Cheon Seong Gyeong Ⅱ - 484. The prison course and the Day of Victory of Love - 1
24 When I was imprisoned and my hair was shaved off, I prayed to God, saying that I had not consented to having my head shaved, but that the hand of the enemy had dragged me here and forcibly shaved off my hair. You do not know how my eyes burned and glistened at that time. It was bitter to put aside any thoughts of happiness as I watched my hair fall to the floor. The adversities we have to undergo during the course of restoration are intertwined with bitter circumstances. I endured them all. At the time I had to face them, it was bitter sorrow. However, when looking back, I now realize that I was able to overcome each one because God remembered me. This was also the case when I collapsed after being beaten and tortured for several days. I was not beaten for my own sake but for the sake of my people. The tears I shed in pain were tears of indemnity shed on their behalf. As I struggled to cling to God, my life had to be a course of indemnity to the point of receiving His sympathy. I walked this path alone. (18-165, 1967.06.04)
25 The moment I collapsed after being tortured was the moment I could hear God’s voice. I met God when I was on the verge of death. Until the truth of the Unification Church was revealed to the world, numerous incidents happened out of sight, incidents you do not know about. You cannot fathom the deep valleys and dark caverns I had to pass through. Even God would ask me, “How did this befall you?” I came to think that suffering was not a bad thing; I did not grieve over having gone to prison. Instead I thought, “This is the way I can receive blessings. It is God’s way to bequeath what He owns to me.” (080-083, 1975.10.14)
26 If I were to show you my body, you would see scars, scars that remain from the path that I walked. Whenever I look at them, they seem to me like medals that humankind and God awarded me. They challenge me: “Have you forgotten the determination you made at that time, your pledge to place your life on the line and go forward until death?” It was miserable to get those scars, but as long as they don’t disappear, I cannot disappear. Whenever I see them, whether in the morning, at noon or in the evening, I pledge to myself that I will be victorious. I encourage myself, saying, “You received these scars as medals, so now you must succeed!” (088-194, 1976.08.17)
27 When I labored at the Hungnam prison, I carried sacks of ammonia fertilizer with my bare hands in the bitter cold winter. The open wounds in my hands were deep, to the point that my bones were visible through the flesh. Though my hands were bleeding, I continued carrying sacks of ammonia fertilizer every day. Our cotton uniforms completely wore out in a week. After half a year of labor in that place, the cells of my body began to die, so that if you pinched the flesh, water would come out. However, I said to myself that this was not a problem at all. I posed the question to myself: “Do you think this is difficult? If you do, then surely you will forsake Heaven when things get even worse. Are you going to be a traitor to Heaven?” (73-160, 1974.08.29)
28 At the prison in Hungnam, after the inmates finished shoveling fertilizer into bags, they were provided time to eat their rations. They were so hungry that they did not wait for others to receive their food. As soon as they received their bowl they instinctively stuffed the food into their mouths. As they chewed their food, they fixed their eyes on the other inmates’ bowls. They finished eating their own portion even before the distribution of food was completed. Yet forgetting that they had already eaten their own food, when they saw other people receive food and noticed that their own bowl was empty, they would quarrel with the person next to them, saying, “You ate my food, right?” There were also many incidents of people choking to death while stuffing their food into their mouths. If a prisoner died before finishing his food, other inmates would take the food that was left in the dead man’s mouth; they would even fight over it. (52-170, 1971.12.28)
29 I knew the importance of mental strength. That is why mentally I made a special determination. I convinced myself that I could live with only half of my ration. Then beginning the next day, I shared half of my meal with other people. I did this for three weeks. I convinced myself that even though I was eating only half rations, I could complete my work quota, and I actually did. After three weeks, I resumed eating the full amount of my ration. From then on, I considered one half to be my expected ration and ate the other half as if it were an additional ration that God had given to me. (52-167, 1971.12.28)
30 I have gone through all sorts of experiences, including imprisonment. Yet looking back, I am grateful to God. God went through all that trouble in order to raise one person, me. All the courses that I went through until now never subtracted from me. Instead, I gained many things. Even now when I see a grain of rice, I spontaneously remember how precious one grain of rice can be to a hungry man. Even now I remember it vividly. I know how even one grain of rice can stimulate one’s entire nervous system. Through that experience, I could recognize its infinite value. Yet, in my hunger, when I craved for food I shed tears of yearning for God even more, trying to forget about my cravings for food. Further, when I saw other people in misery, I shed tears without letting anyone know it and prayed for them. God can be with us when we have such a heart. I actually miss those days. (36-130, 1970.11.22)
31 When I was in Hungnam Prison, if a visitor gave me some good clothes, for instance if the church family members gave me a good pair of pants, I would give them to the most miserable prisoner. At the prison we had to use our bare hands to fill straw bags with fertilizer and tie them with straw rope. As a result, the skin on our hands cracked and bled. With those wounded hands, I once unraveled tent fabric that I found and knit clothes. I made pants and gave them to inmates who, because they had no visitors, did not have enough clothes to wear. You can imagine how laborious it was for me to make clothes, but I did it because when I gave them to those inmates, they were overjoyed. I saw that it made them happier than if they had received clothes bought by their own mother or father. My own clothes were in such tatters that when the wind blew it would reveal my buttocks. While wearing such rags, if I saw anyone in the prison who was in a similar situation, I would give him clothes that I had made. (50-313, 1971.11.08)
32 The Communist Party put me in prison and did all kinds of terrible things to me. Nevertheless, I loved God to the very end. I trusted God, and my trust in Him was absolute. Once I gave my word to Him, my promise would be absolute. If God gave me a command, I knew I had to fulfill it absolutely. It did not matter whether that command was difficult or easy. A filial son has to act like a filial son, even in prison. A patriot has to act like a patriot, even when he is incarcerated. (106-072, 1979.12.09)
33 During the Korean War, Hungnam was the first place in North Korea that the UN forces liberated. God’s son was there, so God was urgent to save him. Two days beforehand, the Communist Party enticed the inmates by telling them that they would be given food, and then they took them away. The inmates did not know they were going to be killed. Since they were told they would be given food, they even begged to go. But I sensed what was going to happen, and I said to myself, “Even if all the others die, I will not. Whatever calamity or tragedy may befall us, I will survive. I will not die, even if they schedule me to be shot!” As I expected, the communists deceived the inmates, led them into the mountains, and then killed them. The following day it was my turn to be taken away. So you can imagine how busy God must have been to rescue me. It was under these circumstances that the UN forces arrived in Hungnam. That is how I was able to escape from prison. (22-129, 1969.02.02) |