The tradition of the Unification church.....77-12-11

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77-12-11

REVEREND SUN MYUNG MOON
SPEAKS ON

THE TRADITION OF
THE UNIFICATION CHURCH

December 11, 1977
Belvedere, New York
Translator - Bo Hi Pak

Man cannot live apart from his historical position. Everything he
does, from making his food and his clothing to his everyday way of
life derives from the background of history. Any society also has its
inherited position and it maintains some link with the nation, either
failing or succeeding on that level. Everyone is affected by their
family tradition, social tradition and national tradition.

With this in mind let us determine the meaning of patriotism. The
patriot is the person who faithfully fulfills tradition as an
individual in his family, society and nation. Who is a saint then? We
know that Jesus Christ, Mohammed and Confucius were saints, and that
all these people organized the traditional religions of mankind. They
are the ones who left posterity the kinds of tradition that all
mankind benefits by. Were they people who always did as they wished,
living every day in fun and laughter? No, from an earthly point of
view those saints lived very unfortunate lives, far more difficult
than average. Why did they live that kind of life? These saints were
not concerned about their own freedom; instead they wanted to be
totally obedient to the one divine will and they subjugated themselves
to live that way.

Even though they had individual desires, those saints always thought
about God and His tradition and how it could be manifested on the
individual level. When they looked at their own families they always
thought about what the authentic family would be in the sight of God.
In observing their own society they always wanted to know from God's
point of view what society should be. They also had a fervent desire
to know what traditions a nation should have in the sight of God.
Naturally they also wondered how the world should serve God.

These saints were people who wanted to follow that tradition not only
for the sake of life in this earthly world, but also for the spirit
world. Their goal in trying to establish God's tradition from the
individual level all the way up to the level of spirit world was
ultimately to find union with God. This striving for unity with God
was the tradition they wanted to leave behind here on earth.

They knew that God is sovereign not only of this world but of spirit
world as well, and this is why the tradition of the saints could have
permanent impact on earth and afterward in heaven. These saints lived
for the future, even though their contemporaries may have persecuted
or accused them. Those saints were living in hope for the future and
even though they suffered in their own time they always upheld their
vision and kept striving for its fulfillment.

The basis of trueness is love

Once again, what is a saint? In one word, a saint is a true man, a man
who can live in the past, present and future and in whom God can have
confidence. A true man will never be corrupted over time, or seem less
holy down through history. Such a man is like God, who is unchanging
in value throughout the past, present and future. The value of a true
man cannot be changed through time; his past value is his present
value and his future value equals his past value. What is the
fundamental basis for determining this? Is this demonstrated by a
man's faith not changing from the past, present or future? By a man's
actions not changing in purpose with time? What makes God true
throughout the ages? Definitely the basis for trueness is love.

God's love is constant and if a true man is defined as being in the
likeness of God then his love also is unchanging in the past, present
and future, both here on earth and in spirit world. We must fully
understand this basic principle of the true man. You might proudly
claim to be a true man because you don't lie to anyone but does
consistent action alone distinguish a true man? What about
consistently speaking in one uniform manner?

No matter how consistent that man is in action or in speech, without
love he is not a true man. Your natural parents are probably truthful
with you, never lying or equivocating and their actions are
consistent, but is that enough to make them true people? They must be
in the likeness of God by having their love the same as God's. If a
husband, for example, is diplomatic and affectionate and always
faithful to his wife, would that alone make him a saint? What more
would you want in a husband? It is not formality or appearance that
counts, but love in the likeness of God.

If something resembles a husband or parent, can it be called love? It
must be something like God, not just like a husband, to be love. If
you just cannot help but respond in love then what you have
encountered is truly love; the mind and heart have to feel love in
return, without having any choice. If you love someone, for example,
do you ever wish that he would disappear? Love wants to bring him
close, day and night. That is the feeling of love.

Here in America is it true that all parents and children feel a deep
closeness? What kinds of sons and daughters are you, real or
counterfeit? If you were to tell your parents that they were fake
would they agree, or would they exclaim, 'what are you talking about!'
If a relationship is artificial and formal then people become
strangers. For example, compare your family relationships to the true
feeling of love; do you want to be close to your parents always, or do
you wish that they would leave you alone?

Americans often demand the right of privacy, insisting that their
parents stay out of their world and not bother them. Is there privacy
in the world of love? Does God have a schedule of love, being
available a few hours in the morning, then in the afternoon and again
in the evening? When speaking of love there is no privacy in God; He
has no schedule. If there is someone who wants to receive love 24
hours a day and 365 days a year, then God wants to be with him. Love
is the one thing that God wants to be intoxicated with. If you are
really the personification of that love of God then would you be happy
just momentarily or 24 hours a day?

You women have been looking forward to having the kind of husband who
will bring you right into heaven. As a woman you have three tests to
go through; first you must receive the love of parents, and then love
your husband and your own children in that manner. Then you can go
right into heaven. There has to be some kind of standard. No one can
enter heaven in just a mediocre way.

Let's talk about the providence of God. Some might say that it is a
providence of war, that God enjoys seeing people clash. Jesus was a
messenger of God who criticized people for being blasphemers and being
like serpents and he certainly made some people angry. If Jesus had
told the Jews that they were wonderful men of God, would he have been
killed? Without exception the other saints like Confucius and Mohammed
also declared to the world something it didn't want to hear.

Why am I being criticized so much today? Am I telling Americans that
they are the greatest people on earth and that I love them? I am being
criticized for declaring that Americans are ruining themselves and
their country. I understand very well that Americans don't want to
hear anything like that even from their own children, but when all of
a sudden a stranger comes from a foreign country and criticizes
America, they get particularly incensed!

Every Sunday morning I repeat things that even you don't want to hear,
but still I say them. You repent and accept it all because you have
hope and you want to make a new beginning, but the rest of the world
doesn't accept what I say and resists changing. Attitude is very
important. Unlike the rest of America you think, 'No matter what you
say to us, we will accept it, knowing that you will only lead us to
better ourselves. You are not here to destroy us but to raise our
standard.'

You might look back on your life and remember how you had all kinds of
freedom before you joined the Unification Church. Now here you might
feel deprived of your freedom, and what's more, you are pushed out
into the hard work of fund raising and witnessing. The weather is
bitter cold now but in the early morning you get up to come to
Belvedere to hear me. You live crazy lives. Why do you have to do
this? Isn't there another way? If you slept twelve hours a day you
would still have twelve good hours left to work so why should you
bother with being so uncomfortable? Wherever we turn there is always
controversy, whether we knock on doors or start a business. Even when
I go down to Alabama there is controversy. Americans want to know why
I am bothering them. Are we going to become rich? Not at all.

Please accept your tribulations as training

Actually we are here to spread love. Even if the people hate us, we
still want to spread the love of God. We want to talk about the love
of God, on doorsteps and street corners and in airports and bus
stations m Every word and every deed is the gift of love, a
manifestation of love When you ask people to donate they may snap,
'Don't bother me Leave me alone! ' But if you still forgive them then
they are the ones who are indebted.

We have a responsibility to share the love that comes from heaven.
Representing every race and all the people of the world, you were
hand-picked by God to distribute His love. God always works to set
anything up conditionally in the beginning, and in our case you are
conditionally spreading God's love when you go fund raising with
peanuts and flowers or chocolate. Have you ever thought about it this
way? Every morning in the darkness you go out selling newspapers but
are you making a lot of money? We are actually gaining nothing and
money-wise we are losing, yet still we do it.

You were assigned to 360 homes but do the people like you to knock on
their doors? You do it anyway because you are chosen and ordained by
God to give out His love. I want you to know that you are all the
heirs of God and candidates for sainthood. There are all kinds of
people walking on the same street you do, but is there anyone else
going down the street in genuine innocence, simply trying to give away
the love of God? Early in the morning are you motivated that way, day
after day?

Some people may misunderstand us but eventually they will know our
true motivation and they will bow down, knowing that we are truly
doing unselfish things for the purpose of God. People test you Moonies
when they accuse you but then they find that you are strong and firm
inside, not boneless like jellyfish. You are not just talkers or
salesmen but you have something solid inside, something that they can
feel is bigger than themselves. You are individuals who can look
straight up to the future, who know the present and also the past.
People will see in you the hope of the universe, because you are
representatives of God. After all the kinds of suffering you have gone
through, people would expect you to look tired out, but instead they
see that your eyes are shining and your posture is confident.

We want to polish ourselves and become new. When you go to the
riverside or seashore you can find well-rounded, polished stones which
are very beautiful. On the mountainside, however, you find stones that
are all jagged and irregular in shape. Which kind of stone would you
like to be? Why do you prefer the round, smooth stone? You say that it
is the most beautiful, but that is just its external appearance. Its
smoothness shows how hard a time that stone has gone through, how much
it has been tossed by the water and slammed against the sand. It is
not easy to make a hard stone smooth. Unification Church members all
start out like the stones on the mountainside, with lots of sharp
edges, but each time the waves and rocks beat against the stones a
little more wears away, making them smoother and smoother. Those
tribulations break off parts of you and it's very painful, but inside
you still say, 'I want to persevere and go on.'

Once you are seasoned and polished and hardened then you have a
well-rounded personality. The beauty of a round shape stems from its
sameness on all sides. Try this experiment sometime; pick up a ball
and draw faces on it from all sides. You can draw on it from all
directions and it will look the same, but you cannot draw too many
faces on an odd-shaped stone.

Which would you rather be, a sharp stone or a round one? You are like
God and God basically has a round character. He likes roundness and
everything that God makes always has some round aspect. I can see one
evidence that God loves Oriental people by the fact that their noses
are more rounded and smooth!

You actually become smoother faster when you do things like selling
the paper, bumping against the harsh cold air and the hardness of the
people. Would you rather be very meek in selling the newspapers, or
would you enthusiastically go from person to person? After you have
been trained in this fashion you have keen eyesight and can eval‎uate
what kind of man or woman a person is.

The public may look at a small sister as a simple person, but all of a
sudden when she starts talking a beautiful sermon comes out! They will
gasp, 'Where did you learn all that? You are talking about big things!
' That's her Unification Church training. The MFT experience will give
you basic training for dealing with all kinds of people. Even without
your realizing it you are becoming the best diplomats, with a sixth
sense about people This is formidable training which is impossible to
get in any other way. MFT is really your most difficult task m A
person's money usually stays way down deep in his pocket and doesn't
like to come out but you are trying to talk it out! It really takes
concerted effort to move a person's heart.

In meeting you, a person might momentarily feel closer to you than to
his own wife. You can make such a deep impression upon him in the
shortest possible time because you can analyze a person. Instead of
wishing that you hadn't approached him to donate, he will think, 'I
wish you could be my own daughter,' or 'I wish you could be my own
brother. What a wonderful person.' If you meet that same person a
second time you know that he will greet you first. He might say, 'I'm
so glad to see you again! Shall I buy again?' You might use wonderful
diplomacy and say, 'You already donated once so you don't have to give
again,' but if he insists then you could tell him, 'Well, if you
really want to help then you could give a substantial donation and get
a whole case.'

When you come back with a good result at the end of the day, instead
of being proud of how much money you have you must be jubilant that
you could distribute more of God's love. Then secondly appreciate the
money coming in. You must look at the merchandise you carry as being
containers of the love of God. If you have candy and think of it as
the love of God, would the candy be happy? If it has a personality,
the candy will feel, 'I want to be eaten by a man who appreciates the
love of God in me as much as the person who sold me.' The candy wants
to be possessed by such a person, and would even say, 'If he doesn't
eat me himself then I want to be eaten by his loved ones.'

If the person truly appreciates the candy then it will not just be
candy but a tonic for good health. Two purposes are being served.
First, it gives joy to man by giving love, and second it brings joy to
God m Does that make God joyful because God loves money? No, in the
sight of God it is not money; it is the appreciation of His love m
When you raise funds and come back with result you must pray and offer
that money to heaven, saying, 'God, these people appreciated Your love
and received it. Would You remember them and add Your blessing to
their homes?' Indeed God will respond to you and His blessing will go
to every home which gave that money.

You are like God's water holes, offering the water of God's love m
Would you like to be a pipeline the size of a finger, or as big as a
giant water main? Would you just stand still, or be energetic and
actively embrace the world? You know the answer, but knowing it is one
thing and doing it is something else.

Spiritually you look like the jagged stones from the mountains, and
you need perseverance in order to become round; many things have to be
chipped away so that only the genuine portion will remain. What color
stone would you like to be? I like white. White paper is capable of
receiving all colors m Blue paper cannot show blue ink, for instance,
and black paper cannot accept any color. I like white because I want
to embrace everybody of every conceivable color. Wouldn't you like the
kind of man who is capable of accepting anyone? The person who can
embrace all circumstances and who is disturbed by nothing is a prince
of peace. He has inner tranquillity all the time m If you are that way
then everybody can come and share themselves and you will accept them
all.

If you truly represent God, He will vindicate you

Is pushing you out for fund raising right or wrong? If you really love
to tackle that mission more than you like eating and sleeping and
loving, then by doing it you will discover a far greater love than you
ever knew. I want you to have that gift. When you apply yourself in
your mission more than you love eating and sleeping and loving then
you will inevitably discover a new world of genuine love and value.

Then it doesn't make any difference where you go. You can go to the
dungeons of hell and still have spring all around; I will be there
with you and God will be there with you and you will never be alone.
Spiritually I will take you by the hand and lead you in each
direction. That discovery of new value and the sense of permanent love
cannot be found in a comfortable classroom. That kind of experience
can only be obtained through actually knocking on the door of the
Harlems of this world. By that experience alone can you taste love,
which is why I am pushing you out.

Please take it seriously and do not feel that you are being used. If
you willingly go that path you will discover new value and meet God
there. How many of you have really walked down the street in the heart
of God, and how many tears did you shed on behalf of God? Someone
might mistreat you, but forgive them and come back with hope. Next
time you visit him you can have hope that he will be a new man and
treat you differently. You are always being deceived by people, but
always be their friend anyway.

Even though you are always being deceived, people will become
different with time. Know that the power of God is there, that God is
not leaving you alone; if you have that much forgiveness and
generosity and prayer but still the other person doesn't repent then
don't worry about him. Spirit world will come down and chastise him.

When God sees how much you truly represent Him and He is moved by your
heart, then God will feel anger and want revenge, exclaiming, 'I
cannot leave this situation alone! I must come down to help.' That
kind of togetherness with God cannot be found when you are sitting
idle, waiting for God's blessing. You must be out there in the
forefront in order to meet God.

I am living in this fashion now but this is not the way of life I
prefer. I felt much closer to God when I was in prison, when there was
no bed to lie on and I just dozed leaning against the wall. In that
kind of life I found God right beside me, always watching over me. I
long for that depth of relationship with God.

The power source which sustained the saints in history was found in
that kind of circumstance. When there was agony and hardship they
found God, not in comfort. I don't need good clothes or a warm welcome
from people because the only thing I care about is the love of God. If
someone stripped me naked and then threw me out into the cold, God
would still be loving me, and I would not feel the chill. Are you that
way?

Some of these sisters' faces are cute and innocent and charming, but I
wonder how much longer that beauty will last, how much longer I will
see those faces here each week. Maybe someone will lure them away.
When you feel you cannot stay here any more because it is too hard and
you can't stand it, then all of a sudden you will find something more
attractive outside, perhaps someone who will ask you to come with him.
Many women are captivated by their own beauty and when they look in
the mirror they admire their nice complexions and slim figures. When
they are confronted with the MFT mission they are horrified and insist
that they need beautiful clothes and nice things.

Why did you get up early to come to Belvedere on a cold morning like
this? What a life! Did you come because you want money or food? If you
really want true unchanging love, you must realize that it is not
going to be gained in very relaxed fashion. You have to go to extremes
and there you will find it, but once you have it you will have
unperturbed happiness even at the bottom of hell's misery. Now when
you look at a movie about an ordinary person living an ordinary life
do you find it interesting? I'm sure you are more interested in people
who are doing extraordinary things.

In Hollywood there are all kinds of glamorous stars but are they
really like they are on film? Are they true men and women? History is
on record like a film and you are the leading actors and actresses in
manifesting the true love of God. Have you ever thought that you were
starring in the dramatic movie we are making at the moment? Should you
be dressed like a king or queen, or would it be more dramatic if you
wore miserable clothes? What about wearing your shoes backwards? There
is a very striking explanation of why you should-shoes are going
toward the secular world and you want to go in the opposite direction!
You may have a ragged suit with many holes but since you have tasted
the world as it is, you are now going in the other direction. You
women can think that God is your leading man. Could you find any
better?

The archives of heaven are being gathered right now, with God
recalling every suspenseful situation, and your name will appear
there, too. Suppose you were present when some climactic moment was
being filmed but you were dozing m How would you like to see that
played back later on? If a person is very ugly then whether he is
dozing or not doesn't make any difference in how he looks, but a
charming face asleep is not attractive m

Only the love of God can unify the world

The most dramatic and stirring life is the search after permanent and
eternal love. A lot of people think that the presidency of their
nation is the ultimate position, but presidents become slaves to their
responsibility. Many successful people think that their lives could
only be more fulfilled by being an influential member of government,
but the permanent rank you want is not of President of the United
States but that of a genuine searcher for the true love of God. Let
people say anything they want about how we are evil people. One thing
is true: the Unification Church is here to find the true, permanent
love of God.

How can we create unification? The way of unification is simple. You
heard how people tremble when they read in 'Master Speaks' that I said
we will conquer the world, but how could we possibly do that? With
bombs or fists? You say that we will use love, but whose love? My
love? I am a mortal man who may change, but the love of God will not
change. God is eternal and if the love of God is burning in each
individual's heart then we don't have to worry about how the
Unification Church will unify the world because the love of God will
do it.

Do you feel that the love of God is the solution to everything? Is
there no better happiness than obtaining the love of God? Even asleep
in bed you would still be dancing with that love! This is not just an
amusing thing; it is absolutely true. If you are fervent in focusing
yourself on that love then you can penetrate not only this world but
spirit world as well.

If you are intoxicated in that love then you can see all of spirit
world and hear the music of that world. Your nose will not just
breathe air but the atmosphere of spirit world, which is love. Your
whole body will move in conjunction with spirit world; then you will
be on cloud 9 and your feet won't touch the ground. I searched after
that love and I know that is it not stored in a palace, but found
inside the boundaries of hell. Those who do not reach out for that
love shall remain in hell.

When you understand this, the teaching of Jesus becomes very relevant;
'For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his
life for my sake will find it.' That's the truth. The bottom of hell
is a real gold mine because there anyone can find the true love of
God. Since God's love is blocking the exit of hell, however, anyone
who does not know the love of God cannot come out. Hell in the spirit
world is beyond the reach of anyone on earth, but you can digest
physical hell. In order to liberate hell in the ultimate sense you
must start here on earth. The New Yorker is on the avenue of
prostitutes, 8th Avenue. I might assign our women to kidnap the men
who go to the houses of prostitutes and liberate them from sin. Then
you can really straighten out this country of America.

You need to really be experienced and toughened by training so that
you can tackle any kind of extraordinary mission. Hearing this, you
may be trembling inside, thinking, 'What kind of religion are you
teaching? I just want to pray and meditate and go to heaven, but now
you are pushing me not only into fund raising but into confronting
prostitutes. How could we liberate people like that who are at the
bottom of human misery?' Someone has to liberate them and reach out
for their salvation. They are also lost daughters of God and His heart
is broken because of them. If you are in the likeness of God's heart
then in order to liberate God you must get down to liberate your own
brothers and sisters. Fund raising and witnessing are only
kindergarten training; the real tough training is still ahead of you!

I asked God what kind of tradition He would like to set up here on
earth. Do you think He answered, 'My tradition is to conquer the
world, period. I want power'? If seizing power were God's only
objective then it wouldn't take more than ten seconds; He would have
done it already. God is all-powerful and He could knock everybody out
if He wanted to. Suppose God's tradition was to become rich or to
acquire knowledge for the sake of humanity. Would He have done it
already or not?

What has God been lacking that He should suffer?

Then what's the problem with God? He seems to have everything already,
but if you ask God whether His tradition of love is fulfilled, God
will say nom God will answer, 'My son, love cannot be fulfilled by
oneself alone m I need a partner.' God has not found that perfect
object here on earth yet and that's why the world is still suffering.

Not just anyone can be a partner of that love of God because His love
is perfect and supreme; whoever will be capable of becoming a partner
of that love must have a record of loving the entire world, past,
present and future. Such a person should be able to demonstrate that
love of God here on earth, but no one has reached that level. Have you
seen that incarnate God here on earth? Because God has not seen that
individual either, He has been waiting and working for thousands of
years.

If that almighty and perfect God puts His trust in you then do you
automatically become the object of that love, without any basic
transformation? The world has become like it is because no one is
capable of qualifying as the recipient of that fullest love of God m
What does God need? Certainly He does not need power or knowledge or
money; what He needs is an object who can handle His love. How much
have you been thinking that God is supreme, that you could sacrifice
everything and still feel that God is priceless? Have you ever been
totally filled with the love of God, wanting to serve Him totally for
the fulfillment of His purpose?

Look at your own heart and discern if it is pure or stained. In all
your concern about your own marriage and how old you are getting did
you get distracted from concern for the love of God? I know you want
to be recognized by me but if you feel ignored then you only get
discouraged. Most people today think that God is either all-powerful
or dead, but you must realize that God's ultimate search is for the
object who will become the recipient of His love, not for supernatural
power. Nobody else even thought about how God might be suffering
except Reverend Moon. I have experienced God's broken heart and I know
how He searched for many thousands of years and could not find the
partner on earth who could respond to His love.

God cannot be tired, but even that tireless God is almost at the point
of fatigue. I want you to know that He is almost ready to say, 'There
is no hope for mankind. Forget it.' But I am one man who can say on
behalf of all humanity, 'God, just be patient a little longer. We are
not going to disappoint You. If You will wait, we will bring the
result to You.'

My only worry is about God deciding not to give me a chance, about
seeing the day come when God says, 'Reverend Moon, even you cannot
remedy the situation. I must give up on this world.' This is the worst
kind of condemnation I could receive and that's what I worry about. I
want you to know that God is serious about the situation of mankind.
Realizing that the destiny of all mankind is at stake would you think
about having your own little home or about how soon the blessing is
coming? No, if you are truly the sons and daughters of God then you
must be crazy about the mission, busy comforting God, saying, 'God,
give us a chance and we shall never disappoint You. We will never let
You abandon this world.' That's the Unification Church way of life.

God is breathing your words and actions, for they represent His only
shred of hope in the entire world. The things that I tell you to do
are so extraordinary that only those who are determined to give their
lives and die for the cause could fulfill them. Even if we commit our
lives there is still no guarantee that we will get to the ultimate
goal; the situation is that serious. God's world of love should
conquer the world of hell step by step and liberate it. The love of
God is our weapon.

It's not going to be as simple as going out to get money. You are
going out every day, either witnessing or on MFT, to expand the
territory of God. Whatever your responsibility, you have to cling to
the mission and cry out day in and day out. You must make your mission
wet with your tears and give everything you have-your body, soul,
mind, your knowledge, your possessions-and commit yourself to
fulfilling your mission. I committed everything to the American
movement because the focal point of the heavenly dispensation is now
here. I committed my life, my fortune, my family, my know-how,
everything I have m Not one penny has been held back. Your position is
to make yourself just the same. If you don't like doing it then I am
sorry; you cannot be prosperous in that case and just have no right to
be here.

What has God been lacking that He should be suffering? God hasn't
found His object of love here on Earth m There is only one
organization of people who can think in this fashion; you cannot find
anyone else besides the Unification Church trying to remedy this
particular situation. When John the Baptist saw Jesus he called him
the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. In the same
way, hosts of angels will look at you and proclaim that you are the
messengers of God's love. That's the way they must describe you if you
truly go this difficult way.

You are the children of God who are carrying the burden of God's love
to disseminate it to the rest of the world. No matter what happens,
when you see the evil of the world you can't say, 'God, I just abhor
all that. I want You to cast down Your brimstone and fire and burn it
away.' That's not the love of God. When you are mistreated by the
world you will say, 'God, I want You to have hope for them. Give me a
little longer and I will claim their hearts and raise them as Your
genuine sons and daughters.' This is how Abraham tried to dissuade God
when He was ready to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah.

Each year is most precious now. Seeing the manner in which 1977 has
gone by I feel that it is shameful to welcome the arrival of 1978. I
regret not pushing all our members a little more in 1977. I wish I had
done it so that everyone would have brought more result and we could
have welcomed a greater morning together in 1978. Any of us may become
a sacrifice, but the important thing is that God's front line moves
forward and His territory is expanded. Do you understand that heart?
Do you think I just hate you and am trying to destroy you, or is this
a genuine expression‎ of love?

What is the tradition of the Unification Church? Not money, not
knowledge or power. The love of God is the Unification Church's
tradition. I have nothing to be proud of. I am a miserable man from
the earthly point of view, a lonely man who is accused and persecuted.
How can I complete a foundation for the love of God while I am still
living here on earth? The world which is controlled by Satan hates me
because I want to be a messenger of God's love to the world.

Restoration of vertical history

We are rooted in the tradition of each era in history. The Old
Testament is the era of the servant while the New Testament is the era
of adopted son. The Unification Church is coming into direct son ship
and to do that each person must become better than adopted sons,
better than any Christians here on earth. In what respect must you be
better? You know that Heavenly Father is searching after His object of
love, thirsting for love. A servant always expects some reward and
even an adopted son also wants to get more; these religions always
expect some blessing from God and worry about their own church,
wanting insurance from heaven. God is not the exclusive possession of
the existing Christian churches, or of any other religion. Each person
can say, 'God is my God.' I am His child and I discovered that God is
impoverished in love and His heart is broken. Everyone else may want
blessing and material wealth, but the true child will tell God, 'We
will take care of giving them all those things. In the meantime we
want something else; we are going to be objects of Your love and
respond to You.'

We are accomplishing the vertical restoration of history in the
horizontal way. Each person must inherit the love of God m Each one
must inherit from the Old Testament the love of the true servant and
then consummate it, as well as the New Testament love of the true
adopted son. On that foundation the love of the true sons and
daughters can be encompassed. The Old Testament era made an offering
of material things and in the New Testament era Jesus as the son was
given as the offering m In the Completed Testament era we must do
both, restoring material offerings to inherit the Old Testament
tradition and offering man in the New Testament tradition.

That's what you are doing in fund raising and witnessing. The
persecution you encounter is an encapsulation of the Old Testament
history and you must accept it as restitution. It is a test of whether
you are still changeable or not, whether you are really permanent or
temporary. Even the communists are irate about our fund raising and
use this topic as a forum for denouncing the Unification Church.

Should we stop because people are upset? If people oppose us we will
only do that much more. When it becomes more difficult, we will work
even harder. Each person must restore the Old Testament era in his way
of life, needing only about 2.5 years of dedicated effort. After
passing through the Old Testament era each one must do the same for
the mission of Jesus, which is fulfilled by witnessing. That might
take another 2.5 years of dedication, making five years altogether.
God created man on the sixth day, and in a seven year period
paralleling the seven days of creation each person can enter the era
of the direct sonship of God and go beyond the level of the fallen
realm. When you reach this level then you are eligible to receive the
blessing. At that point you still must go through another 2.5 -year
period, the final test of your absolute loyalty.

Marriage in the Unification Church

Why is it the Unification Church tradition that even after marriage
you cannot have a family immediately? Adam's fall occurred at the top
of the growth stage so you are given blessing at that point, but you
must still go past the third level. In restoration the two of you must
reach perfection instead of repeating the fall. Even though you are
husband and wife, together you must love God more m That is how you
will fulfill the final period m Selfish and illicit love brought the
fall but this time God-centered love will make restitution.

The youngest age for a man to be blessed should be 27, because after
three years of separation he will be 30, the age of Jesus when he
started his public ministry. Some brothers might be outraged but if
they feel that way they should pack up and leave. In America parents
get worried if their teenagers don't have a boyfriend or girlfriend,
but we are just the opposite. What would I gain by installing such a
demanding rule? Nothing. If I didn't have to worry about God's rules
and about spirit world then anything would be all right.

Men and women must be hard on themselves if they intend to pay the
historical debt. Each person has to be firm with themselves and cry
out for restoration. Sexual desires are torture to withstand,
particularly in energetic young people, but in order to pay the
historical debt you must overcome them. Only something greater than
the urge for sex can overcome it, and without having some greater
power from God you could not do it. That is the supreme test. You must
show God that you can surpass the urges of satanic love. Just grit
your teeth and become totally numb to that sexual level. Then God will
give you the blessing of love. That is why the age of thirty is the
magic figure.

You know how promiscuous American young people are and outside our
Church you would be free to love at any time of day or night, but here
in the Unification Church you are really paying the debt of the rest
of the world. It is probably the greatest of all torture and normally
those are desperate years. I set the minimum standard as three years
of giving yourself for God and forgetting all earthly carnal urges.
You must make restitution and cleanse and purify your past.

If you look at the early marriages of high school boys and girls in
the everyday world, you will see that few of them last even six
months. Half of all marriages nowadays break up, but even though your
marriage comes late it is built on a solid foundation and has
permanency. It has a purpose and a chance of absolute success. If I
were to set the age of forty as the minimum for marriage then when
couples got together there would be no question that they would be
united completely into one! If I told them to get a divorce if they
wanted to then they would reply, 'Get a divorce after waiting this
long? What are you talking about?!'

The length of time you live in happiness is not the most significant
thing; if you live only one year as husband and wife then you want to
live it with dramatic intensity, not drag it out for thirty or forty
years. This tradition of marriage is a very beautiful way of life. You
unmarried members should not just think that you are single but that
you are actually living with God; as you lie down in bed, think, 'God,
let's sleep together.' God is always with you m The more you long for
a mate, the greater is your chance to succeed in marriage.

Restoration of the Old and New Testament eras

In your own lifetime you must restore the Old Testament era, New
Testament era and Completed Testament era, and before your blessing
you must pass heaven's examination m You can graduate from the Old
Testament era by restoring material things and offering them to God,
in our case by fund raising. By investing your heart and body and soul
you earn the material which you offer to God m Whoever wants to spend
the money on his own needs first and give what's left over to God
should not even go out fund raising. The person who works hard and
even adds his own money to the result, even one penny, is beautiful
before God m In that case you have completely fulfilled. I know this
law of restoration and I don't like to spend anything you raise; I
would rather add my own resources m Your parents may think that
Reverend Moon is depriving you of your earnings and slavedriving you,
but that is far from true.

The condition for the New Testament era is met by witnessing, giving
your heart and soul and mind to restore the people m By linking this
effort with your own family members, your entire ancestry will be
benefited. I sacrificed my own family because of this movement, taking
care of the members while my own family suffered, and eventually was
sacrificed. That family will be given ultimate blessing, however,
because that is God's way.

In order to save the world God gave up His own son as a sacrifice. To
win salvation for mankind you must not only give up yourself but your
own family and children as . The person who is given a witnessing
mission sometimes wants to slip away and not go out, but when you go
out for witnessing you have to give not only your entire heart but
even commit your entire family, trying to do more than any pioneers in
American history. When you feel that even in doing that you are not
doing enough, then you have passed through the Old Testament and New
Testament eras.

It is your good fortune to be able to witness. Many people say they
don't have time to witness, but they are lacking in heart, not time m
Those swindlers who think they can get by and go the easy way are
wrong m If the easy way were possible, I would be the first one to
relax. One lifetime is short enough so why should I have to live this
seriously if there were an easy way? I cannot deviate from the
Principle, however.

In the beginning, God, Adam and Eve and the angel together made up the
whole universe. Originally these three were linked by love but long
ago the linkage was severed. This is the fallen world so restoration
must begin at the bottom, with all things of creation. Next the loyal
servant must be restored, who was the original angel. Since the angel
betrayed God in the beginning, no matter how badly anyone in that
angel's position is treated, he must not rebel again but always be
obedient. Every member of the Unification Church starts in the
position of serpent. for awhile, first fulfilling the position of
heavenly angel. The outside world represents the satanic angel and it
constantly harasses you, yet you must be superior to that. No matter
what they say, you must still love God and follow with burning
conviction. Just forget yourself and remember the suffering of God m
That's what counts m If you will not be shaken and will remember that
because of the love of God you are different then you will be
surrounded by true love, and while the rest of the world may decline
you will prosper.

Why will the world hit you and persecute you? You have to prove
yourself superior to them and without this confrontation you have no
way to show yourself. Unless a fighter gets into the ring he cannot
prove how good he is. If people oppose the Unification Church and then
surrender then that's a real surrender, but if in the very beginning
they accept us they will soon complain if God doesn't love them
equally. God lets the world persecute you so He can give you the key
to the Kingdom of Heaven and not have anyone accuse you of not
deserving it.

The time to worry is when there is no persecution. When you go out
witnessing do you want a companion so you can enjoy it more? How many
men did God start out with? How many Messiahs came 2,000 years ago?
God sent only one Messiah here on earth, and there was only one Adam
in the garden of Eden, only one Eve who fell. There is a deep reason
for you to go out witnessing all by yourself.

When you finally do bring three spiritual children then your headaches
really begin! Often you might not want to deal with those men and
women, but you must persevere and embrace them and love them with
God's love. Through the first year, second year and third year there
will be all kinds of upheavals, but that's the way you can prove that
you will not change, that no circumstance can defeat you. In the
meantime you will prove you are better than your own parents or
brothers and sisters, and better than your teachers.

I want you to know that even Peter, who supposedly was Jesus' chief
disciple., betrayed Jesus at the end of three years. This test of
betrayal is the formula of faith which all men have had to pass
through. You must be able to sustain your faith without food and
without rest; you have to give much comfort to your spiritual
children. If you have food, then you want to give it to them, almost
being their servant in every way. You may wonder why you do this, but
remember that this is the way I went. When you see me now you may
think I never suffered, but actually I have passed through the misery
at the bottom of the world. I have fulfilled the condition of giving
all kinds of service to all kinds of members. If you feel now that you
just cannot help but love me, it is because a long time ago I set the
condition in the most dramatic manner of demonstrating love for all
men and women.

You must know the circumstances
of Jesus, True Parents and God

Let me ask you, do you really love me? No, I think you complain to me
in your heart about not being given more blessings. Even if your
blessing doesn't come soon, will you still love me? In the end you
will have demonstrated such unselfish love and devotion that even a
hoodlum in your neighborhood will treat you like royalty and bow down
in respect. At one time he probably tried to do all kinds of evil
toward you but even he will bow down. That is the glory of our way of
life.

This is an unspeakably hard life to live and that's why once you live
it you will receive the most supreme love of God. It is hard, but I
tell you that this road cannot be avoided. If you cannot finish it in
this world then you will still have to go that route even after you go
to spirit world, and then you will vividly remember what you could
have done differently that would have changed your situation. Hell is
the world of regret, and in that regret you really don't have room in
your mind to think about your husband and family.

Actually the blessing is not of prime importance. What would you do
with your marriage without even solving these fundamental problems?
Only after putting yourself entirely in the love of God does marriage
make sense. You must go down to the dungeons of hell and search there
for the love of God. I did not search for or enjoy God's love at the
throne of God; I reached out to that love in the worst kind of
suffering, with blood and tears. You don't know how I was tortured
many times and practically killed.

That is the basic formula and without it you cannot find God's love.
When you go all the way to your limit and feel like you are dying,
there things begin to happen. When you are so hungry from working
without food that you feel almost ready to faint, at that moment
things start happening. No one can give you that experience, or buy it
with money. Unless you experience this you will not understand. You
must feel that you are representing God and that every motion you make
is on behalf of God. You must put yourself in God's place, walking on
the road of restoration.

Many mothers in the world went through incredible suffering to feed
their children or to give them an education. Just like them, you are
taking the suffering road to give God's children salvation. Is there
any room for complaint? Can you get tired? That kind of mother cannot
be tired and neither can you. Every penny she makes helps send her son
to school and guarantee his success. Every drop of sweat you shed will
bring hope to the people of the world.

Go out in the position of father and mother and love the world and
then come back. Gathering a billion dollar fortune is less precious
than fund raising with peanuts or flowers, knocking on doors. You must
go out to witness because otherwise you will not know Jesus'
circumstance or True Parents' circumstance or God's circumstance. I am
still working at making money and still witnessing. If you pass
through all these stages then heavenly love will link them all; God's
love will come down and your love of God will go up, making one whole
linkage.

Once you go through this condition with all your heart then you shall
have your own things and your own children and your own world of God
here on earth. By paying this vertical indemnity you shall do all of
this. Only after I did all this has God given me the right to own
material things in His name. Because I passed through all these three
stages I can now have a family. That is the result of going precisely
the same path, through the Old Testament era, New Testament era and
Completed Testament era.

While you are setting this kind of vertical condition you are doing
horizontal things like fund raising and witnessing and getting the
blessing of God to create your family here on earth. It took God 7,000
years to complete this one cycle but you are doing this horizontally
on earth in seven years. If God suffered for 7,000 years to make this
possible, can't you even do it gratefully for seven short years on
earth?

Your love of God connects every aspect of restoration. What is the
connecting tradition of all these loves from the Old Testament, New
Testament and Completed Testament? The axis is the love of God. You
must put yourself in the position of Abraham, Noah, Moses and all the
central figures and love God more than they did. Noah sustained his
faith for 120 years, and you must be determined to be better than
Noah.

Abraham lived comfortably in Ur of Chaldea when all of a sudden God
told him to pack up and take off. Now you live in the comfortable New
Yorker and have hot water and nice beds, but if I told you to pack up
right away would you respond like Abraham? Abraham became a wanderer,
but are you better than Abraham? If you haven't even thought about it,
how could you be better? At least start by thinking about being
better. After that would you put it into action? When God asked me to
go to America, could I have exclaimed, 'God, what are You talking
about? I finally have enough room here in Korea to be comfortable and
anyway I don't like America'? I knew that all kinds of persecution
would come, that my responsibility would be to shake the world into
outrage against me.

Before I came I talked with my closest disciples and told them that I
would be a target of worldwide persecution in three years. I prepared
them to remain in Korea and gave them instructions, knowing ahead of
time what was coming. At that time they said, 'What are you talking
about? No one will know you.' They never believed it, but what I said
at that time was absolutely fulfilled. I am a mysterious man in one
sense and you think you know me but you really don't.

Are you better than Abraham or Moses? Are you better than Jesus? In
one sense you are better because without dying on a cross you can have
a blessed home and children here on earth. Jesus was crucified but the
Unification Church will not be demolished. Even in his lifetime Jesus
worked only in the little nation of Israel, but our IOWC is going all
over the world. The world is our stage; the universe is our stage. If
you are better than Jesus then you should be doing bigger and better
work than Jesus.

Are you better than Reverend Moon? Give me a reason why. You are
better than Reverend Moon because I am getting older but you are
younger and you shall remain longer than I will. When I die will our
movement go up or down? If my lifetime goal were to build all kinds of
boats so that we could move out to sea then if I were to die would you
want to finish or would you just think it was a big headache? After I
die will everything move faster? If you say so then you must show me
while I am living what you can do after I die.

You should never be satisfied by being better than me. Step out and
say, 'God, I am Your son so I am going to be better than You! ' You
will not insult God if you tell Him, 'I love You with all my heart and
soul, and because I love You so much I want to inherit Your mission. I
cannot afford to let You suffer any further. Won't you stay behind and
let me finish?' Will God be very mad or very joyful? He will be
smiling ear to ear. God will say, 'I've been waiting for this day and
it has arrived at last.'

Would you like to have your sons and daughters be inferior or superior
to you? How could they be better than you if you are perfect? God will
like your attitude and He won't accuse you of being greedy. He wants
your children to be so heroic and beautiful that it will be His joy to
watch them. Having such children is God's promise to you.

If you have no love when you voice all this ambition then you will
insult everyone by saying you are better than they are. Saying you are
better than God would be unforgivable. But if you do it with love, out
of love of God, then it becomes their joy instead and with that desire
you can go everywhere. Such unprecedented love was never manifested
anywhere and you can be the first pioneer in the conquest of love.
Anyone who possesses the greatest love in the universe will receive
the respect of everyone, no matter how exalted. We are looking forward
to the fulfillment of that supreme love. Is it believable when you
hear me?

Before I die I want to bless all the races of the world, and love them
and feed and clothe them. That's my philosophy and way of life. I want
you to be the same and even better. There is so much persecution that
there are few occasions for me to manifest that love, but because you
have more time ahead of you and the world will eventually accept you,
you will have a chance to love the world more. You need to taste three
kinds of tears-tears of longing for love, then the actual taste of
love, and finally the fulfillment of love. These are the tears of joy
you must taste.

That is the tradition God wants you to leave and once you fulfill then
anywhere you go you will be in the forefront of heaven. At any
ceremony Jesus and God will want to put you in front because you are
the conqueror of love. How beautiful or handsome you appear doesn't
make any difference; what counts is your state of mind. If I stayed a
number of days at the New Yorker, I would walk on every floor at 3 or
4 o'clock in the morning and really love that building. I would look
for those who are cleaning or preparing food for brothers and sisters.
Those are the people who advertise their heart without words.

If there are 1,000 residents in the New Yorker then feel that at least
you must do one thing more than everyone else. Get up first and go to
bed last. When you pray, feel that you are praying for all one
thousand. Perhaps you will fall asleep while you pray and then wake up
the next morning and start the day; God loves the person who lives
that dramatic kind of life. Whether I am here or not doesn't make any
difference. You are the heirs of the love of God. That is most
precious under the sun.

The American people are waiting for the birth of such a man. All
humanity is waiting for the birth of that man. Did you see the movie,
'Oh, God!'? By the end of the movie the main character had become
miserable because he was persecuted and kicked out of his job after he
met God, and he was very discouraged. But God said, 'You are on a
different level, the level of all the saints. That's not bad company,
is it?'

Once you become the owner of the love of God there is nothing to envy
in this world. The world is yours because nothing exists without a
relationship with God and whatever God possesses becomes yours. Did
you live like that in the past? How about in the present? We have one
hope: to live like that in the future. Once you live like that your
own history will begin. So far the past has been someone else's but
the moment you live as possessor of God's love, there your history
starts. With that background you can knock on the door of heaven.

The Unification Church is going to inherit that tradition of the love
of God, past, present, and future, and it will remain as your own
accomplishment. You shall be a conqueror of God's love in that
tradition. Before now your hands got dirty working in the secular
world, but now you can want your hands to get dirtier working for God
m You once ate much good food in the world, but this time you want to
eat solely to do God's work. You must think that everything you have
already done you can do more intently for the work of God. If you
train yourself like that then in everything you do you will feel the
explosion of God's love around you. Do you know it or not?

If you can say, 'Father, I know it now and I want to make my own
history in winning the love of God and leave my tradition behind,'
raise your hands please. Let us pray.

'Abraham's cutting the sacrifices in two provides a lesson that each
of us must divide our own self as an offering to separate good from
evil. A life of faith involves putting ourselves in the position of an
offering. Only by dividing good from evil in ourselves can we become
living offerings pleasing to God. We should constantly separate good
from evil within ourselves, according to the standard of God's Will. If
we neglect to do this, a condition is set up for Satan to invade.'
Divine Principle, Rev. Sun Myung Moon