Pyeong Hwa Gyeong (017) - The Background and Significance of the Founding of the Unification Church
2. God longs for a global family of love
When we look at things from this perspective, if God and human beings want to become one, then what is the central point where the two can come together? What is the decisive center that can connect the love of God and the ideal love for which humankind hopes? If God exists, it can only be the place that is closest to God. The base to make contact with the love of God is not a base of love centering on the individual. Unless it is a base of love that can embrace the world, the love of God and the love of human beings will not be able to connect.
Then, where is the most intimate place where the love of God and the love of human beings can bind together? It is the place where God’s Will is at the center and the will of human beings follows it. That is to say, it is the place where God’s love is at the center and the love of human beings adjusts to it. When we seek the position that can be the most intimate, with the love of God at the center, it would be the position of becoming a true son of God.
If there were a true son of God like that, with that son at the center, a true daughter of God would be needed. Then with that son and daughter at the center, it would be necessary to seek a true family that God can love, a true tribe that God can love, a true society that God can love, a true nation that God can love and a true world that God can love. With this understanding, I started the Unification Church of today based on the issue of how to unite the relationship of love between God and human beings on a global standard.
The love of God is surely realized only after going through a historical course, and we know well that the saints pioneered that course at the cost of their lives. So the saints have been guiding humankind until now with the teachings of God, which are centered on the heavenly way.
Then until now who would be the greatest saint among all the saints who have come and gone in history? Of course the teachers of the Confucian classics would be important; but more importantly, we need a religion that teaches how God and humankind can be the most intimate. So which religion teaches that content? When we consider the religions that have endured until today based on this question, it seems to me that Christianity was introduced from a dimension higher than other religions. So the Unification Church was started based on Christianity.
Let us examine Jesus in the context of this question. When he related with God, he did not relate with a nebulous Being; he related with a tangible being who was an intimate part of his daily life. So when Jesus related to God, he called Him “my Father.” In the realm of affection, there is no position higher than a father. So Jesus opened the way for the relationship between God and human beings to be that of parent and children, and he laid the foundation of heart Jo be able to bind them together. This tells us that in order to realize a world united by the love that God desires, there must surely be a foundation of affection, and this foundation of affection must be even beyond the parent-child relationship.
This is why Jesus called God, “my Father.” He called out, “I am His only Son, who had to come. In the whole universe I am the only person who can receive His love.” In view of this, Christianity more than any other religion is based on the heart of God, gives concrete guidance and envisions God clearly and intimately. Jesus said, in effect, “I am the bridegroom; you are the bride.” More than in any other religion, I consider that this illuminates the best starting point for developing the relationship of oneness with God. In addition, the first-century Christians who followed and believed called each other brother and sister. It was a new religious concept that all people are brothers and sisters.
The world of love that God is hoping for cannot be realized without absolutely achieving this standard of love. The world of love, the final goal, must be established through individuals whom God can love, through the family composed of such individuals, through the tribe composed of such families, through the society composed of such tribes, and through the nation composed of such societies. Without having that kind of loving foundation as a base, the world cannot be bound together in love. This surely has to happen in the course of history. |