown or New York, then we could dismiss it as a very trivial matter. But this is not just a local matter; it is a historical phenomenon, a universal situation, and we must take it very seriously.

Does any person or any nation actually desire to be in such an impossible situation? No, all people would prefer to be happy, prosperous, honored, and respected. Yet at the same time they are going in exactly the opposite direction. Why is that?

Is this a random process, or is there some reason that world history has always been persisting in this direction? It is a scientific principle that in our world no result can occur without some cause. There must be a decisive cause behind every world situation. We can see that contrary to the will of men, the world is heading further and further into despair and decline. There must be some invisible, opposing force exercising control beyond us that causes this. Do you think the American people wanted to create this present world situation? Do you think that American philosophers and men of thought got together and decided to take the world in this direction? Do you think that a majority vote would have ever placed the world on its present course?

There must be some cause beyond human reach or control, one that no philosopher on earth could influence or even slightly change. There must be a first cause; you could call it God or anything you like. The name does not matter, but there must be a first cause that is separate from human thought.

We all feel very anxious to perceive the future of the world. Let us use our wisdom and think about it. So far in human history many thousands of people have been trying to improve their own situation, but still losing in the meantime. What would happen if we were to live in exactly the opposite way? Instead of taking, what would happen if we exerted ourselves to give things away and to respect others? What do you think would happen? The change would be a fundamental one. So far a history of grasping has brought mankind to decline and despair. Then what about a philosophy of giving? That must produce completely different consequences.

The God that we know has a giant personality; He has feelings of joy and sorrow, just like human beings. Consequently, His ideal must include eternal happiness. This idea about God is contrary to human assumptions so far. We must consider how God would describe happiness. It must be entirely different from man's present thinking. The fallen world, which separated itself from God, has a history of greediness and exploitation; those characteristics brought the fall and the destruction of the world and mankind and we are still living on the edge of a cliff. We could fall anytime. What would have happened if we had been living under God from the very beginning? The world would have been 180 degrees different from the one we live in now.

Generally speaking, everybody assumes that if there is a God, then He must be a good God. Satan is the king of evil, the center of evil. Then what is the definition of good and evil? Why is God good and Satan evil, and who will decide? Everyone, but particularly individualistic American youth, must know this very clearly.

What is evil? The answer is simple. Evil is self-centeredness. The person who makes himself the center of everything is an evil person. What is good then? A good person exists solely for the sake of others. A good man is always trying to give of himself to make others happy, trying to benefit them.

The environment for true life

You have only one absolute life. In that one life can you possess more than one absolute love? You cannot even use the word love in describing the present situation in America. Do you know what diarrhea is? Love in America is suffering from diarrhea in a hundred different directions. What American young people call love is just trash. Would you like to have one life and ten loves and a hundred ideals, or one life, one love and one ideal? The fundamental problem then, is finding where that one absolute true life can be born, and finding the environment where it can survive and prosper. This true life can emerge when there is an environment of absolute giving, absolute service, and absolute love for others. When parents have an absolute sacrificial, giving love, the beauty of an ideal child can be conceived.

I want you to know that there is a universal law and principle created by God which declares that anyone who builds his life on absolute love and the absolute ideal of service to others will have the rest of creation respond to him as his object. This is a universal law which no one can bend. It is true simply because God is such a person. God exists in that ideology and it is God's own way of life. God controls this world through that philosophy of giving Himself up for the sake of others.

Anyone who lives that philosophy must certainly receive the same power, beauty, and honor as God does. Isn't that wonderful! Is becoming a billionaire the most precious thing in this world? Many people are convinced that I am trying to become a billionaire, but I just laugh at them. Becoming wealthy is such a trivial matter and so far from being the central value of human life.

Anyone who really knows me knows that my ideal goes far, far beyond that. I know that anyone who becomes an embodiment of absolute life, absolute love and the absolute ideal will have the entire universe respond to him. That is the way God has been dominating and controlling this universe, and I can do the same things God can do by becoming the embodiment of His truth. You do not respond to me because I am successful or have a Ph.D. from Harvard, but because I am the embodiment of God's truth.

For example, you do not have to come here on Sunday morning. You could go to a comfortable place and listen to a sermon in beautiful English instead of Korean. Then why did you come here? You do not hear kind things here; I am always pushing you and giving you a hard time. But in all honesty I am glad you came since you are drawn to this one internal, fundamental truth of the universe, to that one call of the true love and true ideal. That is why you came.

If anything other than the truth is moving you, then my teaching is not true. There is no power in this universe which can overthrow a true love, life and ideal. The power to create the beauty of true life, true love and the true ideal is the greatest power of the universe and it can only come from God. Even God could not obstruct someone who lives that kind of life because God Himself has to live that principle. Is God very, very strong in love, or weak in love? Would God ever say that because He is Lord of the universe He does not need love or care about love?

Once there is even a little bit of love, God will forget about being God and stand helpless before that love. Can you imagine this? When even a small whisper of love reaches His ears, God completely melts. True love is God's vulnerable point. Am I also a vulnerable man in this sense? Could I say, "I have an iron will and I do not care about your love"? I too, am like a helpless child before pure love.

I know the secret of God's vulnerability, so if I carry a big bag of love when I go to God's mansion I can do anything. I can ride anywhere piggyback on God and God would let me. God is far greater than I am in ideology, in knowledge and in life, so I cannot approach Him except through love. The kind of love that I am speaking of is not a greedy love but a sacrificial love for others.

That love is the essence of God. Therefore, once we know that truth about God and understand His personality, we come to a clear vision of how we can live with God and make Him and ourselves happy. Even God could not stop a man who followed this way of life, and certainly Satan would have no power. Such a man would not even have to give a thought to Satan. If God, you and I are the group pursuing that philosophy and that way of life, can anything block us? For example, right now the world is trying to stop the progress of the Unification Church. Do they have power to stop us? Personally I choose to live this difficult way of life only because I know the love of God, and I know His vulnerability. Because we are talking about that love everyone here is wide awake this morning.

A life-style of greediness will only bring this world into despair and destruction. If right at this moment all the four billion people of the world would do an about-face and turn from selfishness to unselfishness, what do you think the world would be like? If four billion people could have that realization then would God just doze and sit idle, or would His eyes pop open with excitement? If such a thing ever happened, God would shout, dance, sing, and act crazy for sure. Do you think there would be hope for an ideal world here on earth? Is the ideal world going to be eternal or just temporary? Is it far from reality or within reach?

All that is necessary is for the four billion people of the earth to do an about-face, then all the work would be done. Could that possibly take only a moment, or would it have to take several decades, or even several centuries? It could happen instantly; you do not have to travel 9,000 miles to find true love. How can we change the minds of four billion people? Actually we do not even have to instruct them to do so; all we have to do is show them clearly what they would gain by doing it, and they would change on their own. For us the Kingdom of God is so close and so obtainable. Jesus Christ began his mission by saying that the Kingdom of God is at hand, that it is in the midst of us. He did not say that we had to die and go up to heaven.

How do you know that the Kingdom of God is in the midst of you? Simply speaking, the answer is that you are becoming a heavenly person, a person of God. That is the kind of person who goes out to give his life by truly serving and loving the world in order to unite it centered upon God. That is a godly personality. This is a religious ideology because it is concerned with human souls. It is the ideology of Jesus and of God and the root of it comes from God. This is why Jesus said that he had come to serve and not to be served, even though he was the King of Kings and the son of God. God will surrender to you when you stand on this fundamental, basic truth.

Did Jesus want God to curse the Roman soldiers who were crucifying him? No. Instead Jesus asked God's forgiveness for his enemies. He knew that God's way of life would eventually blossom and bring down the blessing of the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth. That ideology of unselfish love can fulfill God's ideal and Jesus had the power to live it,

Christians today are still a minority in the world. Are they respected by the rest of the population? Christians have become arrogant, feeling that they are especially privileged people of God and the rest of the world is doomed to die. Many Christians believe that when Jesus comes again they will be lifted up to meet the Lord in the air while the rest of the world is consumed in the fire of judgment. How can the rest of the world admire people like that?

There is a subtle infiltration of individualism in contemporary Christian thinking. Right now a peculiar situation exists; many Christians have power and great social prominence, but when people meet them they find that they are not very impressive personally. Moonies, on the other hand, are ridiculed by the media and many people are strongly opposed to our Church. But once people meet our members, they experience a sense of new hope. They are surprised to find that we are wonderful people after all. Why is there such an amazing contrast?

Why do you want to go this way?

The answer is that our way of life is entirely different from conventional living. We are living a revolutionary way of life and trying, however imperfectly, to practice a life of service and love. Now that the heavenly secret of service has been unlocked, will you say that you simply cannot live that way, even though it sounds very sweet to your ears, or do you want to live it and experience it, going all the way to perfection? The first way is the selfish way of life and the second is unselfish.

Do you want to go the heavenly way only because I told you to, and because you want me to say good things about you? Have you decided to work hard for three years just so you can get married in the Unification Church, even though you do not care about the philosophy too much? Is that the right attitude to take? While the couples walk in to be blessed perhaps some of them are thinking, "I'll graduate from peanut selling any moment now!" However, others might be thinking that after receiving the blessing they will sell ten times more. What kind of spouse will you be?

How do you envision an ideal man? Does he have a great mustache and a custom-made suit? How about a pate, humble-looking man who is desperately trying to serve others and help people to re-build the world? That ideal man might not even have time to sleep at night, and during the day he might look like a sleep walker going down the streets. If you want an ideal man or woman as a wife or husband, then you are going to get such a person.

Sometimes l press Mother to keep an impossible schedule and she wonders, "Why do you have to go so hard all the time? Why can't you slow down a little bit?" Should Mother be like that? Your mouth is laughing, but your eyes are serious. You are responding with two different faces.

God's search for one true man and one true family

What has God been doing these years? Why did He not just tell people plainly what I am telling you this morning? I want you to know that God is not free to do that Himself. Instead He needs a representative who can embody His spirit. Until He could discipline, nurture, and train such a man, God could not say these things. God is now bringing human history to its conclusion. Before His philosophy could prevail throughout the world, God needed to find one man of perfection to live His ideal and then expand it to the family level. God wanted to remake history from the very beginning, so He has been searching for one man and one woman to make that new beginning. God has had to take a slow and gradual route, rather than instantly turning the entire world upside down.

What kind of men and women does God need? God has been searching for men and women who are trying to give their lives to the fullest degree, to truly become the embodiment of His own way of life by giving totally for the sake of the spirit world and the earthly world. Until you give to the absolute degree you will not receive in the absolute degree. Absolute giving brings absolute receiving.

The history of the chosen nation of Israel can be seen as one dispensation: the search for one true man and one true family. God will push that one chosen man out into a head-on collision with the world. In Adam's family Abel gave his life in order to return his family to God. If Abel could have given the blessing to his elder brother instead of just being killed, then the will of God would have been fulfilled far sooner. When God asked Noah to build an ark, Noah made his shipyard on the top of a mountain instead of on the shore. Do you think even one person thought Noah was sane? Not even one. That is why Noah is unique. God was using Noah in a face-to-face confrontation with the world.

When Abraham was called by God he was living decently and doing well in his own home town. But one night a vision came from God and he was told to drop everything and take off for some unknown land. Furthermore, God said to this man with a barren wife, "Your descendants shall be numbered as the stars in the sky and the sand in the sea." Who could believe such a promise?

All of a sudden Abraham was a gypsy with no direction or destination. Since he was not welcome anywhere he even went to Egypt. Do you think he went there willingly or helplessly, without any choice? And once in Egypt bad fortune was waiting for him; his nephew was taken away and the Pharaoh even stole his wife! Under those circumstances Abraham could either curse God, or deep in his heart he could maintain his faith in the blessing of God. Abraham was a man of iron will, the one obedient man that God was seeking. God was not seeking a group of people, but one man of faith, and Abraham met the criteria to become that man.

When God looks at this world He sees basically two personalities: one like Abraham and the other like Pharaoh. Pharaoh would change even 100 times during the course of the day to gain his own advantage, but Abraham would never change, regardless of his situation. Ultimately God fulfilled His blessing through Abraham, and Satan could not accuse him because there was not even one other man like Abraham.

Moses was similar in that he was a man of strong will. His love for his own people and his faith in God never wavered. John the Baptist, on the other hand, was also chosen to be God's champion but he became a traitor to his own people. He brought tremendous misery, not only to himself, but to the world. John the Baptist is greatly responsible for the form of today's Christianity. In contrast, Jesus Christ never changed at all. At the end he prayed to God, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" It is not recorded but he must have also said, "Even though you may abandon me, I will never abandon you. I am your son."

What about you? Are you changing or unchanging? Your answer comes very easily but your actions do not come as easily. Because Jesus was unchanging, God was able to raise him up and give him the power to conquer the world even after he had died on the cross.

What about me? How do you know I am not the world's number one swindler? The rest of the world thinks so. If God gives me responsibility here on earth then Satan will accuse, "How do you know he is your son? How do you know he is not a person who changes?" God will answer, "I know who he is but you go ahead and test him, and then report back to me." God should be able to say that with confidence.

Indeed, Satan is testing me by mobilizing the American nation and the entire world to oppose me. Some people think that I will continue on in the name of God only as long as I have money. They are sure that once I become poverty-stricken, that my life is endangered, or that all of you leave, I will curse God and die. I know that this is Satan's test and that God is waiting for Satan's report so how could I become weak? I am striving to become the one unique man under the sun who can qualify as God's one man of faith. I know that the criteria are not easy, and for that reason I welcome whatever difficulties come. In my own lifetime I have become the center of worldwide controversy and have received persecution everywhere.

Even though some people are trying to destroy us, we are surviving and prospering. In this one room there are representatives of every human race and in becoming one with me, you are all treated alike. This one phenomenon says a lot about us. If the entire world is opposing me, then do I represent God's way of life or the fallen world's way of life? The mere fact that the entire world is set against me is good proof that I represent God. If I lived Satan's way of life then the world would have no reason to oppose me. Further proof lies in the fact that I am not teaching you to take everything for yourselves. Instead I am asking you to give for the sake of the world by sacrificing your families, society, nation, and even the Unification Church for the sake of the world. This is my fundamental teaching and because of this doctrine I am being opposed.

Do I represent good or evil? I am absolutely good, and therefore God-like on this point. Then am I a heretic? From God's point of view I am completely orthodox. Those who do not agree are mistaken. In the Last Days the false will appear to be true and the good will appear to be evil.

Why be like genuine gold?

Are you like imitation or genuine gold? Genuine gold is the best conductor of electricity because it offers no resistance to a current. It has 100% conductivity. Gold is ready to conduct any amount of electricity. You should be like that, ready for any eventuality, willing to accept any mission. Then when God gives you energy you will have no resistance but instead will absorb it 100% like a sponge. Then it will not lie dormant in you but be amplified and used for the prosperity and salvation of the world.

Both iron wire and gold wire can conduct electricity, but where will the electricity travel first? Electricity will travel first along the gold wire, switching to the iron wire only when the gold wire is carrying its full capacity. You do not have to wonder whether God or the True Parents recognize that you are working hard, because if you become a wire of genuine gold then the power of God will automatically flow through you to your fullest capacity. Without being genuine gold, even if you beg God to show you many secrets and visions, He cannot accommodate you. How God responds to you is up to you. Are you becoming that kind of man and woman? In that case you are genuine gold.

Imagine that a powerful king orders you to be brought before him and he orders you to melt yourself on the spot. Would genuine gold obey such an order? The king might become enraged and order you to be beaten. The amazing thing is that when you hammer genuine gold, it only becomes more brilliant. Suppose God said to you, "I am the creator of the universe and you are only a chunk of gold so you must listen to me. I command you to turn into black dust." Would you turn into black dust?

My point is that when you become a true person you need not worry about hell, heaven, the world, or God. As long as you are genuine gold you will continue being genuine in whatever circumstances you may find yourself. Once you become genuine gold then God Himself cannot change you, and all hell cannot threaten you. Do not worry about who recognizes you. Even if you remain completely hidden, do not be concerned. Suppose the entire world acclaimed you as a hero but you turn out to be a fraud. What good would that be to you? But as long as you remain genuine gold, you will have no anxiety because you shall remain genuine wherever you may be, whether before the throne of God or at the bottom of hell.

Why are we teaching that you must serve others? The serving person becomes the central person and the master of life. Those who live for others become the subjects because they are like God, and God is indeed the subject of the universe. Those who do not serve others are lonely people because there is nothing connected to them. It is the same in the Unification Church. Does anyone like someone who exploits others, speaking harshly and parading himself around as though he were the boss? Such a person would soon lose whatever position he had because he is not following God's way of life.

Searching after your horizontal line

No matter how straight and true you may be as a gold wire, if you are suspended all by yourself from heaven to hell them you are unstable. You must be supported by others. A single lonely wire will never be ideal. The vertical line must be supported by a horizontal line. A vertical line and a horizontal line have the power to support each other, thus becoming solid and stable. Then power can move in one circular flow of energy. Why does that make the ideal? If you touch a person on top of his head, not only his head but his whole body senses your touch. If you pull just one hair, his entire body knows. Your whole body is completely alive; it has no dead parts. Because there is give and take between the parts of your body then whatever is happening in one area is communicated throughout.

This is also true in God's ideal. When something wonderful happens in one place then it becomes the source of happiness throughout the entire universe. When we achieve that goal what will happen? The universe will be in constant motion from give and take for eternity. Have you ever thought about the automobile wheel? What if it were square instead of round? When round wheels turn they can go anywhere without limitation. If you are a person with a vertical line then searching after your horizontal line means searching after your perfection and your mate. It is our responsibility and our destiny to become united with others. First your own mind and body must be united. Then you can expand your capacity for love and broaden your sphere of influence.

We must be able to expand the scope of our unity. First mind and body must be united; then as we individually expand onto a larger scale men and women must become one by forming families, then a society, and nation, ultimately encompassing the entire universe. We are developing our horizontal lines of perfection, starting as individuals and then expanding to the family, society, nation and world, Individualism is very narrow and leaves no room to maneuver. As you develop an unselfish way of life your sphere of maneuverability and influence becomes larger and larger, and eventually the entire universe becomes your sphere of influence. Then the entire universe belongs to you. You must always be ready to become absorbed in a higher goal. By doing so, you are horizontally expanding yourself and expanding your sphere of influence.

Everyone has the innate desire to expand his territory and position. To do this you need a reciprocal relationship between subject and object. Your goal is to eventually possess the most precious thing in the universe. This goal is reached through the process of giving; do not be satisfied with second best or relax until you reach that goal. This is a very wise way of life, because if you delay establishing your position until you possess God then the rest of creation will automatically become yours. When you reach perfection you will possess the highest position and there is nothing that will not come under you. Striving to reach that goal of perfection must become our daily way of life.

God is brilliant, shining like the sun. You can stand directly in His celestial light, or you can stand to the left of that light, in a shadier area. Both areas are within the sphere of God's influence, but the sunny area has a subjective role while the shady area has an objective role.

When a subject in the sunny area is connected to heaven then the object is drawn from the shady to the sunny area. You have relationships both horizontally between men and women, and vertically between heaven and earth. Therefore, you must become a central, harmonizing person within these two kinds of relationships. You need both experiences. When you are together in the expression of love between man and woman and are united in love with God, then you are already united with the universe.

Customarily we stand with the man on the right and the woman on the left because in this way the man protects the woman. The right side receives direct sunlight. In this relationship the man more directly receives the rays from heaven and his nature is to embrace, support and lead. Being in a more objective role, the woman has an innate tendency to rely or depend on the man.

How about American women? When riding with her husband an American woman does not move after the car stops. She just sits until her husband gets out and opens her door like a servant. What if the man refuses, thinking, "I am the subject after all, and I will just sit." Who will outlast the other if the man is determined to sit there and not open the door? The woman would have to give up.

However, there is a dispensational reason why women occupy a more subjective position here in America. America is an archangel nation and for 70 years women should move forward and take the initiative. When restoration history is over, however, then American women must resume their original, feminine position. Today the woman's voice is too loud in the American home. I will bring about a revolution in the American home by softening the women's voices.

Men and women have distinctly different body features. Men have broad chests and women have broad hips. Are you built thus for your own benefit, or are you made to fulfill a higher purpose? What if a woman had all the feminine as well as all the masculine features? Then she would be useless as a woman. She would be a monster instead, and men would not need her.

Do you want to stay as you are or do you want to be a monster? That means you are existing for whom? You women exist for the purpose of serving men, but this formula does not only apply to you women. A man has strong, masculine features to serve a woman. God tailor-made women and men to serve each other. From the beginning of existence man was made for woman and woman was created for man. This is a fundamental principle of God's creation. God did not create you for your own sake. He created you to serve each other and to become men and women united in perfection. We must live up to that ideal.

A selfish person has no way to elevate himself

Why are your eyes the way they are? Are these eyes existing solely for themselves? How about your ears? God made the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and hands to function perfectly for the needs of the others. When the subject takes the initiative and the object responds, then the subject can turn the object. This is the principle of action and reaction. When you push another person he will lose his balance, but if you quickly redirect your energy that person can right himself again. Once it is controlled, subjective energy stimulates the object to respond. This action and reaction creates universal beauty.

The person who is trying to live for himself with the attitude that he is all-important is a destructive person who understands nothing about the universal law. Eventually he will become a victim of his own selfishness. What is the fall of man revealed in the Divine Principle? It is really the destruction of heavenly law and the redirecting of energy into a self-centered way of life. Because the archangel's motivation was self-centered, he could initiate the fallen act. Then how could Eve have been tempted by Satan? Eve was vulnerable to temptation only because she was also motivated by selfishness.

A selfish person has no way to elevate himself out of the unprincipled level. He needs to progress to the level of a servant, then the adopted son, true son and finally to the level of parents, but his selfishness will always prevent him from laying the necessary foundations. Only a sacrificial spirit of service can lay those foundations.

The person of sacrificial service becomes a foundation. He brings himself down so that somebody can step on him and then he lifts that person higher and higher. On that foundation a new structure can be built. The restoration of the heavenly family becomes the building block of the Kingdom of God. That is the ideal of God and the point where God's providence will be consummated.

In the circle I have drawn the top half represents the Orient, and the bottom half the Occident. The Orient and the Occident are in a subject-object relationship. The materialistic culture of the West is now crumbling and Westerners are fuming toward the East in their search for spiritual inspiration. Only God's ideology will govern the world in the future. If our way of life is the fruit of God's own ideology then it will prosper, regardless of opposition. It is God's mandate that the center of the dispensation is the ideal family.

You have a messianic role

A heavenly revolution is turning the satanic family into the God-centered family. The ideal family must be born as the building block of the Kingdom of God. The Unification Church has the terminology of "True Parents." You are now true children and you will become true parents when you marry. What is the difference between the True Parents and you? You are only a step lower because you did not pioneer this mission, but your role as the true parents of your ancestors and descendants is the same messianic role.

Why do you believe in Jesus? Why do you believe in the True Parents? The mission of the Unification Church is to become one with the Messiah who brings liberation to the satanic world. Then you are in the Abel position to the rest of the satanic world in Cain's position. That means your role is a messianic one.

The Unification Church is like a tree; God in heaven is the root, the True Parents are the trunk and you are the branches. What is the difference between the trunk and the branches of a tree? They are essentially the same. We are all inter-connected as in one tree. What if something terrible were to happen and Mother and I passed away as well as the rest of the Unification Church? If only one couple among you remained then your duty would be to fulfill the role of the True Parents! An entirely new world would spring from you. You must realize that even at this time you are in that central role.

You must learn to think that the Unification Church is not my church, nor even God's church; it is your church. Our success and foundation is your success and your foundation. You can say, "Actually Reverend Moon is employed by me and God is also working for me. All my brothers and sisters throughout the whole world are working for me, for my church, my movement and my perfection." Whether there are hundreds or tens of thousands or even a million members in the Unification Church does not make any difference; each one of you possesses everything.

I want you to go out to that wide world waiting for you with the conviction that you are the messiah. I want you to proudly present yourselves with that conviction and that commitment. Will God say, "No, no, no, you are not the messiah!" Will God be angry at you?

You can think, "No one is trying to save the satanic world. I am the only one who is working to reverse the tide so I am truly doing the work of God. God needs more people like me." Regardless of whether you are a man or woman you are a messiah. Such men and women will create true families in the ideal of God. Do you really feel, "Heaven and earth belong to me and I am responsible for everything. I am definitely committed to bringing this world to the throne of God, and even if I die I will return in spirit to fulfill that responsibility. I will not give up."

Eventually we are all going to spirit world, but when we go we cannot freely return to work and help this world unless we are deeply motivated. Would you rather be dead and work from spirit world or would you rather work to consummate your duty on earth while you yet have this life in the flesh? In this flesh you can bring a total revolution with one great leap, but once you die you will no longer have that freedom. This is the age of miracles and here on earth you can perform such a miracle.

When God lifts up His one ideal family then the whole universe will be lifted up, the same way that potatoes are unearthed when the plant is uprooted. Where that family moves the entire universe will move. That one family is the cornerstone of the Kingdom of God on earth. In searching for that family, God has felt such tremendous sorrow at the suffering of the Jews, the martyrdom of Christians and now the sacrifices in this age of the Unification Church.

We are creating a dramatic unity

Let us imagine that somehow every man on earth was killed, leaving two billion women alive. What would you do in that case? You would be willing to swap even two-thirds of the women for just one crippled, hunchback man. Even such a man would be priceless in that situation. Would it be worth giving up nine-tenths of the women in order to have that one man? What if all but one woman had to be given in exchange for that one, ugly man? Why should you do it? The women alone could survive no more than 100 years and then the whole earth would be left destitute, but with that one man, posterity would be ensured. The same thing would apply if only men had survived. You would even sacrifice all but one man in order to get only one woman. There would be no other way. Imagine being blessed under the dramatic circumstance of your spouse being the sole survivor of two billion men or women. You must feel that your spouse is that precious. Then how can you complain?

Suppose God asked you to separate, promising that He would be your mate instead. You would probably answer, "Then You are no God! I don't care about You." Do you think that God would prefer to see Adam and Eve sharing in perfected love, or would He rather separate them that they might always love only Him? Would our God of true love want to see separation or unity? Would the genuine love of men and women be sacred or dirty before God?

What about love in a world without God? Love can be as sacred and high as heaven or as dirty and low as hell. My responsibility is to discipline men and women in order to re-make them into the genuine gold of the original Adam and Eve, and bring them together in heavenly matrimony. That is my responsibility. Are you going that course now?

Is it good for blacks and whites to marry each other? There are two types of unity. One spans a short distance, in which there is not too much difference between spouses in culture and language. The second, more dramatic unity embraces two extremes. We are creating the dramatic kind of unity. Who would make the perfect mate for a white person with blue eyes and blond hair? Shouldn't we look for the darkest possible spouse? With that spirit will America prosper or decline? Then who can bring that spirit to America? Only I can do it. Even if the government spent two-thirds of its budget to do that it would never be able to create this spirit. To bring this nation into God's ideal and prosperity the whites should marry blacks. As God watches the whites and blacks running towards each other, willing to unite and build one family, would God say, "Stop, your lineage will be stained," or would He say, "At last, here are genuine men and women of heaven!"

When we look at families from God's point of view, what pleases Him the most? Black sisters and brothers, you might have developed very narrow attitudes in the past but God cannot allow that to continue. You must not even be conscious that you are black. Merely walk with pride as sons and daughters of God. You are the most beautiful people in the sight of God as long as your spirits are beautiful. This black brother here moves my heart very much. Every Sunday he comes early to sit right in front of me, always with a burning spirit. When I come to the platform, I always look for him thinking, "Where is my little black son?"

All of you women, would you look at men with scorn? You rascal brothers, would you scornfully look at your wife and drive her like a slave? If you both answer no, then there is a possibility that you can create ideal families. The family is the building block of the society, the nation and the world. We must concentrate our efforts on the perfection of the family. Once perfect families begin to flower, we will see the beginning of the perfected society, nation and world. The joy and laughter of God will burst forth as God's hope blossoms.

One ideal family is like one small stone dropped in a calm lake. That one stone makes a small ripple that spreads out, expanding into ever-widening waves. Eventually the whole lake will feet the effect of that one small stone. Would you like to pioneer that kind of family? When you look at Mother and 1, do we appear to be a happy couple? Actually I do not care whether you say yes or no; I only care about whether Mother says yes or no. I should also be in a position to say yes to Mother. Can you say, "Father, we will be like that; we want to pioneer that ideal family." If you volunteer to become the number one family under the sun, then God bless you!

Our Family and the Dispensation - Part I

Sun Myung Moon
March 1, 1977
Belvedere, New York
Translator - Sang Il Han

Everyone in the world has a fervent desire to have a family. We must first realize what kind of families we have in the fallen world because without seeing this clearly we cannot understand the urgency with which God has been searching for the original family. When we look throughout the world around us to find families which are centered upon God, we discover that there are none. Such a family is yet to come. No matter how many members a family may have, it still is a family within the realm of Satan.

Centering on the family a clan is created which is burdened by the same fallen nature, and it is further surrounded by the nation and the world. In that situation, no matter how much that family may want to live the ideal, it will still be influenced by the surrounding evil circumstances. Because this family must communicate with all levels of its corrupted surroundings we know that it will be unable to remain pure.

When the family deteriorates, the individuals who constitute that family also deteriorate. We can witness this deterioration throughout the world, even though there is not a single individual who wants his family to decay and deteriorate. Furthermore, no one wants to see other families deteriorate, especially God, but without a doubt that is happening. What is the cause of this?

Since no one desires this deterioration we must conclude that there is some invisible force which is opposing God's will for the family. Clearly Satan is doing this. Families are dominated by distrust and self-centered individualism. Many husbands no longer trust their wives, and most wives do not trust their husbands. Even children and parents do not trust each other because each individual is centered on himself.

In such families each person is seeking to center the family's love upon himself. Love is meant to be given to others, yet increasingly people are demanding love, and eventually their relationships center on animalistic love. To get this love they even dare to sacrifice other people, rather than sacrificing themselves. In this seeking to satisfy themselves with love they are taking everything from others. Where does this originate? We are destined to reap whatever we sow. If we had not sown this self-centeredness anywhere, then we would not reap it.

The world trend toward corruption

In the midst of these circumstances everyone senses that mankind and human history are coming to an end. If there is Satan then why can he cause such destruction at this time in mankind's history? Satan's purpose is 100% different from God's will, and he would like to fulfill his desire for mankind. This world trend toward corruption is centered on the family, which is fast deteriorating. The morals that societies have taught have played a very important role in history, but societies are now yielding to corrupting influences.

It is becoming clear that Satan's goal has been the destruction of individuals, as well as families. The elements of family disruption have been present throughout human history, but previously they have been held in check by moral teachings and social laws. But now, in the final days of human history, men are seeking freedom outside these restraints. Thus the existing elements of evil which were previously suppressed are now being exposed.

In the past, husbands and wives may not have always felt deep respect or love in their relationships. But now family situations are getting worse in that parents do not even know their children any more, and respect is barely maintained between them. Now even that relationship is on the verge of being broken down. Instead of building deep relationships, the kind of love found in families today is acting to break down the family ties. At this time in history people cannot recognize what love is, and it seems that everything we previously held as valuable has crumbled. What remains to be broken up in the future?

Love has always been valued by people. However, as love is breaking down those people who value love as much as their lives are also about to be broken down. We have been thinking of love as an eternal thing, the last thing we would like to destroy. Yet in the fallen world today love can be corrupted and broken down within a few hours or days.

In other words, what Satan has been striving for seems about to be accomplished. Satan has been trying to disrupt all of man's most precious relationships, and he seems to be succeeding. After that, where can we go? The world itself is hell on earth. There is no order of love, no order within life, no order within societies and no order within nations. The world we see now is in chaos. No individual wanted things to turn out this way; God did not want this to happen either. Only Satan has been wanting this and continuously working to achieve it, doing his best to destroy man. All his desires are now coming to fruition.

Satan had his purpose, and the people have been defeated and contained by his plan and strategy. In the process, mankind has completely lost all sense of value. It may be our desire to have good families, but what is being realized at this time is completely contrary to our ideal and now we find ourselves in hell. If there was ever any kind of hell, this is the worst in history. Let us imagine that there is a very good, courageous, confident man who does not want to be influenced by this world trend. Despite his efforts he would be absolutely unable to reverse this world trend and assert himself in goodness. Do you feel that this is where we stand now?

However, we cannot afford to be either completely discouraged or destroyed. Hippies and yippies have been searching in their own way for something different, something better. Are they living in an ideal way? Are they really content and secure? Did they find the truth? They have looked around completely but could find no way out either. After going in many different directions they have also come to the conclusion that there is no way out.

All mankind is now feeling that the only way left to find the ideal is to be constantly doing something more exciting. When this happens, they no longer are concerned about the world or nation or anything bigger than themselves. The lucky ones manage to take care of themselves, but many are destroyed in their search for happiness. For instance, drugs are used throughout this nation, and some have been pushing drugs, providing them to anyone who would try them. Once a person is addicted he inevitably faces an early death. Who would have done that? It clearly must be Satan who is pushing these drugs. After Satan succeeded in breaking down the love in families and in individual relationships, then he introduced drugs on a large scale. Once people are addicted to drugs they want to replace ideal love with physical stimuli. No one else but Satan could do these things or would want to.

Love is invisible; therefore even if it is crushed the physical body still remains intact. Now Satan wants to attack even the physical body and destroy it as well. He is not concerned with the bodies of old people, as they are about to die anyway, but Satan will never be satisfied until he can destroy the young people who are full of vigor and life. We know that Satan, the ultimate being of evil, is striving to annihilate young people through drugs. Then Satan will claim generation after generation and no matter how much people long to experience love and obtain their highest ideals, they will be incapable of achieving them. Satan will proclaim to the world that mankind will be under his dominion for eternity.

This is all happening on the family and individual levels, but what kind of nation would attack another nation in this way? The communist nations have exactly followed this process in order to undermine and demoralize the free nations. Their strategy is to immobilize the young people by destroying their lives with drugs. One communist country actually appropriates part of its national budget for raising opium and making it available in the free nations. This is actually happening.

It is very obvious that if individuals and families are being compelled toward destruction that the nation also is doomed to destruction. This is clearly Satan's undertaking, because no one else but Satan wants something like this to happen. This is now going on all around the world. I am not just describing some concept but everyday events which can be witnessed. We are heartbroken by this. From the standpoint of God's dispensation, how can it be possible to establish the ideal family among these overwhelmingly destructive circumstances?

Life rights and love rights

Anyone whose love has been bankrupted cannot think about his nation, and no longer cares about Satan succeeded in breaking down the love in anything. If someone's love has been destroyed then families and in individual relationships, then he in- no matter how true an ideal you may teach him, he just cannot listen. The Carter Administration has been speaking of human rights, but even more valuable than civil rights is the right to live and the right to love. These two are more important than so-called human rights.

If you were told to choose between human rights, life rights, and love rights, which would you choose? You would certainly choose something other than human rights. If you had to choose between the right to live and the right to love, which would you choose? If you had to choose between becoming a slave or being killed, which would you choose? Why do you choose death? Wouldn't you rather become a slave and keep on living in hopes of finding a better life somehow? There would be no blacks alive in America today if slavery were worse than death. The recent television series "Roots" deals with the history of Africans who were captured and brought to America as slaves. Why didn't they kill themselves if their human rights were more precious than living? Under this standard, are human rights more important, or life rights more important? We must have a clear idea about this.

In choosing between life and love, would you rather just live life, or would you rather go after love? For you it is easy to choose love, but are you really that way? Take hippies, for example. If we ask them the same question do you think they would say, "I will follow after love"? Actually they do not want to care about anything. They just want to exist.

We usually do not think about it much but every day we witness how many people would rather simply exist than be troubled by the demands of loving. Hippies, for instance, may love another person very much in the morning, but somehow by the afternoon their love changes. Nevertheless, deep in their hearts everyone is thinking, "I shouldn't be this way. I should pursue love to its utmost. I should even sacrifice my life for the cause of love."

I just heard that in some parts of American society couples even exchange spouses for a week or so. That love has far less value than life. You said earlier that you would choose love rather than life, but is this the general attitude in America? When it comes to love, no one knows anything about anything! With all this confusion it is obvious why we are really, really on the spot in trying to pursue the ideal.

The best human thinking has recognized that love is the most valuable and worthwhile thing. If you look around it is difficult to find someone righteous enough to protect our human rights, and even more important, we find that there is no one who is capable of raising the world out of this animalistic love. No matter how good our ideal may be, it seems impossible to fulfill it. After looking everywhere, we completely lose hope. What if you had never heard about the Unification Church and someone were to ask you, "Is there some hope for finding a true love or is there absolutely no hope?" What would you have answered? Can you see hope in this situation? Wherever you look, there is no hope. Where could you go to find hope?

As you look everywhere can you find a man who can say, "I can offer hope"? You can even look at the great political leaders and the presidents of nations. Can you find hope in President Carter, for instance? He is like any other human being. Can you find hope in a political party, or in a nation such as America? Is there any family within this society which could become a source of hope? How about your own parents? How about the feelings of a wife toward her husband, or the feelings of a husband toward his wife? How about husbands and wives--can they regard themselves as the source of hope in the future?

Hopelessness is spelled out everywhere. The earth is filled with it; even the universe seems filled with hopelessness. Do you see that? Our conclusion is that now is the time that Satan, the master of hopelessness, has achieved his great success. Then who is the master of hope? Invisible God. Only because of God is there a possibility for those who have lost hope to find hope once again.

Once a person feels hope, Satan cannot defeat him

We can be grateful that even though man is being pulled to his death inch by inch, man still has some life remaining. Man can see his path of destruction, yet he still continues looking desperately for life, knowing that somehow he should not be the way he is, If there were any way out he would take it. Something deep within his soul is crying out for hope.

Men everywhere get sick, lose their eyesight, and then their hearing. Perhaps they can no longer eat, and then they lose the use of their limbs. Yet even on the verge of death, would a person not be very grave about his life, contemplating the death that awaits him? If the news came that there was a new medicine, wouldn't he still want to try it out? Mankind at this moment is in a desperate position and needs the news of someone who can offer hope in the face of this sure death. Wouldn't people jump at that hope? With people feeling that their deaths are not far off they will become very serious, and react to news of the slightest hope. This is where we are situated.

When a person who is desperately sick hears the hopeful news, he would go immediately and try that remedy. As the cure begins to work, his body would begin to heal gradually. When he is completely recovered where would he turn? He would go straight forward in search of love. Having been so close to death, he would be almost crazy to perfect his love. Such a person would certainly be most precious to God. After he is cured and love revives within him, this person would begin urgently seeking out other brothers and sisters who are on the same deathbed that he was. His greatest desire would be to find and revive them, just as he himself was revived. God would certainly be touched by his concern and want to see many such people here on this earth.

That person will meet many people who are not aware of what has happened and who, out of their ignorance, are indifferent. Some people will even directly oppose the cure he wants to spread, but then he will be really serious to overcome their opposition and bring the truth to light. At first this kind of thing will happen sporadically, but inevitably the persecution will gather momentum. In the midst of this world of despair, we have to realize clearly that Satan is working powerfully at the edge of hopelessness. But a cure is now appearing along with a hope which cannot be removed from the earth. It is about to be brought out into the open and when it becomes visible to all, people will jump at it. Rather than trickle toward it one by one they will dash to it like a flooding river. Can you imagine that day?

Even though that first person was on the verge of death, he still had the power to move quickly when the right avenue opened before him. Eventually a whole river of hopeful people will penetrate the walls surrounding the satanic world and come to God's side. At this time in history the world is sinking in despair, misery, and hopelessness. When one person can manage to break out of this situation, he will soon be followed by floods of people also wanting to get out. Once they break out and are revived in every way, they will never want to even think of the hell which mankind has been held in generation after generation.

What if a person was somehow successful in making his way out to health and love, but then was kidnapped back again by his own parents urging him, "Stay with us; continue living like us." Would he be able to live there or would he try to escape at any cost? His decision would depend on how much he craved freedom and true love. If he deeply treasured their value then once he escaped a whole army from the satanic world could not keep him imprisoned.

If a whole army tried to kidnap me I would fight with my life. Anyone who has led a miserable life in the past has sufficient power to resist. Those members who were kidnapped and persuaded to leave the Unification Church did not have the internal power to free themselves, and were probably never deeply serious in their commitment. Some members, who perhaps came from the despair of a hippie background, are deeply serious and treasure the hope that they have found. Those who have never seen death cannot really experience the seriousness and value of life and love.

Those who have really suffered in bondage have deeply wept to find a way out of their misery. Once they free themselves, penetrating the barrier of despair, not even an army could successfully kidnap them. Once such a man has penetrated this wall he will work harder than anybody else. Once a person who sees absolutely no hope around him feels that there is hope, then even the formidable power of Satan can no longer defeat the desires of his original nature. It may look as if there is not even a tiny hole where hope might penetrate, but one day this avenue will be opened and on that day the people will flood out. God has been thinking about this all along.

We can say that Satan has been quite successful in this world because mankind sees no hope whatsoever. But in God's sight Satan is not successful. Once men clearly understand this then they will realize their own value even more, as they compare the present with their past under Satan. Therefore, no matter how successful Satan seems to be at the very end, Satan will eventually be obligated to help God complete His work.

God has been waiting to see how much Satan would take, and indeed Satan has taken absolutely everything. He not only invaded man's human rights, but he invaded the life rights and then even the love rights of billions of people. There is no right that Satan has not invaded. What remains for Satan to do?

At this point the historical conclusion is that the only thing remaining for Satan to do is surrender. God has been pondering the best way to bring people out of the misery of their unprincipled lives. In considering the most ideal nation to initially penetrate this wall of hopelessness, He has settled on America. The hippies of America have explored the depths of corruption and despair and would therefore value new hope the most. If someone can work with them to successfully penetrate this wall of despair and break through to the other side, they will be very eager to go out and do the same for others. The organization which can offer tangible hope to these hippies must be the group which is historically capable of doing God's work.

In looking at a situation such as this we can say that Satan has been helping to achieve God's plan. So many existing churches talk about God and about saving the world, but their members are generally older people. The young people have already gotten out of the Christian churches and become hippies or non-conformists. Thus those that we gather into the Unification Church are often young people who have been living a hippie life; ours is the only group that can really offer hope and salvation to them.

Love is a person's most precious possession

Presently we do not have any more status in the world than the hippies, but we are very different. The hippies live lives that are without order and they do not want to come under anybody's direction or dominion. In contrast our lives are very orderly: we go out fundraising and witnessing, and we are very effective. Furthermore, hippies are eating and sleeping for themselves, but we are living for this country and for our Heavenly Father. They are in despair and do not know where to turn, but we are full of power and vigor and have found love. In every way our lives are completely different from theirs.

Through developing a relationship with God we come to honor human rights to the utmost. There are no racial differences in our church; each race is equally great and valuable. We have come to realize that one human life is greater than the entire universe. Suppose someone like Rabbi Davis were working in an unjust and hateful way in a communist country; the leaders would give an order for him to be eliminated, and he would have been killed a long time ago. But regardless of all he has done to us we do not even have the desire to hurt him.

Some of our young members came to me, saying, "What Rabbi Davis is doing is absolutely unforgivable. We cannot let him continue working like that because he is hurting too many lives. Isn't it better to work directly against him and save all of those who are being hurt by him?" But I said, "No, can you quote an example of God killing a man because he was wicked? Instead He just waits." A man still has an opportunity to recover himself even until the last minute.

Do we invade others' life rights? Does anyone teach what we teach, that love is of such utmost importance and value that the greatest crime is the invasion of love? We would not want an individual apart from his love. In the end, love is between an individual and God, and no one can stand between a person and his love; that love is his most precious possession. From the earth to the heavens we want to cherish and protect his right to love. The one thing of greatest value is love.

Is anyone of us encouraged to take love lightly like the hippies do? Brothers and sisters are not even allowed to hold hands in our church. We are taught that when a brother and sister meet they must just talk, and then not even in privacy. Why? In order to prevent a cheap love from invading their hearts like it has invaded the hippies' lives we are living a completely different standard than the world is living.

For someone who cannot understand deeply, our standard might look like a violation of human rights, and he would accuse us, saying, "Everyone should have the right to do as he wants." But actually our way is the only workable way to protect human rights. Life is the same way. If someone wants to go and kill himself, why should anyone try to stop him? It's his own life. But such an attitude is not right. People who tried to prevent a suicide have actually been accused of treating the person unjustly and taking away his personal freedom. But from the heavenly point of view, being concerned about another person leads to complete freedom, and this is what all people have been dreaming about throughout history.

Likewise, nobody tells you to get involved in the events that are happening around the world; you are completely free to do nothing. Yet when others' human rights or life rights are violated, yours are violated also. You have no guarantee and no security in a world of evil. When we look back through history and review the present we know clearly that we are on the front line between God and Satan, and that a sharp division of good and evil is taking place. Very seriously, we are fighting for our lives.

The fiercest war the world has seen

What is the borderline between life and death, between God's country and Satan's country? Do the existing Christian and Buddhist congregations stand guard there, or are we on the front line? What is the nature of the front line? It is where Satan is always attacking God's side. I am doing nothing wrong but since I am on the front line I am constantly being attacked. Because you follow me you are also attacked.

Because I am taking responsibility for you, I get all the blame if even one very young member makes one mistake. Any errors you make are directly connected to me, and then I receive much accusation from people. Sometimes communists have posed as members and done evil things, and then claimed that I made them do it. However, even though he may be opposed, the person who speaks for God's side can be recognized by his teaching about human rights, life rights, and love rights. We are fighting to preserve these in the world.

The communist countries have annihilated millions of people who opposed their governments. An estimated 70 million people were killed in Russia during the process of socialization, and 150 million were killed in Red China. North Korea killed 3 million Koreans, and we read in the New York Times that 600,000 people were killed in Vietnam. With life rights being violated on such a scale, what is the use of talking about human rights?

We have to see this clearly in the free world, and fight to stop it. This determination makes me the strongest, most staunch anti-Communist, and the communists are really afraid of me. Can we allow their activities to continue? We have to realize what the communists are doing and expose it. The only reason we are doing this is because God's clear intention is to achieve a world of unity. We are not trying to do this out of our own personal desires.

Black people are especially susceptible to the communists' influence and can be persuaded to bitterness and violence. Realizing this, the communists are working to unite blacks in opposition to the whites, with the ultimate goal of inciting racial war. Of course both races will lose if such conflict occurs. In that case only the communists would benefit and advance further toward their goal of world domination.

A strange phenomenon has come into existence. On one hand, we are surrounded by hell on earth, yet steadily emerging alongside that hell is the beginning of heaven on earth. Do you feel fortunate to have joined this movement, or are you unfortunate? We have to take time to realize how valuable are the three rights that I have been speaking of because they involve our very lives. We cannot just speak of their importance with our mouths; we must have a deep feeling about the meaning of human rights, life rights and love rights, and be willing to fight for them. This is a more intense war than any the world has yet seen, even more fierce than the World Wars. It is of utmost importance that we secure these rights for humanity. There will be no such war in the future, nor have we ever witnessed such a war in the past. Ibis is the only such moment in history when this serious war will be fought. Can you even superficially understand that you are called to stand at such a time and place?

Satan is invisible, but we have located Satan and know what he is doing. Satan's central work is being accomplished through the communists. We can see the communists advancing their plans year by year. This is not just our interpretation; anyone who has watched their actions knows this. This is a war of utmost importance, the most significant war man has ever fought in the long process of freeing himself from Satan's fetters. We have to be an effective organization, so strong that we can win this war over the forces of evil. Are we that way?

Why do I stay in this church?

Sometimes when you are directed to go fund raising you do not really understand its importance. We have to fund raise in order to restore all the things of creation that have been lost. Why do we witness? We witness to revive love in another person. It is our duty to reclaim from the force of evil all the things that were lost, and we have to recover the life and love of others.

If the Unification Church is truly the center of God's will then when those people who do not join go to spirit world, they will be accused for not joining. But if people join the Church and then drop out without fulfilling the task given to them, then not only spirit world but all mankind will accuse them, and even God will accuse them. They will have absolutely no place to stand. Even if they go to hell, where people are usually left alone, people there will always accuse them, yelling, "You were supposed to be up there pursuing God's ideal and carrying out your mission. Why are you down here?" This will be the way they will be treated even after they go to hell. This situation is even worse than existing in the satanic world. In the satanic world there were at least some people who did not accuse them, but in hell they simply will have no place to go to escape accusation.

When those who oppose the Unification Church go to spirit world they will become very envious of those who are newly joining. Once we go to spirit world we can instantly perceive the truth. We have to clearly understand what kind of precious position we are in now and what kind of equally tormenting situation we could find ourselves in later. If I were to drop out of the Unification Church, Satan would accuse and mock me, "Why are you here? Why didn't you just carry on?" All hell would go against me, and even God would oppose me, as well as the rest of spirit world, crying, "Because of you we are not free! "

The ancestors of a Unification Church member who left will really resent that person because by working through him they could have elevated themselves in spirit world. The only way that spirit men can work on earth is through you, and they will be the first to accuse you for leaving. I will blame you and the brothers and sisters in the Unification Church will accuse you. Anyone who drops out really has no place to go, even within our Unification Church. Even Satan will mock you, saying, "I fell, not when I was perfect, but when I was in the perfection stage of the growth stage. But you went beyond me-you fell from the perfection realm. You are even worse than I." All of this is the reason why drop-outs from the Unification Church feel so miserable. This is the very reason why I myself stay in Unification Church. This is the truth.

My feelings are just like those of any other individual; I would like to lead my own life, having some enjoyment and free time, like anyone else in the world, but I have not had one single moment of time to myself. My mind is always occupied with this immense task; it is just like sitting on the point of a needle 24 hours a day.

Not long ago some members of my own staff were getting married and I had not yet given anything to them. When I went to Macy's and bought six 14 karat gold necklaces, people started commenting that I indulge in luxurious living. While I was buying the necklaces I could hear the people behind me saying something against me. Every place I go people know me. Even beyond that, there is no personal freedom in my life. If you led this kind of public life and were constantly receiving public criticism, would you really feel the joy of life?

I understand how difficult this is

If you are reasonably wise then even if someone were to really hurt you and try to pull you out of the Unification Church you would never leave. Is that true? This life can become so difficult, yet still we have to stay and keep on doing this work. Do you stay because you have no other choice, or do you stay because you are happy? How can you be happy when you do not have a dime in your pocket? How can you be happy when the clothing that you are wearing is the only clothing you have? How can you be happy when you have only one set of underwear and you have to wash it when you go to bed and put it on again when you get up? And sometimes when you wake up on a cold morning it isn't even dry.

As you meet the people during the day your heart aches when they do not listen to you, and you carry a great burden as you witness to them. If somebody opposes you, you have only yourself and God to console your aching heart. How can you be happy under these circumstances? There are people around you who may not be very bright but who still bring good results in witnessing and fund raising. In comparing yourself to them you may think ill of yourself, and that too is painful.

I think the successful witnessers and fundraisers must have some iron shield around their faces and their hearts. Sometimes I admire myself in that way; when I face those who are opposing me I do not feel anything, but I just continue. I am more sensitive than anyone here, yet sometimes I cannot afford to be sensitive. It must be the same for you. You cannot continually respond to all the people who oppose us.

You are fortunate in one thing, however. No matter what hardships you go through, I am one friend who will understand you completely. Not only in the past, but in the present I am going through the same life that you are leading. When your situation becomes difficult then remind yourself that you are not alone because I am sharing that very moment with you. When you live that way then I will give you the best blessing that God can bring. Do not falter because in going the difficult way you will receive God's deepest love. For this reason I keep pushing you to go on. I know that it is worthwhile because God is exactly like that. We must stand at the same place that God is standing and even now God is going through all these things.

When a sigh escapes your mouth, then instantly follow it by saying, "Nevertheless, thank You, God. Through this You can give me blessing. Now I can understand Your present situation. Thank You, for allowing me to go through the same things that You are facing." If you have a complaint because of some discomfort then you must replace it with gratitude. When we take this attitude, Satan cannot accuse us, nor can he oppose us any longer.

I have a story to tell you about Mother. Right after 5 o'clock pledge service on Sunday morning Mother drinks a cup of coffee. I told her that coffee is not good for her and grandmother told about seeing a man in the hospital whose stomach had ruptured after drinking coffee for three months. But Mother said, "If I don't drink this my eyes droop and I'm so drowsy." The children can go back to sleep, but since she cannot she has to drink coffee to stay awake. I felt pity for her and said., "Your life is as draining as mine."

I know that you wake up even earlier, maybe 3 or 4 o'clock, and come all the way up here, and your eyes just won't stay open. Looking down from the platform I see some really funny faces. I have a real sense of our common destiny, and I understand how difficult it is. I have trained myself very purposefully and now I manage to not sleep as many hours a day. I already know how difficult it is for you. Why are we working this hard? We cannot eat more than three times a day, so if you have $3.50 a day then you can live. Then why do you try so hard to do well in fund raising? Are you working to buy your own houses? To misunderstanding eyes we are really crazy people.

Do you know the consequences of this life?

Who really understands that we are doing this for the sake of America? Why don't we just lead peaceful religious lives like the Christians do? Why do we have to push ourselves like this? The reason is that we do everything to save even one more life more quickly. Conservatively speaking, if one percent of the population dies per year that is 40 million people going to the spirit world. Most of them go to hell, don't they?

Later they will come to us and say, "Why did you not save me while I was still on earth? Why did you not tell me about this one day earlier so I could have heard and accomplished something while I was on earth, and then come to heaven? This is so real to me that being called names and going through difficulties on earth is still better than facing those people who would demand to know why we did not do anything while they were still alive on the earth. I would Re to reach even one more life in order to catch that person before he goes to spirit world. This is why all of us must push ourselves even harder.

I have let everybody know what I am here for, and with all of you I am working day in and day out, not wasting even a second. Then even though thousands go to spirit world without knowing God's will, they cannot blame me. On the contrary, when those people who oppose us here on earth go to spirit world all the spirit men will come and accuse them, "Because you opposed the Unification Church on earth I did not have the opportunity to join! " I know that this is happening.

When I wake up to find that I overslept I feel like a sinner because I should have been working during that time. Sleeping in the daytime is virtually unknown to me. This is the kind of life I have been leading. If I sit down in a chair, within ten minutes I can be snoring. I am always tired because I do not sleep. Imagine, in ten years 400 million people will have gone to spirit world. That is twice the population of America. In ten years that is how many more people will be doomed to bell. Can you grasp the significance of this?

You are in the same position. When you go to spirit world the spirit men will blame you for not helping them come to the Divine Principle while on earth. That is why we cannot help but work the way we do. Even though the people call us names here, it is still better than being blamed in spirit world. If you do not witness now, then even your own ancestors will become your enemies and your own offspring may turn against you for not being more dedicated.

Once we grasp this clearly, how can we help but push ourselves? No matter how difficult something may be, can we complain? Knowing this, all of us are trying to change the evil course of the world, trying to change this darkness into light. God also is trying to reach each one of His children in every comer of the world. How truly serious do you feel, knowing that God is looking down at us?

Without that seriousness we are not in a position to even put on our pajamas to go to sleep. Imagine all the spirits in the spirit world looking down at us, knowing that the only way for them to be saved is through working with those of us on earth. If we are not thinking about saving people then how critical and frustrated they will feel. We are very fortunate since we can be liberated while here on earth, needing only one millionth of the effort that it takes to be elevated in the spirit world. This is why we have to make impossible efforts here on earth. Even though we go through intense difficulties here it is still insignificant because we have a body.

When you really do your best and invest every bit of yourself, even if you cannot do any more then the spirit world understands and respects you and cannot accuse you. God knows that too. I will never tell you to take a day off, even when you have been working hard. You don't like that fact, do you? A school child has the same problem. Every time his parents see him, they tell him to study. He does not like it, but his parents keep on telling him anyway. Later, when the child grows up and wishes that he has studied harder, he cannot complain to his parents because they had warned him time and time again.

It will be the same for you when you go to spirit world, and you will ask me, "Father, why did you not tell me to work harder so I could be in a higher place?" But you will not be able to say that because every day I am telling you over and over again to work harder. This is the reason why I am always pushing you to work harder every time I see you. I know too well about the consequences of this life, and that is why I am telling you these things.

If everyone here except one man fails to respond, then in the spirit world everyone else's blessing will go to that one man for his efforts. When that one man happens to be me then I can take all of those blessings to the spirit world and distribute them to the spirit men who had no opportunity to serve directly on earth. This is the reason I do not want to be outdone by you. When you work hard then I will work even harder.

When you are idle you forfeit blessings

When I tell you to do something and you do not do it, then I will do it myself and receive all the blessing for it. In a way you are losing blessing every time you do not respond. When a new member comes who tries more and works harder he will receive greater blessings than older members who are a long time in the church. God's blessings automatically flow to those who work harder. This is true wherever you look in the world; those who work harder get more results. When a vegetable grows bigger and bigger some of the leaves on the plant are bound to wither. The same is true in the Unification Church; as our movement has grown some withering has also been seen. You must work more than anybody else ahead of you and then we will develop as a whole.

A marathon runner does not stop training just because he has accumulated previous experience. If you are experienced then you will practice even more in order to stay ahead of all your competition. For the same reason you have to work harder to keep in the forefront of the enthusiastic new members.

When an electrical wire is hooked up it will easily conduct an electric current, but if the wire is cut it can't function as a conductor. You are here in the Unification Church because of your ancestors' merit. In the same way that electricity goes through a wire that is hooked up, energy from the spirit world will flow through you when you are connected to your mission. Electricity does not need a lot of space; only one wire is necessary to start the electricity flowing. It does not matter how many strands of wire there are as long as they are hooked up. If the wires are cut in just one place then the entire system is of no use.

When you are idle you are forfeiting all your blessings. It is the same as going to school. Perhaps everyone in class is concentrating very intensely on the lectures, but one student is not studying at all. When examination time comes, what happens to him? The professors do not like that kind of person, nor does the school superintendent. I am the superintendent and your leader is the teacher, and if you are a diligent student, then everybody likes you. But people do not care for a student who is not so diligent. What do you choose to do? Are you just going to take it easy and rest, or are you going to work? Or maybe you are waiting for me to finish speaking and then you will dash out and carry on.

In wartime, when bullets are flying and artillery shells are exploding, the soldier who does not want to die is usually the one who gets hit first. The brave man who just goes out and fights as he should without caring about the bullets, surprisingly enough is the one who lives longer. Even the bullets seem to be discriminating, and choose who to hit and who not to hit. The bullets will chase after someone who is trying to escape.

All my life I have been working on the very edge of the realm of possibility. If I had ever retreated at the many moments when everything appeared to be impossible I know that long ago I would have been dead. When I realize that those under me will not be able to make something work then I think, "I'd better do it myself." When I jump into a task then somehow a way to accomplish it always opens before me.

There are some members who are 29 years of age and were almost included in the blessing. Those people may be depressed about that, which is understandable. But think about it-there are so many important things waiting for you in your lives. Consider these things and forget your depression. You can get blessed anytime in the future. As you are idle imagine how many people ate passing in front of you on their way to hell. Have you even stopped to think about that? Every time you are sitting at the table eating, many people are passing on their way to hell.

Have you seen the movie "Silver Streak"? It deals with a train going from California to Chicago and the action develops between the travelers aboard. At one point the conducted is killed and the train's accelerator is somehow weighted down as the train moves faster and faster toward a collision with the Chicago station. Those passengers who know what a tragedy they are speeding toward have to take a great risk to prevent it. They cannot just sit there doing nothing. If God were watching that train carrying His sons and daughters toward death would He say, "Oh, they deserve it since they didn't pay any attention to me." Would He just ignore their situation? Suppose there was one person who knew what was happening and tried very hard to save the train; even if the train crashed and he went to spirit world, God would tenderly lift him up to heaven,

This nation is at stake. Like the runaway train America is heading towards a fatal crash. If somebody becomes aware of the situation and tries his best to save the nation, then even if he fails, when he goes to spirit world would God just leave him in hell? God would certainly lift him up to heaven because of the adventure he dared try. I am thinking in these terms, and trying to inspire you to become such people. Can you promise that you will never complain? These circumstances I have described are not exaggerated. They are very real, yet even under these circumstances God is constantly thinking of establishing the ideal family.

What kind of great leap must we make in order to reach the ideal family? Is it further from Cape Kennedy to the moon, or from the bottom of hell to the highest heaven? This world is a Cape Kennedy where we ignite our own rocket of heart with love, and ride straight up to the world of heaven. This world is our launching pad. Our destination is the heart of God; pursuing that goal seems really dream-like, but it is real. Would you like to get on the rocket? Neil Armstrong was the first astronaut to land on the moon; he was the father of astronauts with his strong arm. But you are not only arm-strong, you are strong in every sense, and you must land directly in the heart of God.

To successfully launch a rocket and land it on the distant target of the moon your previous training must be very complex. As you listen to my sermons you are learning how to manipulate the buttons in a very complicated machine. When you ride on a rocket can you push any buttons you want and expect to land on the moon? You must be strong in every sense. You have to learn to live without food for many days, how to stay alert without much sleep, and train yourself in every conceivable way-physically, mentally and spiritually. You have to overcome many personal weaknesses.

Just hearing this inspires you, doesn't it? What if I am telling you a lie? Then you must determine, "I will teach the truth instead of him." You have to try harder than I do myself. When you have hope then everyone else can have hope. Would you be like that? If so, then as I see you again and again I will see you become increasingly beautiful. Please go ahead and do that. If all of you become like that, then God would really be happy to see you. In this world, this kind of training can only be done with God's help; it is like flying from one end of the universe to the other.

Are you interested in the spirit world? Don't you think sometimes that if you could go there once and see it that an immense new universe would open up to you and completely change your perspective? Do you sometimes desire to know about the spirit world so intensely that you wish you could die briefly to see it, and then come back? Do you have this kind of curiosity? If you have this curiosity then when I say something about this, seek out what is behind it. Try to see what is behind my power. Don't you really want to penetrate through the wall of this physical plane and see the world beyond with your own eyes? Once you see for yourself you would be in a position to know if what I say is true or not. Do you think you already know about spirit world? Actually you do not yet know for sure. You do not completely understand what you have been hearing.

With love you can go anywhere and experience anything

You have only heard about die love of God. Have you ever truly experienced the love of God personally? None of you really have. When you slaughter a chicken and pull the tendon in its leg, then the chicken's foot will draw together. If you pull the coat of God's love and just keep pulling it, the entire universe will eventually come into the bosom of God. Once you are intoxicated in the love of God then your eyes, your nose, your ears, mouth and hands will become focused on one point. When you are focused on one dot your entire being becomes completely one.

When you are feeling good, then your entire self will say, "Good!" in unison. In the same way, when you are completely one with God, you will tag along wherever He goes. You just cannot stand to be separated when you are in the midst of that love. Then all the universe rejoices with you in your happiness. When you really feel good then the entire universe will answer your feelings, like an echo in the mountains. When you say, "Ah," then all the universe will echo, "Ah." We have a saying in Korea that when one is really happy, "His eyes are just tumbling over." It means that his eyes are not just tumbling over, but almost popping out of his head. This is actually something that is beyond explanation.

Men are created to receive that kind of love from God. The couple that is united in that kind of love will be inseparable, and even as they are taking a breath, the entire universe will join them in that breath. Wouldn't you want to be near them and experience that? The fastest speed is spirit world is the speed of love, which is even faster than that of electricity and light. When you are deeply anxious to see God and you say, "Father," God is already beside you. The spirit world is governed with love. Although you do not know what love is you still like that idea, don't you?

There is nowhere that love cannot go and nothing that it cannot go through. With a special looking glass of love you can see through anything into the real basis of existence. You can even see God's image, for He is not without image, and so you can experience love with God who has a form. In Paul's words, "You are Christ's, and Christ is God's." That is only a small expression. Your experience can be a million times greater.

Each one of us originally possesses the value that makes us eligible to experience this. That is the way we were originally created. It is almost too good to be true, isn't it? Even if it is not true, it is the best untruth there is. If this is true, what then? Would you willingly bet your life on it? We must go on with this to nothing less than the whole world. Actually Mother would not be happy to hear this, but strictly speaking, I do not have any real affection for this physical world. However, because I have things to accomplish here, I am doing everything I can while on earth. Sometimes I think about life in the spirit world, even in the night. Even though you may have a sleepless night, somehow you never feel tired when you are absorbed in that spiritual environment.

True love is more than lightning and thunder

I know very clearly that there is nothing which can control love. If there were a man and a woman who could both extend themselves fully in love, wouldn't their marriage be really fantastic? As soon as you see a bright flash of lightning you know you will hear a great roll of thunder. Have you ever stopped to think about why God created such bright lightning, to be followed by a great roll of thunder? Now imagine God's two extremes, plus and minus. What if they were to short circuit; do you think it would make a bigger explosion than the lightning and thunder? You cannot conceive how much bigger. Similarly, in God's love a man has plus voltage and a woman has minus voltage. When a true man and woman unite in love then the entire universe will see the lightning and be shaken by the thunder. That catches God's attention, and He is surprised Himself, just to experience that. Then God is drawn right into the midst of the relationship.

That is the greatest rhythm in all the universe. Man and woman were originally created for this. However, since the fall they do not have this voltage of love, and when a man and woman love each other nothing happens; no powerful current of love flows between them. If a man and woman were to have the voltage of true love then their marriage would be ideal, almost like a fairy tale. The entire universe is eagerly waiting for this kind of love to brighten every comer of the cosmos. That day is finally here.

Have you prepared yourself to become that kind of woman? A strong current will be connected to the man and woman, and when even a small current starts to flow then the earth and the universe will tremble in resonance. Have you ever imagined such a moment? Human beings the world over have never experienced these things. How false their world is! This power of love is the ideal that God had in mind from the beginning when He created man. Would you all like to fulfill the ideal of this morning's talk, the ideal family from the viewpoint of God's dispensation?

I want every inch of every one of you to become refined like pure gold. Is pure gold different on the inside and the outside? A person reflecting this purity does not have any fallen thought. To become one with God one needs to be pure; can you be false gold and achieve that? Jesus told his disciples that everyone must become perfect as their father in heaven is perfect.

If you are pure gold then it is so easy for you and God to melt and become one. Combining two different metals may be difficult, but pure gold can easily blend with pure gold. When you compare yourself to me, are we made of the same substance? Think about that; you have to cleanse and cleanse and cleanse your hearts and minds every day for a long time to become pure gold so that you can become one with God.

We must also become one with the world. The physical world and spirit world are divided up into many classes. All the walls that separate people must be done away with so that they can become one. After each of you do away with all these walls you can become completely one with the world, but for this to be possible you must become pure gold.

Fallen man is gold that is contaminated by foreign metals. We have to go to the refinery to separate those out and replace them with gold. In this refining process we should not be washed away but withstand the test of all the worldly currents passing through us.

Each one of you have to become a ray of hope for both heaven and hell, so that even God can say that you have brought hope. Have you become convinced that after you train and perfect yourselves, that you will become people of pure gold, and one with God? When you and your spouses are blessed then your love will be just as strong and dynamic as I have been describing.

When you really enter into the depth of love, then even without looking with your eyes you begin to see everything. In the same way, even without listening with your ears you hear everything, and you even begin to taste everything just as you sit. In that depth of love nothing will attract your attention except love. The universe will be full of nothing but love and you will be the perfection of everything, and the owner of everything. Beyond that there is nothing else you can desire.

Love has that quality because God has that quality; this is why mankind has not given up hope of having love, even though they have been struggling up to this point. When I begin to speak about the depths of love, I completely lose track of time; and many times I continue on for four or five hours. That is enough time to fly from New York clear to the West Coast. Is that five hour flight boring or not? Do you have an aching back, or are you all excited? Imagine how exciting it would be if I could express all of this in English! Even if someone were to encourage you to doze off, you could never go to sleep, and your eyes would open wider and wider.

If you were really intense and grave, then you could hear things directly from the spirit world, and spiritually see things right from where you are sitting. We could all become like that. One example of spiritual awareness is coming into Belvedere. Even though there may be people around when you walk into Belvedere and look around, it feels like nobody is here. When I am here then people want to come, but when I am not here Belvedere feels empty, even though there are people here. The Washington family told me that when I am there the center seems filled with people, but once I leave then all of a sudden the house feels empty, even though all the people still remain. Do you feel that sometimes? What if I did not exist? It would be as if all the world were here but were empty. Why do you feel like that?

Only love can fill the universe

When love is present then love fills every comer of the universe. If God did not exist, then the world would be empty because God's love would be absent. But if God were here and His love filled the earth then you would feel that the world was full. If He dwells within us then we are filled with everything. Even in a family, when the husband comes home and his children run to greet him the first thing he says to the children is, "Where is your mother?" The wife is the same way. If she goes out shopping somewhere, when she comes back home many children are there, but the first thing she asks is, "Where is Daddy?" Why? It is because of a longing for love, a feeling of "Where is my love?" What can fill this vast universe? Not even air can fill it. We can only fill it with love.

The man with love can go anywhere and still be happy and contented. Without love a man can go anywhere and still feel empty. In spirit world this is even more real. The man who is filled with God's love feels satisfied and whole everywhere he goes. It is understandable. If we experience God's love and remain stable in that, then we become the source of the spark of love and can be called sons of thunder and lightning.

Would you want to give birth to sons and daughters once you were blessed in marriage? When a man and wife love each other like that, then their sons and daughters dwell in that harmony, rejoicing in each other, and caring for each other. That love would interact within the family, among the father and mother and all the children. An arc light is extremely bright, like a spotlight. The current does not pass through a filament but creates an arc of silver light. The energy or current of abundant love creates that kind of brilliant silvery light. God wants to live within that kind of bright home, within the warmth of such love. Wouldn't you like to create that kind of family in the future?

God is alive and like us, isn't He? He must also want to live like all men; He never had the desire to live all by Himself but to live among His sons and daughters in the midst of abundant love. What kind of love would He like to live in? In electrical terms, would He like to live in the light of electric bulbs like these, or would He like to live in the brilliance of an arc light? God would like to live in the arc light of love. If you would like to experience that kind of love in the future, the first thing you have to do is prepare yourselves for marriage. Unless you are pure like gold then when you come under an intense arc light you just could not stand the heat. If you are made up of any other inferior material you would just bum away.

Raise your hands if you have taken drugs and lived a hippie life. Almost all. Some scholar took a poll and found that 75% of our members are exhippies. We have to show people a brand-new hippie, a "King Hippie," who will originate new fashions and concepts of life. That is the kind of hippie that God likes, while Satan likes the ordinary hippies. Here for the first time we have heard about such essential things as life rights and love rights. Here we have also created a new person, called a "kingpie," who also has the habit of eating kimchee. Americans will just shake their heads in amazement.

You can become men and women of pure gold with the love of God in your hearts and form ideal families. This is the ideal family I have described this morning. Just imagine that perfect man and wife, the original ideal of creation. We have just imagined that this morning; we have not become that ideal as yet. Has God connected His own source of power to you yet? Have you prepared yourselves for blessing in such a way that when the two wires touch then a huge spark will jump between them? How may karats of gold are you, 24, 14, or 8 karats? Would you like to stay where you are, or would you like to purify yourselves to become 24 karat gold?

You need a passport from Satan and a visa from heaven

What kind of furnace can purify you? You guessed very quickly! All the iron, copper and other foreign metals will be processed out of you in hell, and in their place God will fill you with gold. Therefore, you are actually going into hell in God's name, not in Satan's name. There is no other way to refine yourselves. All the corruption which we inherited from the satanic world will be drawn away and only our gold will remain. After that God can fill with gold the holes left by the other metals.

After that, even if you want to stay in hell, Satan will say, "This is not the place for you. You have to leave." When you really become like that Satan will write you a passport, "This man is completely free from me; he is qualified to stay in heaven." No one but Satan can write you a passport to leave hell. Has Satan issued you a passport saying that you can go? Your visa to heaven is written by an angel from God and you can go to the original place that God intended for man, being a true man for the first time. You are qualified to proceed to heaven after you win over Satan and take dominion over the angels. This is the way of restoration: we must do something that even Satan and the angels cannot do. After we do that we are given passports and visas and then we can proceed into heaven.

This is similar to the old world, where even though you have a passport and are free to leave, if the place to which you are going does not release a visa then you cannot enter. When you have both then you have the qualification for blessing. Those who have both your passport and visa, raise your hand. Nobody? But on the other hand, those who want to be blessed, raise your hand. All of you. The angel also wanted to be blessed even before he was qualified, and then he and Eve both fell. You also want to be blessed but it is not the time yet. Do you understand that you are situated at that very same point?

Many of you were stimulated by the 74 Couple Blessing of a few days ago. You watched that and thought, "I want to be blessed too." Those of you who were not affected by that and didn't even think of yourselves getting blessed do not even qualify to receive the blessing next time. Raise your hand if you compared your position to that of the marrying couples, thinking, "I want to become blessed also, but I'm not prepared so I'd better become prepared! You are like good businessmen!

Businessmen you may be, but you must become pure gold. If you are pure, then no matter how strongly the satanic world opposes you, can your gold be altered into copper? What if you are twisted around-suppose a heavy roller rolled you out-are you still gold? If somebody did everything to provoke you, spitting at you and calling you names, would you still not change? Do you sometimes wonder why you have to put up with this, and feel like jumping in a car and killing yourself?

Instead maybe you wish your opponent would be killed by an automobile! To love your enemy is a most wonderful thing. In that case, you are still pure gold even while you are going through hell. We have to realize our objective as Unification Church members; no matter what hardships we go through, we must continue to purify ourselves and become pure gold. Going through hell is the only way for us to become pure gold. Through test after test we must drain ourselves of all fallen nature and be filled with God's gold. We cannot achieve this by going into a palace or by being comfortable. Before Americans finally understand us the whole nation will go against you, melting you down as they call you names and mock you. But once they realize that you are actually made of pure gold they will gradually change their attitudes and start respecting you.

Whenever pure gold goes through the furnace, its weight stays the same because no foreign metals are drawn off. You will reach heaven when you have become victors over all the satanic world, going through all of hell and winning over it. I have been going through the individual and family course, and now am striving to accomplish on the world level. I have been persecuted and have suffered, but my liberation is near. The day will come when all the people who oppose me will sign a statement testifying that I am a royal worker for the heavenly world. They have started making drafts already. Even though such a man may have opposed me, once he carefully examines what we are doing and realizes he was wrong, he will have no further reason to oppose me. Once he recognizes the goodness of what we are doing he will become a member, and try to become many times better than the rest of you.

Once you prepare yourself, what kind of spouse are you going to get? Is he or she going to hold a college degree or be very handsome or beautiful, or be refined and high-standard in every way? Would you like to marry that kind of spouse, or would you like to marry someone who is deformed and misfigured and of a different race than you had expected? Would you be willing to many that kind of spouse? After you become pure gold, you will not care so much about external appearances or college degrees, but more about how pure your spouse is. Would you rather marry a very good-looking spouse who is not pure gold, or would you rather be with an ugly person who is 24 karat gold?

What is so different in the Unification Church? Our philosophy of marriage and value of love are what is completely different. We are not contented with some small love, but are always reaching for what we were originally designed to be; we want to occupy this great big love of God with our own pure gold love. In this country the custom is a little different, but in the Orient women nurse their children. When God looks down on a woman of pure gold nursing her child he is filled with heart-felt laughter and happiness at seeing such a beautiful sight.

Can you say with confidence, "My husband is the best in the whole world because of his inner nature, and therefore my child is the one whom God can love the most. I too, am completely one with God and His love." How can you become like that? God will look at you with His eyes filled with love if you can be like that. When you are filled inside with love then nothing looks ugly or hateful. If you are truly in love, then you can handle the soiled sheets or clothes of your spouse and still not feel that they are dirty. When you have absolute love for another then even the dirtiest thing about them actually appears clean. Some married people have experienced this to a certain extent.

If God's love is dwelling within a person, then no matter how ugly he may be by worldly standards you will love him; external appearance is just not noticed among those who love God. There is a saying that beauty is only skin-deep. Those who occupy God's love have unlimited beauty. I want every one of you to become part of an ideal family which resides in the heart of God.

This morning we have spent much time already but actually I have not been able to complete my talk. Next time I will continue on this topic. Maybe next Sunday we will assemble here at 3 o'clock in the morning. Is that all right? I expect that none will be absent.

Now we know we have to become good and perfect husbands and wives. If I forget this topic next time and start talking to you on a different subject, then remind me to continue. Let us pray.

The Will of God and Individual Perfection

Sun Myung Moon
February 27, 1977
Belvedere, New York
Translator-Bo Hi Pak

The topic of the message this morning is "The Will of God and Individual Perfection." Men fundamentally desire to know what the will of God is, and actually the answer is quite simple. The will of God is to consummate the purpose of creation.

Then where is the will of God consummated and who will do it? God Himself? No. When we talk about the consummation of the will of God some object is required. God's will cannot be consummated just within Himself, but rather in relation to others. If this is true, who will play the major role? At the time of creation Adam and Eve were supposed to be in the object position to God to consummate the purpose of creation.

Actually their perfection would have accomplished this. The purpose of creation is fulfilled by the establishment of the heavenly four position foundation. Therefore the will of God requires not just God Himself, but more particularly requires man for its consummation. The problem remaining today is to perfect Adam and Eve, which will finally consummate the purpose of creation. Consequently, individual perfection and the will of God are one and the same and cannot be separated.

Let us focus on "I," the individual. Have you ever thought about your position relative to perfection? How far are you from perfection? The center of a circle, which is equally distant from the edge in any direction, represents the original perfected position. Then where are you in relation to it? How far are you off from this ideal central position?

How far was man brought away from that central point by the fall of man? Billions of people have been born since the fall, and human history has developed in a circular pattern away from the central point. Consequently a wandering life with men trying to come back to the center from all different directions has been the characteristic of man's history. One person may think that one point is his destination, while other people may circle around another particular point. They all misunderstand where the true center is.

Our ancestors all have different characteristics; one branch of our family may have developed in one direction, while another ancestral line may have gone in another direction, but we are the fruit of that entire ancestry. Since our ancestral origins are so different, our positions as their fruit cannot be identical. Not only does everyone have different individual characteristics, but we all have varied spiritual heritages. God is a God of justice, equality and fairness. From God's point of view, since each individual has different ancestry, can God really say, "All men are equal. In my sight everyone is absolutely equal"? Is that a correct concept?

If there had been no fall of man, then certainly the value of every person would have been equal. The precious value of man would not have changed from one person to another, but because of the fall every man has gone through an entirely different course in his life of wandering. As a result of man's widely varied behavior, two drastic consequences came into being: one is called heaven, and the other hell. Between heaven and hell there are thousands and thousands of different levels of accomplishment, like different ranks.

The accumulated goodness of a particular ancestral line places a person here on earth somewhere between heaven and hell. The consequences of your own life as well as your ancestors' lives accumulate good or evil. We have thousands of different levels of accomplishment here on earth which will be reflected in the spirit world. There are as many levels or different ranks existing in spirit world as there are here on earth.

You do not know much about spirit world now, but when you understand its makeup you will recognize the thousands of different levels of accomplishment, from the worst kind of evil existence to the highest, most divine existence of spiritual perfection. If a person is standing at the bottom, knowing that he has a millennium ahead of him to reach just a mediocre level, do you think he will have much incentive to strive toward the goal? No, human desire is created when a person can see both his own position and the most glorious goal clearly. Then that person will have a desire to progress toward that goal.

Once a person sees the goal he wants to reach it, but first he must realize why he is at his present point instead of at the goal. A person standing apart from God's ideal central point has fallen to a position far, far distant from God; then where will his solution originate, from his present position or from God's central point?

This state of being far from God came as a result of man's behavior during his physical life and reflects what his character was on earth. Therefore, the solution must come through men here on earth. In the spirit world it is too late; once a person goes over to the spirit world his most fundamental problem is that he can no longer work freely here on earth, and yet he cannot expect to make spiritual progress without working through this earthly world.

In order to progress, the entire spirit world must make a certain relationship with the physical world; however, it is not easy for the two worlds to intermingle and for spirits to come down. The thousands of different levels in spirit world came into being as a result of fallen history. The fall of Adam and Eve here on earth brought this reality to the spirit world.

Who then, is ultimately responsible for this tragic situation? This situation came into being because of the fall of Adam and Eve. All mankind came into suffering because of the misbehavior of Adam, so one man is responsible for the suffering of mankind, both on earth and in the spirit world. Who is the next person responsible for this situation? There is no question about it: Satan.

Furthermore, since a parent is responsible for the behavior of his child, God as the father, the creator of Adam also has to take responsibility for Adam's actions. Mortal, fallen Adam is incapable of bringing himself or mankind back to perfection; only God has that power. Therefore, God must lead the way and guide Adam and the people into perfection. God has to take that responsibility.

God's throne is in the highest possible heaven. However, God gave up His throne and came all the way down to the bottom of hell. There God Himself pioneered each step toward the accomplishment of perfection; and He has been pulling and pushing mankind through each step. By whom is God's will fulfilled? By man.

When God comes down to the lowest part of this world, can He say, "I don't care about you; I don't need you. I can fulfill My will alone"? No, that is impossible because man is the most important component in fulfilling the will of God. Therefore God has to embrace man. God will instruct man, but only in accordance with the possibility of his acceptance or his level of understanding. In other words, God cannot teach the highest possible truth to men with inadequate awareness.

God's methods of teaching and guidance differ according to each man's perception. When God first came down to this earth, he saw nothing but primitive tribes who did not know anything about the world or the universe. Their understanding of the universe was so small and trivial that they were only aware of themselves, but God still had a method for teaching them. In Shamanism, for example, God only asked the people to worship the creation-the trees, the sun, the moon-things they could relate to. Would God tell simple people to come to a classroom to hear a lecture at a blackboard?

God also has all the knowledge and wisdom necessary to teach a person who could perceive the universe; however there are certain limitations which prevent God from teaching man all the time. This universe and this earth are turning every moment of the day. Similarly, the human mind is also turning so that there are both days and nights in our consciousness. God can reveal His teachings only when a person's mind is in the daylight-in other words when a person's mind is uplifted. Only in those moments can God capture and teach him.

Your mind is the same. No individual's mind travels in a straight line. Instead, your mind progresses in waves, up and down. Do you feel it? Some days you wake up and feel like a million dollars and you are almost flying, but some days you are so gloomy that you can hardly make yourself wake up completely.

When your spirit is uplifted and shining, you are ready to contact the spirit world and God, and a spark can jump between God's spirit and your spirit. That is why we have to strive very hard to be bright and happy all the time. When you keep your spirit uplifted all the time you can meet God, for which you can be truly thankful. This is the most basic and important mode of life of men who reach God. If you have something troubling you then somehow take care of it right away.

Why should you make efforts concerning your own behavior or way of life? By doing so, you are opening yourself more to God, prolonging the length of time in which you can meet God. In that way there is more chance that God can approach you. For this reason religious life is very important in our spiritual progress. Following a religious life is your effort to make yourself more readily available to receive God's revelations. In religious life we always pursue hope for the future in God, always seeing a grandiose future ahead even though the present has only suffering. In this way you can create an environment, an atmosphere where you can meet God.

When you are deeply troubled in your heart, don't you want to go to a good friend and talk about it to get it off your chest? Religion stresses communication with God; it stresses trusting Him with our problems and forgetting about them. You can say, "God, I have a problem here. Let me get it out, and let You see it so I can get rid of it." That is best, really. Your best friend may not be capable of helping you and may eventually forget your situation, but God is capable and will never forget.

Spirit world and God will always approach you when your awareness is high. Then the spirit and God can touch you and teach you, not with a blackboard in a lecture room, but in dreams, visions and revelations. Also a spirit guide may take you on a guided tour and open the reality of the spirit world to you. Since dreams are one medium that God uses to reveal Himself, some dreams may give important revelations.

There is only one way that a higher spirit can contact you. Why is that? Because of the fall of man we belong to the satanic lineage or bloodline. When we move, that satanic blood circulates through our bodies. This stained or fallen blood is not pure. However, when you sleep at night your body is not in motion so your blood does not circulate as rapidly. It can be compared to muddy water which is sitting still, allowing the dirt to settle to the bottom and pure water to come to the top. This same kind of phenomenon happens when we sleep; our bodies quiet down and in that way our spirit is in a position to be touched, which is why revelations usually come at night. This is common sense; it may be new to you, but in religious life these experiences are very important.

If you have many different dreams, do you know how to distinguish whether they are from god or from Satan? A satanic dream does not have a clear picture, direction, or central theme. In Korean slang we call these "dog dreams." They are jumbled and when you get up you easily forget them. In contrast, a heavenly dream has a system and a clear theme or message. Heavenly dreams may continue a message from one dream to the next. When you have an uplifting dream three times or more, with the same theme or atmosphere, then you must receive it as a revelation. A heavenly dream will be so clear in your mind that when you get up you will recall it vividly. Do you know why?

To begin with, God and men were supposed to be completely united for eternity. In that true atmosphere, if God gave you something you would not soon forget it. Because satanic relationships are illicit and unprincipled, however, they are quickly forgotten. Those who are in constant contact with the spirit of God and the good spirit world cannot be swayed by the temptation of Satan. Such people have an unforgettable relationship with God. Even though they may go down to the dungeons of hell, Satan could not claim them because they would still be deeply meditating on God's revelation. Over 70% of the revelations recorded in the Bible came through the medium of dreams. Did you know that?

A most important revelation came in the New Testament. After Mary conceived the baby Jesus, an angel appeared one night to Joseph, saying, "Joseph, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit." In the Old Testament Jacob's eleventh son, Joseph, once told his parents about a dream, in which the sun, the moon and eleven stars came and bowed down to him. This little boy vividly recalled his dream. Later on Joseph became the Prime Minister of Egypt and his father and mother, who were represented by the sun and moon in the dream, and his eleven brothers, the stars, came and bowed down to him.

There is no one completely without dreams, but usually people forget them. If there is some vivid, unusual dream that you remembered for more than three years, however, I want you to know that such a dream is a revelation, the work of God. Many people have had revelations about coming to the Unification Church far before they ever heard about me. Maybe some Oriental man in white robes appeared and sprinkled water on them, and three years later they found out that he was Reverend Moon.

Why do these phenomena have to occur? The spirit world is descending and trying to teach you, and as a result there are many distinct types of messages; sometimes God Himself comes, or the spirit of Jesus, or a noble spirit. Sometimes your ancestors will appear, or even some evil spirit. Therefore, it is not always easy for you to determine how true their messages are.

We need the help of the spirit world, but unless we know the principles governing it we can be misled and confused by it. Today many people are suffering from psychological disturbances. These phenomena are very prevalent in today's world because the lower realms of spirit world are also assaulting the physical world, trying to affect people on earth in one way or another, and lower realm spirits always have an adverse effect on people. These spirits from unprincipled realms are trying to assist you with good intentions, but in reality they can destroy you, or at least disturb you. Conversely, good spirits from higher realms can guide and assist you since they bring divine truth and power.

That is going on right now in our world. Today many psychologists and professors are extensively studying dreams, but they cannot determine their cause. Some people insist that all dreams are a manifestation of our subconscious, but those kinds of dreams are not from God and therefore are quickly forgotten. The significant, vivid dreams from God are never expected, and often are not even related to familiar things. All of a sudden some dramatic event will occur in a dream, something that cannot be forgotten. That is the intervention of the spirit world.

Sometimes we pray all night or we make an effort to quietly meditate. In that effort to make ourselves calm, to concentrate on the spirit world and God, our pure spiritual nature can surface, and our foreign, dirty elements will settle to the bottom. This is similar to a state of sleep, yet we are wide awake. For instance, when we are really tired, almost on the verge of sleep but still awake, we can still hear sounds and see things, but not clearly. That is similar to meditation. In that moment when we are half asleep and half awake, a vision can come. It is a wonderful opportunity for God to reveal a clear vision to us.

We emphasize the discipline of prayer, particularly night vigils for long hours, to quiet our bodies down and to increase our spiritual alertness, allowing God to speak to us very clearly and to manifest Himself in visions. Later on, when you are disciplined in that practice you will be able to see visions with your eyes open. When you sit down to pray, suddenly you will see visions and hear voices. With your ears you will hear two kinds of sounds from two different worlds.

We call this practice religious discipline. When the fund raisers get tired from working so hard, heaven can open up and show them astonishing things as they are momentarily dozing in the van. Even in one second God can reveal to them ten years of history or give some forewarning. In the Unification Church this is almost an everyday diet.

We have dual systems within our bodies; one deals with the physical world, another with the spirit world. I could go on talking like this about the spirit world for days and nights but it is so fascinating that you would not come back down to earth, and this service would never end. We still have to talk about the main topic of individual perfection, but it is important to have a basic understanding of the spirit world, too.

In the lower realms there are many multitudes of spirit men that God has been working to bring up to a higher level. In order to do that God will raise up one prophet or one central figure to open the path. That is the pattern God follows. The person selected by God is a pathfinder who can lay a superhighway for all the people dwelling in those lower realms and thereby free them to go to a higher level. We call that person a prophet.

God's prophet, however, is not a spirit man; God always picks a pioneer here on earth. That person works first in the lowest, most primitive realms here so that when he opens the path, everybody will be benefited and become recipients of his accomplishment. When people elevate themselves to a higher level on earth they can live in a higher realm of spirit world.

Spirit men from all the realms of the spirit world will come down to earth to assist and inspire individuals here to follow God's central person and thus be able to benefit from his spiritual accomplishment. By assisting in that way spirit men can reap the same benefit. The key to man's situation is here on earth; whatever we loose here on earth shall be loosed in heaven. In spirit world there is no solution; spirit men have to work through this physical world to receive salvation.

At the time of the Second Advent all spirit men must manifest themselves once again here on earth and assist people with the same level of life as they have. By helping people on earth to progress to a higher level they too can reap the same result. Some religions, such as Buddhism, have a theory of reincarnation. However, in Divine Principle we know that a person has no way to reincarnate. Buddha cannot become another Buddha here on earth, but that Buddha can appear in spirit and assist people of the same spiritual level. Some people mistake this phenomenon for reincarnation, but reincarnation itself is not possible.

Sometimes a spirit man influences an individual so much that he even behaves like that spirit manlike Buddha or Confucius, for example. People may think that the individual is the reincarnation of Buddha, but actually it is only the spirit of Buddha assisting him. In order to further develop man's spiritual progress, God handpicked numerous prophets to extend the highway. That is how God has made spiritual progress possible for all mankind.

When God looks down He sees only one world. In God's eyes then, His prophets come for the entire world. Whether the prophet happens to be an Oriental, an Indian or a black does not make any difference. When God picks one champion to pioneer one stage of progress, that person is sent to assist the whole world. God considers it unnecessary to choose dozens of champions for different places because God sees only one world.

Eventually, therefore, one central figure will come who can organize one world religion having the power to unite all the religions with lesser degrees of accomplishment. Their dimmer lights will blend in with the one higher, brighter light. Ultimately, God will choose one great pioneer who can finish the superhighway all the way from the bottom to the top, and through that all the world religions can be united.

God calls that pioneer the Messiah. The Messiah is the central prophet who is needed by everyone; he is what you call in English a "panacea," a cure-all. The Messiah comes as a religious leader, but as a universal religious leader, not representing just one particular religion. He has the capacity to embrace all the religions of the universe. The Messiah has a clear purpose in coming to this earth; He is to fulfill the will of God which was broken by the failure of Adam. He knows that once Adam's mission is completed here on earth, then the will of God will also be consummated.

Who is Adam then? Adam is the ancestor of mankind. Because of the fall of man we have had only evil, Satan-centered ancestors. The Messiah is coming to indemnity all the failures of the world and to eliminate man's satanic origin. Without compromising he will just wipe it away and start the first central family of God. The Messiah has a very clear-cut mission: He is to liquidate the world of the fall and bring back the world without sin. He is coming as the true ancestor of God-centered mankind. When the Messiah is installed here on earth, then mankind will reach its greatest fulfillment. All the levels of the spirit world will come down, wanting to reap the benefit of that time. This is why the entire spirit world will descend at the time of the Messiah.

The vertical differences between men will manifest on the horizontal level as the most devoted people gather closest to the Messiah, and level after level of people will surround him. No matter how low you are in spirit world, if you happen to recognize the Messiah and assist in his crusade, when the Messiah consummates his mission you will have the privilege of being elevated all the way to the top of heaven. The coming of the Messiah provides a gigantic gold mine of opportunity.

Even though spirit men may be in the dungeons of hell, there is room for them to be rescued and to receive the Messiah's light in that world of darkness. The power of the Messiah can penetrate everywhere. Once they perceive it and cooperate, then even the very lowest spirit in hell will have his chance to reach perfection.

The ideology of the Messiah is an ideology of equality. It is fair to everyone. The Messiah does not say, "You are not qualified; do not come to me." Since God does not discriminate, the Messiah, too, will embrace everyone, but everything depends on how people receive him. That makes the difference. The Messiah himself does not discriminate but the Principle clearly indicates that only the person who unites with the Messiah can be restored.

The Messiah lays a highway from the very bottom of hell all the way to the top of heaven, in order that any person who takes advantage of that highway can go from the lowest hell all the way to the top of heaven. The Messiah, therefore, comes first to the lowest realm of human misery. He gives his entire life to the accomplishment of his mission, and if we are united with him there is nothing that is impossible. Many Christians teach that the Messiah is returning in glory in the air, to uplift only a handful of Christians and start the millennium somewhere. That is a fantasy and only those who do not know the spirit world would believe something like that. That will not happen. You will understand clearly what I am teaching when we are all in spirit world some day.

If you ask spirit men why they want to come down and bother you, they will not have a reason. Do you know why they come down or not? They are descending to earth because they want to progress to perfection, and it is impossible unless they come down to assist physical people. Whether they were well-known persons or just good men, whatever their level may have been, they still have to act within this law. There are no exceptions.

The Messiah is the greatest pioneer of all. He has the power to unite the spirit world, yet he must work here on earth and create a parallel situation because the earth has priority, The Messiah's role must first be accomplished here on earth in order to have effect in the spirit world. The Messiah's pioneering task starts with his individual perfection here on earth and then continues on the level of the family, the tribe, the nation, the world and the universe. While the Messiah is fulfilling each level, parallel events happen in the spirit world. His same pioneering task clears up the past confusion and brings unity and harmony there too.

The ultimate fulfillment comes right in the center of the cosmos; however, mankind cannot go there instantly. History has been a course of struggle, always circling the central point but coming closer and closer. Finally the Messiah will establish the cosmic center on the individual, family, tribal, national and worldwide levels. God's ultimate world is one world, yet right now two ideological worlds are confronting each other: the communist world, and the democratic world. One accepts God while the other denies Him. In the future the world will not be either communist or democratic, but one world under God. Having these two worlds is only one step away from having one world, and these two will eventually become one.

When you think of individual perfection, do not think of it in a selfish way. If a person is just standing here claiming individual perfection, it is irrelevant; perfection has to begin with the central point of the universe and be connected with the rest of the world as well as with God. When standing in that center you are perfected, but without relationships with the universe and God, do not even think about perfection.

We are the center of the universe; therefore, by being perfected ourselves we will perfect the universe. Universal perfection and our own perfection come simultaneously. Everyone has an ambition to become a world-renowned person, the center of the world, isn't that true? We have this desire because each one of us can fulfill it. When we become one with God then we indeed become the center of the universe.

All human desire and ambition is fulfilled by reaching this ultimate target of unity with God; the search for Him has been the constant effort of humanity throughout history. God is absolute; therefore, universal unity is possible. As people unite with God, each one will stand in the position of God.

When you see the entire spirit world and physical world together they look like one human being, one man. God also is like an invisible man. When these two men, God and the spirit world and physical world, really embrace each other, that is heaven. They embrace each other in harmony, breathing, dancing, and jumping around together. That is God's world, God's ideal.

In the sight of God each individual is like a cell of that giant human. Each one of you is a cell, yet however small you are, every other cell is still connected to your life. When you look at a little cell on the tip of your finger you are a giant in comparison to it, yet you still deal with that one cell on a one-to-one basis. Each cell has a right to claim, "However small I may be, I have one vote, and you, big man, you have only one vote too." You are like one tiny cell, only one portion of the entire universal body, yet when you deal with the universe you are on a one-to-one basis and you can claim your rightful vote.

Blood is circulating throughout your whole body, going down to the very tip of your foot, which is normally in a dark, sweaty, smelly area. When that blood comes to the brain, will the brain say to those blood cells, "You went down to those smelly feet; don't come near me"? In the same way we circulate through the entire universe. Race is disregarded; whether you are black, or yellow or white does not make any difference when you are circulating through the entire universe of God, from top to bottom.

Can the parts of the body be prejudiced about color? Can red blood dislike black hair, or white nails dislike yellow skin? There is no way the body can be segregated. The entire spirit world and entire physical world together are like one giant human. Every one is an important component in making up that giant. The holy men or saints of history have been in the roles of the eyeball or the brain and so forth, but even though they have had important roles, they are still only components of that one giant human.

Hell in the spirit world is like an infected wound which is corrupted and decaying in the physical body, Do you think God wants hell to exist for eternity? If you had a wound what would you do? You would mend it, clean it up, and bring it back to its original shape. In the same way God wants to clean up hell and get rid of it by purifying it. That is the will of God.

When the Messiah comes those in the highest realm of spirit world come down to earth first, followed by successively lower realms. When the spirit and physical worlds work together to expand the ideal of God to all four corners of the earth, then the will of God will be consummated here on earth. That will be the Kingdom of God.

Once this spiritual door is completely open and the highway to the top of the spirit world is finished, then Satan will have no power to accuse man before God ever again. This is why I made such a momentous declaration at the celebration of the True Parents' birthday. I knew that all these things had been consummated in spirit world, and now all that remains is to copy my success there and bring it to the earth. When you come to the Unification Church ideology, you become a giant in your thinking and your goal becomes big. You say, "We must liberate heaven and earth." We must have that kind of feeling to become part of God and to liberate heaven and earth.

Who are all the people of humanity? You are one cell and every human being is another cell, another "you," all parts of the same body. How then can you fight with another "you?" Your perfection is important, but what about your other "you?" It must be perfected, too. The most noble desire is to want to give up your own individual perfection, your own cell, in order to have the rest of the cells live. That attitude is the quickest way to bring the Kingdom of God on earth.

For whom are you working? For whom are you trying so hard? Are you employed by the Unification Church and working for Reverend Moon? Are you working for God? Most important, are you working for your own perfection? It is for your own perfection that you are trying to reach down into hell and to reach out to the entire world. Because your own perfection is also the perfection of God's will, you have no way to complain.

In the Unification Church we work hard, no question about it, but we are not enslaved. Outside people think I am enslaving you young people, but in reality this is the only opportunity you have to work for your own perfection and the perfection of the universe. While there have been 6,000 Biblical years of fallen history, you can hope to live not more than 70 to 100 years. Compared to eternity, or even to those 6,000 years, your life is but a brief spark.

Adam and Eve were like the seed of the universe which contained the ideal of one family, one tribe, one nation, and one world. But because of the fall of man, the entire world has been contaminated. Now it is a very difficult job to cleanse the world. Not only one man, but billions of men are infected,

Our job is enormous because we are not dealing with that original seed; we are dealing with the contaminated world and isolating the contamination is not easy. One by one we must change everyone into the form of the original cell, the original seed of Adam. We must individually become a seed with that original, God-centered core, and then that core shall multiply in a chain reaction.

In order for us to embody truth or perfection, we must reach out and draw vitality from all over the world, just like fruit on a tree. To be perfected that little fruit at the end of a branch draws energy not only from that little branch, but from the entire tree. Like that fruit we are the fruit of the end of the world and our energy must come from the entire world, We are not just dealing with one area of the universe; our view is that we must draw energy from the entire universe in order to become perfected. Then out of our own core, our own seed, we can regenerate or recreate our own family, society, nation and world, having nothing to do with sin.

In the Unification Church we are dealing with the world. We will tackle the world's problems and make them ours. We must have the pride to say, "The world will be perfected because of me since I am a branch of the Messiah; I am one important component of the Messiah's work." Do you have that kind of conviction and pride?

You can be like God. You can look at God's will as your will, God's work as your work, God's anxiety as your anxiety, and God's ambition as your ambition. When God looks at this world, is it small or big in His eyes? For God this world is even smaller than a ping-pong ball. He can toss it, grab it, put it in His pocket; He can do anything He wants with it. That is the way you can feel. You can look at this world and say, " I can put this world in my pocket. I can claim it; I can cleanse it; I can toss it around."

Since you are looking at the world from God's point of view, you are perceiving God's will and God's ideal as your own. You can say, "This world will move because of me. I will move the universe. Our adversaries take certain sentences from my speeches out of context and they tell people, "Reverend Moon says he will conquer the universe." What they have not realized is that not only I but every member of the Unification Church is saying that!

Without this kind of gigantic conviction we cannot move this world. Suppose there were no God. Even if there were no God, we would still need the idea of God because this is the only way we can unite the world. If only in hypothesis, we would have to create some concept like God in order to unify the world. Since we are sure that there is God, however, we can be even more sure that unity is going to be fulfilled. Our real joy is that there is a God. If we are really feeling that way and perceiving His ideal on earth, then there is no way to fail.

When you realize that there is a real God, then you do not have to wait for instructions to do certain things. If God is real then you just go ahead because what needs to be done is obvious. Our MFT works very hard, but nobody tells them to do so. They could leave any time, but they do not run away because this work is very real, because God is really there and they do not want to be separated from Him. They do not want to lose this wonderful opportunity.

Think of it. You can productively employ your life here on earth for only 60 years. How can you waste even one second out of those 60 years? This is your only opportunity. The world is wide and billions of people are waiting. How can you waste even one split second? This is precisely how I feel and why I came to America to try to push this country. My time is so precious because I must do everything now.

At least one thing is sure: whether for good or bad, I have shaken America. Everybody knows about me. You can go out to the streets of New York and grab one little boy and even he will know about me. However, most people know very little. They know my name, Reverend Moon, but they have absolutely no idea what I am all about. Those adversaries who spread rumors and allegations and press stories really know nothing abut me. If they really knew me they would be the first group to come at 3 o'clock in the morning, trying to take your seats.

They oppose me because they are greedy, and in another way they are ambitious. Ambitious people are all right; we need ambitious people but they have to know the right thing to do. Actually it is God's strategy to spread negative rumors and allegations. He wants only those people who are genuinely determined to give their lives for the sake of God to come to Belvedere. You are that group.

When outside people say, "Don't go to the Unification Church. Reverend Moon is evil and the Unification Church is a terrible place, you will ruin your life," they are actually advertising for us. Good people have been so deeply disappointed by things in this world after hearing such good publicity about them, that when they hear bad things about me they may think, "There must be something there; otherwise these people would not oppose him so fanatically. I must investigate for myself." When our adversaries try to discredit us God feels challenged too, "All right, since you're making Reverend Moon look so bad, I'll prove to the world that Reverend Moon is good." Then God will make an extra effort to polish His own commodity and show it to the world.

We can conclude that the person who is honestly searching for the truth of God should knock at the door of a group that is being persecuted. From that point of view, have you ended up in the right place or the wrong place?

If I said that because of you people I am being persecuted and cursed, and I chased you out the front door, you would just come back in through the rear door. I feel the same way. My life here on earth is very limited, and in this short span of time I have tremendous work to do so I do not want to waste even a split second. I just run, run, run. I am responsible not only for America, but also for Europe, Africa, South America, the Middle East, and Asia. I am worrying about the whole communist world. I have the whole world to worry about in the short span of one lifetime, so I am always running.

Because my physical body is limited I sent out missionaries to 120 nations. The people in the physical world and the spirit world have a right to protest or complain to me if I do not visit their countries for at least three months. They can say to me, "You have the mission to bring salvation to us and to the universe. Why did you stay in America for so long? Why didn't you come to visit my country just once?"

However, here on earth I have physical limitations. If I were to visit 120 nations of the world for three months each, it would take 360 months to come back to the United States. Just to make one visit around the world with three months in each country would take 30 years! Is it realistically possible?

I had to tell spirit world, "You know it would take 30 years to visit each country, and I have to finish an important ministry in certain places." Then spirit world said, "You are right. You cannot make such a tour, but then at least send your representatives." I accepted that offer from spirit world and sent the missionaries out to 127 nations. However, some of these nations instead of welcoming them, persecuted our missionaries and put them in jail. But the fact remains that my representatives have been sent. If those nations did not accept them that is their responsibility. Now no one can accuse me of being unconcerned about those nations.

Furthermore, I am well-known, not only here in America, but all over the world. Even though I was not physically in every nation to proclaim the truth, my name and work has still been spread all over the world, fulfilling the necessary condition. Now I am in a position to accuse those nations. I sent my ambassadors, my representative,,, to those countries, and they have heard about me. If those people never even listened to us, how can they say that we have not done our part? They must not judge us without investigating the situation, listening only to allegations and rumors. They must draw their own conclusions. If people just accept rumors without investigating us, they are in the wrong.

Whether as good or bad, whether as controversial or not, I am known all over the world. Now I can say that I have done my job, and I am free from any accusation of the people. Now I am putting responsibility into their hands. They cannot complain to God that I did not declare the truth to them. There is no condition for accusation existing. Satan has no way to accuse and the people have no way to accuse. If they come to oppose me even more, the condition exits for God to let us reap more and more blessings. They must pay the penalty. I am in a position to bring a libel suit against Satan, "What you have done is character assassination, and now you must pay the penalty."

The amazing thing is that the people who oppose me, including the media, are actually helping the Unification Church to receive greater blessing. If 1 had not been opposed in the most horrendous way by the Washington Post and the New York Times, we would not have created our own newspaper, the news World. We would not have needed it. Therefore, they brought us the blessing of the News World.

Accusation coming from the white community in America gives a chance to all the minority groups to come, which is a blessing. Any accusation or opposition is matched by equal blessing. Because most of the white community is opposing me, the black people are coming to take my side in indignation at my being mistreated. But actually, as far as I am concerned, white and black are the same in the sight of God.

Now you understand the will of God and individual perfection. Then who is your enemy? Satan is not your enemy; you are your own enemy. Are your mind and body one in serving God? Which is more difficult, unification of the entire universe or of your own mind and body? First you must have unification between your mind and body and then with this principle you can certainly unify the rest of the world. The key to the unification of the entire universe is not the universe itself, but you. Then who is your enemy? Your own eyes and ears, your nose, mouth, your thoughts, those are your enemies.

You must recreate your eyes, ears, nose and mouth, and your arms and legs so that you can live entirely for God and His will. That is your revolution. Within yourself is the borderline between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Hell; those two worlds meet in you. If you move to the left, you end up in hell; if you move to the right, you end up in the Kingdom of God. Many people start out on this borderline but shift to the left, all the way down to the dungeons of hell. However, some people keep pushing themselves to the right until they are entirely dwelling on the side of God. But a third type of people cannot make up their own minds and just wander along the line, always with one foot on either side. In the Unification Church there are these three types of members. Your conscience knows well which type you are.

Which would you like to be? It is not easy to become the right type. You have to change yourself 180 degrees. Your eyes have to be revolutionized. Your eyes have been seeing something beautiful and have been lustful, always wandering around. Your new eyes will see straight to the will of God. Your ears have to be revolutionized, and your mouth, nose, hands-your whole body must become entirely different. This is the reason why any true religious teaching will be ruthless in disciplining your body. In a way it is ruthless and cruel. Religion always teaches the value of an ascetic, self-sacrificial way of life because Satan can only be separated when you are cruel to your own self. The important question is: Can you do it?

If you really want to go to the Kingdom of God you must start by going down to the dungeon of human misery, to hell, and there create you own spring, your own heaven. Then your heaven is guaranteed. Is this world in which we live a world of paradise or a world of misery? In order to change the miserable confusion of this chaotic world into the Kingdom of God, do you only have to sing and have a good time, to go on picnics with good drinks and laugh, to having an easy life? Will that make the world less miserable?

To bring some hope and happiness to this unhappy, chaotic world, you have to conquer misery and unhappiness. That means you have to taste the bottom of human misery; you have to lead an even more miserable life for the sake of happiness, for the sake of God. That is the only way you can liberate the misery of the world. If that does not work, then you do not have to worry any more-in that case there is no God, no future, no hope, no spirit world, no nothing.

I came to this conclusion a long time ago and I determined to liberate this unhappy world. In order to do that I determined to bring myself down to the most miserable life, and to bring about the liberation there. What can bring hope and light and some promise for the future down to that miserable world? The person who can live a real life down on the bottom himself is the person who can bring real happiness that people can rely on. People can trust that kind of life.

The saints, holy men, and the pious people of history all struggled under miserable circumstances. They are not famous or historical for their relaxed, fun lives. The patriots remembered in American history are those who tasted the misery of the nation's tragedy, who tried to solve the tragedy by putting themselves at the very bottom of the nation's misery. God's children are the ones who are trying to bring light to the very bottom of human misery.

What would be gained by doing so? Such people become magnets who pull their surroundings into unity; they create harmony and unification around themselves. Jesus was crucified on the cross, but even on the cross he blessed his own enemies; he asked forgiveness for them and was concerned with their well-being even when he was in terrible pain. It was there that he left the greatest hope for humanity.

I am in the same position. This world, particularly the United States, is not kind to me, but that has never mattered. I have my own course to go, mapped out by God, and I am busy fulfilling it. If I pay too much attention to happenings outside I will lose my chance and this precious time will be lost. Instead of trying to avoid suffering, I just confront it and stand face to face with God, even when more suffering is given. I think that there is nothing I cannot do in order to accomplish the will of God. I can go on, no matter what.

This is how I have been able to accomplish so much in just a few years. If you can have courage even at the very bottom of human suffering, if you can lift up your chin and present yourself to God as His son or daughter, then you have made your foundation for individual perfection. The person who can conquer the misery of the world shall be raised up and receive the key to open the storehouse of God's blessing and God's love. That is my ideology and that is God's ideology.

God is sending His champion to the satanic world. There is human opposition everywhere but God wants His champion to fight the most bold and courageous battle and to win in a dramatic way. God's champion should not be engaged in a trivial or pitiful battle, but should win a dramatic victory. I have already given up my life for this.

To achieve your individual perfection you have to go over that hill and engage in this battle. I do not want older Unification members to think that younger members should be doing most of the hard work, like privates in the army, so that older members can rest. I never think of myself as a general. When I look at those older members I sometimes think that I would have a different attitude than theirs. Parental love is such that no matter how old the parent is, he wants to give his children everything, letting them rejoice over the things that they have. Parents want to rejoice over the happiness of their children. That is the heart and love of the True Parents.

Now I am sure you know who your enemy is. Do not ever think that Rabbi Davis or the New York Times is your enemy. You yourself are your worst enemy. All these negative forces surrounding you are helping you to remove your fallen nature. In that way they are assisting in your ministry. If you are strong, bold, and faithful, then anyone who opposes you will be a loser. The greater the intensity of their opposition, the greater will be your victory.

When you fund raisers put out your hand to receive money from the people, have you ever contemplated whose hand it is -- God's or Satan's? When you ask someone to contribute, you must bring the heart of God to him and think, "Heavenly Father, this person deserves some assistance from You. Let him give a contribution to me as Your representative so that he can participate in Your work." That is the way God feels.

When you experience rejection after rejection, all of a sudden you start to weep. But those are not your tears; rather God is crying through you. When the people are sympathetic to you and truly understand your mission, you inwardly feel uplifting joy, but that joy deep inside your heart is not your joy; that is God's joy. Even though you work until two o'clock in the morning, when you come back to the center you feel like flying because you feel the deep joy of God inside your heart. Unless I had tasted such depths of joy in the love of God, I would not have been able to continue my ministry.

You yourself are your worst enemy; always check yourself, your own eyes, your ears, your mouth, your idle body. You need strong self-discipline for three years and then a godly way of life will become your habit.

In the Unification Church we always emphasize the first three years' ministry as a very important regeneration period for remaking yourself. I know you fund raisers are very lonely people. You are out on the street with nobody to communicate with you. The people reject you, misunderstand you, curse you, and wound your hearts with harsh words. When You are lonely, all your memories of the past come alive and seem doubly precious; memories of your parents and home, friends, and wonderful experiences all come. You may recall such beautiful memories but the harsh reality of the world is standing in front of you and you feel caught in between. Particularly when your birthday or Christmas comes, I am sure that you question why you have to go through all that.

For most of my life I observed my birthday by fasting. For a long time I did not have a table to eat from and just ate whatever food was around; if there was no food to eat, then I just did not eat. A fork and spoon were a God-given luxury. When we think of emergencies that God is facing, then we realize that everything we have is a luxury. In my younger days I dressed in rags and literally lived at the bottom of hell.

All through my life my motto has been to ask for the conquest of myself before requesting the conquest or perfection of the universe. Before you can request dominion over the universe you must have dominion over yourself. I have even trained myself to not laugh if someone tickles me. Even such a detail is part of my discipline.

Unless you can conquer yourself there will be no perfection of the universe. If someone speaks harshly to you, do not try to fight back but fight yourself instead. Do not point a finger at anyone but yourself. Satan does not think about the wrongs he commits but he always accuses loudly when other people make mistakes. Satan always looks for the shortcomings of others, but when God sees shortcomings in His own people He cannot even open His eyes or His mouth.

It is fallen nature to criticize or point a finger at someone else instead of taking personal responsibility. If you have the urge to blame someone else, then check it and turn your finger back to yourself instead. This year of 1977 is going to see a revolution of self-discipline in the Unification Church.

At our birthday celebration four days ago I announced that now Satan has no way to accuse you; however, you must control and discipline yourselves. Then as much as you discipline yourself, that same amount of grace will come from God. When your mind and body are united as plus and minus then they automatically become one. Because of the fall of man, however, your mind is plus and your body is also a plus; thus there can be no harmony between them. Two pluses always repel each other.

You must change your body to a minus and let your mind become a wider and wider plus. Our process of restoration is the elimination of the plus of our body. When you change the body's plus into minus then your mind and body become one. When you work with another person he is also a plus, but if he changes his personality and becomes a minus in order to unite with you, together you become an even bigger plus. Then you can find another, even bigger minus to unite with.

I stand in the center as a plus and you want to become one with me because you want to receive some benefit. In order to unite with me you must become a minus, but in uniting with me you become part of a giant plus with me. We can expand that plus even further by winning another area, and having it unite with us.

God is the king of wisdom and through this wise strategy of plus and minus uniting, God is going to eventually conquer and dominate the world. If the mind is plus and the body is also plus then the mind and body clash. That is truly the borderline between God and Satan. Satan's strongest fortress is not even your own family. Your body is Satan's most secure foothold.

Every satanic weapon is there in your body, while every heavenly weapon is in your mind. The borderline between the mind and body is the line of the confrontation between God and Satan. Therefore the mind must become aggressive and take the initiative to conquer the body. That is the work of religion. If you are brought down to the dungeons of hell, it is your body-not Satan-that did that. Your body could drag your eternal life down to hell. You would have your body to blame because of the fall of man. Mind and body were supposed to be one, with no contradiction and no disharmony between them. This year let us pledge to God that we will make our bodies become complete minuses, and one with our minds and with God.

Since a complete and perfected plus can always create a perfected minus, when you find one perfected plus you can also expect to find a perfected minus. If you become a perfected plus, then you will find that other people want to become minus to you. When you become a perfected plus, peoples' hearts and minds will be drawn to you and you will be unforgettable for them. That is the way perfection comes. Let us pray.

Excerpt from Speech To Leaders

Sun Myung Moon
February 23, 1977
Belvedere Training Center

In a way, this is a clear display of my strategy; many mothers had been hoping for their daughter to become the bride of the Lord someday, so I had them see how unfortunate and desolate True Mother's mother was. In short, I made her sacrifice herself so that no one would envy her. That was the only strategy I could employ to placate them and win them over.

The mothers with eligible daughters, or daughters in their late teens, thought that their daughters were candidates to become the bride. They were all devoted and faithful people, and because of that, they were also the people who caused the most problems. Consequently, some even came to see me and tell me that I was wrong to place Mrs. Hong in such an unreasonably difficult situation. They said, I don't understand, Teacher, how you can treat True Mother's mother this way; I cannot help feeling sorry for Mrs. Hong.

They comforted her. But the truth is, I had been hoping for this very outcome.

For a year after marrying Mother, I treated her in such a way that others would have thought she was my maid and not my wife. I told her, "You must not come to my room without permission. You will stay in a small room downstairs and come when I summon you."

In other words, she started from the position of a servant. I actually wanted Mother to start from the lowest position possible because many candidates for the bride of the Lord were closely watching us, to see how their teacher treated Mother. Those women saw for themselves that I treated her badly and stopped feeling envious of her, and instead thought themselves lucky not to have been chosen as the bride. That, too, was my strategy.