by Rev. Young Hwi Kim
Chapter 33
March 4, 1985
Today I'd like to speak about the importance and value of being leaders and active members. Many members don't understand the importance of being full time members and just want to have an easy time. They don't understand why we should be active and more dedicated for God's work.
A Japanese sister recently told me that in the wintertime there is always a difference of opinion among the sisters about opening the window. The Western sisters want the window open and the Japanese want it closed. The Japanese sisters are used to keeping the windows closed in the winter, but here you keep them open. Why is this? Because fresh air is good for your health. Also many people drink mineral water because it is better for their health than tap water. We know that fresh air and clean water are essential to our good health. Then what is our air and water in the spiritual world? It is the love of God. If you are put in a room with smoky air you'll find it uncomfortable because it's difficult to breathe. You cannot function properly because you lack some necessity. You'll feel the same way if you cannot receive the love of God in the spiritual world. This is why people want to go where they can receive God's love fully. This is the purpose of living a life of faith and why religion came to exist.
We know there are principles of life that apply not only to this world but to the spiritual world as well. I'd like to point out two of the most basic ones. One is the principle of cause and effect and the other that of give and take. These two principles are essential; they apply everywhere and to everyone. Everyone in this world and in the afterlife is controlled by these two laws. If you do something good, it will return to you; i.e. you reap what you sow. This is the principle of cause and effect. The other one is the principle of give and take: if you give something to somebody, you'll receive it. We want to receive the full love of God when we enter the spirit world. This is our desire. There is no doubt that everyone longs for the love of God just as we desire fresh air. So what do we have to do to receive the love of God? If we love God we can receive His love in return. This is the principle of give and take. If we want to receive God's love, we must love Him. No one is exempt from this principle. This is why we say we have to love God in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. If you love God, He has something very important for you that you will find as important as He does. In this way you can share the heart of God.
When you need it the toilet is very important, isn't it? What will happen if you cannot find one? Once you finish your business there, you don't care anymore though. Right? This is what fallen people usually do; when they need something they go after it, but once they get it, they don't care anymore. This is the nature of fallen people. We shouldn't be like that. If we receive a favor from someone we should be grateful. Once you receive it and have satisfied your needs, do you then forget the person who gave you a favor or a blessing? Do you turn away from him then, without appreciating his favor? It would be the same as neglecting a necessity once you don't need it anymore. We shouldn't be such people.
If we turn away when God is in need, not caring about His situation but just continuing to go our own way, God will do the same to us. He won't care when we are in need. We must do something for God when He is in need of assistance. Then we will be qualified to receive His love. If we care about Him we will receive what He wants to give us. Everyone will face this situation someday; everyone will go to the spiritual world and need the love of God. There's no doubt about it. Therefore, in order to receive God's love later we must do something for Him now, when He needs us. This is a time of emergency for God's providence. We're not very capable, but even though we can't do much for Him, if we try our best then He won't consider the results only. Of course He cares about the result, but if we invest our heart in our work and do God's will that will satisfy Him. He will recognize our effort and when we need something He will give it to us. This is the principle of give and take. If we don't think of God though, He won't think of us when we are in need either. Therefore if we like fresh air on earth and want to receive God's love, which is the fresh air of the spirit world, we must care about God's will and God's work and do something for Him. God is asking us to do His work, if we turn away from Him now, how can we face Him when we enter the spiritual world? We cannot forget or neglect this fact.
Most of us are blessed and therefore closer to God than other people. Then how would God feel if those who are supposed to be closer to Him turn away from Him? We know God is omniscient, we cannot hide anything from Him. We also know that we cannot deceive our heart or our conscience. In the Bible there is a verse about shameful salvation. God's ultimate desire is to save everyone. But if we neglect God's work, turning away from Him and doing our own thing, then later even if we are saved it will be a shameful salvation. We want to be proud children of God, receiving His love without shame. This is our desire.
We reap as we sow. If we invest more energy into God's work we'll receive the fruits. Sometimes you work very hard without gaining much result. This doesn't matter though. When you are at war, for example, and you attack and occupy enemy territory it is considered a victory, of course. But holding your position against an enemy offensive is also a victory. Sometimes you are depressed because you work hard but cannot gain much result. But keeping your position as God's base is also a good result. When the circumstances are difficult and you cannot get good result, that's okay. If you worked hard to defend God's base that gives God much satisfaction. You already did something for God.
Each of us will pass into the spiritual world one day. Many people who have experienced this say that a spirit of light comes and leads you to a place where everything is measured. Some say there is a machine that weighs the good and bad things you did. They are calculated and you know immediately which side is heavier and which is lighter and that determines your direction. Those who lived evil lives in the past should work hard to counterbalance this. We must work harder than those who are born as children of God, the blessed children. We were born as fallen people and then saved by God and True Parents. We must work harder than the children who come after us. And if we didn't do much for God in the past we must do more for Him now. We know that we not only represent ourselves, but our ancestors and nation as well, the members here represent Germany and all Germans, not just themselves. We are closely connected to our ancestors and the people around us. Therefore what we are doing is not just for ourselves but for our ancestors and the people around us as well. We should always remember this.
Sometimes I hear members wonder why the Korean way and the German way are different. In Korea there are many full time members who live in centers with their families, but most of them live in their own homes. Some people have asked why we can't apply the same method here in Germany? You must understand the difference. In the early days all members went out pioneering in Korea. They went out to a new city without money and begged for food. Sometimes they could rent a small room and start their witnessing work from there. Once they gained some members they opened a center and it became a church. Those members stayed and worked there for many years, initially as pioneers and then as center leaders. At times we had more than a thousand pioneer centers.
Korea is a very small country, much smaller than Germany. At that time the population was around 30 million, but we had more than a thousand pioneer centers; all the members went out. Once we had established churches in most places there was no need to pioneer anymore, so we stopped going out to new places; we focused on the big cities like Seoul and Pusan. The center leaders and core members were already there, therefore they didn't have to become center members any more, but could support the church by living at their own home, witnessing to people and bringing members.
But how many centers do we have in Germany now? Twelve. How many cities are there in Germany with a population over 10,000? Several hundred, I'm sure. Over a thousand. Those places should all have centers, then maybe we can have family life. Once we have centers in all those places our members can live in their own homes and witness to people and bring them to services. But Germany is not at that stage yet. We have many more cities to go to open up centers. Many people persecute us because they don't understand us. They also persecuted us in Korea in the beginning, but through our work they came to understand us. Of course some Christians still oppose us, but ordinary people don't oppose us anymore. In Germany, however, the common people still oppose us. Under such circumstances, do you think you can maintain your life of faith if you go out and live alone? It will be very difficult. You'll be swallowed by the masses. Instead of influencing them you'll be influenced by them. This is why it's better to live together in our centers.
I know many members who have their own flats. They said they wanted to support the church by living their own life, but after a while I couldn't see any support coming from them. Some of them don't even come to Sunday service anymore. This means they are losing their faith. It is not advisable to live outside at this stage; there are too many negative influences around us. In order to maintain our faith and our small number of centers, members should work together, concentrating their efforts. In this way we can keep our movement active. You who are here should be proud to be center leaders, people with important missions at this time. Because of you God can maintain His church here in Germany. If you leave there may not be a Unification Church in Germany anymore. So even if you're not doing great things, this alone is a great thing for God. You must understand this: it is important to maintain God's base in this nation. At least you are doing this.
We all know that being a center leader is a very difficult job. There are many different occupations, but the most difficult is that of a center leader. There are many churches and ministers, but a center leaders' work is much more difficult than a minister's. You represent God and True Parents in your church. We all know we have many shortcomings, but that we must fulfill the role of God and True Parents anyway. How difficult that is! Everyone feels that, not just you. Father said that there is no one who can take his position. Even if he gave it to someone, no one could take it, it is so difficult. We experience many things in this difficult position. We experience the same difficulty that God feels at this time. When you are hurt as a result of persecution, you are feeling what God and True Parents feel. We share the same feelings as God and True Parents.
Sometimes you have problems with your members. That may come from yourself, your members or both. We are not perfect. When confronted with difficulties we must try to overcome them; we must pray and do our best and in this way we grow. So even though we cannot see it ourselves, our spirit is growing. By facing and overcoming our problems we grow gradually and become people of rich character, enriching ourselves in heart. It's not good to concentrate on your problems, so whenever you feel it's too difficult, try to see the positive aspect: that by enduring these difficulties you gain something valuable. If you understand this you can persevere; if you only see the negative aspect you cannot. God or True Parents may come and give you something when you pray. They are watching us; they want to console and encourage us. So we are not alone, but working together with God and our True Parents. It is important to take pride in our work. We assume great responsibility despite not being qualified. If you suffered a lot, your past life will appear more beautiful to you in the future. This is why the Bible says endurance is so important. We must endure difficulties with a grateful heart! When you experience some difficulty accept it with a grateful heart and it will soon disappear. Endurance, gratitude and prayer are needed.
Actually we are experiencing very valuable things at this time. We should be grateful to have such an opportunity to share such feelings and difficulties with God and our True Parents. We know we are only a handful of people, but we are responsible for the restoration of this nation. There aren't many German members, so our responsibility is even greater. That's why Father recently said we must commit our lives for our mission. When Father started his mission he pledged his life for his mission. Of course we won't lose our lives, that time has passed. Our Father didn't lose his life, therefore it's no problem for us. No matter how much you want to, you cannot die for your mission. You should be determined to commit your life for your mission instead.
This is why I proclaimed this year's European motto as follows: "Let us commit our lives for the achievement of God's will." This is the general title; it continues with three points. The first of which is "to become the body, child and representative of God." This is our personal faith. We must perfect ourselves, becoming the true body of God, the children and representatives of God. Each individual must accomplish this. Whatever we do our foremost goal is always to become such a person. The second point is "to spread God's love and truth to all people." We want to witness to all people, giving them God's love and truth. This is the second point: witnessing. The third is "to bring a God-centered world of peace and happiness on earth." This is our final goal. This is why we have CAUSA. We cannot have peace or happiness as long as we have an evil enemy, the forces of anti- religion. This is why we organized CAUSA. These three points are the motto for our faith, our growth, our witnessing and for CAUSA this year. So we will work for this. Of course we cannot achieve great things all at once; we must take small steps. We have a saying that when you accumulate dust, it becomes a mountain. So all our small efforts will add up to a great accomplishment in the end.
We are starting the first center leaders meeting of the year today, so we are actually starting the new year 1985 through this meeting. Let us go forward to victory this year. When we are united, when we work together for God's cause God will help us and many good things will happen. I'm sure of that. I hope this meeting will be fruitful and that everyone can gain encouragement and strength to return to their centers to continue their mission for God and our True Parents.
Let us pray:
Our loving Heavenly Father, you sacrificed everything to bring your beloved children back to the bosom of your love. We must follow the same course in bringing all people back to you. You created all people on earth; we are brothers and sisters because we all have the same parent. They don't know this though, they fight amongst themselves and as a result the world has become a world of tragedy. Nobody wants to live in such a world; people want to have a happy life on earth. In order to bring them happiness, we must let them know about you, and give them your love and your truth, otherwise we cannot realize your ideal world. Our True Parents are working hard to bring about this ideal world and to lead all people to realize we are all brothers and sisters. But those who receive your truth and love first will have to suffer as you and our True Parents have suffered.
Father, we pray especially for our Father in Danbury. He is not free, although he is always free in spirit and working together with us. If we work hard and accomplish our goals, our Father may be released. When he is freed we can march forward with our True Parents to victory. We are confident of this, Father. The German center leaders are gathered here today to discuss many things. We want to unite more deeply through this discussion and find better ways to reach out to people and achieve our goal for you.
We ask you to be with all our members so they can have strength and energy to go out and spread your truth and love. We ask you to comfort them and give them courage to persevere when they encounter difficulties. Father, our victory is certain, but we still have to gain victory concretely. Until then we must persevere, work hard and unite. When we are disunited Satan will invade and we will be destroyed. When we are one, you can work with us and we can accomplish great things we never imagined possible before.
We want to give your truth and love to all people and contact many ministers. Even though they have served you for many years, they still don't really understand your truth or your will. They don't understand True Parents or our church, so we must educate them. Once they understand they will surely become our friends and work hand in hand with us to fulfill your will, the true goal of Christianity.
When we bring all people back to you and True Parents, they will become our friends and colleagues and work together with us for the goal of our Heavenly Father. Then we can establish your ideal world on earth. We must have confidence in this. Our True Parents have absolute faith in you, Father. We should also have absolute faith in you and in our True Parents. Then you and True Parents can work with us and we will be able to achieve great things we couldn't achieve otherwise.
We pray all this in the name of our True Parents. Amen.