The Words of Won Pil Kim
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The Words of Won Pil Kim |
Excerpted and edited from Father's Course and our Life of Faith.
I'd like to explain why Father never breaks a promise. A promise can't be made by one person; it needs at least two people. Two people make a promise centering on a purpose which benefits both of them. This is the case between two people who are married, between a company president and an employee, or between a president of a nation and a citizen.
At the time of creation, there was a promise between God and mankind; that promise was not made just to guarantee God's happiness, nor only mankind's, but to guarantee the happiness of both. The relationship between mind and body is the same. The purpose of a promise is to guarantee mutual happiness and joy; it doesn't aim for an individual purpose, but for the common purpose of both sides, which we call the purpose of the whole. The fall happened because mankind broke this promise with God.
There are three elements to think of in a promise. The first is the relationship between subject and object; the second is the purpose of the whole; and the third is the element of time. Some promises must be kept for a limited period, like one year or 10 years, and others for eternity.
How is a promise kept or broken? Let's begin with the promise between God and man. First of all, God is the subject and man is the object. Secondly, the promise was backed up by the purpose of the whole -- what we call the purpose of creation -- which should guarantee not only God's happiness but also man's happiness. Thirdly, the promise was for eternity.
A divorce can't be agreed upon by only one party. The agreement of both makes a divorce possible. It is the same with a treaty between nations. When a subject and an object make a promise, there should also be another person who witnesses it. There were angels at the time of Adam and Eve who did this.
What has become of the promise, the ideal of creation? Man broke the promise, but God has kept it. God's purpose -- the realization of the ideal of creation -- remains as long as God keeps the promise. The providence of restoration wouldn't have been possible if God, as well as man, had broken the promise. If God keeps this promise eternally, the person who breaks the promise can be replaced by another. If Adam had kept the promise, Eve could have been created again. When there is a perfect plus, a perfect minus comes automatically. But because Adam and Eve both broke the promise, God couldn't recreate them, so He had to start the providence of restoration through indemnity. The realization of God's ideal is possible even if people change and are replaced one after another, as long as God keeps the promise eternally.
In a sense, the 6,000 years of the history of the restoration of mankind are a record of how God kept His original promise with man. True Father walks the same path as Heavenly Father. When we make a promise with Father, we must know that both Satan and God are witnessing it. Why both Satan and God? Because we are fallen. In the beginning there was God, mankind, and the angels, but after the fall Satan took the place of the angels.
A promise with Father is an eternal one, which is kept not only in this world but also in the spiritual world. Sometimes we break our promise with Father. Many spiritualists and other members in the past who once promised Father that they would follow him have now forgotten their promise. But Father didn't annul the promise. He prayed for them. He kept the promise with them even after they started opposing him, so God could substitute other people to follow him.
When our partner breaks a promise, we usually become upset and break off the relationship. It is the same between nations when they start a war. What would become of us if God or Father were to take the same attitude as that of fallen man? There would be no eternity, and no ideal. Let's think of the relationship between a leader and his team members. How should the members behave when the leader doesn't keep a promise? The members will be given a better leader who can fulfill their ideal on a higher dimension if the members keep the promise. Conversely, when a member can't keep the promise then the leader will get a Fetter member.
This also takes place in a relationship between husband and wife; if one partner leaves and the other partner keeps the promise with God and doesn't change his or her mind about wanting to establish a happy family, God will give the faithful spouse a better partner to fulfill the original purpose to make an ideal family.
If a purpose has already been fulfilled, we need not make a promise. When we make a promise today, we look forward to the future when the purpose will be fulfilled. Both a subject and an object must pass through a certain time period, keeping the promise together, until both reach the destination. If one partner reaches the destination but the other drops out along the way, God can find a substitute to enable the faithful partner to reach the original destination. This is a manifestation of the law that a perfect minus always appears for a perfect plus.
The person who keeps the promise is very important to God. If one person keeps the promise, then God can proceed with the providence without postponement. When both break a promise, there is no foundation for God to work. In such a case, God's providence has to be prolonged. When your partner doesn't keep a promise, you usually don't feel like keeping it either. But when you keep the promise even when you don't want to keep it, you overcome your limitations. Father kept his promise with the members even after they left him. This attitude enables Heavenly Father to bring more and better members to the Unification Church and enables the providence of restoration to be developed and fulfilled.
When Father visited Japan in 1967 together with the Korean leaders, he planned to bless some of the brothers and sisters in Japan. But while he was there he had to postpone the Blessing. Father then reported everything to Heavenly Father. When things don't go as Father thinks they will, he always reports the main reasons to Heavenly Father and changes the plan. Suppose a member promised his leader that he would visit a certain person, but he couldn't go. He has to report to the leader why he couldn't go. If not, he will lose the trust of the leader.
In Korea, Father used to attend pledge service every Sunday morning and give us a sermon. One Saturday night Father stayed at Chung Pyung Lake. It was raining heavily and the boat was not in very good condition. Father started back much earlier so that he could be in time for pledge service, but even so he was late. He said he started praying to apologize to God that he would be late as soon as the promised time, five o'clock, came. Father explained that if we miss an appointment we should always start a prayer of repentance at the moment the promised time comes. A promise is such an important thing. Father himself keeps a promise in this way.
However, when Father arrived, he found that the members had not yet gathered, even though they also had promised. Father felt sorry and dissatisfied. At the service he explained how he had left Chong Pyung Lake early so that he could make it in time. He said that he kept the promise heartistically and also externally (from the viewpoint of time), since he had left Chong Pyung Lake early due to the rain and the condition of the boat, even though he was actually late.
Let's take a look at ourselves. We take it for granted when leaders arrive late. It is thought to be an authoritative attitude; members, however, are expected to come earlier. You leaders don't usually keep a promise and yet you don't feel guilty about it, do you? Then it is natural for the members to follow your example. You have scolded them for having been late, haven't you? Do you understand Father's way?
If an external promise is so important, then how about an eternal promise made at the risk of your life? Have you heard the story of Mr. Pak with the broken leg? He made deep promises to Father in prison; one of them was that he would build a building with a capacity of over 300 people once he got out of prison. When Father came back to Pyongyang after he left the prison, Mr. Pak had broken his leg. He was staying with his sister's family, but they had left him behind when they went south as refugees. It was certain that he would be killed so he was left there alone. Father brought that heavy man on a bicycle all the way to Pusan.
At that time, Father's beloved father, mother, brothers, and sisters all lived in North Korea, not far from the church, but Father took this man, not his own family. It was an incredibly difficult thing. Father kept his promise with God and Mr. Pak at the risk of his life. You should understand now how important a promise is. From now on, I would like you to keep any promise you make.
All the troubles in the world occur because we don't keep promises. What we always have to understand is that we make a promise in order to be happy with each other. We make a timetable at a workshop for both participants and staff so that everything will run smoothly. We can understand God's heart by keeping our timetable; through doing this we can be more confident about becoming a respected leader. We should not make a one-sided promise. Leaders are apt to make members promise in a one-sided way: "You had better do this or that:' A promise is made when both sides say yes.
When you make an agreement, you must listen to your partner carefully and fully; hopefully an amicable agreement can be made. Even in the case where you are certain your idea is better and that your partner's idea is far inferior to yours, you should listen to him first, make him compare his idea with your idea, and let him judge which is the better of the two ideas himself. You have to give him an opportunity to choose it of his own free will, even though he comes to follow your idea as a result. If not, he will feel he is being pushed to choose your idea. A person feels pushed if he thinks he cannot use his own free will in a decision.
Since I am telling you such difficult things, some of you may feel so heavy that you will not be able to go forward for a while. Father hasn't told you about many of his experiences because he feels you wouldn't be able to work easily if you understood how difficult his experiences were. Most members don't understand this and want to know all about Father's experiences. Father doesn't want you to go the same difficult way he has walked; if you know his past, you will have to go the same way. That Father does not tell the story of his past shows his parental heart. Father opened up a difficult course, but he wants to lead us through an easier way. That's why he doesn't want to speak about himself.
What Father requires us to do is to believe and follow him, but you can't believe him without understanding him, and naturally you want him to let you understand a little bit more. But when you listen to his life course, you are in the position of having to go the same course.
Two thousand years ago Thomas could not believe in the resurrected Jesus. Jesus told Thomas to touch him if he couldn't believe him. He touched Jesus and believed. Jesus said: "Blessed are those who can believe without touching:" If we touch and still don't believe, then there is no way for forgiveness. Do you follow? Your attitude after you have understood is more important. However, you will be more in the position to be forgiven if you didn't hear directly from Father, but from me, your brother.
In the future, as you grow spiritually, I'm sure Father will give you a deeper story than the one I have told you. If you try to listen to what is beyond your standard, it will block your growth. It is the same as giving a baby solid food. But I think it's important for you to know this part of Father's experience now.