Who Are We?

Chung Hwan Kwak
May 1981

Anyone outside or inside the Unification Church would say we are different from other people. What is it that is precious or valuable about Unification Church members? We wake and sleep as other people do, but the first difference is that our lives are connected to God's providence. We think of God's will and walk in the course of restoration, in a direction opposite to that of the Satanic world. We chose this way, the difficult road.

On occasion, you meet some problem, because this is the way of restoration. If you compare yourself to others, however, you are taking a step in the wrong direction. Most people are like leaves flowing along with the river's current, but we are like leaves that have to swim against the current. So ours is not the typical way, but the difficult course. If we do not choose it, however, other people will have no way open for them.

The second point of difference is that we have True Parents. Especially those who are in New York can see and hear them frequently. We must check our feelings about True Parents. According to God's will, a person is chosen for a mission according to his nationality and ancestry. God raised up the True Parents in the land of Korea. Korean history is full of many wonderful details of preparation. For instance, even before Father was born, Heavenly Father carried out a special dispensation of preparing three generations of men and three generations of women.

Take, for example, the high standard of Mrs. Ho Ho Bin's group in preparing for the return of the Lord. What kind of person is qualified to meet the Lord of the Second Coming? Only a person with 100 percent purity of mind. faith and desire for eternal life. That is the kind of person God desires as His true child. We should compare our standard to that which was set by the members of Mrs. Bin's group; I myself am so sorry that I have not attained such a level. So please maintain a grateful and repentful mind.

We come to know our True Parents through the Principle. When we listen to lectures and study the Principle, we can understand them with our minds. But Heavenly Father wants us to also have a natural feeling for our True Parents. In time of prayer, we close "in the name of the True Parents: but this should be foremost in our mind not only when we pray but throughout the day. We should reflect daily on what this really means.

Jesus' disciples did not understand their historical purpose or reflect deeply about their significance. This posed a problem for Jesus. If our relationship to True Parents were only that of a leader and member, our purpose would not be so important. But the measure of our relationship is that of heartle, because that is the standard of measure in the spirit world. External titles and the like matter little.

How do we go about building a heartle relationship with Father? Pray, for one thing: know the Divine Principle: and act. Do not choose the easy way: seek rather the difficult course. In the years to come. our way will be researched thoroughly by our descendants. Still, we do not find it easy to listen to the Divine Principle, and once members join they think they know the Principle and do not want to listen to it over and over.

In Korea, one person who did not understand clearly the truth began to teach about the second coming, and gathered some followers. He taught the people to avoid drinking public water or using public transportation, in order not to contaminate themselves by some satanic impurities in that way. The second coming was imminent, he proclaimed, and his followers did not want to get married until it took place. They expected God to preserve their lives, and whenever someone died, they would say that he had lost faith. But finally, the leader's daughter died and two years later his wife as well. It was hard for them to explain these occurrences. Father sent them a message to pray about Reverend Moon. but they became very arrogant and refused. Shortly afterwards, they were imprisoned, and even though Father tried to obtain their release, the group would not accept him. Eventually, the group split and declined; only a few remain today.

Another group warned the people of Seoul to repent because the Second Coming was at hand and the earth would be destroyed. They received the revelation that Christ would return on a certain date, and on the appointed day they dressed in white gowns and awaited his arrival. This was the very day of Father's Blessing. We witnessed to them and some of them joined our church.

These people all believed they had some special relationship to God and thus could not accept the Principle.

Father is the central point in the spirit world and also on earth. At age 16 he received a revelation, but he discovered the Principle only with much difficulty. After resolving all questions, he began to speak the truth, and Won Pil Kim wrote down his words. In portions of Father's sermons the Principle was expressed. The task of committing the Divine Principle into writing was finished in 1951 or 1952. Before Father discovered the Principle, however, he had to fight against the satanic spirit world. Even though he had contact with God and had received a revelation from Him, he needed to establish his foundation as an individual, as a family, etc. Alone in satanically dominated circumstances, he sometimes fought so seriously with Satan that he gnashed his teeth for hours on end, and afterwards could not eat even soft rice. After Father completed the original version of the Principle and even after his Blessing, Satan continued to try to accuse Father directly.

The Divine Principle is the only material available to force Satan to surrender completely. Even by the criterion of logic alone, the Principle is wonderfully perfect. So please remember how fortunate we are to have the Principle.

Although many members think we need the Principle in order to witness to outside people, the main goal of witnessing is for ourselves. When we finish giving testimony to ourselves, we will have reached the goal of perfection. Thus, we must continue witnessing until we reach that goal. We need to train ourselves to think according to the Divine Principle.

Many times we may face some situation and it does not bother us, while other times the same circumstance troubles us greatly. This indicates that our feelings do not come from external circumstances alone, but rather that we must check our level of heartle and always view everything through the perspective of the Divine Principle, guiding our lives by the Divine Principle.

We know as well that our course is not normal; it is instead the way of indemnity conditions. Since we owe a debt, we must lay a foundation of indemnity conditions to repay it. One way of laying such conditions is to go through a sacrificial, narrow and hard course. Another method is to undergo persecution, to have some other person help us pay indemnity. For example, if you go out to the street to sell the News World and receive persecution from someone there, then though your character may not be so great, your God-centered nature can increase through this experience.

When you witness and bring a person to hear the Principle, if he understands it he will be connected to God's life through you. On the other hand, if the person you meet persecutes or rejects you, you will grow while he in turn will undergo judgment. Indemnity happens in only two ways: either you pass through the difficult way by yourself or another person makes you pay indemnity. However, if God does not accept it. then it cannot be an indemnity condition. So please keep a pure and serving mind. Externally, there may be no difference between two members who suffer indemnity, but God may be able to take the offering of one and not that of another. This is very important. So check yourself from the standpoint of heartle and purity of mind.

Since we are going the way of faith and indemnity, we should try to carry out our mission, even though we may feel we would rather follow another course. We should not worry. because since God is guiding us. the responsibility is not ours but His. It is God's worry, not ours.

When you worry about your future, your mind becomes impure and many strange things happen to it. Do not trouble yourself about the future: that is God's responsibility. Worry instead about your own responsibility. Do not make a condition just for the sake of a condition. Of course you can lay a condition of indemnity through your own way of faith by following Father and the Principle, but to concentrate on making conditions is not the way of strong faith.

To receive a scolding is another good condition of indemnity. If you make some mistake, you will naturally get scolded because you deserve it. But if in reality you made no mistake and still God or your central figure scolds you, you have a wonderful opportunity to pay indemnity. You need not argue or explain your situation: the wisest course is not to complain.

Sometimes a member takes his first step toward problems when he begins comparing himself with another member. For example, you may think, "that brother's way is so easy: why is mine so hard?" or "my central figure loves him so much: why doesn't he love me?" But we must remember that each of us is going his own way. Do not make comparisons. Comparing yourself with others is one step toward developing an internal problem.

Reflect on Father's life. He chose to travel the way of indemnity on the individual, family, national and worldwide levels, and he still searches for ways to pay indemnity every day. God's love is focused on Father because God is good and He loves goodness. Father is standing on the front line, so we must try to live a lifestyle similar to his. When he takes his position on the front line, all the spirit world is stirred up and becomes excited.

Until now, all religions have taught men to follow a narrow way, although they did not know the principle of indemnity. God's final providence is unfolding in our age, so we must remember that we are going a precious way.

So what is our position now? The indemnity way is not the original principled path. The original course we should follow is that of growing through our own responsibility. We have heard many times that restoration is the way of indemnity. Our way before the Blessing is the same as Father's course of individual indemnity before his Blessing in 1960. Our indemnity for our self is our first seven-year course, and Father set the model course which we should follow as closely as possible. Thus, before we can have our own children, we must gain spiritual children from the Cain side.

Think of the early members who have left the church. They would never have left had they joined in our day. In the past it was so difficult. but those were great days in which to pay indemnity. It is impossible to compare the way in which the Unification Church has developed up until the present with the way it will be in the future.

Question: How can the Unification Church grow if members keep leaving? What can we do to keep them from leaving?

Answer: The responsibility falls not on Cain's side, but on Abel's. The burden lies not on the member who left, but on those who remain. God's providence is not necessarily determined by the number of members but by their level of heart. Furthermore, before we can gain many members, we must form the heavenly tradition. It is best if we can have a large membership, but we must realize one fundamental point: each member has to go his own individual way of indemnity. If we understand fully our responsibility and that the way we have to tread is different, then we can never leave the Unification Church. There is no alternate way. If you confront a difficulty again and again, you must repent: but if you can overcome the difficulty through your own responsibility, it will never return. An ex-member may say many things to members or outside people, but in front of God he can offer no excuse.

Question: If we are all going our own ways, then how can my Abel decide what is best for me?

Answer: God guides Cain through Abel. Ideally, Abel is one with God, but that is not the case yet. The ideal remains the same, although Abel may sometimes misguide or misunderstand you. Still, this is not Cain's responsibility, but rather it is Abel's. Your indemnity condition is to keep a joyful heart and mind. Our internal way of faith is based on our internal content: having a thankful, obedient, faithful heart and mind.

If you express your own desire or opinion, keep worrying about it and then act on it, the result is your own responsibility. However, if you follow your central figure, even though you do not get results, you have already offered an indemnity condition to God.

Question: I am a young member and I always feel like judging older members. What should I do?

Answer: There are two reasons for your experience. One is a spiritual reason and the other is your lack of understanding of the Divine Principle. Remember that older members came before you and worked so hard. Thus, you must have a respectful attitude towards them: you cannot focus on yourself. Only through the Divine Principle can you change your viewpoint. If you concentrate on the Divine Principle and try to transform yourself according to it, you will be too busy to struggle with older members.

Question: Suppose we want to participate in some activity, for example fishing. that we know Father wants to develop. Should we go ahead and study, preparing ourselves to take part in such a mission, or wait for some direction?

Answer: You do not know if your desire is the same as Father's. Therefore, you must wait. Carry out your mission and pray to do God's will. We really need to believe in God. Many times our members think too quickly or lightly: we are following the eternal way and thus need to prepare our minds more completely. If you find that the indemnity you have to pay is unduly heavy it may be that you are laying indemnity conditions for your family and your descendants.

Question: If we are in a mission where we want to give more but are limited by lack of education. should we sacrifice the present mission and get training in order to be able to do better work in the future?

Answer: We need external education. but internal education is the most important. External education takes time -- as does internal education. Each of you has formed habits in your life of faith, but if you have developed some wrong habits they will become the source of big problems. So the crucial point is internal education. Suppose, for example. there are two people who have faith, but one person's faith is 85 percent pure and the other's is 86 percent pure. It seems like such a small difference, but in eternity it is great.

When I joined the church, I felt I had joined too late. Thus I was always in a hurry to change and learn. to the point that I forgot everything else. I was preparing to be a lawyer. but I dropped out of school. After 15 years, when I was in charge of CARP, Father ordered me to return to school. I graduated after attending part time.

But even before I graduated, I once gave a Divine Principle seminar to a group of professors, and a university president requested me to teach at his university. He did not care that I had not yet graduated. So I taught there for three years, while I was studying towards my degree. When I obtained the title of professor, I was able to influence the Professors' World Peace Academy to support Father. So God knows what you need in the way of education; trust His way.

Question: I come from a communist country and I see the world suffering so much. I want to do more. but I am frustrated and feel that we are not doing enough.

Answer: Do not divide your way and the church's way. because if you are not following the church's way, you are already limited. If you work for the church's goal you will automatically accomplish your individual goal, family goal, etc. You need the Unification Church and God -- it is not the Unification Church that needs you. God helps you and the Unification Church helps you. The indemnity way is the way of paying debts. If you can find the church's meaning, then you will find your own meaning.

Question: Sometimes we witness to each other and we ask one another for guidance, For example, I asked someone about prayer and he said, "Well. don't say too much to God because He feels bad enough already." Sometimes we almost destroy each other by misguidance, because we not know enough about the Principled life or we are confused. Father gives us much inspiration and direction, but sometimes we do not know how to carry it out. What shall we do in this situation?

Answer: We can focus on the hopeful side or concentrate on the hopeless aspects. If we do not look at the hopeful side, however, then we are not following the path of a believer. Even though we may encounter some dangerous or difficult situation, still God's providence continues. The Unification Church is continuously exposed to outside problems, but Heavenly Father's viewpoint is not a hopeless one. Sometimes through horizontal relationships, our members misguide one another. The vertical relationship with God is the important one.

Never forget your own way of faith, which is like a bamboo stalk growing one step at a time. Some members encounter a stumbling block and fall down into the basement of faith. You must maintain a level of belief and awareness of God's providence. Your feeling or faith may diminish at times, but never let yourself fall into the basement! Keep your growth at a certain level, and you can advance daily, by praying, studying and working. No two of us are the same. If you cannot be hopeful, you will only lose time and vitality. If you fall down, be sure never to fall more than one step, please!