Observing Father's Life

Won Pil Kim
April 1981

Translator's Note:

In my life, I have met many people and many religious leaders. However, when Joy and I met Rev. Won Pil Kim, I felt that I had met the kind of person I had been looking for. Many great leaders or outstanding people talk about love and humility, but generally when I came into close contact with them I was somewhat disappointed by their untruthfulness. People act humbly, but often they are far from the reality of a truly humble heart.

I am not qualified to say anything about Rev. Kim, but at least I found him to be a direct and frank person with a humble heart. He never allowed Joy (Pople) and me to feel that he was the speaker and we were just listeners. When Joy asked him about his experiences with Father, he did not want to make any comment before Joy explained about her experiences with Father.

Rev. Kim has a good sense of humor and establishes a normal atmosphere, letting his visitors sense that they are having a conversation. He gave us a deep brother and sister love and surrounded us with an all-embracing warm atmosphere.

Rev. David Kwanil Hwang

Through Father's life I have often been able to perceive the reality of the spirit world, the true meaning of the Principle and the depths of Father's heart. I have always thought that his life is the manifestation of his personality, his belief, spiritual reality and truth. Thus, I have made many efforts to learn to know Father's personality, heart, spirit world and truth -- through observing his life. Certainly, a person's life represents and manifests all aspects of himself.

All beliefs and revelations, and especially personality, heart and being, are manifested through one's life, whether they be lowly or magnificent. People have failed, even though they were guided by revelations received from spirit world, because their life was not good and because their words were not consistent with their life and actions. In truth, I could perceive the Principle and eternal truth by observing Father's life from the time he arose in the morning until he lay down to sleep at night.

Let me give you one example. In Korea, after Sunday service, we used to have a hwadong (harmonious action) meeting. One Sunday, a member brought along to the meeting her little child, who was about a year old or less. The baby's mother had joined our church because of many revelations she had received about Father.

During the meeting, the baby began to whine, so Father had it placed beside him. But when the baby saw this stranger close to it, it began to cry, being uncomfortable in the new atmosphere. Once the baby began to cry, it continued without stopping, even when Father picked it up. The baby kept looking over towards its mother and trying to return to her, but Father grasped it very tightly. The baby tried to get away from Father but failed, and its crying became louder. Although the baby looked towards its mother for help, she could not do anything, because it was Father who was holding her baby; even though she felt sympathy in her heart towards her baby, she could do nothing to help it. There were many spiritually sensitive people in the room, but they could not say anything either about what Father was doing.

Eventually, the baby must have started thinking, "This strange man will never let me go, and my mother will do nothing to help me. I might as well accept the situation." Finally it stopped crying. Then Father started to show much more love to the baby, trying to love it as much as he did before it started crying. In other words, he wanted to restore the baby to the same condition or better than what it had before it began to cry.

I realized several lessons through this experience:

First, the mother of the baby had found the Messiah through the help of the spirit world, not because of her own effort or initiative. In fact, however, one is supposed to find the Messiah by one's self, although her experience was not that way. Each person has to eventually reach the position where he can recognize the Messiah and follow him all by himself, without any help from the spirit world. If we were taught about the Messiah only through the help of the spirit world, Satan could accuse us, for Satan accuses anybody who accepts the Messiah if he is taught only in that way. Therefore, a great test is in store for everybody who has received help from spirit world, to see if he can reach the position where he recognizes the Messiah by himself.

Furthermore, we must pass another test in our relationship with the Messiah: whether we can believe in the Messiah and follow him and truly love him even more than our own beloved children.

Therefore, the lady in this story was confronted with these two tests at the same time. Through her experiences in the traditional Christian churches, she had understood that the Messiah is one who loves little children. However, the Messiah she believed in and was taught about through the help of the spirit world was different from the kind of Messiah who loves little children. This was the test she was facing in this incident. So when she found out that the Messiah was not the one who loves little children in the conventional way, she had to decide whether she could still believe in him.

In addition, when the baby was crying, the woman's heart ached with sympathy for it; thus she forgot about Father and did not consider how Father felt as he was trying to stop the baby from crying. If she really believed in Father as the Messiah, she would also have had sympathy for him and would have worried about him as he was trying to stop the crying.

Furthermore, if we imagine ourselves in this child's position, we can learn another lesson from this incident. We feel a passionate attachment to this world, just as the baby felt a passionate longing for its mother. But suddenly the Lord separated the mother and baby, in order to make them one with his will. This indicates that the way of restoration separates man from worldly love, in order to make him one with the heavenly side.

After Father made the baby unite with his will, he blessed it and gave it a better joy than mere worldly joy, and then returned it to its mother. Thus, the baby rejoined its mother filled with a higher passion that was given to it by heaven. This as well is an example of restoration. The same is true for us: after receiving true love from Father, we can go back to the world with a divine passion in our hearts.

The final lesson from this incident is how to care for people. When we correct someone who has done something wrong, we give him words of scolding. But if the person we are talking to is disappointed or discouraged, or has some difficult feeling inside, we have to care for him after scolding him or teaching him a lesson. We should actually give love afterwards. If we do not give love after a scolding, then the scolding is not really effective and the teaching is not really true. Through this little child, then, Father was teaching us how to deal with others.

Father treated this baby in such a way as to teach us several important lessons. This experience was meant not only for that lady, but also for all the people who were watching. Father always has deep meaning in whatever he is doing. I have observed Father for many years and could learn so many things through him.

You have had experiences of Father through your dreams, but now you should observe Father's life. Through his life, we can receive some meaning or truth.

For instance, when Father sits down, his way of sitting is different from ours. Even his breathing is different from ours. We do not really know, for instance, what kind of emotion he feels when he breathes. When he starts to walk, putting his right foot down first, we do not know how he feels, because we ourselves do not place so much significance on how we walk.

We are close to Father. We may think we are far away from him, but actually Father is here. In any given moment we are close to him. What we have to change is our concept.

For instance, you are in New York right now; when you look at New York on the map, you see a point where you and Father are both located. But how do the members in Europe think of those who are living in New York? They think you see Father and actually live with him! They think you are the ones who are really serving and welcoming him.

You have a chance to be close to Father. In fact, if you really try hard, you can touch him. It is true! You should have the feeling that he is really close to you. That kind of feeling is so important.

We, on the other hand, may think that the people in East Garden are so close to Father -- because they are living in his house. But actually, we can feel closer to Father than they do, if we wholeheartedly accept him as our Father with a true heart. We should have such a feeling that Father is close to us.

We have listened to many of Father's speeches, speeches he gives based on the victories he has gained. But although we hear his speeches, we cannot make them our own unless we substantiate them or experience them as he teaches them. Children, for instance, do not know exactly what their parents had to go through in order to earn the money that provides for the family. In order to earn money to support their children, the parents had to be thrifty and pass through hungry times.

We have heard or read Father's words many times, but we do not have his foundation of experience; we have not done what he has done. In other words, we do not have our own wellspring within us. If we hear what Father is saying and then just repeat the words without going through deep experience as he has done, our hearts dry out. Then we have to go back to Father again, in order to be renewed. Unless you have a wellspring in your heart, you cannot really continue to speak. Once you have such a deep fountain in your heart, from that moment on, you can do as Father does.

When we receive words from Father, we have to practice them through our lives. We should be able to heartistically follow Father. Everybody has the possibility of reaching the goal. This road we are walking along is the only possible way to attain our goal.