ORDER NUMBER
79-06-01
REVEREND SUN MYUNG MOON
SPEAKS ON
REFLECTION UPON LIFE
June 1, 1979
Belvedere, New York
Translator - Bo Hi Pak
The meaning of my topic this morning is to turn around and evaluate
life.
Today is June 1. Now summer is practically here and all of nature
is ready. When you come to Belvedere you might look at that one big
tree outside here and remark at how big a tree it is. When you go into
a garden the special characteristics of some trees catch your attention,
especially if one is particularly tall or colorful. Even in nature,
however, it is very difficult to find something that is perfectly
beautiful. It is not a simple thing because there must be arrangement
and tremendous effort made to create and present that beauty.
There is man-made beauty and natural beauty, but beauty created
in the natural way is more difficult. A big oak tree began as a small
acorn and during the many years that passed while the tree grew large
many sacrifices and contributions were made; the tree absorbed many
elements in order to grow. Before that big tree can ever command
respect as a great tree, it must realize that many elements and
circumstances were combined to make it all possible. It is a heartistic
necessity that before he feels himself great he must bow down to those
elements which made his greatness possible.
If that tree can be grateful and humble before the elements which
made him great then all those elements would respect him for knowing his
position. Then they would be glad to give even more elements. Even the
little blades of grass in the tree's shade would not complain that the
tree gets all the sun, but would decide just to live with it because the
tree is grateful. Both internal and external elements combine at great
sacrifice to make that one tree.
What would happen if suddenly the sun no longer shone on the tree?
Would he still feel proud and great, or be worried and anxious about how
he could survive without the sun? Suppose there was no more air; would
he be more wrapped up in his own greatness, or more worried about the
lack of air? If there was no more water, how would the tree react?
This situation of the tree is merely an analogy for the same
relationships that exist for man. Can you exist independently and walk
pridefully, thinking that you owe nothing to anyone? Or are you meek
and humble enough to thank the sun and air for sustaining you? You eat
food with your mouth and at the same time your skin is
"breathing" sunlight; which is more delicious? You may think
that you taste everything with your mouth, but without the sun you would
no longer need your two eyes at all. You have eyes to see with, but for
that you need light. Would you be proud of yourself without your two
eyes?
Your nose inhales the air, and if there were no air you would no
longer need a nose. Without air do you think sound waves would travel?
Then without air you wouldn't need your ears either. Your mouth takes
in many things from outside, sacrificing them for you. What can you be
really proud of then? You walk very proudly, but where did your arms
and legs come from? Did you design them at a drawing board? Who really
owns your legs and arms? They come from your parents and belong to them
in reality.
You started out in your mother's womb and stole energy from her
while you grew. Even in a little country store money and change is
carefully counted and you get a receipt, but did you ever issue one
small receipt to your mother for all the sustenance she gave you?
That's why you are thieves! Can you still be proud of saying that your
body is yours? Did you complain while in your mother's womb, or have
gratitude? Day and night you kicked and poked her, but you never
apologized. Then after 9 months of acting up inside your mother you
were born.
As soon as you were born you still took nourishment outside from
your mother when she nursed you. Then later when you were a little
older you were fed meals by others. Does your body really belong to you
then? You never earned it. Americans are prompt to say thank you, but
how much more do you owe thanks to your parents who gave birth to you
and attended to you while you grew? Particularly if you were a very
restless or sensitive baby you were crying all the time and demanding
attention. Your parents wouldn't insist that you stop crying, but would
try instead to comfort you. Then as you grew you needed education and
they attended to that as well. All in all your parents had to take care
of you for over twenty years.
When you think of all these things you realize that every cell of
your body is totally indebted to your parents. Have you ever thought of
that? If you conversed all the service your parents gave you into
dollars, the debt would be so great you could never repay it. In many
cases American young people only think that their parents don't
understand them and talk about the generation gap, and they act like
they just appeared from heaven without causing any trouble to anyone
else. Many times young people think their parents are only bothering
them, and later in life put them away in senior citizens homes with the
attitude that no one needs them.
But the universe doesn't work that way; the world must be
harmonized. If each individual only claimed things for his own selfish
benefit and demanded his rights then he would never parallel the
universal way. It is a law of nature that while you are growing up you
are deeply indebted to your parents, and after you are grown and
responsible then you repay that debt by taking care of your parents.
Therefore, what can you be proud of when you reflect on your past
life? You can be proud that you are deeply indebted to your father and
mother and recognize that you are deeply indebted to nature. You can
appreciate the water, sun and air, for without them you could not
survive, even for five minutes. We must be thankful for the world of
plants and the animal kingdom. When you see a cow in the pasture, what
do you think first? That she is fat and well nourished and will give
good steaks some day? Probably you think of food first, instead of
thanking that cow! Would the cow welcome the person who showed some
gratitude, or the one who only thought of her as a potential steak?
Even a cow wants to be eaten by a person who shows some gratitude
instead of greediness.
When God looks down and sees man's very self-centered behavior,
He feels that He certainly did not create this entire world just to
serve man's greed. Do your clothes belong to you? You wear jewelry and
ornaments, but who do those things belong to? When you are proud and
boastful and think that you can be independent, nature laughs when it
looks at you, knowing that you can never exist all by yourself.
The universe would never show any gratitude to ] the person who has
no thankfulness, but if a person I knows his position of indebtedness to
nature and his parents, then the world gladly harmonizes with him. Then
he can think that an oasis in the desert is created simply for him, and
how much gratitude would he show in that case? Suppose you were living
in a barren desert, but woke one morning to see each beautiful aspect of
nature being created just for you -sunrays, grass, trees, flowers, and
so forth. How much ecstatic joy and gratitude would you feel then?
Wouldn't you shout out in happiness if all of this appeared out of
nothing one day?
There was once a day when nothing existed, before God created
anything. When God created each thing He said it was good, but suppose
that you as His child took more delight in each thing than He did?
Would He upbraid you, or really be glad at the appreciation you show?
God is eternal, existing from beginning to the end, so He has memories
of all history and looks at you in historical perspective. Will God
just comment that you were good, or would He remember and appreciate you
in His heart? He will think that you are better than anyone in history
for having so much gratitude.
If that appreciative person were not attractive at all, but ugly and
maybe even crippled, would that diminish God's appreciation of him?
That person would be remembered first in God's heart. What do you feel
when you look in your mirror? Do you have confidence that you are good
looking? I have heard that some women just cringe and look away
whenever they see their reflection in a mirror. But no matter how ugly
you look, view yourself in the broader perspective that God sees us in.
Each of us sends out waves or vibrations to the universe and the
world can communicate with you through them. Will the person who
appreciates all things send out good or bad waves? What about the
people who always complain and try to take advantage of others, will
they send out good vibrations? Such a person will repel everything in
the universe because of his vibration. The person who is always
dissatisfied is internally biting everything in sight, even his parents
and friends. Today there are a great many people living in such an
unhappy state.
I have seen women whose fingernails are very long and painted vivid
red, and I used to wonder why, but now I think that they grow them that
way to bite or scratch the universe. You may not have long fingernails,
but what about your heart? A dissatisfied person has nails everywhere
his ears, his nose, all over his body-ready for action.
On the other hand, when you realize your position relative to your
neighbors and family you feel gratitude and then instead of trying to
bite and scratch others you are reaching out to embrace them all. Then
you are sending out infinite waves of gratitude which reach every corner
of the earth. The ocean is wide, but it could not be greater than your
mind of gratitude. Your mind can be small if you make it so, but if you
make it large then it is larger than any ocean on earth. In that case
the entire universe is embracing you also.
You have millions of individual cells in your body, like employees
in a corporation. Each cell sends out waves, which all nature responds
to. Whatever wave you send out is how nature will echo you. What kind
of person would you like to be-one of infinite appreciation, or one with
infinite disappointment and complaint? This is why the Bible teaches us
to have gratitude always, as well as meekness and humility.
Do you know how many words you have spoken in your life up to this
point? Can you count them? Can you determine what portion have been
dedicated to speaking gratitude or complaint? There is a general
tendency in our world to complain, so most people deserve a sign saying,
"I am a complainer." That's the kind of life most people are
leading. But when you complain then everything in the universe is
repelled by you and even your parents and friends don't like it. Would
God be happy to hear it? Are your eyes and nose and ears complaining or
appreciative? Have you always been thankful? When your body and mind
are full of complaint, who will welcome you? Your husband or fiancee?
There is no exception-no one likes it.
When you weigh the bags holding your complaint and appreciation,
which outweighs the other? Are complainers usually good or bad people?
You don't like to hear this do you? But even evil-minded men or
women like to hear kind words from others. Then what about nature,
would it like to hear some words of kindness and love, or tell you to
shut up? Are you at zero balance between complaint and gratitude? If
you are below zero then nothing will treat you like a human being
because you will be substandard, at the animal level.
The Unification Church is a wonderful place in this respect. We
know about the law of indemnity so we are willing to assume our burdens
with an appreciative heart, and then we can be far above zero. Satan's
scheme is to give you harsh treatment and test your mind to see whether
you are full of complaint or whether he has no power over you under any
circumstances That is our way of life, and no one can win over it. But
if someone persists in complaining even after coming to the Unification
Church, he is really on the minus side. Have you learned that heart of
gratitude here? Don't you think in your heart that you would be more
grateful if you didn't have to do fund raising and witnessing?
The heart of gratitude must be unconditional, being thankful for any
mission. Every day in the Unification Church you are winning a sign to
wear saying thank you. I can see whether you have a thank you sign on
your forehead, but if you are wavering and doubtful then your sign is
turning upside down even as I look at it! What kind of thank you sign
do you have-firmly attached, or wiggling around and turning all which
way? You might remember how you had really nice clothes before you
joined but now you don't look so sharp, and at that moment your thank
you sign is moving. Or you might think that since you have joined your
face has become paler and more wrinkled. Then too the thank you sign is
turning around. Now you have more to worry about than before, but if
you complain then your gratitude sign is shaking. The important
question to ask is whether you are being dominated by gratitude or
complaint, the clear sky or the cloudy sky. Your mouth is saying yes,
but your face is saying no, I think.
If you complete your whole education with a Ph.D. it can take up to
25 years, so you are indebted to your parents and teachers for that
length of time. Do you remember how many teachers poured out their
hearts to give you an education? You may think you are a good writer or
a good artist and that you can do those things all on your own, but did
you acquire your skills by yourself? In the beginning you were like a
blank piece of paper, upon which one instructor after another wrote,
implanting their skills in you. Before you can be proud of your
achievements you must be grateful to those who gave you that
inheritance. Men are first indebted to their parents, then to their
teachers. In Oriental philosophy teachers are the second parents. Have
you really showed your appreciation and gratitude to your teachers?
It is an amazing fact that here in America many teachers are
physically assaulted by their own pupils, and some even beaten to death.
The power of the universe would bring such people to ruin and never
allow them to prosper. Nature cannot permit this kind of thing. Would
God allow this, saying that America is a great country and deserves His
blessing? If you were in God's place would you give additional blessing
to that kind of nation?
Those children who are grateful to their own parents are welcomed by
the universe. If you have that heart then you can harmonize with your
own brothers and sisters and with nature, and of course God would
welcome that kind of man and woman.
But what is genuine gratitude-is it when you can thank them under
rosy circumstances, or under adverse conditions? The latter is most
precious. God is actually observing the depth of gratitude of each
individual and in His eyes your value is determined by the amount of
gratitude you can impart. This principle works the same in a courtroom,
where any criminal who shows true repentance and willingness to make
restitution for his crime will win mercy from the judge and prosecutor.
I have come to America telling the people what is wrong with America
and how it must change, and Americans demand to know what a yellow man
is doing coming here to meddle in their business. Will that kind of
attitude be acceptable in the sight of God and nature? No matter what
kind of mistake a person has made, if he is making a conscientious
effort to extricate himself and make restitution he can win forgiveness.
But if he is hard-headed and claims he did no wrong, that person
has no way to be forgiven.
At some time you should sit down and write to your teacher, telling
him or her that you realize how indebted you are and thanking him. You
can recall how you and your classmates sometimes resented how strict he
was with you, but you know that because of that firmness you can now
spell and write well. Because of that discipline you have gained very
much and can make much clearer judgments. Now when you can appreciate
great masterpieces in art or literature you can recall that it is
because of your teachers that you can have such perception.
You can write to your teacher, recalling what kind of student you
were, and expressing gratitude that now you have the ability to perceive
and understand things like literature. It is your teachers who have
bequeathed their skills to you, and this kind of unconditional gratitude
should be given to them. Do you have any complaint about that?
If this tradition prevailed at American schools, would there be much
immorality and crime on the campuses? If American children appreciated
their parents, would homes break up as much? Now American young people
are trying to blame older people for what is wrong, but I say that it is
the young people who are equally or more responsible, trying to separate
themselves and do everything at their whim. Instead they are the ones
who must change and become loyal. Then even the most evil parents could
be swayed and turned around.
Parental heart is always there, so when parents see the good deeds
of their child their hearts have to be moved. If American young people
would become righteous then even if parents were inclined to fight or
separate, they could not do it; they would be shamed into becoming
better parents for their children's sake. If such genuine appreciation
dominates the family, it will unite them all, but if a complaining
attitude prevails in the home, it faces destruction. Here in America
the most important thing is how to get rid of complaint.
Are you inclined now to be thankful to your teachers? Some of you
sisters have beautiful handwriting, but you must be thankful to the
person who taught you that skill. If you write with that kind of
grateful mind then the entire universe will help enhance your skill.
When you enter into society, you find you are deeply indebted to society
and the nation. Suppose there was no social system at all, but only
anarchy; how could you live?
When you get a job with a mind of gratitude you will prosper. Do
most people have a grateful attitude toward the person who becomes
President and toward the government? The office of the presidency is an
awesome one because ultimate responsibility rests there. The President
has to protect the people, make good policies, conduct diplomacy and
maintain defense. In order for those policies to work the people must
unite with them. Should the people be grateful? But no matter how
great the leader in office, if the people's inclination is to criticize,
what will happen to their society?
If a manipulative, scheming person is elected president, however,
what will happen to the country? Disaster will come. The most
important quality for electing a President is that he truly loves this
country in a sacrificial way. Do you love President Carter? What would
you expect if a nation is built by people who don't feel gratitude
toward their parents and teachers, or toward their society and nation?
What direction do you think this country is going?
Education is a paramount task now in America. There are two places
where education is- given- through the schools and through
religion. Is the American educational system interested in teaching
these grateful attitudes, though? What about the churches? When there
is so much struggle and politicking going on in the churches, I don't
think the religious people could really be concerned either about what
happens to the nation or the world.
There has to be one religion that is on the right track, caring
about the family, society, nation and world and teaching these things.
That is the Unification Church. A genuinely good society begins with
good parents, then children who grow up in gratitude and go out to
relate to society through their teachers, and to their nation through
the head of state, and finally to the world. After the parents raise
the children a number of years they pass the baton to the teachers to
educate them; they in turn pass the students to the society and the
nation will take up the baton. In that way the person can take up a
higher mission all the time.
The person growing up with a heart of gratitude at home for his
parents and teachers and nation will be grateful to the almighty
creator. Unless a person goes that central route, he will never be
successful. Harvard gained fame because it has excellent teachers, and
students who are educated there want to take up important positions,
such as President or Cabinet member, which can influence the nation. If
they have the right frame of mind then that's acceptable, and then they
will think that by influencing the nation they will serve the world.
After they become nationally important they want to go on to become
worldwide leaders. The true worldwide leader is a religious person, or
saint, because the worldwide level is already beyond the boundary race
and nation. The only person with that kind of life and attitude is
truly a religious person. To know God and enter heaven as a saint is
the destiny of all men. To go this route each individual must carry a
bag of love of parents, of teachers, of the nation, and finally from the
saints, and then reach God.
At every stage you will receive a certificate which is signed first
by your parents in recognition that you are a child of filial piety.
Then your teachers will sign, saying that you are a devoted and grateful
student. Then the head of state must confirm that you are a patriotic
person, and the saint must affirm that you are a trustworthy and
dependable man for the sake of humanity. Then with that certificate you
can go to God and He will accept you. From childhood all through your
adult years you have to gain certain qualities in order to reach the
ultimate goal, which is God.
When you come to the level of the nation you cannot always listen to
your teachers and parents because you are already at a level of higher
responsibility. At that higher level of mission you should be able to
govern even your own teachers and parents. In that case you listen to
the saints above you and to God. When you come to the level of
sainthood then the saints' level of teaching is inadequate and you
listen directly to God, who is the greatest teacher of all.
You are going forward step by step, trying to reach higher goals,
ultimately focusing on the supreme teacher of love. At each level the
capacity of love is different. As a child you learn to receive parental
love, and when in school you learn to love teachers. At the national
level you learn love of the patriots, and in sainthood you learn the
love of the saints. On the world level you learn love of the world, and
finally above that you learn the love of God. Then ultimately the
universe is yours.
Through love you know your parents and through love you know your
teachers. Through love you find your nation and world, and through love
you find God. That is the kind of education we are talking about. That
kind of man and woman will be able to go anywhere and harmonize with
anything. You, therefore, must be a recipient of the love of parents,
love of teachers, love of head of state, love of the saints and of the
world, and finally of God. Until the age of 18 parental love
predominates. After that age your attention is shifted to education and
the love of teachers predominates until you have finished the Ph.D.
level at age 36. Then you come into society. The society and nation
are the paramount target in these years until age 54. Until the age of
72 the world is your stage, the universe and God are your stage.
Actually you start your life at that point; all this time before then is
devoted to education, and the subject is love.
Most important of all in this period is getting the right start so
that you receive this love from your parents and show ample
appreciation. Then in the same frame of mind you can move on to each
stage and be formed in the right way. The subject of education is love,
and the attitude of education should be gratitude. There are two things
to inscribe in your heart-love and gratitude. In all this time there is
nothing that is yours; you are completely indebted to someone else.
You will confirm your position when you give ample love to your own
children and brothers and sisters. To determine your position you need
a horizontal line, which is love of your brothers, and a vertical line,
which is love of your own children. Then you yourself become a teacher
and patriot. Then you become like a saint yourself so you can introduce
God to others.
In history all these processes of education in love and gratitude
have failed. Therefore, it must be indemnified, and by finding an
example and following it you can make restitution for the entire loss.
The world of microcosm where this takes place is the Unification Church.
First, we teach the love of parents and love of teachers. We teach love
of the nation and head of state. We teach how saints should love their
own pupils or disciples. Ultimately we are here to teach how to love
God.
I am in a position of parent and also of teacher, instructing you
how to become a teacher. Also I teach patriotism, which national
leaders today are failing to do. In the position of saint I am teaching
how to love humanity and the world, and ultimately I teach how much God
loves the world. Therefore, even though you leave your home to go to
the world, it is not a violation of universal law on your part. You are
actually coming to a new world and learning the very best essence of
education. Many of you are very faithful to your own parents, but for
the time being you set that aside and join the Unification Church
because you know there is a higher mission in the sight of God. You
have been getting a good education but for the time being you stop that
and join the Church because you are here to get a better education.
Since joining the Unification Church you have come to love me, but I
tell you to love your own parents more than you love me. That is your
education right there. Would your parents be upset if they heard this?
They haven't known I am trying to teach you how to love your parents and
teachers. The Unification Church has the one ideology that can unite
the universe and I am teaching you to be the leader of a
God-centered society. If the Unification Church were one sovereign
nation then I would be in the position of head of state. I tell you to
love your own nation as much as you love me.
Do you honestly think history will give me the title of having done
more than any other religious leader like Buddha or Confucius or Jesus?
As soon as it is known what Divine Principle stands for, then even
famous theologians will say that here is a modern-day saint who
outdates what others have done and sets a new trend of love. I want you
to become saints, each one of you. Once you come to that level I want
you to love the world as much as you love me. I am teaching the true
heart of God for the first time ever in history.
We are talking about the heart of God in history, the past, present
and future, and in the society, nation and world. Other people are not
even sure if God exists, but we are talking about the very heart of God.
That is why we can teach the true love of God. When you see me you
don't look at me as a Korean or as an Oriental; you see me as a
universal being. Regardless of your race or nationality you want to
follow me. In me you see the best father, the best teacher and best
leader, even as the best saint and representative of the heart of God.
That is why you don't mind giving up everything to follow. In your
heart you know you are winning, never losing.
Your heart knows that here you will go through the best education to
be a good family man, teacher, patriot and saint, and to reciprocate the
love of God. Do you think the courses of that school will be easy? No,
as the best school our courses will be the hardest of any institution.
Our stage is everywhere. We are not confined but go beyond all
boundaries between races, nations, and even between the spiritual and
physical worlds.
When I go to Korea the members there call me their father; when I go
to Japan all the members there call me their father, and here in America
you call me your father too. You applauded, but what historical
applause that will be when you really understand your position. No one
has ever seen a mass matching like you have, but more than that, no one
ever saw people asking for interracial marriage like you do either.
People cannot even dream of such a wild idea, and even if they did they
wouldn't know where to start.
Most important, this is not just precious in the temporal sense, but
is eternally precious. In this energy we find the power for unification
of the world and cosmos. We know it can be done. A lifetime may seem
like a long time, but after you pass through it you see that life is
really like a spark of light, and the beginning and the end pass ever so
quickly.
Now you enjoy having me here, but I will not be here indefinitely.
At some time I will positively go to South America or Africa, or back to
Europe and Asia. Would you try to protest that I should stay? The wise
Americans are those who go out there in advance and are waiting when I
come. If you are already there then I know that my children are there
waiting, and in reality I am visiting you. If you are here then I will
not necessarily visit you, but if you go to a mission in Africa or South
America then I will be your guest.
In England I invited about forty missionaries who had been kicked
out of their countries or who had been imprisoned to come and work in
London. When they came I told them that they could stay in London where
no one would put them in jail and they would be treated better, but they
all objected and said they didn't want to abandon their countries.
Recently I told them we would have forty days' training and then they
could go back, but they all thought forty days was too long. They have
a wise attitude. You work in New York and on MFT as hard as they are
working, but their deeds will be more historical because their work is
changing the destiny of one nation; they are becoming part of the
history of their nation.
Are you making your work part of the destiny of this nation? Your
record will remain in home church, but it is far more difficult to make
impact on a national level in America than in Africa or another mission
area. When historians write the history of the Unification Church in
America, will they write about me? Will they write about your deeds?
Historians will see clearly what I have suffered and the work I have
accomplished, and the final chapter will be about the fruit I harvested
here so your name will be there in the grand finale. However, the
missionaries in their countries are in my position, doing work in my
role. When the history of those countries is written, those
missionaries will be in the central role. It's only natural that there
is a missionary fervor in the Unification Church to go to untouched
areas.
There is a way to make history here in America too. You can feel
that as far as hardship and tribulation are concerned you are going to
set the highest possible standard. Are you young or old people? This
is the privilege of young people to do. However, some people may be
young physically but old in spirit, all tired out and sluggish. You
must be young in spirit and body, going over the hills like a rocket to
reach the stars. Will you be that kind of young people?
What would you Japanese sisters say? If you are dozing then I
should give you a tough husband who can wake you up. Do you know that
this is the time when I am testing you? Now everyone is awake! Those
entitled to inherit the love of God are those who suffer in the lowest
possible position but with the heart of gratitude. They shall win the
highest possible position in the love of God. Would you welcome having
me push you down to the lowest possible position? Would you accept it
with complaint?
I know that of the 705 couples I recently matched there are some who
are disappointed or not fully satisfied, but please accept my advice-for
these three years be grateful for your life and for your fiancee. Think
that you do not even deserve to be matched, and then three years later
see what kind of children you have. They are the greatest of all gifts.
A child is a real gift from God, even more than a wife receiving her
husband, or a man his wife. In some cases the matches don't seem to fit
according to common sense, but I put them together knowing what their
children will be like. So just be grateful and see what kind of
children you will have. When you see that child you will know that he
is truly a gift from God, and you will love that child more than you
love your husband or wife. You can be mutually grateful because your
mate enabled you to be the parent of such a child. You can admire each
other on that foundation.
I encourage all the blessed mothers to breastfeed their children,
even just for the time being. Mother always breastfed our first
children, but since she has had so many children it has become much more
difficult. Still that basic principle is there. Breastfeeding is the
best link for a mother and child to truly relate. It is a most
beautiful sight for God to see a black mother loving and feeding her
white child at her breast. Is it conceivable that a father or mother in
that situation would have some racial discrimination? This is the
Unification Church culture, God's culture, and there is none more
beautiful than this one.
You have entered the best school in the universe, coming through the
narrowest gate. Therefore, it is a most precious and rare blessing for
you. If you truly inherit my philosophy and way of life, then wherever
you go in the world you shall be welcomed and respected and loved as
much as you love me. That is the consummation which will be seen in the
world of Unification Church. In seven years you have to consummate this
role. During those seven years there must be nothing you cannot bear,
even being treated like human trash. There is where great kingship and
queenship begin.
That dramatic scene will make the best movie. What kind of drama
makes the best movie-everyday life, or some story of shocking courage
and victory? You can definitely think of yourselves as movie stars.
Shall we do it? When you come to Belvedere you say yes, but when you
reach the World Mission Center are you so confident?
Will your conviction last more than three days? Time is like an
arrow flying and this is already the month of June. Would you say that
you will start next month or next year? Your timetable must start
today, June 1. Even if you say you will start now, there is still much
time passing by, but if you wait until next month or next year, tomorrow
will never come.
Those who were just matched, raise your hands. Three years from now
you will have a lump there beside you which cannot be separated from
you. It will be a very clumsy feeling. Where would you go? Do you
want to go your own way, or the way God wants you to go? Where will you
settle ultimately? I cannot take care of each of you individually,
couple by couple, so you have to set your own goal and home church is
the way. In home church you can be proud of your husband or your wife.
That is your territory and realm.
No man will compare with your husband, and no woman will compare
with your wife. Home church is the place for your settlement, so unless
you establish the home church foundation you will be kicked out and
there is no other world for you to go to. If you fail there then there
is no way I can bring you along this path. I instructed you to go and
your destination is home church. That is the order coming from the true
parent, teacher, head of state-all in one. When you love your home
church you are consummating every order you have received from True
parents, true teacher, true patriot and true saint.
In a few years I would like to have a shrine built to the home
church parents, home church messiah, and tribal messiah. You must build
your home church in order to be honored by that shrine. Anyone who is
successful will have their own shrine in their home church area, and
when I am passing by that will be the place I visit and where I rejoice;
where it is located won't make any difference for it is definitely the
place I will visit. It will also be the place God wants to visit. The
destiny of women is to marry and go where their husbands go. In the
same way the Unification Church destiny is to go to home church. This
is where you will find your permanent home. It is almost like being
given in marriage. Through the home church destiny you will go to
heaven, but if you don't then no matter how much you love the True
Parents you cannot go. If you leave it unfulfilled then that great
burden will be left to your own children to complete.
A wife will work harder than her husband and a husband will work
harder than his wife, loving home church more than they love each other.
More than anything else you love home church and concentrate there to
find your own kingdom and heaven.
Then you know you are entitled to ultimate heaven. Even if you
appear in your home church without clothes, they will still welcome you
as their savior. This is the new evangelism where we must succeed.
After three years you will have your children, first one and then
two and more. I do not support birth control, so have as many as you
want. Home church grandparents will always be competing to have your
children come to their home to be taken care of. Then your baby will
have 360 homes right away. Home church people will give true blessing
and honor to your children. "We know your father and mother very
well and they are true saints. We saw God through your parents."
Then your children will be embraced and loved by your people as precious
children. Do you feel that way toward my children? Your home church
people will pray for blessing towards yours as well. Your children will
go to the same school in the morning with the home church children.
If the home church people have money they won't consider it theirs
but think how they can use it for home church work; 360 homes will be
one family work and they will want to spend money for that. In another
twenty years you will be approaching your fifties, and by that time you
will be assisted by many people. This is really a prime time now.
Would you want to die in the place where people spit at you and
never even look at you? Would you like to be treated like a dying cow
or dog in your final days? When I am eighty would you tell me you don't
want senior citizens in your home and ask me to stay somewhere else? If
you had me in your home but I was totally incapacitated and became very
dirty in my bed, what would you say then? Would you be glad you had me
in the beginning but then want me to go to the next place?
You say no, that you really want to serve me. Do it for your own
parents then. I am only one person and not all of you can serve me, but
you should serve your parents in my place. When they get old, serve
them as much as you would me. Will you promise me that? That's real
love.
I want you to make your base so you can practice this love, and that
territory is home church. It will happen within seven years if you
consistently make effort now. Then if I am passing by to another
destination some power will pull me to visit you. Life goes by very
fast. Already five months have passed in 1979. If you had met one new
person each day and really poured out your heart imagine what
extraordinary things could have happened. You could have converted 150
people. Start today and renew your energy. That's what Heavenly Father
wants, what your wife or husband wants, what your children want and all
your relatives.
Time is not merciful enough to slow down for you. You have to keep
abreast of time because time will never relax its pace. You can finish
school in four years, but with extra effort you can graduate in three or
even two years. Our Unification university is the same-it all depends
upon your own effort. This morning the two central words are gratitude
and home church. Once the home church providence is begun there is no
room for complaint. When I came to America I never complained at all,
even though it has been hostile here. I will always be grateful to God
instead. Even though I have been persecuted constantly, no one can beat
me. My territory is constantly growing.
Our opponents thought that we were knocked down and out of
commission but the more they attacked me the more blessing came to us.
If the government persecutes us, then their blessing will come to us.
If the media attacks us, their blessing will diminish. It will be like
scales being emptied on one side and loaded on the other. We are
receiving persecution, but with that as a daily diet we are growing.
Many of you have no idea what I am actually doing now, every day, but in
a year or so some of it will be revealed.
Until now I can forgive all your shortcomings in home church, but
only on one condition-that from today you really live up to my
expectations in home church. Will you promise? So far you have
listened to me with the feeling that you are indebted and that what you
have can never be yours, but actually what you have is nothing to be
proud of.
Give your pledge and promise this morning by raising your hands.
Let us pray.
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