The Words of Sun Myung Moon from 1971
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The Words of Sun Myung Moon from 1971 |
There are many sorrowful people around us, and there are many who are not. Our families, cities, and nations are either sorrowful or they are not. Some are developing and others are not; some are smiling and others are crying. In this way everyone is different, yet everybody feels sorrow and solitude and everybody seeks the whole.
Everybody also seeks joy, glory, and happiness. The same is true with every family, society, and even every nation. Everyone avoids sorrow, seeking happiness, and for that purpose everyone lives in struggle. This is true of the whole world. If there is some being which controls the whole, that being should definitely be similar in character to human beings.
Love is not to be given in a lonely, suffering place but in a free and glorious one. God wants to give utmost love in such an environment. Is there any human being on this earth who can do that? That utmost love is not to be given only to a certain individual; rather it is to be given to families and to the whole world. This is the essence of love: it is given to two people rather than to one person, to three people rather than to two people, and so on. This is the way love is expressed toward human beings here on earth.
God's desire is not confined to a certain individual. Heaven seeks the whole; hence the distinction between public life and private life. To serve the expectations of the whole is to lead a public life. Joy only for oneself cannot exist. It would be chased away by the joy of the whole. I think God is that way. Those who are wise live for the future. They cannot live only for the present. Hence the necessity of faith; then hope can exist. Victory should not be dedicated to the individual but for the sake of the whole.
It is not good to think that you are just you and that 1 am just I. The truth is that you are me and I am you. We need to attain that kind of level. Individual victory can only bring forth individual joy. In that case two people cannot rejoice together, and the whole cannot rejoice. However, if individual victory is dedicated to the whole, then it can belong to the whole. Therefore, individual sacrifice can bring about public victory. We should think that if a whole nation smiles in happiness, then each of us can smile. The greater the extent of sacrifice, the greater the value. Here the summit of the world can exist.
Love always accompanies the path of sacrifice. We cannot walk that path by any other technique or method. We cannot simply rejoice as individuals. In true religion individualism has no place. Of course we do exist as individuals, but we as individuals are made for the sake of our nation and for the sake of the whole world. We must understand that clearly. We as individuals should symbolize the world. Hence, individuals should live for the public. It is in this way that God's love expands infinitely.
We should not live only for the sake of the Unification Church but for the sake of our nation and for the sake of the world. Although we may have to sacrifice ourselves, we must walk this path. When you see a beautiful sunset, do you want to see it only by yourself? Deep in your heart you would want everyone to enjoy the beauty. The eternal Kingdom of Heaven cannot become a reality only within an individual. It can exist only within the whole. That is why religion, especially Christianity, is strong. No one can remove its power.
Needless to say, it's not easy to walk a religious path. You have to be willing to bear your cross. Human history develops through such responsible and burdened people. We have to have ambition of lofty dimension. Even when you collapse as an individual, you can do so with the hope that your situation will bring about development. The Unification Church must serve the world; otherwise it will perish. Our task is to establish a new world, a new philosophy to create an ideology representing Heaven and earth. If we succeed in doing that, even if Heaven and earth are destroyed, the ideology would remain forever. When we suffer for the sake of our nation, we must be proud of it. We may be in misery sometimes but it creates a love which no one can destroy.
Jesus died on the cross; however, has the love of Heaven which permitted his crucifixion disappeared from the earth? No! Out of love for humanity, God allowed His most beloved son to die on the cross, and that same deep love became manifest on the earth. Didn't it? It was the love of True Parents. It was a love of high dimension, a love which we cannot imagine. It brought forth a new resurrection. We must know this clearly. Until we see our nation victorious, we must endure this miserable environment and overcome. Even though it may be the path of great sacrifice, we must go on. In that kind of situation we can love.
At first glance the Unification Church seems to be walking the path of great sacrifice, because our church lives for the sake of the nation. We cannot leave our nation when it is going to perish. We must make our utmost effort of work for the nation. We have to become the center of the activities of the whole nation. Otherwise, we may perish.
We stand at a crossroads which will determine whether we become victors or losers. It will not be determined 10 years from now. It is determined at this moment. Those who can conquer the present will be able to bring forth future victory. Let us overcome the present difficulties to liberate God. We should clearly realize how God's destiny depends on us. Let us determine to save others and the world, and also to save God. This kind of victory for the public cannot be obtained in a comfortable room. A day of joy might be very difficult for us if we were only to live in a comfortable way.
We should not quarrel with the established churches; rather we should do our utmost to establish the Kingdom of Heaven that they are also seeking. The reason is because our purpose is to build the Heavenly Kingdom on earth, which has not been realized yet. We cannot stop and be frustrated. Nor can we live only for the sake of our own families. We must live for something which is greater. We should not stay where we are at this moment. We do not need to worry about our own salvation; rather, we have to save the nation and the world. We must think that way. Even if we are hungry, we should be willing to keep on going. Even though we face difficulties, we should accomplish what we have to do. We should walk together with history and participate in the creation of a new age. For the sake of Heaven's purpose, sorrow, and dignity, we must be active.
We are now marching forward with barely enough time to sleep. We should join together with those who are toiling for the sake of the world. Then we will discover that it is not only we who are fighting. Indeed we are combatting vertically side by side with the saints in the spirit world. It is, of course, not an easy fight but a difficult one.
We must not fail. Many times we may tremble when we walk this kind of path. We are walking a very serious path. In order to fight against communism and Satan, we have to march forward, transcending the national dimension.
That someone lives in this world does not mean that he or she lives only for him or herself. A person belongs to his or her family and nation. At least that is the case with the democratic world. We as individuals live surrounded by our families and our nation, but now the individual is the center, surrounded by God's providence. Which family and which nation is the center? No one truly knows. Humankind does not know. Then who does know?
According to the Bible, only God knows. The center of God's providence, which only God knows, is the Lord of the Second Advent. All people are destined to unite with this individual and his family and live together with him. Centering upon this one man, all people will realize what is good and what is evil. Therefore, we must unite with that center, get trained, and do our utmost to eradicate evil. Whether we can do it or not will determine whether all individuals, all nations, and all humanity will live or die.
All human beings are destined to abandon the evil world and unite with this good center. The Lord of the Second Advent clearly knows whether God's Kingdom will perish or not and whether Satan's kingdom will perish or not. He knows all the secrets concerning God's and also Satan's Kingdom. He will be the one who can establish God's Kingdom by triumphing in struggles against Satan's Kingdom.
If you desire to establish God's Kingdom and live for God's purpose, you must not think of tolerating evil but you should absolutely overcome evil. Jacob fought for 21 years and at the end defeated an angel at Jabbok. Afterwards he received the name Israel, which means victory. Anyone who desires to establish God's Kingdom should go that kind of path. Moses fought for 120 years for the same purpose. Before God can liquidate the power of evil, we must accomplish the desire of God. If God could handle the evil world all alone, then what would man be needed for? Therefore, we are to represent God, oppose and overcome evil, and bring forth the day of victory. We must not perish.
If Jacob, when he was wrestling with the angel, had thought that he could not fight anymore, and if he had wanted someone to help him, what would have happened? God would have been disappointed with him. But Jacob fought by himself and became victorious. Thus he was able to receive the title Israel. In order to gain this kind of victory, Jacob suffered a broken thigh-bone. We must remember Jacob who fought with an angel at the cost of his life. He never relented until he obtained the victory. We must also be strong that way. In order for us to be able to enter Heaven, we must show proof that we have overcome Satan. Without that kind of certificate, we cannot go to Heaven.
When we try to overcome Satan, he does not just stay with us; rather, he resists and opposes until the end. Because Satan resists this way, God must be concerned about it. When we walk God's path, we have to face all kinds of difficulties. Did you ever see a woman delivering a baby? When a woman delivers a baby, she does so with her utmost effort, determined even at the cost of her own life. We, the Unification members, are now in this kind of situation. In this situation we must not retreat.
We absolutely must not become losers. My prayer therefore is really serious. In this sense your prayer and my prayer are different from each other. Now that we are facing the destiny of the entire world we must try not to think of our own situation. The Unification Church can prosper in this time. We have to fight courageously to enable this nation to survive. If you stop this tight because of individual circumstances, you will feel regretful. You should try to avoid that at all costs.
Once you have taken God's responsibility, of course, you may have to walk a sacrificial path and you may be disappointed, but you should be determined not to retreat or give up. If we cannot accomplish this, our descendants must do it. We have to have intense determination. When I started this path, I became ready to die. What I am sorry about in my life is that I did not have any military experience. But I believe that I am a man of courage who is always ready to sacrifice his life for the sake of good and I am always ready to go to the front line.
Who on the earth made the Unification Church? Who created the fortune and destiny of the Unification Church? Did you? Did history do it? It's not you that made it. History did it. We must know that we have not made it. We must clearly know the fact that we can work because of the foundation laid by the great saints of the past who sacrificed themselves, shedding blood for thousands of years. We must take responsibility for history. That kind of path is the path of the Unification Church. In this situation we must become the subject of history or symbols of history. If we are to solve these difficult problems, we must become co-workers and fight. We cannot do that kind of thing staying inside a room. When we see the Unification Church from a historical standpoint, we realize that this phenomenon never happened in the past, and it will never happen in the future. So far, what has human history sought? It has sought to meet with the True Parents.
Because humanity did not have the True Parents, it had to walk the path of misery throughout history. The Christian idea of the Messiah is complete except for witnessing the True Parents. Even other religions, many different religions have been seeking the True Parents. Who will choose the True Parents? Human beings should. There cannot be two pairs of True Parents. There is only one set of True Parents. The one and only couple of the True Parents of humanity is the hope and the starting point of a new history. It is eternal life and love. Therefore you must try to discover every detail of the hearts of True Parents and unite with them.
What kind of attitude do the True Parents have to take towards their children? Because they are good children, selected from the evil world, the Parents should meet them with God's infinite love. The True Parents' attitude toward the children should be different from that of the parents in this world toward their children. Children should have a basic attitude toward the True Parents whom they serve. You should become the champions of filial piety as representative children selected from all the nations of the world and from your own nation. You should try to respond in this way. But if children of filial piety emerge who are ready to serve the True Parents they will never perish if they unite with each other.
The people who are in this kind of focus are you. We cannot simply behave as we want, nor can we just talk as we want. So far that kind of freedom is not allowed. I cannot say just anything I want. When I pray I say, "Heavenly Father," and thereafter I often feel that I cannot say anything more. Sometimes I spend the night in deep meditation. I become so sorrowful that I cannot face God and I cannot pray, because I am so sorry for God. You are all independent. Some of you are proud of yourselves, and many of you are trying to advertise yourselves, and that is no good. A child of real filial piety would not say anything, but would just be silent, fulfilling his or her own portion of responsibility and raising his or her face in front of the True Parents. In the Unification Church we try to be this way.
The world regards us as heretical. However, the day will come when it will not say anything critical of our church. Therefore, you have to be serious. You have to regard your daily life as precious. You have to be earnest day by day, and you have to walk proudly step by step.
The present situation of our country is very urgent. Christianity already predicted this situation 2,000 years ago. Then who will be responsible for this nation? The Unification Church and its members. Suppose we have to repair the clothes of a destroyed country. Then, I am the needle and you are the thread. Unless the thread is attached to the needle, the clothes cannot be repaired.
The needle cannot work alone. Although the needle is important, nevertheless the thread is also important. You have to clearly understand this. You and I should have the relationship like that of thread and needle and repair the torn fabric of the country and the world.
If this nation perishes, there will be no place for the Unification Church to go. In this sense as well we have to protect this nation. We must not be fearful of communism. We must courageously practice what we have already been determined to do. We can surpass communism when we Unification Church members do things that even the nation cannot do. Then Heaven will protect us. Here lies the key to victory or defeat. We have to become able to see victory. Strive to become a person who can accomplish his or her own responsibility. Therefore, let us double our efforts. Everything should be mobilized to save the world. Wherever I may go, I will pray for you all.