Chapter Five - Ethics Of The Kingdom
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,
and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for l am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Matthew 11:28-30
The Mustard Seed
He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches."
Matthew 13:31-32
If Judaism had united with Jesus, world Christianity would not have come into being. Instead, a Jesus-centered nation of Israel would have begun. It would have grown in stature, influencing the Cain-type nation of the Roman Empire. It would not have been a Christian country, but would have been Jesus' own country It would have formed the kingdom of Jesus, rather than forming the religion known as Christianity. If that had happened, the country would have inherited the kingship and would have inherited the world. It would have grown and expanded to the point where today it would be one nation encompassing the world. Other countries would have inherited perfectly the tradition of that kingdom of Jesus. It would have become like a big tree with many different branches. Jesus' country would have been the trunk and each nation of the world would have been another branch, connecting to one trunk and one root. The leaves of that tree would have been individual men and women.
That huge, gigantic tree would have been one nation of God. The flowers and blossoms that bloomed would have been of one root, one tree. Even if you took the smallest leaf, it would contain all the elements of the huge trunk. The root, trunk, each branch, and every little leaf would all contain the same elements. It would have been full of the spirit of the kingdom. The spirit of the root, spirit of the trunk -- everything would have been contained within this tiny leaf, which means each individual.
The 38th Anniversary of the Unification Church
May 1st, 1992
If the Jews had become one with Jesus, they could have overcome the great Roman Empire within 40 years. Jesus could have become literally the King of kings and could have ruled the world with truth and love. With this great hope and great providence, Jesus came. But he could not disclose his innermost intention to his countrymen. Jesus had come with the purpose of uniting the spiritual and physical worlds, and establishing the kingdom of heaven both spiritually and physically.
Untitled
February 20, 1965
The Kingdom Of Heaven Is Within You
Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you."
Luke 17:20-21
Where is God within us? God lies within the mind of the mind. How deep is that mind of the mind? Where is heaven? Wherever God is, there is the kingdom of heaven. If God is in the mind of mind, then we know what Jesus meant when he said that the kingdom of God is in the midst of you. More clearly, we can say that the kingdom lies within the mind of the mind, or the center of the mind.
Let Us Set the Record
October 12, 1980
Are you able to see or touch your conscience? Are you able to touch and see God? We cannot touch or see him, so where is he? Up in the air some place? The earth itself is rotating, so heaven up here may become heaven down below tomorrow in terms of space. If we look at the planet earth from far way, people at the bottom are standing upside down. For Chinese people, heaven is America because they are standing in China. In reality, heaven describes the state of holiness, the highest and most glorious place. Where is heaven then? Where does God dwell? In the conscience.
God is the root of love, life, lineage, and conscience. Therefore, I come to the conclusion that God dwells in the innermost depth of your conscience. If you pray really seriously and reach a state of real spirituality you will be able to communicate with God directly. In this state when you say, "God, where are you?" Heavenly Father will respond from the center of your being, "I am here. Why do you call me?"
Find Your True Self
November 23, 1994
Your conscience was born front your vertical [heavenly] parents, your body from your horizontal [earthly] parents. Therefore, your conscience is the closest mind to heaven within yourself. When your vertical and horizontal self unite, then you create a perfect man.
Victorious True Parents
January 28, 1993
The Prodigal Son
Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father: 'Father give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them. "Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living
When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.' So he got up and went to his father
But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his antis around him and kissed him.
Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.'
The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him...'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'
Luke 15:11-32
God wants to have his day of victory, and once he has it he will never release it. God has suffered so much that on that one day his joy will be endless; on that day God will become crazy! Then he can forget all his past suffering. Think of being loved by that crazy God in that precious moment. Lovers today try to show their love by hugging and kissing, but that cannot be compared to God's elation when he has his one day of victory. When his own children achieve that goal and bring comfort and liberation to God, he will be crazy in joy and the world will be crazy in joy.
Jesus' parable of the prodigal son demonstrates this. There was a son who wanted to take his inheritance and leave home. He went far away and squandered everything he had and became so destitute that he had to feed pigs to survive. Finally with a repentant heart he decided to return home. His father had compassion and ran to embrace him. His elder brother, however, condemned him and complained at their father's generosity, but the father's joy at his son's return had no limit. If even a prodigal son was welcomed that much by his father, how much more will God welcome you, not as a prodigal son but as a loyal, faithful son who has given his life for the restoration of God's kingdom? When on the day of homecoming you walk to God's throne, how much more will God welcome you? My only desire is to see God feeling that joyful.
God's Day
January 1, 1978
Who could receive the love of God, who had been patient for 4,000 years to give his infinite love? There was no one but Jesus. Jesus knew this, and he could be grateful for the love of God even when he felt lonely.
Then where was there a person of character who understood that God had been sad for 4,000 years and that he had been patiently fighting Satan during that time? Again, it was Jesus alone. Thus, Jesus, who had to walk the path of heaven's principles on behalf of God's patience, carrying the hope of God, who wished that he could lead humans the right way, was sunk in grief.
Therefore, you should also feel God's loyal heart as Jesus did. Thus, you should realize that you should not remain in the position of the prodigal son, but come to represent the full value of God's principles as the ideals of creation. We should take after Jesus, who felt the love, patience, and loyalty of God. He understood that he was found through God's 4,000 years of toil and patience and that he was the hope of God. We should inherit his love, loyalty, and patience.
Jesus' True Heart for God
August 4, 1957
[Among you] there should never be racial discrimination. White people find that it is hard to throw away their old habit of discriminating against blacks, even after the Blessing. But if you do not correct that quickly enough, you will surely go to hell in spirit world. You will perish. That sense of belittling another and feeling superior to them is like a cancerous growth within your spirit. We see in the Bible the story of the prodigal son. He comes back and repents and receives all the blessings of the father. So his position becomes even better than the elder brother. That elder brother was saying, "My younger brother was a bad person but I was good. Why did you give all the blessing to him?"
The Responsibility of Authority of the Unification Family
March 1, 1992
The Good Samaritan
In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.
He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave then to the innkeeper: 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when t return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'
"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."
Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."
Luke 10:30-37
Which people are most likely to go to heaven -- those who are at the top of human society, such as the rulers and people in power, or those at the bottom, who are at the lowest rung of society? Which group is more likely to go to heaven, the first or the second? Do you like the bottom of society? You have to go through the bottom of hell in order to reach heaven.
Living in the Highest Historical Age
April 9, 1989
Evil is self-centeredness. The person who makes himself the center of everything is an evil person. What is good? 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 bring benefit to them.
I want you to know that there is a universal law and principle created by God that 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 that 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 the philosophy of giving himself for the sake of others.
Our Family in Light of the Dispensation, Part II
March 6, 1977
Jesus went beyond the limited concept of law when he lived love; he went beyond the concept of race because he wanted to belong to the world. He also went beyond his own religion, transcending the detailed tenets of Jewish law because he was faithful to broader principles. He loved not only the Jews but also even the enemies of his people, as well as the rest of the world. Jesus could even embrace the people who crucified him.
If Jesus lived in today's America, would he advocate segregation of white and black people? White people may feel most comfortable with their own kind because they can digest that situation, but God would warn them that as long as they had to follow their Christian ideals by failing to accommodate black people and bring unity, then white people themselves risk their own survival.
The Way of Prosperity and Defeat
March 11, 1979
Our homeland is the earth as God originally intended it to be -- a place where parents, siblings, and children who did not commit the Fall would live together. This was to be a place where black people, yellow people, and white people could live together in harmony. Who is the parent of all these different races? There is only one parent. The God who is with us wherever we go in the universe is the Father of humankind. Thus, it would be a mistake for anyone to think that white people, black people, or yellow people are the masters of America. God is the master of America.
Differences in skin color are nothing more than the result of our ancestors having had to adapt to different climates and environments in different parts of the globe. In areas with large amounts of snowfall, we find mainly white people living. In places such as Africa where the rays of the sun are particularly bright, we find mainly black people. Fundamentally, though, people are the same. The color of our blood is the same. Our flesh and bones look the same. We all have the capacity to love. Thus, there should be no discrimination based on race
The Cosmos Is Our Hometown and Our Fatherland
February 2, 2000
Jesus said, "Love your enemies" -- but Jesus also said, "Love your neighbor." Who is a Christian's nearest neighbor? Certainly, it is another Christian. But are they doing it? Do Catholics love Mormons? Do Jehovah's Witnesses love Methodists? It doesn't matter who calls us heretics, whoever practices this principle of loving one's enemy is closer to God and is the true orthodox Christian. That is my belief. Love can unite. If Christians practice true love, then Christians can unite among themselves, and Christians can unite all the religions of the world.
Jesus' Standard of Goodness
January 1985
The Adulterous Woman
The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
John 8:3-7
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger: When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her:"
You know the story in the Bible where Jesus spoke to the people who almost stoned the woman who had committed adultery. Do you know on whose side God stood? God stood on the side of the sinful woman. Jesus felt toward her as he would feel toward his own sister or his own aunt. To Jesus, all women were related to him as sisters, mothers, or aunts. This spirit, this ideology was what God wanted Jesus to bring to this world so that everyone could live in the center. God did not intend to have Jesus be a pastor or religious leader who only spoke in glowing terms from a big pulpit. The true religious leader is crying out to the multitudes of people who are miserably defeated in this world.
Men Are Destined to Go the Road of Restoration
March 14, 1965
Marriage
"Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator `made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together; let man not separate."
Matthew 19:4-6
Have you thought about absolute love? Do you think about it all by yourself or with your ideal spouse? Is your ideal spouse eternal or temporal? When you refer to your ideal spouse, are you referring to the one who can freely touch you and embrace you anytime of the day or night without a time limit? Is that what you mean? Or, do you mean that this ideal spouse can only embrace you between certain hours and when you are eating they should not even talk to you? What kind of ideal spouse are you talking about here? You don't have confidence in your answer; that is why you are all laughing too much. But this is a serious issue.
We can only receive love from our partner. Therefore, if you want to find absolute love, you need an absolute partner. Then you can give your absolute faith, absolute love, absolute trust, and absolute life to your spouse. Otherwise you cannot receive absolute love from your spouse. Do you imagine that your eyes would prefer absoluteness or changeability? Your five senses like absolute love.
Have you ever turned your five senses against your spouse? Only when you have an absolute relationship between husband and wife can you expect to receive absolute love. This is the prerequisite. Do you understand me?
Where can we find absolute love? In kissing? Where then? Our absolute sexual love organ, which brings man and woman into unity, is the place where absolute love can be found. The place of sexual intercourse. People do not know this truth. Those of you who are without sexual organs, raise your hands. Your sexual organ exists for the sake of absolute love. This is your unique, eternal purpose.
Eternal love is found through your spouse. People have been unaware that the owner of the woman's sexual organ is her spouse. Likewise, the owner of the man's sexual organ is his ideal spouse. When this ideal husband and wife become one through their sexual organs, then the owner of their unity is God. We need to know that our sexual organ does not belong to our self but rather to our partner. And our combined sexual organs belong to God. We need our sexual organs in an absolute way because we have to find absolute love. They are that valuable, that important. They cannot be exchanged for anything in this world.
The Time of Liberation for the Family of World Peace
September 8, 1996
What is the most important thing? It is not money, power, or knowledge. It is true love. True love is more precious than life itself and more important to us than air or water. Why is it so precious and important? It is because it is the means by which we can meet God. Just as human beings desire to meet God, God also wants to meet true human beings because of love. The love by which God can see, touch, and share with men and women at the same time is the love by which men and women love each other.
Everybody Wants True Love
November 20, 1999
Now, let us discover the dividing line between heaven and hell. Is it up in the air? Where is it? It is in your sexual organ. This is a serious matter. When the sexual organ is used as a blind person wandering aimlessly and without direction, it will, undoubtedly, lead you as its owner to hell. By the same token, you will be led high up into heaven when you use the sexual organ according to the standard of God's absolute love.
Today we face a serious youth problem, because in the Garden of Eden Adam and Eve in their youth planted the seed of free sex in the shade through the fall. In the Last Days, the time of harvest, there is thus the worldwide phenomenon of rampant free sex among youth. Through free sex, Satan wants to stop every last person from returning to God; he wants to destroy all humanity and create hell on earth. Is not the world in which we live today hell on earth?
The family sets the cornerstone on the road to peace. The family can also destroy that road. It was Adam's family in which the destruction of the foundation of human hope and happiness took place. Therefore, when we establish the road going 180 degrees opposite from the direction of the satanic world, giving thanks to God, we can find freedom, happiness, and the ideal.
If all men and women admit that their sexual organs belong to their spouse, we would all bow our heads and become humble when we receive our spouse's love. Love comes to you only from your partner. There is no love other than love for the sake of others.
In Search of the Origin of the Universe
August I, 1996
Divorce
Jesus replied, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery"
Matthew 19:8-9
If you consider getting a divorce, you should feel shocked and faint. In the future, the word "divorce" will be erased from the dictionary. God will never compromise one inch on this. If you can discuss the possibility of divorce without feeling stunned, then you know how far from God you are. This is an absolute criterion. We have to live according to that standard before we can say we have gained absolute love.
True Man, True Church, True Country
January 9, 1983
Should a woman discard her husband if, for some reason, she feels he doesn't suit her? Should you divorce? No. Mankind never knew this before, but divorce is similar to the act of abortion. Staying married creates the possibility for the fulfillment of all these goals, but divorce breaks down every possibility destroying the parents, the children, and the ideal.
Ask your original mind: Should you divorce your spouse? Ask your children whether they want you to divorce. What about your parents? Ask them if they would like you to divorce. Nobody wants to go through divorce. The one who is pursuing a divorce will feel sad, but if he doesn't realize the seriousness of the issue, he will go ahead and sign the paper.
Thank You For Protecting Us
November 22, 1987
In this world, parents do not have absolute unity. They are inclined to struggle and fight with one another and even think about divorce. Is such a world heaven or hell? Do you imagine that your two eyes desire to divorce? These eyes always have harmony and unity one with another. They follow each other. Do you think that your left nostril desires to divorce your right nostril? They always work in harmony with each other. Your upper and lower lips always operate in oneness and remain eternally together. Do you think that your right ear will decide not to hear anymore and let the left ear do it all? Actually our five senses do not have any concept of divorce. However, our body's desire is the problem. Our bodily desire demands that our mind follow.
Within my family there are children from two different mothers. When I lost my first wife through divorce, I had to go through a wilderness course; I lost everything, in a way now the entire world is experiencing the same thing through the breakdown of families. The world has completely lost God's true love family center. It has lost God's value system.
Our Responsibility in Becoming Children of True Parents
February 16, 1997
From all the usual standards of appearance and education, your husband may seem impossible, but the important question is whether he is genuinely living for the will of God. However ugly that person may be, he can be refined by dressing him up and educating him and teaching him manners. The handsome man, on the other hand, would more likely think it is foolish to live for God and not for himself. Which type of husband would you want?
I experienced this very thing in my own life. My first wife was outstanding as an individual, but she only thought of her own welfare and that of our family. But I was looking for a woman who would take care of everyone else first. I wanted our home to be open for public service and a place of God's love, but she could not live like that. If I had listened to her, would I be here today teaching you this message? I knew that my wife had a very difficult task to truly live for the sake of others, while to follow her direction would have led to permanent death. I could not possibly live that way. When she knew she could not change my mind, she left.
New Family Given by God
September 5, 1982
The Rich Young Man
Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher what good thing must I do to get eternal life?"
"Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments."
"Which ones?" the man inquired
Jesus replied, "'Do not murder; do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother and love your neighbor as yourself."
Matthew 19:16-25
Everyone is seeking happiness. People do what they do in search of happiness, but we know painfully well that they do not find it. On the other hand, we are a group of people who are agonizing and suffering almost to the maximum extent of misery. But we can find true love, lofty ideals, and all the positive things. Now we can reach a conclusion based on common sense. In the secular life of physical enjoyment, almost no enduring love can be found. As a general rule, you have more chance of finding love among those who lead a suffering life than among well-to-do people. That is exactly what Jesus pointed out when he said it is more difficult for a rich man to go to the kingdom of heaven than it is for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.
Who is the most patriotic person in a country? Is it a person who has everything at his disposal and can do whatever he desires? Who has love? Is it this well-to-do person, or is it more likely someone who lives in miserable conditions but is ready to give whatever he has for the sake of the nation? Which of these people has a better chance of finding happiness? The sacrificial person. Nobody envies him, but he is in a better position.
Of course, there are two kinds of humble people. One is forced to live this kind of life simply because he is poor. That may be a different story. But the man who could lead a first-rate, rich life but gives it up to live in a more humble fashion is the one who has the chance of finding love and happiness. You know the rules of the Principle very clearly By the same token, a citizen in the greatest and most affluent country of America, who gives everything up and chooses to go to Africa and suffer with the people there, helping them to improve and raising them up above misery and sickness, is a great man. If Americans chose to trade their affluence for that way of life, they would be respected all over the world and they would find happiness. They would find the love and respect of other people. Does this sound farfetched or reasonable? This is reality.
The Realm of Heavenly Liberation
December 15, 1991
Would you prefer having true love or cheap love? Would you rather submit to the demands of true love from the very beginning, or only the last 20 percent of your life? A person who thinks he is clever might prefer taking the easy way. That is why Jesus said that it is more difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. In the Orient we say "the ear of the needle." Jesus meant that it would be practically impossible, even if the rich man lost all his wealth and sank into poverty. If a poor man could easily enter heaven, why would a rich man never be likely to make it? Once a person becomes self-centered and arrogant, even though he may falter and become penniless he will usually remain self-centered. That quality will not quickly vanish. Poor people, however, have flexibility. Because they have nothing, they are more willing to go anywhere and do anything.
Crossroads of Life and Death
December 17, 1978
The Great Commandment
One of them, an expert in the law; tested him with this question: "Teacher: which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
Matthew 22:35-40
These verses contain the ideal of love that is the vital logic of the universe, the ideal ideology of the universe, and the center of life of the universe. In this way we can make a love connection with God, loving God by offering all things as said in these words.
Jesus said, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." The cosmic representative who loved God with all of his soul and with all of his heart and with all of his mind was none other than Jesus. To receive recognition as the man who came forth with a will like this, Jesus frankly revealed his situation to his beloved disciples. Jesus was a man who employed his utmost for the benefit of heaven. He was a man who exerted all of his heart, his power, and his mind.
We should emulate Jesus' virtues, such as the loyalty and sincerity he showed in his service toward heaven, standing all alone in a swirl of things and holding onto the great mission of the heavenly way. He demonstrated the heart that exerted all, the mind that represented God's will, and the character to make every effort to substantiate the ideal of love.
Jesus Who Is to Establish Heaven's Love
February 24, 1957
The movement that we should ultimately begin is the "New Love Movement." The focus of the "New Love Movement" is to love God as our Father and to love our neighbors as ourselves. The crown of love is sacrifice. The "New Love Movement" should develop into a movement that knows how to sacrifice for God, for the world, for the nation, and for all fellow countrymen.
This is Jesus' ultimate teaching, but in history Christianity always failed to accomplish this "New Love Movement." Any movement that lives only for itself will necessarily fail, while any movement that is willing to die to let others live will remain eternally When Rome which enjoyed the greatest prosperity became self-centered, even that great empire collapsed.
May the Fatherland Shine Forth
October 19, 1978
What if you do your church work just to get a salary or some recognition? Is that the correct motivation? The first commandment of Christ was to love God with all your heart, mind, and soul. Giving your heart, mind, and soul means that you are ready to stick your neck out, even ready to die for the love of God. Are you doing that?
The End of the World and Our Age
March 19, 1989