Cheon Seong Gyeong Ⅱ - 398. Who is Abel?
11 You need to know how to distinguish between Cain and Abel. Be-tween any two people, one is Cain and the other is Abel. This is the case even among Unification Church members. Then, which person is Cain and which one is Abel? Abel is the one who is injured, whereas Cain is the one who injures. For instance, if you were to approach someone who is just standing there and say, for no reason, "Hey, you, rascal!" then those few words would make you Cain. Let me give you another example. Consider parents who have two sons. Suppose the parents consult with only the first son, and he represents his parents in all matters. If he hits the younger son, although the latter did nothing wrong, the parents will naturally stand on the side of the younger son. This is the standard to judge good and evil, but in today's society people do not understand this. The one who harms others is certainly Cain.( 056-086,19720514)
12 Among Unification members, if you belittle someone who is working hard and offering devotion for the church, saying, "Why is that person's behavior so strange?" you immediately become Cain. This is how Cain and Abel set themselves apart from each other. Those who are criticized and harmed although they did not commit any wrongs are always Abel, while those who criticize and strike others are always Cain. This can happen even by uttering just one word. In speaking, the one who says something that benefits others is Abel, while the one who says something that harms others is Cain. If you praise others, you bring benefit rather than loss. However, if you say something to profit yourself, it is tantamount to harming others. Thus, the position that benefits others is the public position, whereas the position that benefits oneself is the private position. In this way we distinguish Abel and Cain, and good and evil, based on who is public-minded and who is private-minded.( 056-086,19720514)
13 The person who is more public-minded is Abel. Among Unification Church members, there are those who believe they are Abel because they joined the church earlier. However, although they joined earlier, if they are not public-minded, they are Cain. Cain himself was born first, but because he didn't take a public position, he had to follow Abel. The Abel figure is the one who stands in a more public position. To walk the public path, you need to maintain relationships with brothers and sisters. What I am saying is that, in walking the public path, the horizontal relationship is important. Even in going to the kingdom of heaven, the problem usually does not lie in becoming one with God but in relationships with brothers and sisters. The secret to going to the kingdom of heaven is to follow the public path.( 031-165,19700524)
14 Leaders think that they are automatically Abel, but that is not the case. Abel is the one who saves Cain, and he can go to the mother only after uniting with Cain. Therefore, even if you have not become one with the leader, once you unite among yourselves for the sake of the leader, the leader will come to you. That is why Jesus said he would be present wherever two or three gathered in his name. From now on, our focus on leaders needs to be replaced by a focus on members. Likewise, the head of a family needs to emphasize the members of the family rather than himself as its head. Otherwise, heaven cannot come about within that family.( 115-055,1981 1028)
15 You could not have been born as Abel if there were no Cain. You need to understand this above all. Abel is in the position of Adam. That position means, first, that Abel needs to have the love of God. The Fall was the failure to form a bond with God’s love. Second, it means that the archangel figure is Cain, and needs to unite with Abel. Before Adam came to exist, the archangel was already there. Likewise, before Abel was Cain. After God lost Adam due to the Fall, He established Abel in the place of Adam. Originally, Adam should have become one with God, and the archangel should have become one with Adam. Had this happened, there would have been no Fall. Hence, restoration is the work of patching up the failure of Adam to become one with God and the failure of Adam and the archangel to become one. Thus restoration requires that Abel become one with God. You can become Abel only if you have first received God’s love.( 037-061,19701222) |