It is only natural that since we Unificationists are still in the midst of the wilderness, we do not yet feel all the benefits of heaven. We are presently still in the desert and have neither the time nor the desire to celebrate fully. We are still concerned with all the suffering people in the world. Our full potential to praise God is hindered by our efforts to bring all those people back to Him. We do not often feel the joy and happiness that those close to God should. Although we can catch a glimpse of it in prayer, we are not able to hold on perpetually because we are still affected by the secular world. Because Satan's world surrounds us still, we are constantly reminded of our mission to eradicate his dominion.

Unificationists are the spearhead of the great column that is marching toward Heaven. When you see a flock of birds flying south in "V" formation, those at the front -- most peak confront the most pressure and resistance. The ones in the lead take the most beating during flight while those toward the back have it much easier.

Unificationists also get the most pressure. That is our position. By flying ahead and shielding those who follow, we can bring millions of people back to God without exposing them to unnecessary duress.

We must be the people who stand inside the realm of God at all times. There are two kinds of people: one leans against the fence and watches life go by while the other one participates in life. Even though Unificationists know God's truth and may even be blessed, we still sometimes act like bystanders. Are we the activists for God or the onlookers? The observers will disappear some day. They will never be mentioned in the chronicles of history; only those who acted will be in the records.

How much do we really understand about the coming of the Messiah and his position? How much do we understand about the process of salvation and the Principle? Wouldn't we act differently if we had a clear understanding? Wouldn't we be on the frontline and conscious of the situation at all times? If we had an accurate perception of our position, wouldn't we be loving, and willingly engage in battle with Satan all the time? The question is, do we really understand, or is our life just a time filler?

Father says that everyone who has received the Blessing is inside the gate. But a person may be standing by that gate or the outer fence forever and still not move forward. How much have we understood? How much are we driven by the spirit of God? How much are we really involved in taking the load from Father's shoulders? Are we serious about offering our lives totally for the mission? Or are we just reserved and discouraged after looking at our minimal results?

Where would we be if God or Father gave up? We should look to them and emulate their pattern of endurance and persistence. We should stay above the water-line so that we do not drown in the seas of Satan's influence. Yet we are not here merely to observe.

Although we may be active during the day, that may not always be enough. We also must proclaim where we stand, not just work hard. Once we arrive back home each day, we must invoke the spirit of God to follow us in the door. We should pray for others. If we are really touched by the love of God and by His spirit, we will just continue to work and be unable to sit still. Where does the contents of our hearts go if they overflow? The love should flow from our mouths in words of encouragement and endearment to others.

Many times people tend to think in terms of the world revolving around themselves. You are you; I am 1. But given your position, that is a very narrow and primitive viewpoint to maintain. You are the result of a whole chain of generations and the events of history. You link the past, the present, and the future; you are not meant to live just for yourself. You are a connection to the great, great chain. You have the full responsibility and duty to fulfill your mission in order to elevate your generations of ancestors. You are a very important link that connects all of your generations to God and the Messiah. If you seriously begin to ponder its ramifications, you will discover what a tremendous burden this really is. It indicates that you have no right to shy away from your God, your responsibility, or your burden. You cannot really make an independent decision at all. Yet now it is up to you to follow and serve God, and it is crucial to do your very best.

You become a traitor to all humanity if you reject Father or do not do your utmost for God. If you do not fulfill, you face accusation from spirit world. Therefore, make use of any help you receive from any kind of teacher or your brothers and sisters. Use any revelation from God to strengthen your stability as the critical link which joins the past to the future. Doing so will make you stronger and able to be a supporting pillar in the new world as it is being constructed.

Think in different terms from now on. If you proclaim that you cannot do something and simply shy away from it, you are being selfish and are failing to understand your position. Instead think, "I am an important link; I have great responsibility. I have a duty for the sake of humanity and my ancestors. I am the gate to Heaven for millions of people in the past and I must invest all my strength to search for God." You are the one who can open the door, but you must be careful not to open it only for yourself. You must open the door for many people, perhaps for a whole country. This is a great responsibility but it is your mission to do so.

We Unificationists pay the price for history. We pay for the wrongs that were committed by millions of people, and at the same time, prepare for the glory to come. Whether we relish the position or not, we are historical figures. In order that God may bestow blessings upon people in the future, someone has to pay for them. That is our position.

We have to see ourselves as the final link in history, complete with the hook that will pull us up to God and the Kingdom itself. With this hook we can connect all our ancestors to God. Life is tragic in a way because throughout the years we have had the burden of carrying thousands of links which weigh down our chain. It drags along the ground and we feel its heaviness because we are constantly on the move. Also, the chain becomes longer all the time. The interrelated generations are also hanging on. The little chains are connected to the main chain and all of this weighs on us. We must determine whether we want to live or die. Yet it is actually too late to make up our minds; we are already forced into becoming heroes.

In order to pull the chain and all the generations it represents into Heaven, we must become as godly as possible. We should use all the abilities given us as well as the blessings God offers us. We must use all the powers available to us to season and adjust our hearts to the given circumstances and to all the love we receive. It is our duty to be good and loving human beings. That is why we are public figures. Even if we are married and have families, our primary goal and purpose should be the mission. The time for settling down will come for each family. And through the years we will go through different stages of understanding what "settlement" means.

It is our mission to serve each other. By accomplishing this, we serve God, True Parents, and all humanity simultaneously. We have to build ourselves up in strength since great, great responsibilities are awaiting us in the future. We will eventually reach the point where we will no longer think of ourselves but only of the world and humanity. The little problems that face us will no longer be considered of much consequence.

We have to prepare ourselves to handle the load that will be upon our shoulders in the future. Father has assured us that in the future many people will want to hear about God, True Parents, and the Principle. It is important that we train ourselves and become stable in our faith and command of the Principle. If we can do this, God will be able to diffuse His power through us in order to uplift thousands and thousands of people; His goal is to bring them back to life through total salvation. Therefore, because it is a tremendous responsibility to be a pure channel for God, even seemingly simple matters of life must be sorted out.

If history records that we were people who worked in the central stream of restoration, we automatically will be regarded as historic personalities. We Unificationists are such important figures since we are among the few thousand people who were blessed by the Messiah and have become part of the new lineage. Through following Father, we began to create a new history for humanity. An historic figure is a person who creates history. To eradicate the separation between God and mankind and finally bring things back to normal is part of our job; if we accomplish this, we become cornerstones of history.

Do we know who we are? Believe without a doubt that we are sons and daughters of God, not in an abstract way but in a real sense. If we compare the handful of Unificationists God has today with the five billion people on earth plus the billions in spirit world, we can surely regard ourselves as unique. We are as a handful of pearls or diamonds in the sea of this sinful world. But from His position, God can see us sparkle.

It is often necessary for other people to remind us of who we are because we ourselves are not conscious of it at all times; we are so busy coping with our problems. We look at ourselves in the mirror and don't see our divinity. We see only our problems staring back. We fail to recognize that in a way we are divine, because it is actually much easier for us to see our problems. We tend to worry about them and concentrate on them because the standard we are trying to reach is extremely high.

Most of us do not realize our own potential. We are not able to see what impact we have upon peoples' lives, upon the restoration of a nation or the world, upon spirit world, and against Satan. This is basically because we are not spiritually oriented. We don't see the kind of results we want to see and we are too attentive to Satan, often without realizing it. We get tired when we do not feel we have the endurance to persevere. We do not always see the goal because our vision is often blurred. There are clouds that keep away the brilliance of the sun. We lose perspective on our position and often want to cast the blame on someone else.

It is not only our responsibility to clear the names of our own ancestors; if we reach the level of representing a nation, we will have to pay indemnity for the failure of past national leaders, presidents, or chancellors. We are put into that position.

Each Unificationist strives to become an all-round person -- a world, universal, cosmic citizen. We desire to connect with the whole universe and all things it contains. As we bind ourselves to the people in this universe, they all become our brothers and sisters. We become interested in different races and cultures -- whether the people live in Africa, Europe, or Asia. If a rich person today travels the world, he never learns about those nations he visits because as a tourist, he does not have the same kind of contact we do. We are not afraid or inhibited to talk to all kinds of people, in huts or palaces. There is such fortune one gains by becoming a Unificationist; it is the foundation for our re-creation.

Take into consideration that you are in the midst of a war in the middle of a desert. It is a very serious situation and one that is very real. Imagine yourself as one of the six hundred thousand Israelites living in the desert. It was a wasteland with all kinds of deficiencies -- lack of food and water, and so forth. Think about the social problems that arose; Moses had to formulate rules and regulations in order to govern that society.

I am sure that you can realize we have not yet substantially entered Canaan. But I urge you not to be disappointed or desire to jump ship (or "jump camel"). It is as if Unificationists are a whole nation going through the desert; all kinds of phenomena confront us but in order to restore the failure of the Israelites, we must endure.

The Principle makes precise statements about the Kingdom of Heaven. It further shares with us how we should behave and reach perfection. It is easy to conclude that these many years of studying and living the Principle should make us saints, but somehow we are still deluged with many problems.

Can you picture the Israelites in the desert for forty long years? We are presently in a parallel position. Father stands in the position of Moses who will lead us into our promised land. All the calamities that confronted the Israelites in the desert now occur in our own daily lives, even though they have a fundamentally different form.

Some blessed members may feel that their problems are overwhelming. They now have to support a child, or two or three -- even five. Their family becomes more important to them than fighting for humanity's freedom. They feel that they must take care of their family by supplying food and other essentialities. But that may be the excuse they use in order to stop working for God.

Just as in the desert of thousands of years ago, our "desert" is also beset by social problems. In the desert, the Israelites felt lost even though God was with them and showed them many miracles He had up His sleeve. We are in the same situation today. Intellectually we know God is leading us; we recognize that He is the Almighty and that He will lead us into Canaan. But just as the Israelites did in the desert, we still have horizontal thoughts and allow Satan to play tricks on our minds. Yet if we continue to repeat this situation, we must realize that the outcome of history will also be reiterated: only the second generation will substantially enter Canaan, not the first. That would mean that restoration history would be prolonged to the second generation. We definitely occupy a fearful and dangerous position; what we do to fulfill it is absolutely up to us, not God.

it will still take years to move from the wilderness into Canaan. Our attitude is of greatest importance; we must guard against becoming too tired. It is evident from history that the groups which crossed America in wagon trains experienced a multitude of calamities. Yet through their colorful history, those were the very people who created the West and became the backbone of America.

The fact that we are presently crossing the desert explains why we don't always feel happy. Sometimes we come across a sandstorm, the hot sun beats down upon us, and we come across very few oases as we continue to cope with little else but sand. We are all crowded together and forced to depend upon one another. We cannot worry about ourselves because we have to function as part of the group. This is not the time to build our own little castle; we have not reached the place where we can settle.

We might be amazed if we were to go step by step and compare our situation with that of the Israelites. We would see the repetition and the prolongation of human history. The same tragedies that happened to them confront us today. Just as they were tested, our level of obedience is also tested today. But one thing we must remember and deeply reflect upon is that if the Israelites had been totally united with Moses, they would have been in Canaan within twenty-one days. Our position today demands that we unite with Father; he knows where Canaan is. He knows which path we must take. It is now up to us whether or not we will allow him to lead us there.

If we do not keep Father's standard, we will eventually advocate humanism instead of Godism. It is so easy for permissiveness to permeate our lives; we are good at inventing excuses. However, one way to prevent laxness from taking over is to analyze ourselves every day -- our behavior, how we look, how we feel toward God, True Parents, our mission, and even the small things that tempt us to compromise. We should research what we are doing and where we are going. Unless we do, how can we change things? If we examine ourselves, we will be forced to admit our many shortcomings and then repent for them. Cancellation of our debt based on personal weaknesses, inadequacies, and sins flows from God's heart once we repent. When we receive that benefit, we will be permitted to start again on a new foundation. We must first understand what is wrong if there is something wrong. But even though our position may be difficult and we have hard work still ahead of us, the world will someday know how enviable our position is.

It will never help to dwell on the thought that we Unificationists are "condemned" to do the will of God for the rest of our lives and bemoan the hard work and sacrifice that entails. Neither is it a good idea to linger over the reality that we are offering our lives, and resent not being able to keep things for ourselves. I couldn't think of a better life. If I had to live all by myself with my wife and child, I would die internally. I enjoy being able to deepen my relationships through meeting so many beautiful people, and encounter God day in and day out in the many hundreds of people with whom I come in contact.

Once you have tasted the love of God, you cannot live without it. But we do not have to worry. In our position, we have the opportunity to savor it every day.

It is a normal desire to want to die for your fatherland; any nation expects that of its citizens. But to want to die for the whole universe is a much higher cause. It is nothing new that millions of people sacrifice themselves for their fatherland -- that is a first step. You need to be a good patriot before you can become a world citizen. If you do not love your fatherland, how can you love the world? You are not doing anyone a favor if you fight for your fatherland; you have merely fulfilled your duty, your responsibility.

Do you consider yourself to be an individual who wants to reach perfection, or do you consider yourself as a representative of the world? What do you suppose was Jacob's position when he was wrestling with the angel? Was he representing only himself or the world? God most definitely placed him in a certain position. It is the same with us. We are not completely on our own. We must substantially realize that we are the last link of a long chain of generations -- generations composed of good people who help us, as well as evil people who may work against our desire to reach perfection. Whether we like it or not, we are working in the course of restoration and we have been chosen to restore certain things to atone for the sins of the many generations which lived before us. To ignore or cast off this responsibility will bring tragedy for them as well as for us.

While we live here on earth, we should act as God's sons and daughters and be driven by His love and spirit. We are to be mediators trying to intercede between God and man; furthermore, we must try to bring people back to their intended positions, helping them to reactivate their hearts and minds. We are in the position to proclaim the love of God and the loving heart of the Father, not His wrath.

Our understanding of dignity may not be in accordance with God's. There is a certain dignity that is due even to a servant of God. The positions we occupy because of our Blessing are eternal.

Once we reach total perfection, the entire dignity of God will manifest within us. Up to that point however it is very easy for us to fluctuate. Sometimes we are aware that we are children of God. Other times we are not aware of this. Sometimes Satan pressures us so much that we feel lower than Satan himself.

In reality, no one in this universe stands higher in the sight of God than His children, especially the blessed couples and all people who unite with True Parents.

It is valuable and important for us to consider and reconsider our position. Who are we, really? Who tells us who we are? In the eyes of God, Father is the precious result of His tearful history. Because you are connected to Father you should not worry about what the world thinks of you. Make sure that you are in good standing with God and that with dignity and personal integrity you fulfill your position as His son or daughter.

We have the responsibility before God, before history, before mankind, and before our own children to create the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. If we don't, our children will have no future, and neither will the world. It may all seem quite paradoxical, but in the process of restoration there is a certain dignity in suffering itself.

Unificationists are the link between God and humanity. This is not an abstract thought, for according to God's original plan all people will reach perfection someday. Someday all mankind will rejoice in glorifying God. Even the bums. So will punk rockers. Perhaps only after the fact will we clearly see that it could happen because we succeeded in becoming clear channels for God and True Parents to work through.

I wish that even today all Unificationists could see that God is asking us to become the arms and feet, the heart and voice of Father -- small Sun Myung Moons. Once we arrive in spirit world, we will discover what our position was. We will then be able to see the broad spectrum of the mission we were to fulfill; that realization will come too late and consequently we will regret that we did not do enough. Therefore, this is the time to be conscious of our situation -- who we are, where we stand, and what our mission is. We should be conscientious in understanding how the will of God is ever expanding and then work to fulfill it.

Your position is extremely serious. If you allow anything or any person to interfere with your mission, that interruption could become an accusation in the future. Discover the position and mission in which you can do the most for God, and then work to fulfill the potential that God sees within you. Develop your abilities in many ways. Father will need many leaders in the future. Thousands of people will have to be taught the Principle, and we are the ones who will have to do it. We will have to teach many at the same time, no longer one by one. Since we desire to become people of strong conscience and people of God's Principle, we should have the incentive to learn the Principle well; that is the commission God is giving us.

We do not want to return home to God by ourselves; rather, we want to take everybody along with us. If we would go there alone, God would send us back again. Our goal and purpose is to save people, to push others in front of us in order that they are able to reach God first.

All of us have gained tremendously by following Father. As Unificationists, we have learned things which we could never have studied in any university or company. For example, fundraising teaches us valuable tips on physical survival.

The important things in life can never be acquired in any school. In the Unification movement we don't just learn heartistic values but also social behavior, how to deal with societal discrepancies, and how to deal with people. Most people in secular society have problems in getting along with others. Many cannot survive. Many are alienated from each other and live very narrow and lonesome lives. But as members of the Unification movement, we have gained the magnitude of the whole world because we have come to love the whole world. Hundreds and thousands of people have become our brothers and sisters even though we don't know them personally. We have not only learned how to deal with people of different nationalities, but also how to love them.

There is a great need for us to discern between eternal values and temporal values. Now each of us is being formed into a divine personality. This is special and has eternal value. What we gave up when we joined was only our troubles.

Looking through history, it is easy to see which power prevailed. Even though Satan would advance in territory, God always had the last word. There were times when people tested God's love to the point that He destroyed them all -- the story of Noah is still told today. Throughout the generations that comprise history, we can see the people on God's side ultimately survived. They may have been beaten many times and suffered temporary setbacks, but in the end always won the war. The events in history prove that even though we may die physically, we will actually win by listening to the word of God and following it.

The answers to the questions that have continued to plague the world for centuries are ours today. And God is ours. Despite the fact that these monumental aspects of life are within our reach, we still look upon the problems of life as a burden. Why? Since we have the answers and total restoration is possible at this time, the greatest part of the restoration process should be accomplished within our lifetime, not hundreds of thousands of years in the future. History is like a pyramid which has built up to a culmination point in all facets of human society. All things in every field of endeavor are prepared for this one day. The world has come close together through such developments. This has all been in preparation for the coming of the Messiah. Once humanity reaches a certain point, the plan of God as well as the identity of True Parents will be known. That day, it will seem as if the whole world turns on its axis -- it will happen so quickly.

For thousands of years, mankind has basically lived an unspiritual and animalistic lifestyle. Now for the first time a new way of life and tradition are coming forth. Even though it is presently hard to enforce, we are moving closer to it. The next generation will not have to suffer the same things we do. They will entrench themselves in establishing God's tradition. Consequently, their children will find life easier because this tradition will have become a way of life.

We are the conglomeration of many viewpoints and ideologies. Since birth we have been exposed to mostly satanic views, but now we Unificationists are in the position to fight against them. Since meeting the Principle, we have also come to know God's divine view. But unfortunately, those two opposing views clash within us. Everyone is fighting for survival, but not everyone can recognize fallen nature. The problem is that we must arrive at the point where we are totally one with God. From that point on it will no longer be a hard job to overcome these clashes within ourselves. However, in our position today, we have not yet completed the construction of the new Jerusalem.

As Unificationists, we have to develop and attain a greater vision. People who only look as far as the end of their noses are unfortunate people. Anyone who is just concerned with himself or his own family will go through life in spiritual poverty. The richness of life becomes clear once we disregard the bad days or the small amounts of suffering we may endure from time to time.

In gathering life experiences, make sure that you recognize their value. View those experiences and people from God's viewpoint rather than from the "normal" viewpoint taken by secular society today. That perspective is superficial; see your life through the eyes of God instead. When you do, you will be able to understand a great many more things.

As we tread the narrow and steep road following True Parents, it is to our advantage to understand much more than just the individual purpose. We must unite with Father through a vertical connection, and as a result, we will more easily be able to comprehend the total scope of universal restoration and act accordingly. The more we are able to perceive the master plan of God -- being able to sympathize with Indians, Thai, Chinese, Brazilians, Fijians, etc., and discover what makes them tick -- our capacity to judge the situation of the world will be greatly enhanced.

Our position is unique in that we have been called to restore the multitude of historical problems. Never before in history has a group of people been so intensely involved in restoring themselves to perfection as now. However, there may have been periods in history when people suffered more. For example, thousands of Christians were crucified, even upside down. Physically, we do not necessarily have to suffer the pains of crucifixion, yet in some sense, our load may be heavier. We have been suffering for years and years, whereas death as a result of martyrdom often occurred after only a few minutes of suffering.

We can look at Jesus in this respect. His suffering on the cross and even his physical death were not necessarily the greatest payment. It was the inner suffering that he endured which caused the most torment. In this way, we may liken our situation to his.

We are almost able to see the consequences, knowing that God is leading us through this stage of history. In fact, the final pages of history are being written now. The critical nature of this time is almost incomprehensible. Therefore, we are the ones God asks to focus on the restoration providence and in the process, sacrifice our families for a time. Jesus said, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, and wife and children and brothers and sisters..." These are strong words, but there is a highly significant meaning attached to them. I feel that what he meant was that the close love relationships within families can hinder people from coming to God. In other words, they desired to care for their own people rather than helping Jesus and the whole world. We are faced with the same choice today.

If a father has ten children, who is to say which of them is not worthy to be his son or daughter? Some may turn out better than others, but all of them remain his children. Parents never know what their children will become.

Today, thousands and thousands of people come from the same True Parents. No matter what we make of our lives, all of us belong to those same parents. In order to be their offspring in the spiritual sense, we have to acknowledge that Father is the Messiah, that True Parents represent the new Adam and new Eve, and as God's representatives are the ones through whom God desires to begin a pure and unstained lineage of mankind.

We have been granted an amazing position; we must acknowledge that we are privileged to have received the Blessing, or will someday, and have been engrafted to the True Parents as their children, their flesh and blood.

Do you think Noah or Abraham could recognize their positions? Do you think John the Baptist knew? John the Baptist most definitely did not understand because he claimed that he was just the voice of one crying in the wilderness.

So many great figures in the past never knew who they were, and in which position they stood. The same lack of insight poses a big problem for us. It would be a tremendous help if we could see a dove descend upon the heads of each member, or receive some other sign that would inform us what significance we have in history. That would teach us to act more responsibly. According to the Bible, Abraham and others made so-called "little" mistakes. However, the consequences that followed those mistakes changed the course of history. We need to realize in which position we stand and begin to perceive that even the small mistakes we make on a day to day basis can have tremendous ramifications for history. We must be so careful.

Eventually those who do the will of God and do what Father has asked will inherit everything and become his children. But for those who just float through the time period in which the work must be done and do not fulfill their responsibility, it will take much longer. Do you think that everybody will have the same results? Is everyone accepted in the same way?

It does not matter how much money a person makes or the amount of spiritual children he has brought. What should be considered is how dedicated a person is to God and True Parents. Ask yourself whether you are always dedicated and sincere. Question whether you always have the right attitude. Do you live for the mission and the restoration of humanity? Or do you hang on doing the bare minimum? Don't you think that someday justice will be done?

Have we not learned by now that things move according to laws? Toward the end of the book of Revelation in the Bible it says that everyone will get paid according to his works. This is a serious thing; each one of us should confront our own standard in terms of our accomplishments and attitudes. By our free will, we either move or remain stationary. I feel that in the future we will be shown the vast difference between those who have committed their lives totally, and those who have been mediocre. There is no doubt that we have been called to fulfill a certain responsibility. But the way we answer that call is up to each of us individually.

When will humanity begin to sing the kinds of beautiful songs to True Parents that are still sung to Jesus? Do you feel that kind of adoration is all over? I believe the next generation will begin that tradition again. Perhaps we are too stubborn, just like the first generation of Israelites who perished in the desert before entering Canaan. They acted as if they were above things; they thought they did everything better, but actually they were humanists. They succeeded in voicing their complaints, but they never succeeded in making it to God's promised land. What is our position today? We are in a similar situation; we must be careful that we do not make the same mistakes they did and die in the desert.

The time will come when all humanity will glorify God through True Parents. Anyone who has had even the smallest contact with True Parents will be respected. To me this is not a fantasy; I am convinced of it one hundred percent. I feet it is just a matter of time. I personally do not feel that it is something only the next generation will experience. Because of our position, each of us can experience this during our earthly lifetime.

The person who does the will of God is automatically closest to Him. Because Father takes total responsibility for all of humanity, he is the one most intimate with God. He acts as God's representative, proclaiming that he is going to disentangle the strings that still attach humanity to Satan. Of course, God's shoes are big ones, but Father has determined to fill them, and act on behalf of his Heavenly Parent.

The person who is furthest away from God is the one who is continuously trapped in viewing his own little problems. Being engrafted to True Parents, we each have an incredible position, but we can either use it well or misuse it. We are all born, we will all die. But our lives are of little or no significance if our names are not written in that big Book of Life recorded in heaven.

Whether or not we may be cultured does not matter; when we hear certain music, we still can perceive its greatness. Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert, Tchaikovsky, Handel, Mozart, Vivaldi, and Wagner are among the great composers. Their genius is manifested in outstanding pieces of music, and today their names are honored and respected. Today millions of lives are saved because of the efforts of Louis Pasteur. Many scientists and artists have achieved eminence. Numerous people have contributed to the wellbeing and development of mankind. It was the great personalities who formed history, not the people who lived from day to day. It is the people who worked for humanity that are remembered today. Theirs are the names being taught in schools. But what about the other hundreds of millions and billions of people who also lived on this earth? So many of them lived for themselves and then died. They have no name, no outstanding accomplishment for humanity.

That is not the case with us. our names will be written down in history especially once we are blessed. Yet our names will not just be written here on earth, but also in heaven. There is no way out for us; we are the ancestors of the new humanity. And there are eyes in many corners of the world watching what we do.

We are each given but one physical lifetime therefore each of us should leave a footprint behind. Our footprints will eventually lead many people to God. Our attitudes and our actions will play a great part in many lives and even contribute to their development. Whether or not at this moment you can believe that a great many people can benefit from your example does not really matter. In the future you will find how true this statement is. A portion of you will become one with them at the same time their personalities blend into yours. At least in the spirit world each of us will see the outcome of our own life and the result of how well we fulfilled our positions will be revealed to us.

It is an amazing privilege to live in this age. Is it due to our personal merit that we were born to live at the time of the return of Christ? Why are we the chosen ones? Why didn't other people who no doubt paid much more indemnity throughout their lives or who even lost their lives for God, receive this benefit? Multitudes of Christian martyrs had to die for their faith. Although they created a strong foundation for Christianity, they did not have the chance to experience such a close relationship with God and Christ as we do. They were not given the Blessing. Don't you think that they might be jealous of us? Many are, and they compare. They might say, " I gave my whole life for God in the name of Jesus. I even died as a martyr. But look at those Unificationists. Compared to us, they haven't done anything. And yet they continue to waste God's precious time."

In order not to be judged by our predecessors, and by the Christian martyrs and saints, we must be spiritually alert. They will be in the position to judge us if we do not accomplish more than they did. We have a grave responsibility; we have a vital position.

As Unificationists, we may not always comprehend our value, but the position we hold is real to God and spirit world. Yet we are drawn to our beds instead of intently listening to or diligently studying God's word. God has to fight minute by minute to keep us listening to Him. That is how strong the law of the flesh is. God wants to tell us many more things, but so often the will of the body takes over. We must become strong enough to dominate the law of the flesh and allow the law of God to live within us.

It is important to generate deep appreciation for every word we discuss. It is equally essential to recognize the significance of what is being spoken here. We sit together so often, that such a fellowship seems to have lost its value; we have been given an overabundance of truth. If other people who had no spiritual food for a whole year or more heard even a few hours of talks on these subjects, they would not want to go to bed. Because we have so much, we may lack appreciation.

Value the words you hear, and especially value your position as a son or daughter of God. Never before has anyone in history been able to make such a claim.

Our position is to pioneer a new future for this world and mankind. We come from different backgrounds and cultures. Some points of Unification tradition may feel awkward to us. Nevertheless, if we staunchly follow the pattern which True Parents are establishing, the future generations will have a much easier time. Some people must be chosen to begin it; it is natural that some mistakes may be made in forming and introducing the new tradition. However, we are the people God is asking to persevere and eventually reach His original goal.

The time will come when kindergarten will end, and then fulfilling your mission will be between God and you. Each person will have his own responsibility to fulfill and nobody is going to do it for him. More and more will be demanded of the person who desires total salvation. As the pioneers chosen by God, we must ford the streams and climb the mountains necessary to purge this world. Someday we will be successful in our mission and able to wave the flag of freedom on the peak. At that time, people will see that it is possible to reach it. They will have the confidence to try it themselves and we will more easily be able to help them. After enduring the bends in the road and the storms and trials, we will then be in an even greater position to lead and if need be, to carry others to that same goal.

In terms of ethical and moral standards, there is such a great chasm between the secular world and our world. The world looks terrible. Statistics about divorce, child abuse, wife beating, crime, disease, and so forth reveal the miserable state of this present world. Yet our opportunity affords us the chance to build the new world and helps fortify the tradition God is trying to install. But if only we can persevere we will be given such a treasure! Heaven is beautiful-I know; I peaked behind the curtains which still hide it from our sight many times. God's palace will be opened to us because of the position we have on earth and the duty He has given us. Even though we may be torn and bruised when we reach the castle door, He will take us in and give us refuge, grateful that we withstood the battering which was a part of our mission.

Sometimes we may be fed up and tired of the way our life is going or the movement is progressing. We may start to wonder what we are doing here, and whether or not it is worth it. Much of the world considers us to be I I nuts." They wonder why we don't return to our old lifestyle, and our old habits and viewpoints. They claim that they are normal and we are abnormal. But we cannot afford to think of ourselves like that.

Consider all the years which were part of our preparation. They are behind us now and from this point on, each of us can really do something for God. At the moment, we may still need to go fundraising or undergo periods of separation from our mates and children, but even they will not continue eternally. Sometimes we constrict our outlook into a self-built narrow mold. Years go by and as we go on, we will see that we must break out of this small world that we have built for ourselves. We will then recognize that Father is not simply planning a small religious venture; instead, God has a plan that incorporates all levels of society and He is the genius in bringing them together.

Twenty years ago, the movement had only a handful of members. Yet even then Father had the greatest vision. He talked big, even though the members found it hard to believe that what he said would happen. But it did! He was the lone man who began to restore the world with the help of God. When he began, the world was so blackened with the smoke and fire of Satan's passion to rule the world. But in the meantime, the handful of members he began with has grown to thousands and millions who now watch how Father is cleaning the spots off this dirty world. And year after year, they have been able to see how things have accumulated for God's side.

As a movement, we have been able to see incredible change during these years that Father has been alive and has been moving the world back in God's direction. We therefore should avoid being shortsighted and try to have the vision True Parents have of the progress we have made worldwide. Even though there are many things which are not being revealed to us at this time, we can rest assured that Father has maintained his incredible vision and is actually working on the highest levels. He is even working to unite the physical and spiritual worlds. His position is God's representative, and as his disciples, our position too is crucial in light of bringing this world back to life.

Although we are proceeding toward Canaan, we are still in the wilderness. Nobody really has a homestead yet -- not the 36 Couples, not even Father. He and Mother have only one room, the rest of their home at East Garden is used for the public purpose.

No one has a home yet because the time is not yet right. The time will come, but now we must be content to keep the vision that in the future we will be granted such blessings.

Keep your vision. Keep yourself centered upon True Parents. Don't worry so much about aligning yourself horizontally; look up to God. Because we are living on this earth, we must attend to physical things. Yet that is just the minimum because the priority is preparation for Heaven. If we can sincerely place our focus there, we will be able to continue. Eventually we will reach the edge of the desert and this period of indemnity will conclude. When we set foot into Canaan, the result of all our endeavors will become visible.

When I pioneered Austria and I walked into St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, I felt ten feet tall. My mind was always in spirit world; I knew I was a son of God. If you have such confidence about your position, you can feel it throughout your entire body. If you are convinced of this, you will be able to do great things. Of course Satan tells you just the opposite. He always reinforces how bad and inadequate you are. When you listen to him, you become so insecure that you might lose confidence in yourself. He fills your mind with the thoughts he would like you to believe. He tries to put you in a position where you don't belong. Meditate about this. What is your real position? What is being a son or daughter of God all about?

At some point every person is faced with the decision to go to either God or Satan. Throughout history, the same mistake that Ham made has been continually repeated. Through his behavior, Ham subconsciously decided that Satan was his father. The shame he felt for his naked father was enough to acknowledge Satan as his father. From that seemingly insignificant decision, the history of the world spiraled downward. If we were to walk through the events of history, we could see how consequential even the smallest symbolic move was, and the reaction from both God's and Satan's sides.

It is crucial to maintain the right attitude. Remember that when you come with your offering and stand before God in the name of True Parents, you represent all of humanity. God has chosen you as one person from among millions. If you fulfill the potential He sees within you and accomplish your responsibility, it is as if those millions of people also bring those same results before the altar of God. You stand in the Abel position as you represent all of humanity. And if you stand in for Cain, then Cain can be forgiven. You intervene. You are the mediator. That is your position.

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