The Words of Hyo Jin Moon
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The Words of Hyo Jin Moon |
Today I want to talk about love. When we talk about love, what is the first thought that comes into your mind? (True Parents!) Do you have certain expectations about love? Is that expectation limited or unlimited? When we address the issue of love, we want love to be forever. If I could possess love, if I had the will and the ability to do this, I would want that love to be with me as long as I live. And if I have an eternal soul with the potential to live forever, then I would want the love to do the same. I would want love to be with me forever and wherever I go.
Why are we here? I am sure none of you are sitting here because you want to do things just for yourself. You are here for a greater purpose. We are trying to create a world where love can exist everywhere we go, where we can embrace and shake hands with every person. We expect this love to last forever once we create it. We don't want love to diminish. In my heart I expect that within the path of love there are no barriers. I can be liberated to the extent of the expectation that I hold. If I expect love to be eternal and everlasting, I can look at this person right here and feel the same. Love is eternal and unbounded. I can't say to myself, "I lost love," just because of some obstacle that is in my path. If I say to myself, "I have lost love," then in my heart I do not really have true love.
It is very easy to react with anger when someone provokes us. But if I believe in the unboundedness and the eternal aspect of love, I must stand in front of that situation with a higher quality of love. As long as I return an "eye for an eye," then the cycle of destruction will not cease. Of course we all hope that we will not run into that kind of circumstance. But we know that is not the case.
What has Father been doing for the 17 years that he has been here? America has done so much to cause grief to his heart. He poured out everything that he had and he wanted to give even more. Why? Because he believes in God's ideal and possesses God's unbounded, everlasting and unchanging love. He is trying to convey the quality of love that he possesses to you, and in order for him to be true, his actions must comply with his thoughts.
I am sure many of you have your personal views toward Father. For me, the overwhelming aspect of our relationship is the life-changing love that he has shown me. The way that he looks at me and embraces me has never changed, from as far back as I can remember. I used to follow Father all over the place. He would take me around with him every chance that he could. Sometimes I used to sit in Father's lap and I felt there was no place on earth that could provide the same comfort and security that I experienced at those moments. And when I was away from him, I lost everything. Physically I was busy, but my heart was in trouble. When I see Father now, he looks at me with the same kind of eyes that he looked at me when I was young, and he touches me with the same kind of care that he used to give me. It is all because of his unchanging love toward me. His love for me never wavered.
Father knew that in order for me to possess that love, I must make the base to receive that love on my own. In order for man to be one with Heavenly Father, he has the responsibility to make the right choices. By uniting with God absolutely, individuals can receive the eternal love that is waiting for them. If I am going to be the possessor of that absolute love, I must have the same ability to perpetuate the love of my father. When I look into my children's eyes I must have the same kind of intensity and essence of love that my father had for me.
When we go to the matching or the Blessing, we have certain expectations of our partner. I am sure everybody here felt that kind of feeling, even slightly: "I hope that my wife will be as beautiful as a princess" or "I hope my husband will be handsome, strong, and very well-mannered." There seems to be some kind of universal standard of beauty in everyone's mind, right? I am speaking about beauty on a physical level.
When we look at a beautiful model's face, we know it is physically beautiful. But when Father matches, everyone gets their turn. We are all unique with different shapes and sizes.
But what makes us leap further than the physical reality? If the universe is created through love, what about the less beautiful faces? Is there only one kind of tree in the woods, only one kind of fish in the ocean, one kind of bird flying in the sky? Everyone goes into the matching with certain expectations and wishes that their partner will be pretty or handsome. But we have some very interesting looking people here.
One time Father was matching a crippled woman. Her appearance wasn't bad, but she was crippled. She couldn't use her legs. She was eligible for the matching and the Blessing, so she attended. At that point Father was very concerned because she came with the desire and expectation to be blessed by Father, the same as everybody else. She had a pure intention. She said to Father, "I know my physical situation. If there is no one who is willing to take me, that's fine with me. I just wanted to come and participate in the Blessing because I believe I can have that much hope." Deep inside Father really wanted to bless this woman to somebody. He was thinking, "I want to bless this person, but what if nobody volunteers? That will break her heart. And if I just choose somebody, match that person with her, and they have crippled children, then he is going to blame me forever."
Father prayed and looked around. He saw a skinny Korean gentleman with very deep eyes. Father looked at him and some feeling went toward him so he asked, "Would you take this woman? If you take this woman, you will go down in the history of the Unification Church, because you will truly set an example for the future. I promise you your children will be beautiful and handsome." The man agreed to take that woman. Later, when Father was touring, he met that couple. The man jutted out in front of Father and Father was a little surprised. The first thing he said was, "Look at my baby, Father." Father looked at the baby and said, "Oh, he is a very handsome baby." This man was very proud of his son.
But that's not important. Let's say my son or daughter was crippled. Would I love my crippled child? I have love for my children no matter who they are. In matters of love, no matter how wise or how old we are, we still have more to conquer. I am grateful that my children are not crippled. But if I had to face that situation, what would I do? Ask that of yourselves. Then, depending on the answer, we can see whether we have love or not. Father felt a deep parental love when he saw that crippled woman. He wanted to do everything in his power to bring the Blessing to her. If we are to inherit Father's heart, we must do the same. If we can't, we are not worthy.
If you have a spouse, you want to spend time together, right? Let's pretend I have that kind of wife that nags because I don't spend enough time with her. I'm too busy doing other things. Her intention is she wants to spend time with me, that's all. What would you do, as the husband?
Suppose she says, "Spend more time with me. Why are you always busy? Spend some time at home with me. Let's go out together. You haven't taken me out for over a month." Nag, nag, nag! I could say, "Be quiet, wife!" But a good response is: "Wife, listen to me. You know I love you. And my love is not just for you, but for my children and for this family. Now go outside and look around at the world. Can you find joy and happiness everywhere you look? No, we can't find that in this fallen world. I love you and my family so much that I want that same kind of loving atmosphere to be everywhere in the world as our children grow up. I feel that truly loving you is loving our children and the world. The love we have between us is so precious that every time I look at my child it reminds me of that moment of love we shared. I want that love to be able to blossom in an atmosphere of love also. That is why I am going out to the world to create that atmosphere of love. Please don't suffocate our love." Say that to your wife, instead.
I have the kind of attitude that if I run and fall and scrape one knee, I'll get up and be grateful that I didn't scrape the other one. You can get up and kick the rock that made you tumble, or blame the things that caused you suffering, but instead be grateful that you are here, living and breathing. Be grateful that you have the opportunity to make a difference in the world and to have a family. It is up to you. There is nobody out there who can make it better for you. It is you who makes your own destiny. If I say to myself that I want to become a child of God, and I want to create the Kingdom of Heaven where God can reside every single moment, it is up to me. It is up to us!
We can think about and discuss the technical aspects of the Principle, but the fact is that we must live it. Every individual has his responsibility to make the foundation of substance. What does that mean? If you long to become one with God, you must make the foundation of substance to receive Him and everything about Him. No one else can make it for you.
Of course, when I look at my son, I wish I could do everything for him. I can try my utmost to make a good environment for him, but ultimately he must make a choice every step of the way. He is saying, "I want to do this, I like this, I don't like that." I can't force feed him, although I may want to do that so he doesn't have to go through the trouble of choosing what is right or wrong. Ultimately for him to become a true son he must possess the ability to perpetuate the love and lifestyle that his father had. Can you perpetuate the love given you by True Parents?
You all like independence, don't you? You must have the quality of love which can receive Heavenly Father and be able to return the things that you have received. You must have the ability to generate within yourselves the kind of love that God has given you. You must have the ability to return His love. You must develop the power to emanate, not just absorb.
I think about Father, especially when I am alone. When I listen to the songs that I offer to him, I always cry. Why? Because I truly want to be free in my actions. I want to be free in the eyes of God and in the eyes of my parents. The only way that I can accomplish this desire is to sacrifice myself for the sake of love by following my father's tradition and his path. When I do that I feel free in front of him and in front of God. When I do otherwise, I want to hide. I might feel fine at the moment because the people around me indulge in the same things, but when I think about my father, I want to find a hole and crawl into it. In my heart I want to be free. Do you want freedom? If you walk the life of Principle, you will find true freedom because you become justified in front of God and True Parents. If you live for the sake of love, you will be truly liberated.
I want to liberate everything. Every time I hear rock and roll, the music makes me happy. When you look at the creation, there is such a mystical quality. A lake early in the morning with the fog lightly settling down on the surface is incredibly serene and pure. And you also notice that, before a really blue sky, there is always a thunder shower -- plenty of noise! There was nothing wrong with David, in the Bible, rejoicing in the presence of God by dancing with his natural body. But you must realize what Satan has done. He has taken everything that can make us physically happy and made it his, because he possesses the physical world. I'm not advocating rock and roll. The point I am trying to make is that nothing belongs to Satan. These days we put greater emphasis on the cover than on the essence.
People have to elaborate simple words into great phrases. Instead of using the word "sacrifice," we have to hear, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for you country," before we can get inspired. People like nice external packages. The outer physical package of rock and roll brings excitement. That's what people like. But the essence can be evil. People who listen to rock and roll just like the feeling that emanates from the rhythm of the music. They don't care about the lyrics. But because people like the rhythm so much, they unknowingly absorb the lyrics at the same time. Satan is pouring his message into those unconscious people. They are not analyzing the lyrics; they are just having a good time bouncing around. It is just like when you first wake up, or when you are drunk or physically disoriented. If somebody tells you something, you believe it. And if that process is repeated over and over again, it affects you very much.
I feel, and Father said also, that in the future the ideal world will be mainly comprised of the performing arts. Why? Because the essence of art is harmony. In drawing you harmonize colors in the frame of the picture. In music you combine different notes and harmonize them within a song. The ideal world is harmonious; all the different, unique individuals come together harmoniously and create a beautiful piece of art. Heavenly Father can look at that art and be proud of it: "Wow, look at what I have created! A masterpiece, changing in its quality, but eternally harmonious." This would be an everlasting piece of living art. Can you imagine an artist who can create music that has a life of its own, that can multiply and make baby notes? Within this physical world it is impossible for us to create something like that. But it is possible for us to create a living music within ourselves, by first becoming one in mind and body, then one with others, and finally multiplying children. And our descendants will continue to create this living art that will extend into eternity. So we have the power, just as Heavenly Father does, to give eternal life to things that we touch. Doesn't that make you happy?
We can literally make decisions affecting living species. If we wanted to wipe a species off the face of the earth, we could do that. Man has too much power now, that is why he is arrogant. But mankind must realize why we are the only creatures in the universe who have the power to create and have dominion over things. The reason for that is because we are the children of God. Children must possess the same qualities as the parents.
Yesterday I visited the 8,000 Blessing celebration and I saw so many children. Every time I look at them, it is very hard for me. If we are truly concerned and truly want to be responsible, every time we look at those children it should make us serious. I didn't have the best environment growing up. But I want the best for our children. Truly, that is what we have to think about, because if we value our precious spiritual inheritance, and if we want to make it last, we must have children. No matter what kind of wealth you possess, you are not going to take it with you to spirit world. What is your life ambition? I believe it is the right thing, as Father's son, to value Father's tradition and to make sure that his name and his values and his vision can live on.
If you want to be a success, you have to plan for the future. Our children are our future. We must make an environment where we can be sure that the right things will be provided for our children. Make sure the things that they embrace are the right things. I want to make sure of that. That is why I stress this point so much.
Let me tell you a simple philosophy. I feel, in the eyes of love, one's self must diminish. That is what sacrifice means. When I love my brother, if giving something to him will bring him joy, I want to give it to him. If I love my wife, I want to give everything to her. If I love my children, I want to do anything to provide something that can make them happy. If it means for me to work until I drop so I can feed my family, or so that I can bring some kind of joy and happiness to my family, I will do that. As a father, if I truly love my son, and if I truly am concerned for his future, although the words that I speak at that moment might not please him, I will say them. My personal feeling diminishes because I love my son. Of course I want to make him happy. I would like to feed him candy all the time because he likes it, but it is not good for him. Looking at him in the moment, I want to satisfy his needs. But I love him. I am not concerned just about the moment but for his future. That's why I am willing to say things he doesn't want to hear because I love him. My feelings diminish because I am living for his sake. Do you understand? That's what love is.
Frankly speaking, for a while I lost the enthusiasm of being here at Belvedere and speaking to you. I had the fire in the beginning, but it weakened. We wet e not united. But it was wrong on my part to just follow my feelings. I have recommitted myself. We can all do that! That is what I always tell the blessed children. That is what I believe! I don't care about the physical aspects of life.
What is more important to me is eternal love. I will not take the physical quality of love and try to compare it to the eternal quality of love. Within eternal love, the physical quality should exist, too. But it is not an equal thing. That is why, if you understand love, you have to be humble. Why? Because you must look at each other with that eternal quality of love if you wish to become perfect.
We all have our unique characteristics. It is our responsibility to develop them to their fullest. The reason that we have such unique qualities is for the sake of truly loving others. If I am talented in music, or speech, my melodies and my words should bring joy and happiness not just to myself but to everybody! When you take your gifts and claim them as yours, separating yourself from the rest, that is the greatest sin. Do you understand that? That is the sin that Lucifer committed. He should have realized that his existence was within the realm of love, but he thought otherwise. He separated himself from the realm of love and started thinking on his own. He went farther and farther away from God and eventually had the guts to tempt Adam and Eve. He believed that God didn't love him as much as Adam and Eve. Of course God loved him! The position that he held had a purpose in God's ideal. If he fulfilled his position and responsibility, he would be included in God and man's ideal. But he didn't think like that. "Oh, look at Adam and Eve, and look at poor me." He separated himself from the path of love. So please, that is the lowest human attitude that anyone can possess.
You can't rely on other people's words to make your life of faith a true one. Study the Principle. Pray every day and read it. Try to make that connection to Father within yourself. I can provide a certain basic foundation, but it is you who must break through. I can't do that for you. I can't force feed it to you. Every time I come here, no matter how hard I try, I worry about whether you will understand. Of course you can do well. But you can't rely on other people for your life of faith. You've got to be responsible for your own future, your own life of faith. I don't want you to misunderstand this. I can speak and scold for hours and hours. But what is more important is that you take it from here. That is the only way we can propagate ourselves.
If I can give my whole heart, and if you can do as much, we can change America. That is always the purpose we must keep in our minds. Our goal is to save America. Everything that you do, give your hundred percent. You should pray. Read the Principle over and over again. I do that. You should do that too. It is my responsibility to remind you.