# THE WAY GOD IS PURSUING

By Fami1yfed June 23, 2018 June 23, 2018 Speeches of Rev Sun Myung Moon 1983

## REVEREND SUN MYUNG MOON

### January 23, 1983
Belvedere
Translator – Bo Hi Pak

My topic this morning is The Road that God is Seeking. there is a profound feeling to these words and English is such a poor language for expressing it! The way God is pursuing on this earth – searching after people, trying to save them – this is what the title connotes. “The Way God Is Pursuing” is probably the best translation.

As you can see here, the multitudes and varieties of languages are hard to deal with. Biblical history records the division of languages as one of the results of Satan’s work. It has caused incredible confusion and chaos. Observing the world, we find so much diversity of thought, religion, culture, and way of life. Through the Principle we know very clearly that without the human fall, we would have one unified culture expressed in one unified language.

Let us suppose for a moment that the fall never took place and mankind had fulfilled God’s wishes. What would have been the result? It would have been the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. What kind of world would that be? As you know, the world started from an individual, so the individual would be in that world, along with the family, society, and nation. What about ideology? So many different ideologies exist in the world today. In the perfected world, there is no need for conflicting ideologies, no need for diversity of languages.

If we wanted to use the word ideology, we could; however, only one unified ideology would prevail in the Kingdom of Heaven. There would be no confrontation or conflict like we see today between the ideologies of the free world and the communist world. Such confrontations would be unnecessary and nonexistent. So, if we had to, we could call the ideology governing the Kingdom of Heaven “Godism”-a God-centered ideology.

When we consider the consequences of the fall, the word Godism automatically brings to mind Satanism. In the ideal world, however, Satan would not exist, so people would not even think of anything opposing the ideology of Godism.

Under Godism, truly God-centered families will populate the earth. God’s physical representative, the True Parents- the visible form of God-will reside among people. Thus the “ism” of the ideal world develops into “true parentism” Since there are True Parents, there can be true children, so “true childrenism” develops. When Godism, true parentism and true childrenism come together, the ideal family is formed. The nature of such a world could also be called “true familyism” That ideal family then expands into a society, develops into a nation, and eventually encompasses the world, making the ideal world.

What, then, would be the beginning point of the ideal nation and ideal world? It could not be one isolated segment, for the ideal world cannot be formed by parents alone or by children alone. The ideal world boils down to one focal, central point: the family.

Among God, parents and children, there must be some unifying concept. Unity and harmony among all three is vitally important. None of these components can be removed; we cannot eliminate God from the package, we cannot delete parents, and we cannot leave out the children. Within true parents exist elements of God and children. Within children are elements of God and the parents. In other words, every component contains the expression of the whole.

John 14 records a deep message which Jesus gave to his disciples, preparing them for his impending crucifixion. In that talk Jesus said, “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in me?” (verse 10) and “In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you” (verse 20). What did Jesus mean? What is the essence and implication of his words? Based upon the family concept, Jesus stated that he was in the Father and the Father in him, and that he was in his disciples and they in him. These are amazing assertions.

The Unification Church’s teaching about the heavenly four-position foundation is a most incredible concept and a beautiful truth. No matter how almighty and omnipotent God is, He still needs us; for without us, God cannot truly be God. People generally have vague and erroneous notions of God. They assume that He is almighty and has nothing to do with us-except, perhaps, when we kneel to pray. God might listen then, but otherwise He has little to do with us-or we with Him. This has been the general concept.

But the ideal and complete relationship with God is never flat; it is multidimensional, encompassing high and low, left and right, front and back. It fuses vertical and horizontal, embracing the entire universe. What is its focal point? The center of the universe is love, family-centered love. In matters of love, there are never two separate beings; all are unified into one.

What is the difference between the true love that God desires and the love that people-parents, children and society-long for? In secular love, even between husband and wife, people generally hesitate to deepen their relationships. Many remain on a fairly shallow level. But once love begins, don’t you think it should deepen-or even look for a way to escape-rather than remain on a shallow level? True love can go up and down; there is always variation and movement.

When love awakens in teenagers, they form relationships, become romantically involved and decide to marry. Then what happens? Does that love usually develop into a profound bond after marriage, stay at its initial level, or even begin to unravel? Once people get married and love becomes routine, they often lose their enthusiasm and try to extricate themselves. Many American young people find excitement as lovers and want to get married, but their love only becomes more shallow.

In contrast, the love within the true family-true parents, true children, true brothers and sisters, true husband and wife-is a love which becomes ever deeper. Even after ten years there is never a dull moment, because love moves forward, always deepening. In such a true relationship would divorce be likely? If you fought at the breakfast table, would you file for divorce that afternoon? As our realization of the meaning of true parents and true children deepens, our bonds strengthen, even after ten or twenty years. Is there a chance they will get shallower, unwind, dissolve? Impossible. The relationship deepens as the level of understanding grows.

True children want to dig deeper and deeper into the heart of true parents. Your course is to penetrate the depths of the True Parents’ heart. The True Parents are always probing further and further into the heart of God.

Children’s love is the formation level and parental love the growth level. In the center of their heart is the love of God. Love has layers, just as our being has layers: heart and spirit mind, mind and body. Children’s love and parents’ love are made up of different elements, yet they have ways of communicating. The same applies to parents’ love and God’s love; there are distinctions, yet corresponding elements as well.

Imagine that your parents have a big love bag and you put your hand into it, trying to grab love. As your hand goes in deeper, will the bag reject it, or pull it farther in? Your parents’ warm and embracing love will pull you in. Love doesn’t say, “Get out of here, you stranger, you rascal!” A parents’ love bag will never say that.

How can you distinguish between true love and secular love? Where true love prevails, there is warmth and attraction, harmony and unification. Where selfish love prevails, there is repulsion and conflict.

Let’s say that every one of you has a love bag. When a true, loving hand enters that bag trying to steal your love, you would not expel it. Rather than disdaining it, you would try to hold onto it. Do you follow me? You have such a love bag, don’t you?

What about God’s love bag? Do you think He is the only one in the universe who reacts differently? God will react the same way. If God truly loves someone, will He try to kick him out or keep him close by? Love’s movement is spiral, always penetrating deeper and deeper towards the center. The center exerts a force which pulls the object towards it, which creates circular motion. Look at how water moves in a whirlpool. Watch when the wind swirls sand around and see how it piles up in the center.

Love, especially true love, is a spiral action. As two elements revolve, they become one. This is how Jesus could

say that he was in the Father and the Father in him, and that he was in his disciples and they in him.

The three basic components of the universe-God, parents I and children, join to make this great love circle. God is the center layer, parents the second layer, and children the third layer. These circles are concentric, not separated, and they are constantly interacting in love.

We are talking, of course, about true love. What is its content, or essence? What does true love contain? What is its character? These are key questions. Suppose each component-God, parents, and children-were to insist it was the center. Suppose God were to claim He is the center and the parents retort, “No, no, no, we are the center,’ and the children respond, “No, Dad, you are wrong. We are the center!” Are there really three centers? For our way of life, and for our world, this is a very crucial question.

If each claims to be the center, struggle and competition arise. Communist theory claims that society develops in this way, or dialectically. Such a concept arises when there is more than one subject. There is only one way to avoid confrontation and struggle: everyone must exist for the sake of others rather than for himself. Modern people in particular rebel against the notion of living for the sake of others. This is the “me” generation. But the universe is fundamentally organized along the lines of give and take for the sake of others. Each being is designed to exist for the sake of others, and others live for its sake. Why? Only through the principle of give and take and only by existing for the sake of others can motion continue throughout eternity.

God, the pinnacle of existence, lives solely for the sake of the things He has made and for the sake of humanity. No one can compete with God’s unselfishness. God is truly the center of the universe not because He claims to be, but because He exists for others.

Why are parents the center of the family? No one can live more unselfishly than parents. True parental love is the epitome of sacrificial giving. Therefore, parents are in the center of the family circle.

This principle should be expanded to the society and nation. The head of state, or the king and queen of a nation should totally exist for the sake of the national family. Even though this principle has not been clearly and logically explained, the course of history has vaguely followed it nonetheless. In our democratic world, the more altruistic, giving and serving people generally have a better chance of being elected as leaders and becoming the center of society. Thus this particular principle, although only vaguely sensed, has influenced our way of life in the democratic world.

Every action, even one as simple as taking a single step, has a purpose. Should that purpose be for the sake of others and the universe, or for oneself? The key question is whether those two feet are going after your selfish gain, or the gain of society, nation, or world.

It is important to have your five senses functioning every minute of the day, but towards what ultimate purpose and goal? For you, or for the sake of others? These are questions you should be asking yourself.

The others for whom you live start with your own family and extend to your neighbors, your society, and your nation. Ultimately, living for others extends to living for God. But will God say, “I am the pinnacle; I am the top!”? Even God cannot take everything for Himself; His essence is love.

Wise people always aim for the top. If you set your eyes always on the top and continue walking toward your goal, what will happen? Everything else will be included. From this perspective, you are men and women who perceive the true love of God and are walking towards the highest possible goal. Will the whole world and the vast universe expel you on your journey, or will they harmonize with you?

I already used the analogy of putting your hand into a love bag. If your hand represents true love, then everything will try to pull that hand funkier in, longing to become one with it. There will be no repelling action in the bag. Your husband may be very handsome and elegant, but if you discover him trying to sacrifice everything-including you-for his own sake, out of self-centered love, his good looks are no longer appealing. He will not be welcome.

Let’s consider American society. Here we are, coming around to talking about American women once again! Well, it’s inevitable. American women are good material for my sermons; you are contributing a great deal in that respect! When American women get married, how do they feel? “Well, I got married, someone loves me now. I want to receive it, I want to get it all-every bit” But from the Principle point of view, how pitiful, shallow and impossible that attitude is!

Suppose someone starting on a long swim put one foot into the water and then pulled it out. Maybe he didn’t even get his whole foot wet, just a toe! The relationship between the swimmer’s goal and that tentative experiment is like that between the ideal, principled relationship, and what people actually experience. That is how far from the truth it is. Many Americans offer convenient excuses, such as: “Father comes from Korea, so his way of thinking is Oriental. We live in America. Father’s thinking is just an undeveloped nation’s way of thinking, while ours is an advanced nation’s way of thinking”

You say this isn’t so, but I say it is. How can you deny reality? Is it easy to change your concepts? The problem is grave. No matter what beautiful excuses you may come up with to justify yourself, they will not work. In the truest, eternal sense, only my way – love for the sake of others – will bring you all the way to the goal of a profound relationship with the universe and God. Who among you wants to go right to the center of God’s love? Raise your hands, please. What a great response! But you are greedy!

I know very well that my teaching has been totally contrary to what the world has been trying to do. I know this better than anyone else. Since the world and I are at two extremes, is the world’s way heaven and my way hell? If the world is hell rather than heaven, then my way is truly heaven. You can choose only one way. Either the world is godly, or I am. If the worldly way of life is satanic, that eliminates the first alternative. So is my way God’s way?

Let’s evaluate these ways. The world out there is truly heaven, right? It’s an ideal world, isn’t it? No?

One realm is occupied by Satan and the other by God. In God’s realm the one God has absolute dominion. You mustn’t be undecided about this. It is a black and white distinction.

Every minute of your life, whether you are eating, walking or whatever you do, you are going towards one realm or the other. You have to be absolutely clear about your direction. One simple, principled formula is to first understand where you are going. Any action or deed that is centered on benefiting only yourself is satanic. Any action or deed aimed towards benefiting others, towards something greater than yourself, is godly. Heaven and hell are a reality, and the distinction between the two is absolutely clear. You must know where that division begins.

As Moonies, we should evaluate ourselves. What direction are we taking and what kind of life are we leading? A pragmatic person coming to the Unification Church probably tries to figure out what the rules of the church are, before he truly understands the True Parents. “How many years do I need to work to get blessed? Three years? All right, I will give my three years to get my Blessing” After his Blessing comes, he says to his wife, “By George, I’ve got it! Now what should I do? Well, you and I are together now, nothing else is important. Let’s get down to the fun life”

One thing a person like this overlooks is that the transition from individual to couple is only one step in a long process. The individual must live for the sake of the family, the family for the society, the society for the nation, and the nation for the world. That principle never changes. Why do husband and wife come together? Why should we keep advancing from individual to family and from family to society, nation and world? Because God’s love is needed everywhere. God’s love is omnipresent and there is nothing it cannot penetrate.

The entire world and universe should be eternally filled with God’s love. Each individual is a carrier of that love, sprinkling it at higher and higher levels. This is your eternal destiny. If you cannot fulfill it here on earth, then you must continue after death. At the age of 20, most secular men and women think that love between husband and wife is all that matters. Their perception of God’s universal love stops right there. Love has never been sanctified or truly fulfilled on a universal scale because people held onto it for themselves. That is not God’s way. That is not why God created you.

You are breathing air right now. When you go to Korea, can you say the air is different there? When you cross a national border, do you have to buy different air? Wherever you travel, you breathe the same air. Likewise, wherever you move, you breathe the same love of God. You must bring that love to the universal level, so that all people can breathe that love air. That is why we cannot stop our crusade, not even for a moment.

You cannot say you have done enough, because individual fulfillment must be followed by family fulfillment, family fulfillment by societal, national and worldwide fulfillment. What am I doing today? I have fulfilled everything, but I am still pulling you with me all the way up to the worldwide level.

What you need is the love of God, nothing else, because when you obtain His love, everything else is included and fulfilled. You may think you are losing everything in the process, but once you attain the highest possible goal, you have gained everything along the way. Have you ever wondered whether you will still make money after you are elevated to the spirit world? Is commerce conducted there? Will you need money? Will you have a savings account? What is money good for, really?

What kind of person would you like to be? When you are elevated to your ultimate destiny, the spirit world, you will want to be totally free, able to do anything you wish. You will prefer to enjoy every freedom of love, rather than be confined and helpless in a spirit world cell. In the vast universe of spirit world, would you want to be entitled to dwell only in a small chicken coop? Is that the kind of world you want to live in? A chicken coop would be small even for one person, but you would have to share it with your spouse! When you look out your window and see the world of total freedom of love which you are unable to enjoy, your chicken coop will feel worse than a prison.

Would people be content to stay inside such a prison, or would they long to break out? Of course they want to escape. But the problem is grave, because once people are in spirit world, they cannot break the bars-they have to do it here on earth! According to the Principle, perfection is attainable only here on earth.

The certificate of perfection shall be issued here on earth, not in the spirit world. Is it all right for husband and wife to focus only on a fun-filled life? Because I know the entire universal truth so clearly, I am pushing you along the totally altruistic way of life.

The world considers me an incredible brainwasher and dictator. They just cannot understand how American young people could be following Reverend Moon, living a miserable life, and seemingly going nowhere. As they see it, Moonies do have a miserable life, from which they are unable to escape. They say Moonies are hooked. This is how the world has always criticized me. In the 200 years of American history, parents have never before paid money to have their own children kidnapped until now.

Where are you going? That is the key question. You came to the Unification Church; but from here, where will you go? Whether you are in the church or not, whether I am here or not, where will you go? How should you live? Regardless of what people may say, or whether there is a church or not, or whether I am around or not, you should do this one thing: live for the sake of others. Live for others on all levels, up through the universal level, until you have reached God.

You have begun at the central point. You have embarked upon a journey which you must finish. You must travel the entire spectrum and then return to the center. This is your mandate.

The individualistic way of life prevails in America. Is that a good and praiseworthy outlook? When you go to the spirit world and declare that your ideology is individualism, will it be found workable there? When someone with an individualistic outlook goes up there, can he find any peace, joy and harmony? Will there be communication and cooperation?

There should be only one ideology, one way of life; that is to live for the sake of others, to love others. That will break down boundaries and walls and harmonize everyone. Why do I emphasize this all the time? We need to know and analyze it from the bottom up.

Who are in the mainstream of the Unification Church? Many people suppose that after I am gone, many denominations will arise within our Church, and that there will be heretics and true believers. They predict all kinds of things. I say that will not happen. I have set one absolutely clear principle: whoever lives for the sake of others will be the center in the eyes of everybody.

If two people are fighting, everyone will immediately know who is fighting for his own sake. Suppose the Democratic and Republican parties here in the United States are fighting. If each works for its own benefit, neither is right. Whichever party is fighting for the benefit of the United States should be the victor. Whichever disregards the national interest and pursues its own interests is wrong.

This principle applies on all levels of society. In factories, for example, the management and workers should have a parent/child relationship, mutually serving each other. When they struggle and oppose one another, their conflict is exactly what the communists describe in their ideology. But that is not how progress is made. Progress comes about through love.

Without this new central ideology, there is no way to unite the world. At this time, the United States seeks only its own benefit and the Soviet Union only seeks its own interests. Both nations are wrong. Each should be working for the sake of others. Otherwise, they both will perish.

The Unification Church is really a spiritual melting pot. It doesn’t matter who comes: Catholics, Protestants, Mormons, Buddhists, Muslims, even communists can enter and support this love policy. Once people have a taste of God’s love, they want to gobble it all up; nobody dislikes it. This is the only way the world can be united.

Is this only my thinking? Did I create it? No, this is true Godism. This is where God dwells. There is only one method God can use to govern the world and unify it. Do any of you think that God may have several options-that perhaps He doesn’t have to take this most difficult way? Why would He choose the tough way if there were some easier one?

What is the most fearful thing in the Unification Church? It is to be told, “Get out, we don’t need you any more” The second most fearful thing would be to be told, “You don’t need to do anything; just go and enjoy your life. Don’t do anything for the church or for the cause” That would be a death sentence. Do you want to be given that kind of freedom?

If you really want to taste a piece of the pie, go out and try it. Make money the goal of your life and see how it works. Suppose some American woman gets a billion-dollar savings account thereby achieving her life’s goal. The bank balance keeps rising, but she also gets older and older. What is she going to do? She is worried to death! She wants somehow to take that money upstairs to the spirit world, but she knows she can’t.

Another goal in the outside world is reputation; many people want to gain celebrity status and become famous. However, to achieve and maintain that status, how much pain people have to go through! People endure incredible things for that goal.

Free love and free sex sound very glamorous to many people. Try living that way for a few days. Every day you would have to deal with monsters! If you want to live a promiscuous life, you are leading yourself into a hellish world.

In contrast, the Unification Church way of life is really the only secure one, guaranteed by heaven and earth. Wherever you walk-here on earth or in the spirit world-your life is guaranteed and secure. Do you think I am going to surrender to America’s way, or will America surrender to this way? America will come to me, not because I am powerful, but because truth is on my side.

So far, I have just gotten warmed up! We have not even touched on today’s subject. Think how the world is out there. Also, think how difficult it is for one individual to perfect himself. Can you men and women bring yourself into perfection? How incredibly difficult a task that would be! Can you imagine how hard it would be?

As God looks down on the world, He longs to save the billions of souls here on earth. He must be totally overwhelmed! Put yourself in His position and look down on the world, trying to take all its problems on your shoulders. You could not endure that for more than one hour. You would get burned out! The wickedness of the world is rampant. Even if you had the power of God, I am sure that after a few minutes of trying to help out the world with nothing working, you would say, “This damned world! I’m going to trample it down” If you were God, within ten minutes the whole world would be shattered into pieces!

All the while, Satan would be watching God. He would say, “Since you are enraged and in despair and have decided to forget this world and shatter it into pieces, I will take it over! Thank you, God” Satan would take over the world if God gave it up. That is how Satan would claim ownership. He is waiting for one great explosion of God’s wrath.

Since I came to America ten years ago, I have been trying to change this world and nation through each of you. I have been giving you so much and pushing you a lot. Every time you come to hear me speak, you exclaim, “Oh, Father, you are doing it to us again!” You feel such a heavy burden on your shoulders. But think of God, who for many millions of years has not slept even one minute. He has been watching the world and its problems, trying to put together some solutions to them. Think of that burden. What a tedious, impossible, boring job! That is the patient kind of God you are serving. He is broken-hearted, suffering for millions of billions of years.

After three years, some people say, “I’m tired; I can’t go on any more! and throw up their hands. Consider your position. Can men and women who profess to be children of God do that to Him? Think about it. Do you believe that because the persecution is so great and your central figure doesn’t understand you, that is enough reason to pack up your things? If God ever thought along those lines, He would have packed up a long time ago, a million times already. And He would not even have given you a chance to come to the Unification Church.

If men and women blessed by God as husband and wife start fighting the very next day and say, “I cannot deal with this, forget it,’ you are not thinking of God and how much He is suffering. What does God feel as He looks at you and your spouse? You may feel the relationship is impossible. But regardless of how overwhelmed you feel by the situation you face here on earth, it will all be over in less than a hundred years. Let’s say you live for a hundred years: that is 36,000 days. That’s all! Every day you cross off one more of the 36,000 days. Can’t you be patient 36,000 days? Think of God. There is no end to the zeros in the number of His days.

No matter what happens, God is patient. He sees an earth-shaking event, but He remains calm and composed, never losing His dignity. That is God’s way. Even if His heart is broken, He still has room for patience and keeps His composure and dignity. If God were to open His heart to someone and entrust His suffering to him, He could talk for millions and millions of years without talking it all out. Furthermore, He could shout and weep for millions of years without being able to cry out all His suffering and sorrow. Would He cry for His sake, out of self-pity? No, it would be for the sake of His children. The only reason God cries is for the world and His children.

How many times have you shed tears in your life? How many of them were for the sake of others-for True Parents, the world, God? Aren’t you ashamed in the sight of God? When I see a girl shedding tears, I wonder what kind of tears they are and for whose sake they know. If they are for the sake of God, True Parents, or others, they are noble, divine tears. How many tears have you shed? How many gallons of sweat? For whose sake? For your own or for the sake of other people and the world? Whoever really cries for the sake of the family and the world, rather than for himself, is unquestionably the center of that family. That is the Principle.

So do you want to live only for 36,000 days, or for 36 hundred million days? On God’s calculator, 36,000 days does not even register; the quantity is too small! You may think that 36,000 days is a long time, but from God’s point of view, it is tiny. The amazing thing, however, is that in such a short time you have the privilege of acquiring the love of God. The secret of this period is that it is your opportunity to hook God for eternity with true love.

You can use love bait. I have had a lot of fishing experience. A fisherman goes out to the ocean with plenty of bait to attract the fish. When no fish come and bite, he has to move around and keep throwing out the bait. It may seem very wasteful, but the fisherman has to throw out bait until he finds fish; he smells up the entire area with the bait! The “bait” you are throwing out is God’s love. If nothing is hooked over here, go around the area, try another place. The amazing thing is that, unlike other bait, when you throw out true love, someone is sure to bite! There is no way that particular bait will be wasted. The moment you cast it out, people will bite, because that is the nature of all beings in the universe. Every human being is looking for true love.

For you, 36,000 days is an entire lifetime; but for God, it is even shorter than one breath. But remember that in this short span of time you can occupy the highest, noblest and most eternal love of God. Once you grasp it, it will stay with you for eternity. This attainment is better than becoming the first lady or queen of a nation. Nothing compares to attaining God’s love.

What an immense universe God created! We don’t measure it by meters or miles, but light years. The distance that light travels during one year has become the unit for measuring the vast universe. You could go on for hundreds of billions of light years without exhausting its expanse. Think of it! By living this Principle, you are occupying the entire universe! Not only that, you can become its master! If God truly exists, this is the only way He can work. This is the only truth He can impart.

If light takes millions and billions of years to cross the vast universe, how can God’s children travel it? Would it take us billions of years too? No, just one instant. Indeed God created us as the crowning work of all creation. We want to say, “Thank you, thank you, God!” But how can we offer God sufficient thanks? Only when we say it with the pure, burning, dazzling light of true love and true heart. To thank God in that way makes sense, and He can accept it. “You’re welcome,’ God will reply. Your 36,000 day lifespan is but a tiny dot, yet you have this great capacity. Only true love can accomplish this. Love is truly powerful.

Men and women are exact opposites. It seems virtually impossible to unite men and women; they just don’t fit! But the power of love can pull that impossible man your way. The power of love can attract that impossible American woman towards you.

Only with the power of God’s love can you function in this universe. God’s love is your vehicle for traveling around and exercising dominion. No other vehicle is adequate. Love journeys with an unimaginable speed, faster than the speed of light, so it can travel instantly all over the universe. If you do not embody and manifest God’s love, when you enter the spirit world you will be too heavy to move around!

Each person’s body consists of some 40 billion microscopic cells, each of them resembling a miniature solar system. What power activates each of the cells in your body, making them a hundred percent functional? Is it the sense of smell? Hearing? Sight? Only when you are electrified by the power of God’s love will all 40 billion cells of your body be activated. Why do men and women join together in love and get married? Because only that way can each person activate all of his cells. When the power of love enters your body, it has an electrifying effect; sometimes your whole body shakes. That means your 40 billion cells are fully activated and begin to function at full capacity.

Likewise, only with the power of God’s love will the 40 billion solar systems of the universe be activated. Only when you become a partner in love, when God’s love is manifested in you and the universe is yours, can you move freely, like God, in the universe.

When you become engulfed in the spiraling system of God’s love, nothing will be impossible for you. Everything will be as you desire. Your wishes will already be fulfilled.

Your thoughts will be made manifest. For example, if you want to give a huge banquet, you can. Ten thousand, a hundred thousand, millions, even billions of guests are no problem. You can create a party instantly. All you have to do is think, and it is accomplished.

Only with true love can all the beautiful adjectives in your dictionary have meaning. Without love, your words are exaggerations, or lies. You can look at a big object and feel joy from it. You can also look into the tiniest particle and as you penetrate into it, you can discover millions of years of history in it. Only in the realm of true love are such things possible. The world is designed to function, to be turned on, by the switch of true love. God created it that way. See what kind of profound joy you can experience when you personify true love! There is never a dull moment! It may sound impossible, but you could just sit for a million years and not be bored. We were designed to head towards that goal. Don’t you want to go in that direction? Don’t you want to receive a diploma and get a degree in true love? An MA or PhD in true love? You are greedy men and women!

When you say you want a Ph.D. in true love, do you mean you want to relax, take time out to enjoy things, get a lot of sleep, eat good food, and wear nice clothes? Do such things come first? When you say no, does that mean you won’t sleep, eat, or dress yourself? In the spirit world, will you wear anything? Whether you wear clothes or not makes no difference in the spirit world, because there is no way to hide. Anything you can think of, you can also see. Wearing clothes doesn’t really conceal anything.

When the satanic world continually criticizes you, will it bother you? Will you still pursue your true goal? When you say yes, does that mean you are really going to do it? Suppose the only way to master the love of God were to live a beggar’s life. Would you do it?

I’m not dumb. In fact, I have a most intelligent mind. These things I am speaking of are not conclusions I have reached lightly. I have pondered this, tested it and experimented with it. I know persecution very well. I have been persecuted throughout my entire life. Is persecution bad or good?

I am fighting against the U.S. government right now; in essence, the government is trying to throw me out of the country. But simple logic makes it clear who the eventual winner will be. Those in the government who decided on this action believed they were serving this country. But my goal is the well being of God, mankind, the universe and the cosmos. Whose side is God on? The United States of America may decline and perish, but that does not mean the rest of the universe will as well. God and the universe will continue. Even if the United States ends up like the Roman Empire and collapses tomorrow, the sun will still rise the next day; the stars will still shine at night; the moon will still come up in heaven. This is the way I think. This is how I view the future and eternity.

Externally, there is not much difference between you and me. But the difference is internal. I think differently; I live in a realm transcending time and space. I have been persecuted throughout my entire life. Normally, no one could stand a tenth, or even a hundredth, of what I have endured, but I continue to go on. My goal is fixed upon the ultimate liberation of God. Until that happens, my march shall not cease. How am I going to liberate God? With true love.

How has God been searching for us? As you know, this world is the domain of Satan. When a godly man appears in the satanic world, he is treated like a spy, because he is so foreign to this world. From God’s point of view, His champion comes to restore this world; but from Satan’s point of view, he is an alien agent coming to destroy the world.

Satan originally belonged to God, of course. He is very clever; he knows the ultimate truth and how he was supposed to fit into the universe. He also knows what kind of mistake he made. Instead of centering upon God and truly loving Him, Satan separated himself, set himself up as another subject, and has been trying to induce the entire world to love him. Satan knows that God is entitled to claim every person who has true love. Therefore, Satan has to relinquish to God anyone who possesses true love. True love transcends every barrier, whether at the family, tribal, national, worldwide, or even universal level.

So Satan made a deal with God: anybody God claims must be a person of true love, meaning that he must break through every barrier, all the way up to the universal level. That person must receive all kinds of persecution and prove himself worthy. When Satan gave this condition to God, God had to agree, “You are right, Satan. I can’t argue with that demand” So Satan has said that anybody who totally lives for the sake of others on a universal level, anyone who is truly free from a self-centered point of view, belongs to God. On the other hand, anyone who stumbles over any barrier along the way can be claimed by Satan as part of his domain.

What was the fall? Essentially, it was self-aggrandizement, the inability to see anything beyond one’s self Satan toppled the universe, which originally belonged to God. Therefore, God had to send His spy, His agent, into the world. God’s agent had to start on the individual level and expand into a heavenly family, then a heavenly tribe, nation and world. That is the way heavenly agents work, and Satan cannot deny that.

God gave Jacob the name “Israel,’ which means victorious person. What kind of a person do you think Jacob was? In one sense, he was cunning, deceptive, and greedy. He took the birthright from his elder brother and further deceived his father, prying the blessing from him. Then he went to his uncle Laban and employed cunning with him also.

When the 600,000 Israelites left Egypt during the Exodus, they deceived the Pharaoh, saying they wanted to go and make a special offering for three days. They took all the precious stones and metals and so forth and hurried into the desert. Why didn’t God say something about that? Satan knew very well what was going on, but I want you to understand that central figures like Jacob and Moses were not living for their own sakes. They were agents of God. After Laban persecuted Jacob for 21 years, Jacob had a right to take his things away; in a way, Laban had given him that right by persecuting him so much. Laban deceived Jacob ten times; Pharaoh deceived Moses ten times, making promises and then hardening his heart afterwards. In other words, Satan had accumulated debts, and the heavenly representatives could claim them back. The conditions had been set so that God’s people could claim their rights.

Whenever persecution comes, I regard it as Satan paying the price for the fulfillment of God’s will. This is the way God’s will is accomplished. From the secular point of view, Laban and the Egyptians owned cattle, property, etc. But Jacob and Moses thought from God’s point of view; they had the true love perspective. They knew that God had more right to claim those things and, as representatives of His love, they could exercise those claims.

I have come in the same tradition. From my first moment in America, I prayed that I could represent God here. America has had many patriots throughout its history. But I told God, “I am representing You with Your true love. My love shall surpass the total love of all previous patriots put together. Father, please rest assured. No matter what kind of persecution may come, I know that Satan has to accumulate certain conditions. People will persecute me, but no matter how much is heaped upon me, I shall not yield. I shall not be defeated; I shall not surrender one inch”

That was an extraordinary start. Initially no one had heard of Reverend Moon. But within three and a half years, America had been turned almost upside down. One layer of society after another persecuted me. Opposition came in various and cunning ways. People thought they could eliminate me; but even though they kicked me, I have kept going forward. More and more, America will see hope in me.

The instruction to love your enemy came from this principle. When you love your enemies rather than seeking revenge, you create the condition for winning them over and eventually leading them. All the world religions- Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, etc.-that are persecuting me are actually signing over their blessings to me in the process. That is the inevitable consequence of their opposition. Upon the basis of their payment, I can then go and bring them together. This is why I can lead interdenominational and inter-religious efforts.

This operates like a balance scale. If you push one end all the way down, the other end will rise all the way up. When Western culture and Western people persecute me, the Oriental, black and colored people will rise and acknowledge me as their champion. They will support me. North America has been giving me incredible persecution, but when their end is pushed down, South America will come up. “Reverend Moon, please come to our country,’ they plead. “You are our hope!” This is universal truth. Therefore, persecution is not really a bad thing; in fact, it is almost a necessity. Throughout history religions have been persecuted, but still they have flourished. Persecution does not necessarily bring destruction.

The time will come when the entire world will openly and enthusiastically welcome me and the Unification Church. Then wherever you go, you will face no opposition. But that will be bad news! Somebody has to persecute you so you can get the blessing! So then Unification leaders will persecute their members; older members will persecute new ones! By this I mean pushing people out, not in an evil or selfish sense, but constantly pushing and challenging them, never leaving them alone. Whoever willingly and gratefully receives this persecution from his elders inherits their blessing. In that way, the older members turn over their blessing to the younger, newer ones.

I am the only religious leader who has been persecuted by the rest of the religious world. Also, leaders of Christianity, Buddhism, and Islam have suffered local persecution, but the communist and free worlds have come together to persecute and destroy only one religious leader: Reverend Moon. The peak of this persecution was 1976. Since that time it has been diminishing.

After the creation of The Washington Times, the policy makers and opinion makers in the nation’s capital have completely changed their concepts about me. Just a year ago, “Moonie” was a bad word in Washington, but now the Moonies are virtually celebrities. Our members working on The Washington Times are invited to many social occasions and embassy parties. Be confident that when someone persecutes you, you can inherit his blessing later if you receive the persecution gratefully.

Now people persecute you, but the time will come when they no longer have any reason to oppose you, and they will bow down and apologize to you. Those who have been on MFT or have gone out on 40 day witnessing conditions, how do you feel when you are out there? Hasn’t the atmosphere changed over the years? After this legal victory is won, my name shall be vindicated all over the world. Then you can go out and confront people: “What are you saying about Moonies? I am a Moonie, so what is your complaint?”

Four major countries of the free world-Korea, Japan, the United States, and Germany-have opposed me in the past. Of course, the worst opposition has come from the communists, but now these four major countries are hooked! They have taken the bait, Just like tuna fish.

In looking at the history of restoration, we see we cannot build the Kingdom of Heaven overnight. We have to go through the steps of restoration. The first step is that of servant of servant; from there we restore the positions of servant, adopted child, step-child, child, mother, and father. Christianity also has followed this principle. After Jesus’ crucifixion, the Holy Spirit came and has been working as the true mother spirit for 2,000 years. The mother spirit lays the groundwork for the coming of the Lord of the Second Advent.

Human history can be considered to span at least 850,000 years. Even during the most primitive times, religious movements sprang up and immediately received persecution. God is indeed the initiator of religion, but He asked people to start from the very bottom, as servants of servants, and rise up to the adopted child’s position. When you are in the position of servant of a servant, your master is a servant, not the master himself. In order for a servant to become master of the house, he has to receive the sum total of persecution by the entire servant world. The same principle of gaining victory through persecution held true. In past times, to persecute meant simply to eliminate or murder the undesirable person.

Suppose the Unification Church had been born 2,000 years ago-at the time of Jesus or shortly thereafter. Do you think we would have survived this far? I wonder how many of you would have been martyrs if we were living in that age. How many of you have the conviction that if persecution threatened your life, you would become a martyr? Actually, Jesus’ statement that whoever loses his life for his sake will gain it, was not an extraordinary statement. It is like the daily bread of religious people.

For restoration to progress, barriers must always be surmounted. There are barriers between each stage-going from servant of servant to servant, servant to adopted child, adopted child to step-child, etc. There are seven barriers in all. So all together, reaching God involves passing through eight stages.

Religious people on earth have been persecuted, but the reason is that they represent God. God has been persecuted from the first day on.

In today’s world, each phase of religion still exists. Some religions are servant-of-servant types, while others are servant, adopted son, step-son, son, mother, father, and finally the parental religion. At the culmination of religious history, the ultimate religion will be True Parents religion. How can the Unification Church use the word “unification” untie confidence? How can we unite religions and the world? Through the ideology which teaches about True Parents, the common parents for all mankind.

The essence of all religious history is still living within the heart of God. The victories accomplished through religion here on earth have been the work of God. The people who come to fulfill certain roles do so as agents of God; the actual doer, however, is God Himself.

In the last days, all of history needs to be liquidated through the process of indemnity. From this central point, all things can expand horizontally and be indemnified.

Consider the Christian world of today, which represents the culmination of the religious sphere. But what was the purpose of the Christian foundation? To prepare for a single day: the coming of the Lord of the Second Advent. All aspects of past religions can be seen within Christianity: servant of servant roles, servant roles, adopted child roles, step-child roles, mother roles, father roles, etc. All these phenomena can be found within the Christian world.

If the Lord of the Second Advent were accepted by the Christian world, the seven stages of religious development could be restored in just seven years. Do you follow? Once this seven-step staircase is climbed and True Parents are accepted, all things are accomplished and restoration is finished. However, there was no acceptance by the Christian world, so its whole sphere had to be nullified and another one created. Another step-by-step process had to be undertaken. God prepared Christianity to secure the entire historical foundation. But when Christianity failed to fulfill its role, another world, another step, had to be indemnified and restored.

Because of their rejection, the Christian world will decline. There is no question about it. But the new world will rise, even under persecution. The formation of the new world began in `1960,` after Christianity’s rejection. The 20 years from `1960 to 1980` (the three 7-year courses) and the 20 years from `1980` to 2000 make a total of 40 years. Two 21-year courses will form a solid 40 years. This is the time during which the new world will emerge and fulfill the restoration.

In the Christian world, all the components of the foundation for the Lord of the Second Advent were present. But God no longer expects them to perform. The Unification Church is creating a new world starting from the very bottom-the servant of servants position. Who initiated this road? The True Parents did.

Although True Parents have the glory of this position, I started out my life truly in a servant’s position. In 1960, I suffered incredible national persecution, the worst of all. And that was the beginning point. The installation of True Parents in 1960 laid the cornerstone. I started from the position of servant of servants, and rapidly climbed up; I had to find my own way and break the trail for others. Incredible spiritual phenomena occurred. Whenever a special event was to take place, strangers would suddenly appear at the door, led by spirit world, and testify to the occurrence.

This new world has had to endure all kinds of persecution, sometimes from the traditional Christian world and other times from the external, secular world. For 2,000 years, Christianity endured persecution and prospered. But after 1960, that same Christianity has been declining rapidly. Why? Because it opposed the True Parents’ ideal. Why is the free world declining? Because it opposed the True Parents’ ideal. The free world has suffered under Satan’s hands, under the iron fist of communism. Communist expansion is the consequence of Christianity’s failure. The rise of communism means an ultimate, inevitable confrontation with the Unification Church. Who shall gain the victory over communism? True Parents’ ideal and the Unification Church.

The Unification Church began at a very difficult time, under intense persecution, but it has come a long way. Where are we now? We are in the age of home church. God and True Parents can assign each of you to be a tribal messiah, and you can go out and bring salvation to your world. This is actually the fulfillment of a prophecy given at the time of Jesus. Two providential families, Joseph’s and Zechariah’s, were supposed to become one unit. That did not happen. Now in the home church providence, that prophecy is to be fulfilled. Jesus ultimately suffered crucifixion because of the root failure of those two families to unite. Therefore, in this new dispensation of the home church providence, we are going to bring two home church units into one.

Christianity’s rejection will be restored through a new kind of Christianity, represented by you. You will be the accepting Christians, rather than the rejecting Christians. By doing so, you will inherit traditional Christianity’s blessing. Home church is the place where you become family messiahs, instead of just individual messiahs. At its best, Christianity was hoping to receive the individual messiah, or become the individual messiah. But we are already far ahead of that. Home church is our training ground to become family messiahs. By attending True Parents in the home church system, you will become perfected tribal messiahs, and then go on to become national and worldwide messiahs!

I want you to understand that we must first restore the failure of Christianity by becoming a new kind of Christians, those who accept the Lord. Then, through the Unification Church foundation and by attending True Parents through the home church providence, we will be able to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

The Unification Church is in the Abel position and traditional Christianity in the Cain position. We are like the two families around Jesus. Therefore, in a sense, through home church we are organizing two families, or two tribes. In summary, home church restores both the failure of two families to unite around Jesus and the failure of Christianity to follow True Parents. Through home church, if you become a family messiah, attend True Parents, and totally unite with True Parents ideal, you can enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

You do not fully comprehend the tragic history of the True Parents, who have gone an incredible course, shedding millions of tears. That is how God has been searching after you, His sons and daughters. You need a true understanding of yourself. You are the ones who have made God and True Parents suffer so much. You must feel that you represent all the historical goodness of the past saints. The sacred blood shed by their holy deeds and martyrdom must flow again in your every cell. You are historically responsible. Therefore, this is not the time to sit and criticize or analyze. We need to accept our position and restore the consequences of all history. Each of us is not merely an individual; our lives and our deeds have universal significance.

True Parents’ family is the nucleus. Mother is always right beside me, but since I represent the universe, can I focus on loving her every minute of the day? No, not yet. Why not? Because we are still living in a fallen environment. In the original, unfallen world, we would face no resistance or persecution. Only when we overcome the realm of universal persecution can Mother and I enjoy a total love relationship. I can tell Mother that I love her with my entire heart and soul on a universal scale in an absolute manner only after we transcend universal persecution.

The Cain world is persecuting me every minute of the day. But being in the elder son’s position, I have the duty to love them with my heart and soul on a universal scale. Even if the eldest son fell away and occupied a satanic position, it is still the universal truth that the eldest son deserves the most love from his father. Unless he first gives that love unconditionally, he cannot claim the second son. Therefore, if the Cain world persecutes me, I still have to love it with all my heart.

So what is Mother’s role? To bring the unification between Cain and Abel and return to Adam. That is Eve’s role. Since we are still living in a fallen environment, I have to be a public person. I am investing myself entirely for the sake of the world, for the sake of the providence. After fulfilling all the required conditions, I will devote my entire life and love to Mother.

That same principle can be applied to you Unification Church members. The fallen world is in Cain’s position- the elder son’s position-and you are in the second son’s position. Therefore, I have to first love the eldest son-Cain, the outside world-before I can claim the second son. You are hit the hardest, in a way, because God’s desire is to love the world by sacrificing you. Having to sacrifice you is torture for me. I have to sacrifice Abel in order to love the Cain world. By the same token, True Parents sacrifice their own children for your sake, because they are in the Abel position to you in the Cain position. Therefore, Mother and I love you first and give more time to you than to our own children. Do you follow? Our own children realize this and accept it.

This is a central principle to follow. Unification Church leaders in particular should be aware of where their hearts lie. Rather than your own family, True Parents and True Children should come first. When we restore the world and the entire world welcomes True Parents, accepting our ideology and way of life, then we can love our own children and our own family. This is how the battle is fought. Cain and Abel should unite before they come and offer themselves to True Parents. Therefore, you should love True Parents’ children, because only through them can you approach True Parents. For the same reason, the people of the world have to go through you in order to reach the True Parents, so you are their savior. Do you follow?

Actually, I have not yet loved our children as many dads in the outside world do. I have been unable to give them warmth and love, day in and day out, because we are still in a fallen environment. There is a big job yet to do. The mission must come first; the battle must be fought.

Because the Cain world has priority, I must first focus there. How can I waste even one minute? I am concentrating on loving the Cain world and bringing it to God. Mother’s role is to bear the suffering endured by all the women of the world, past and present. In the position of Adam, I should be able to embrace and melt all the grievances and heartbreak of women throughout the world. In turn, Mother has to digest and melt the incredible inner torments of Adam. So the first cross that Mother bears is to digest the suffering of all the world’s women. Her second cross is to digest and embrace my suffering, which is that of Adam and all the men of the world. Her third cross is to digest with love the suffering of all the world’s children. Her role is to digest with love. Mother is indemnifying the world of women, men and children.

Then what is my role? They are the crosses of the family, the nation and the world. Mother has to carry her three crosses and follow me. I also have to digest the suffering of all men, women and children in history, in addition to my other three crosses. In that respect Mother is following me in obedience, without imposing her will. Until universal restoration is completed, Mother cannot say a word. Her spirit is the spirit of absolute obedience. This is the battle we are engaged in.

Why am I expounding on this? Because we are your examples. You have roles as husband and wife. You women have a husband; you may see him working with other women as secretaries, witnessers, fundraisers, or whatever. You may start to have doubts and wonder if something is going wrong with him. Women must never harbor that kind of doubt. You should trust your husband as you do God.

Likewise, you men should trust your wives. You should be able to digest everything, having wisdom and love as deep as the ocean. You should be able to swallow, digest and bury everything and anything.

A leader’s wife faces special challenges. Men and women follow the leader and sometimes other women may be assisting him. Internally the leader’s wife may resent such help and complain, “Why do these women come to my house all the time?” Such an attitude is not right.

I go all over the world-to Japan, the United States, Germany and many other places. Except for some communist countries, there are very few that I have not visited. But Mother does not always accompany me. If she were to doubt and worry about these types of things, how could she survive? It would be impossible. Actually, Mother’s spirit is one of total trust. That is the reason for her greatness. I always insist that she attend every public function because, while the universe is being restored, our destiny is to preside as a pair.

In your case, too, it is not good if your wife says, “All right, go ahead and do the work. I am going to stay home and take it easy. I’ll have a little nap” This will not work. Husband and wife have to work together and move forward together. Do you follow?

You are the composite of history. Millions of past years live in every cell of your body. Since you represent all of history, your success will indemnify all of history. That is the crucial role each individual here has. Your failure represents historical failure; your mistakes will bring evil and suffering upon all your ancestry and this world. Your ancestry represents Cain and this world represents Abel. Here again, Cain and Abel have to come together. That is the only way you can approach True Parents. God is indemnifying everything at this one time in history, so you are in the position to indemnify the past and leave a healthy future for the generations to come. You are in the critical position of having everything done through you. Do you follow?

In conclusion, God has suffered more than anyone, shedding tears, sweat and blood seeking after you. True Parents, in the tradition of God, have suffered the same way and you inherit that tradition. Therefore, you must live the same way.

You often seek recognition for the good things you do. But I have never claimed the right to be recognized by the world; I have never asked God for medals and citations. I have not yet fulfilled the entire universal restoration. If you want to claim your own record and achieve recognition and credit before all this work is done, that is a very, very immature and selfish attitude. God came to search after you with public tears, public sweat and public blood. You should inherit that same spirit, shedding your tears, sweat and blood publicly. Otherwise, you shall never become truly one with God. The entire world is watching you, including spirit world and history. If you deviate from the Principle, you become a traitor to history, your ancestry, and the entire world. Your position is to cleanse yourself, inherit this tradition, and walk this course without even one iota’s deviation. That should be your pledge and determination.

This is how I view the world. Do you follow? Therefore, at the outset of 1983, you should resolve to inherit this tradition, make a firm beginning, become a true champion and fulfill my expectations. Is this your determination and pledge today to True Parents? Then raise your hands and make this pledge to me. Thank you. Let us pray.

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