Victorious Sons and Daughters
Lancaster Gate
London, England
Translator: Col. Sang Kil Han
Jesus said that those who are willing to die will live, but those who try to live will die. How is that? If you are going to die, how can you live? Jesus' meaning is that in order to bear the cross of the heart you have to go through this step of being willing to die. Bearing the cross is better than dying. The truly victorious sons and daughters are the ones who are willing to die for the cause and they go right into the realm of heart and are able to bear the cross of the heart of love.
As true sons and daughters we have already worked hard, but we should do even more, going the impossible way without complaining and still feeling that we have not done enough. If we don't do that, someone else must and that is most likely our parents. If we don't want the ones we love the most to carry the cross, we must take it ourselves.
Western people in general do not have so deep an idea and feeling towards their parents compared to oriental people. Let me ask you, a question: have you, at any time in your life, heard other people say that they miss their parents so much and long for them so much that they cry? Have you ever experienced this? Well it is possible that this is the first time you are hearing about this, let alone experiencing it yourself. Western parents are the same; when their children reach the age of 18, they do not expect to feel like that towards them. They expect them to go away at 18 and have an independent life. Isn't that the way? You get accustomed to that. All Western people are like that. Then, even though you begin to think deeply about the Oriental custom, it is very hard to understand how they can be like that.
According to the Principle the parents and the children live together eternally, that's the original way of creation. Also, man and wife, married couples, should live together for eternity. Without doing that the eternal four position foundation can never be established. We also understand according to the Principle that parental love for the children, the love exchanged between husband and wife, and the children's love for the parents must all mellow together to establish the realm of love. Looking at that we come to the inevitable conclusion that the parents must feel genuine love towards their children; the husband must feel that love towards his wife; the wife has to feel the same love towards her husband; and finally the children must feel that love towards their parents.
It is logical to assume that children who never experience deep love for their parents cannot really experience overall love, nor can parents who though they give birth to children never feel deep love for them. We cannot say that such a man or woman has experienced love. Do you agree? As Unification Church members go along and deepen their experience of the original way, they must really feel all the time that God is right in the center as the nucleus of the family. They will cluster together and keep on loving.
We are born as a small child and as we grow we are perpetually in need of and always longing for our parents and our parents' love and our brothers' and sisters' love. Adam and Eve were brother and sister in the beginning; as they grew older they started thinking about their own spouse and longing for each other. Children crave for the parents to love them, which is a vertical love, but as they grow up they develop horizontal love. Then they get married. We must therefore develop our love, on the basis of the love we feel towards the parents as well as brothers and sisters. From that love grows the love you feel towards your own spouse.
Children's Love Has Been Lost
As a result of the fall, however, throughout history children have been indifferent to the parents and the parents found themselves in the position of thinking about and loving their children one-sidedly. God has always stood in that position. His own children have never returned His love. This is such an incredible misery for God and for human beings as a whole. The what is the purpose of restoration? In other words, what are we being restored to do? You can say that the purpose of restoration is so that children will once again feel original love towards their own parents. When that day comes it is not just that the children have to go in search of the parents nor that parents come all the way down to connect with the love of the children; rather they will long for each other, they will miss each other, and they will love each other so deeply that they will meet right in the middle point, where they are supposed to be anyway. That love is connected right at the center.
The husband and wife must find their own focal point of love. By doing so, all will become one. This harmonized and perfected love has four directions, not only one. Nor is it only on a plane, but three-dimensional, like a ball. Once it has become like that no matter how the ball rolls, there is a power of love right at the center point flowing all the time. That is love after having attained unity.
Now we can ask ourselves a question about the way we are and the way everybody else is not just our contemporaries but throughout all of history. The children never had any deep feeling toward their parents, not half as much as the parents love towards their children. Now is this how it is supposed to be, is this the way God expected it to be originally? Or do you think it is not something you desire, but you find it as it is? As far as parents go, they have deep feeling toward their children, no matter how old their children become; this is generally true, not only in the Orient but also in the Western world. As far as the parents' love towards their children goes, there is not much difference between East and West, isn't that so? That's the way they are and that is the way they were supposed to be originally. But when the children do not think the same way about their parents, we can really feel that something is greatly wrong. Even by reasoning, we feel that it is just not right.
A husband sometimes misses his wife so much that he sheds tears. If we categorize this phenomenon, is it a horizontal pattern or vertical pattern? You might say it is horizontal because husband and wife miss each other on the same plane, but they don't miss the parents vertically. This is the case in the Western world but the East is different to that. In the Orient the husband can forsake his own wife and he would rather do that than forsake his parents. In other words they can never forsake the parents. The husband knows that his parents are very valuable more so than his own wife.
East and West Must Combine
When I really characterize the Western way and the Oriental way, I come to the conclusion that the Western way and the Eastern way must combine in order to be made perfect. Do you understand what I mean? There are striking characteristics in the Western world, and there are all kinds of deep stories in classic literature about how a man misses his wife. The so-called love stories are so deep and so intricate and so involved but there is not a single instance where they are about a child missing his or her father so much that they did something about it.
In the Orient it is completely the other way around. You might wonder 'Oh is that true?' It is: look it up. There are hardly any love stories in the East, and they are not so significant. But there are hundreds of stories and classics of how the son and daughter try to serve their parents. Whereas the classics of Western literature tell the story of love or the experience of love in a horizontal way between husband and wife, the oriental classics are not so much about the experience between husband and wife, but about the relationship between father and son or mother and daughter or children and parents. What is modern in this society is an old tale in the orient, and an old tale in the orient now becomes a modern problem for the Western world. What has been traditional in the Orient must become contemporary in the West, and vice-versa.
Therefore, what Oriental people have been feeling throughout history must become a modern feeling in this western world, and what has been felt in the Western world must also become the classic of the Oriental world. The fact is that they must supplement each other, they must be integrated. Each one is so significant and each one is lacking so much; that it is now the problem we face. We can understand that through this phenomenon.
The Western people have been in search of love throughout history. Ever since they became conscious they have been looking for better and deeper love. Today, Western people must come to realize that parental love, which makes Oriental people so hopeful, will also fulfill what they have been searching for that for such a long time. The same thing goes for the Eastern world. They have been developing their vertical love, but now it is time to start experiencing what the Western world has experienced for a long time in the past.
But here we must take heed, there is one caution we must exercise. This analysis does not mean that the love of the Western people has been shallow and not meaningful; it is not that at all. They keep what they have been developing. But in addition to that they have to be more serious in their search for vertical love. The same applies to the Oriental tradition; it is not the case that it is the perfect way, so they can stop right there. Nor is it true that they must now learn how the Western people love each other to the exclusion of tradition. It is just that on the basis of what they have been experiencing, they add the love that the Western people have been experiencing for such a long time to become perfect.
Yet we must understand that there is a priority; which is more important than the other. The most important love is what Oriental people have been experiencing; vertical love is first then horizontal. That is one concept we should not forget, otherwise we will be confused. Unless it is firmly established then the universe will wobble!
As you know, all instruments to measure degree always have a center or zero point. That point is on the vertical axis, and at dead center, 90 degrees, the crossing point is set and that symbolically signifies that the starting point is on the vertical standard line.
You can see that when a person has a very straight line vertically, like a straight nose, and a straight horizontal line like two eyes and a mouth, you get the impression that he is a conscientious man. The nose symbolizes Adam and Eve; the eyes symbolize God, because whenever you feel something the eyes start first, isn't that right? Why is the mouth not vertical instead of the way it is? It is because it symbolizes the earth. When we laugh heaven and earth will rejoice together. Your eyes and mouth laugh at the same time, don't they? The nose does not express itself so much but the eyes and mouth do.
Our Face Is Symbolic
When a person on stage laughs while telling a funny story it is not so funny, but if he tells a funny story and he does not laugh, it has more effect and impact on the audience. So that type of person who tells a funny story and makes the whole world laugh, is symbolized by the nose. The person who does not laugh is like a nose. But a man like a nose makes the whole earth and heaven laugh by telling them jokes! Adam and Eve are the ones who started the whole thing and they should have made heaven and earth rejoice! This is so simple that one might say it is just coincidence, but it never is.
Our face is symbolic in many ways. For example, when you yawn your hands go to your mouth. It is the same in the East and West. Have you ever stopped to think why the hands go to the mouth when you yawn? The mouth is supposed to be straight on the horizontal axis, stabilized, but when the mouth is wide open it is like the earth becomes very insecure, very unstable. The hands try to warn the mouth not to do that for too long! There is always a reason for everything man does.
We can see so much difference between the way the Western people think and the way Eastern people think. The Western civilization is a materialistic civilization isn't it? Then what is the purpose of Western civilization? For it to become normal the Western civilization must be spiritual. It has been so materialistic that the purpose or the ending must be that of a spiritual nature. Then to what degree? Just enough to balance it? No, the spiritual nature must be deeper than the materialistic idea; your own spiritual nature must get the better of your materialistic nature, it must be strong enough to dominate the materialistic nature. Then it is not only normal but you can say, it is perfect.
The same goes for the Eastern world. They have been so spiritual in the past that now they don't even own a thing! Now they have come to learn about materialistic values and ideas, but one thing they must never forget; they must never sacrifice their own ideas to gain the other. Rather, they have to retain that intact as a basis to become perfect. The Eastern world has so far been stressing the importance of the spiritual way but now they have to stress the materialistic way as well, but when they do then their own spiritual nature must have a firm grip over the material things; it should never be inverted.
The Western world has to put aside the material things temporarily and then they have to do their utmost to receive the spiritual side in the shortest period of time, and never again put that under the materialistic value, but rather raise that and bring the materialistic idea under the newly-gained spiritual things. That means that it is somewhat easier for the Eastern people, because they already have the spiritual basis, which is subject. But in the West it is almost completely upside down and people have to change their values, raising up what they have newly acquired as the subject, and putting what they have always had in object position.
This is always difficult to practice especially in the Western world. In the very beginning they are not very certain, but even after they become very certain it is still very difficult in practice. There is talk of Western civilization reaching a deadlock, and what needs to be done is to turn around upside down to become right side up.
An automobile which is going very fast and collides into something turns around just like that, but if everything goes at a normal speed nothing happens. That is the insight we gain as a Westerner. Ever since 1960 the Western world has such a fast turnover of ideas, faster than they can handle. Things have been moving very fast and sometimes their ideas never catch up. Then what do we have to grasp now? Westerners need to grasp onto new knowledge for the East, and Orientals are longing for a Western partner, more so now than in the past. This is all a natural tendency. because as we say earlier, what has been the classic in the West is what the East has now, and what the East has had all this while is what the West lacked.
The ultimate purpose is to restore love and find love, to find perfect love, the most ideal love. In the future you will be asked, 'Where is your husband's home? Where is your wife's home?' If you say, 'Oh it is about three hours away,' that is not so attractive. But if when you are asked where your spouse's home is you say that it's on the other side of the earth, several hours away even on the Concorde, how dramatic! We are destined to encompass the entire world for one extreme to the other. At the most recent blessing there was such an intermixture of nations, far above the law of averages. That in itself is very symbolic of the trend of the future. I did not plan it that way.
Should the four-position foundation become square, round or what? The right proportion is so that this each extreme will connect and have give and take. An intelligent man is able to analyze all this instantly and correctly, and have that as a very solid basis in thinking. Before we are able to do that we feel that something is changing. If we don't know what is changing, then it only confuses us. We have to know exactly what is taking place by reasoning. So far the Western people have been saying 'Let us go to the East in search of something,' but the Eastern people have not done that. It is only recently that they come to take interest; still nobody says 'Let's go to learn in the West.'
The Western people went to the East and brought things back. Actually what heaven intended was that they came to be motivated by God. What they learned from the East did not necessarily belong in the West. Now God is blessing the Orientals with material things; far harder to understand, once we know nothing is coincidence but a perfect pattern.
The New Eve Nation
Why did God give Japan the blessing? Because Japan is the Eve nation. Since Eve messed up she must have lot of things to restore. Japan is an island country; England is an island, and another Eve country; that is why of all the European nations, she has the blessings. An island people always miss the Continental country because the island is the woman and she always longs for the continent, a man, isn't that right? Who is the banner bearer for the western materialistic civilization? England is because it is the Eve nation; England is a forerunner and a the flag bearer of the entire western materialistic civilization.
To realize this was Britain's responsibility; but there was no way of their knowing this. No human mind would have ever caught up with this original idea, and because of their higher standard they had to grow and help to educate the rest of the world like a mother. They never did this, the idea never occurred to them. They just went on and on, like a mother taking the things from the children's area back to her own. The people who are treated like that will gradually grow bigger and bigger and then, when they become conscious of it, they will reject that mistaken motherly role.
If England had fulfilled her motherly role as an Eve nation, with all that this role involved historically, and if she had nurtured and helped the small countries, then they would never have tried to be independent and follow someone other than the British people. They would have followed England. At one time it was said that 'the sun never sets on the British Empire.' When their blessings reached that peak, if they had embraced the whole world and loved them and stayed with them they would not have found themselves in the situation they are in today. Do you think I thought that explanation up, or do you think this is very much in accordance with Principle and the dispensation?
After the decline of the British Empire, Japan appeared, which is also an Eve nation and which is taking exactly the same role as Britain. Let's say tentatively that once Britain's time passed Japan's time came. Now the Japanese are being called an 'economic animal.' They will just gain everything, especially through their developments in electronics, developments which are almost invisible but which influence the whole world. The English people sought for land, which is quite visible. But the Japanese may be on a higher plane because they don't look for land, because everyone is on the lookout there, but for things which can't be seen so easily.
In electronics, computing and even automobile manufacturing, Japan is advancing powerfully. Although these markets have a long history, Japan is catching up at a high level. She did not have any knowledge, but within less than twenty to thirty years they are gaining all the market. God is transferring these blessings to the Japanese. This is so real. Then what is happening to Japan? They are going around gaining economic superiority, but then they are doing exactly the same thing as the British, lining their own pockets.
But there is one difference. If Reverend Moon had come at the height of the British Empire he could have helped it change, but it didn't happen, it was a hundred years ago. However, he is trying to correct the situation in Japan, saying, 'You shouldn't do that! Take everything out of your pocket and go to America and give it to them; send all the Japanese members, with their pockets full of money, to Britain and give it to them.' Reverend Moon is making the Eve nation function in the normal way.
The Japanese family members are now much better, but five or ten years ago they said, 'Father, it's not fair! It's our money, we worked very hard and earned it. We don't even have a decent church in Japan, why should we go to America and work ourselves to the bone, spending all our money there. What connection do we have to them?' They are now thinking the same thing about England. So let me ask the Japanese members, do you know now why I am making you bring all your money to spend in England and America. You do? I am anxious, seeing as how no sooner does the money roll into the Japanese bank than they find it going out faster than it goes in. It goes to America, England, Taiwan, everywhere. This is not because I hate the Japanese, but because it is what God desires, and if you do what God desires, the blessing will continue forever and ever. But if you go against it then it will become less and less.
Well, our members may be all right, but the Japanese government is becoming jealous, saying, 'It looks as though Japanese wealth exists for the use of the Unification Church.' This is exactly what the government officials are saying. They have binoculars in order to see where Rev. Moon is spending the money. On the other hand, it suits the Western people fine; they applaud and say, 'More money, more money!' The Japanese should say that too but they don't, they complain.
Now here is an important difference. If the Japanese complain, as long as I help them, they will continue to prosper and survive. But if the recipient, or the country that receives the benefit opposes us then they cannot survive. That's the bottom line. I know that, and when it comes to this, it is quite serious. If I bring the money from Japan, the Eve nation, and spend it in England, then England must welcome this and be appreciative, because I am transferring the blessings, however small, here. When you say, 'I don't want the blessing,' then that's the end of it. Then God will say, 'Well, if that is how you feel, then I will put it into another country in the Orient.' What will happen if that comes to pass? Do you really understand?
Orientals are in a better position to manage without Reverend Moon because they are more spiritual, but the Western world can never survive without Rev. Moon. There is so much to be done that without the aid of the man of super effort, the Western world just cannot survive. They don't know enough, and they can't carry it out.
Would you like to see Reverend Moon just forget about the Western world and go back to the East and help that Eastern nation? Do you want that? But what will happen if the Western world continues to linger in welcoming him? Then he will be on his way to the Orient. I have fulfilled my responsibility toward the Western world already, and if they don't help themselves and start doing things on their own, then I feel I have already done enough.
Is it only the Unification Church that needs Reverend Moon in the Western world? Or does the entire Western world need him even more? If you really feel that the answer is 'more' and everyone feels that, and if we do everything to make them feel that, then the Western world will survive and prosper. You will live and the Orient will live, in fact the whole world will live. East and West are like twins, born at the same time and with the same mother.
The Japanese developed themselves and little by little secured industrial territories and markets. The ball-bearing is an example: the Germans enjoyed what appeared to be an invincible position, but now the Japanese have sliced right into that market, just as I predicted.
The Japanese have their own problems too. Now the Koreans are taking a lot away from Japanese industry. If Japan does not fulfill its historical dispensation rule as ordained by God, and the dispensation is always there whether people recognize it or not, if they do not learn the Divine Principle and become Unification Church members, if they miss the divine role, then God will transfer that blessing to some other country. That's what happens.
Fifteen years ago I predicted that Japan's economy would really prosper one day, but that at that time Japan had better stick close to Korea, and never try to push it out of the picture. They would never survive if they did that. They would have to develop together, otherwise Korea would one day become even more prosperous than Japan. However, fifteen years ago nobody paid attention; it was really too far ahead to understand. People tried to understand but could not visualize how this would come about.
But who is the master of the entire Principle? Who knows the principled plan of God, who knows what country has to play what role and what will happen next if it doesn't? Once I knew all the principle, I did not have to move around everywhere. I can sit right here and do nothing, and things will develop just as they should.
The Way Ahead For England
As a result you are in a better position to evaluate yourself. Are you fortunate to have joined the Unification Church? The British people have been on top of the world most of the time and they never suffered humiliation. Nobody ever said anything to them, but now their position is miserable. It was necessary to explain to you in great detail what's happening. The simple way is not always the best way to explain certain matters of principle. At least you have had a glimpse of how the world will operate, and how it has been going on.
One thing we must come to realize now is that no matter how many things we do, no matter how many complications are already there, England must live with it. England must live with the world; must love Africa, must live with the problems of other people and other countries, from the North Pole to the South Pole. Even though there are no men living there, it is still a problem area. You must learn to live with all the problems around the world. If you try to isolate yourself it will never work and you will perish.
Then where would you like to live? Would you like to live in England, or on the Continent? Would you like to go to the North Pole, or live in a vessel on the ocean, or dig a hole in the ground and live there? The conclusion should be 'I would like to live where there is true love. It really doesn't matter where I live. If I live in England, the Continent, the North Pole, or under the sea in a submarine or under the ground, I will live anywhere as long as there is true love. That's the best place for me!' We must feel that. Do you understand? Will those who have a differing opinion raise their hands? That is, a man who still thinks, 'I want to live in such and such a place and that is it.' Does that mean all of you already resemble God and Father himself?
Then what is True Love? Where is it? It is in the Father's dwelling place, where the vertical love of God and the horizontal will become integrated. Then what is the purpose of creation? Why did God create the whole thing? Just to establish the four-position foundation. This one simple sentence explains the meaning of the entire world. We also come to realize that the Unification Church fits well on that ideal foundation. Everything can be explained. It shows all the historical trends and sequences, reasonably and consistently. Isn't that right?
If I ask, 'Where would you like to live?' you may say, 'Since I am a white man, I will go where a white man can live.' It is good if a white man has the feeling he can live with others, but what happens if there is no such thing as a place where the white man lives? If you happen to find the four-position love where the black man comes, you have to pack up, even if you are white and go all the way down to live with the black man. It really doesn't matter where the black people live or where the white people live, what matters is 'where true love is,' that is where we have to go and live.
I have already explained enough to you, so shall we stop there? This morning's talk started from the victorious sons and daughters and how to become like that. When you sit right up where you are supposed to sit, you are victorious. I can stop right here, having explained everything that was necessary, but shall I go on?
Do you need Reverend Moon? What about the rest of the white people who are not in this room; they will say 'leave me alone!' If you become too different from the rest of the white people, turned completely the other way round, then I will be hated for it. But what if you turn only half way, knowing that one day you will have to turn completely towards me? Then they will say it's not too bad because they still feel close to you. If I think like that, perhaps I should stop right here, not wanting to make you change all the way but only halfway so that people can catch up with you.
How about you? Would you like to turn around completely, now that you have started? Or do you want to stay at the half way point? Completely? Then who gets blamed for that! People will say that British Unification Church members are very good, but Reverend Moon is bad, very bad! Strange logic, isn't it? Would any members sympathize with Reverend Moon, thinking, 'It's because of me changing radically that Father gets blamed!' Has any family member felt that? Not so many are nodding in agreement!
An Unhappy Incident
Recently there was an unhappy incident in America. As you know, the drug problem is very severe in the United States, much worse than here. Unification Church members represent a cross-section of society, and one of them came with a very severe drug problem. Will power is not enough to deal with physical addiction, at least not in the beginning, but he tried to overcome. Finally it was too much and he ran away to find a peddler to buy drugs and he was caught by the police. Then he said he was a Unification Church member and that Unification members habitually use drugs! That's what the newspapers reported! It just happened that way.
There are all kinds of criticism of Reverend Moon, and yet the truth is obvious and clear, like broad daylight compared to the dark night. But some people misunderstand and believe that the Unification Church makes people use drugs. Nobody believes us now. They say, 'Reverend Moon teaches people never to use drugs, but on the other hand, he encourages others to use drugs. It's a double standard.' That's the only explanation they can find, so they just repeat it. If you do wrong, they will say Reverend Moon taught them, but if you do good they will forget that Reverend Moon taught you. You don't even think about it, but I get blamed for many, many things for which I can never, never be responsible. Don't you sometimes sympathize with me for that?
Many times Reverend Moon makes young people work hard. Actually, it has nothing to do with Reverend Moon, they are working hard not for me but for their country, England for instance, and indeed for the entire Western world. I am spending my own money here in promoting the Christian tradition, and working just as hard myself.
I have explained in simple words how to become victorious sons and daughters. Simple though it is to explain, it is difficult to carry it out.
We must know that all men and women are offspring of fallen mankind. No matter how beautiful or pretty one may look and one may be, we cannot free ourselves completely from original sin. There is still some connection there. That means we are distant from God. It is not just one inch, a foot, or even a mile, but from one extreme to another. Then exactly just how far away are we from God in our way of thinking and doing things? If God is going one way we should go in a similar direction, but if we go in the other direction it means that we shall never meet eternally. Do you understand?
You can only imagine how difficult it is to teach people, to explain to them many, many times in many different situations how to go along with God, or to go together hand in hand. The most desirable thing, to get them to go in the same direction, is the most difficult thing, not simple at all. Then how do we direct them to the same way? We do that centering around the heart, with our love.
The Cross of Heart
The Korean word Shimjung can only be translated as 'heart' in English, so we use the word heart very often. But its meaning in Korean is much more profound. We must meet God on the way of heart, and it is difficult to do that. It means that we have to bear our cross, which is not a physical cross but a cross of heart and love. Can you imagine that? The cross of heart cannot be compared with the cross of the physical body; it is much more difficult. Since love is more valuable than our body, it is not hard to imagine that the cross of the heart, of love, is more difficult to bear than the cross of the physical body.
Then, under these circumstances who bears the cross of the heart of love? God or man? If you say man, do men and women know that they are supposed to do that? Do they know in which directions they are going, or even if they are going at all? They don't know. It is completely logical that somebody has to bear this cross, but no one knew this. The only one who knows must bear the cross and the only one who knows so far has been God. This is why God has been bearing the cross of heart and love all the time.
How simple it would be if the world still consisted of just one man and one woman. It would really be good, wouldn't it? But as we know, the world is far more complicated than that; there are more than four billion people living here. If there were only one couple, God could work on them.
If you bear the cross of heart and love for the Queen and her husband, then would that solve the problem? No, it wouldn't, because there are many more people living with exactly the same problem, which means we have to bear every one of their crosses. Even if Heaven is successful in turning one man and one woman in to the desired position, that's not the end of it. Around them are a family, tribe, nation and world.
When we love God more than we love ourselves and Satan, then we are drawn very close to God. Turn around in the same direction as God, and after that, whatever God commands us, we have to run and obey it. If He says go up, we go up; go down and we go down. We have to reach the level where we can do whatever he asks. You can't say, 'I want to do it this way.' There is no such thing as the words 'I want to.'
Then why must we do that? Why should we not complain if and when we are asked to do things which we don't want to do? We should not do that because we now know that God has been bearing the heaviest cross, the cross of heart of love, and doing that for me. I must be prepared to undergo all the difficulty, even though in fact I may be exempted, I must at least be willing to do that to go to God. This is why we obey God without complaining, to bear the cross and to make the indemnity as short as possible.
In order to comply with the command of God one has to separate from the multitude, bringing out into the open the individual, family, clan, nation and world. Christianity has been doing that, bringing the individual out into the open, showing them God's commandment and making them go God's way. Christians already established this example in the past, and so nobody who is a good Christian can just act as he or she pleases, but everybody tries to act in the way God wants them to.
The Messiah will be sent among that multitude and the Messiah will represent the original individual, family, clan, race, nation and world. It needs to be done all in one time. The Messiah is here on the foundation of Christianity, and each individual will become completely one with the Messiah, separated from Satan by denying himself. All the family will become completely one, and even the nation will become completely one with him. He represents the original nation and all the levels of society. If every level united in that way, then the Messiah would complete his mission successfully within seven years, bringing everything into unity. He would form one great nation of the whole world.
When the Messiah comes and says, 'Now we must go!' people will be curious and think that there is something there. They will tag along, until they reach the same place as the people who work very hard. When the Messiah says go to Africa, or the North Pole, nobody will question it. Everyone will become completely one with the Messiah and go. He will physically move a great multitude from one place to another place on earth, attracting enormous attention. The people who tag along will end up with the same blessing.
In seven years everything will come into perfect unity. After that everyone will stand on the foundation of having worked on the individual, family, clan, racial, national and world level, simply by having worked together. If Satan tries to accuse you or tries to get hold of you on the individual level, you can kick him right out, all the way to the world level, because you have already worked for the sake of the world and he has nothing to do with you. You will have established yourself and no one will ever blame you on any level, saying that you have not accomplished some condition. You have to establish yourself like that.
Christians Must Meet the Messiah
Christians have been doing this all along and have been expanding the Christian power into a huge realm. But what if the Christians do not accept the Messiah and reject him? What if they do not know who the Messiah is and do not go along in his direction, then what happens? All that the Christians have painfully accomplished during the last 2,000 years will be shattered into pieces; there will remain no trace of their work. The Christian world will be like a cemetery where vultures come down to eat the dead bodies. They may become like that if they do not recognize and follow the Messiah. After all these years of working hard, generation after generation, how pitiful and miserable it is if that is the consequence they have to face.
Still, God's dispensation must go on. What happens if the Christians do not meet God's expectations? Then the Messiah will have to find someone else; someone who can represent the individual, the entire family of the world, the race and the country that can represent the world. The Messiah has to find that country himself. On that foundation, he can continue to work the dispensation in the same way as the Christians would have done. This is his alternative.
We must realize what the Unification Church is all about. If Christians had done their work correctly, then the Unification Church would not have been necessary, and especially not the road of indemnity. However, because Christianity failed to function properly, the Unification Church was founded by God and True Father to gather people together and out of that gathering to find the individual who can represent all individuals of the world, the family which can represent all families, and the nation that can represent all nations. With the world formed in this pattern, the Messiah can do the work of world restoration just as he would have done with the Christian churches. True Parent's family have to be directly involved with this process and this is what the Unification Church is doing now.
When Reverend Moon brings the dispensation to the national level, the nation will oppose him; Korea did that. It is rocking the entire country. If I move to the world level, then the world will oppose me, rocking the entire world and making a lot of confusion, always without base. During this time all the Unification Church members will come much closer to each other and all the people of the five different races will start moving from one place to another in a great movement.
I will say to the French, 'Move right through to England,' and they will all move to England. I will say the same thing to the Japanese and the Germans and they will all move too. The Germans cannot say, 'We can't go for this reason, for that reason,' and on the contrary they will question nothing, thinking that as long as I am there they will go. They will be only too happy to go! All of you came on that basis.
Didn't you look back and say, 'Oh, I like it here. I want to stay; I don't want to go to England, but I am supposed to go and so I must!' Or were you only too happy to come because I am here? This is one command, and wherever the Messiah is, if he calls people they will be only too happy to go, without looking back. You know the story of Lot's wife, and how she looked back toward Sodom and Gomorrah and became a pillar of salt? The Bible is teaching us a lesson. Have you come in that way? Are you really working with the thought that even though this is not your country you will love it even more than your own, restoring the failure of your ancestors all the way back to Adam and Eve?
Following True Love
The great movement from one country to another is now possible, but where do we go next? We go where there is true love. We are always going there, even when we are staying and working in one place. We are going to where the true love is. That's where True Parents are for the first time in history. We go there to True Parents and then we are always reaching out for 'my true wife' and 'my true husband' and at a later time for a true family of your own. This is where we are going now. But once you find the Messiah and get hold of him, you should never let him go, even though your limb or part of the body is chopped away. Even your wife running away must be seen as a secondary matter. Just cling onto me.
Even if this is a lot of nuisance, I won't say 'Go away!' Will you become like that? Even if I were to kick you away and your pride is hurt, you may cry out like a small child who is scolded by his parents. He goes away, but only a few steps and then he comes back again, and you come right next to me, still crying. Then I would not kick you out again, but let you stay. This must be more than a metaphor, but an actual feeling that we must develop. We must be connected to the Messiah, and we must love him, and love has no reason, more than the king, more than anything else in the world. At first you may just think that you should become like that, but you must really try more seriously. Once you do that, you will develop a habit later on. Your whole body will automatically become like that.
Within the Unification Church, even though our work is hard, we must go beyond it. Whenever we see Parents our mind rejoices, but whenever they are out of sight, we become heavy. We have to find ourselves in the position where the moment we see them again, we are picked up, elated, and forget the difficulties. But do all of our minds work that way now? Do you really like and love True Parents? When you are the saddest, and you are really crying for one reason or another, and I appear right before you, you should instantly forget about it and love and smile with me in spite of yourself. We have to become like that; and if we are not then we have further to go.
One reason we should become like that is because Satan, who is right next door, will snatch you away any time he wants you. As time goes on and the Unification Church grows, the beautiful girls who have worked for many years may become rather tired. Satan will then come in the most brilliant manner and say, 'Don't follow Rev. Moon, I will introduce you to the most handsome and richest man in the entire world, and you can really live nicely, so why follow Rev. Moon?' And then that woman must say 'No!' with straight eyes. Even if she still manages to say 'No' with wobbling eyes, she will still pass the test of Satan. But never become like that. You should open your eyes wide and look straight and say 'No!' Don't say you will think about it and say no later; you must say no at all times. That's how determined you must be.
The same goes for men too. Why do they have to follow Rev. Moon? Satan may say, 'Forget about your life, forget about everything, here is a beautiful woman, and you can live happily ever after with her!' Or more subtly, 'Let's have a little time off, why not just one day, why not just one month?' You will have to say a straight 'No!' instantly. You must train yourself to become like that.
In the beginning, I was never to be opposed. If Christians had never opposed me in the beginning then the world would have been much simpler and the world would already have become one. Communists would have dissipated a long time ago, like snow in the spring. But as a result of the opposition of Christians, I had to find a substitute. So the Unification Church really had to suffer and is still suffering. Meanwhile, the Communists continue to exist until today. That's the problem now.
If the Unification Church carries out God's work correctly, then the Communists will go away as they were originally supposed to. But if not, there is a danger that indemnity will have to be paid by the people of the communist countries. This is what we have to worry about now. Every one of us should realize how difficult it was for Rev. Moon to lead the Unification Church, making sure that all indemnity was paid and paying most of it himself. It is not a simple matter to take care of Communism. We also have to bring Christianity into unity despite the fact that they oppose us, and they do not know the truth. The communists also think they are right, so we have to show them and bring them into the light. We are therefore left with two tasks to do.
Going Beyond the Old and New Testaments
Now you know a lot, and that's important. Where am I? In what degree of transition am I? What should take place in me now? There are steps we can take to win the victory. First, we must establish our standard, starting with becoming victorious over the Old Testament standard and perfecting yourself on that level. That means that when you compare yourself with any biblical figure in the Old Testament Age you must be better than them, for example better than Noah when God told him to build the ark for 120 years on a mountain. Everybody jeered at him, but he just did it, and never complained.
We should not complain, and continue to build the ark for 120 years. We have to do that. Are you like that already? Can you prove that you have become like that? Actually, it isn't difficult and not complicated. When you determine yourself, say, 'Even now I am ready to die for the sake of the will of God. That's plenty, more than enough. Abraham did the hard work, but he did not die although he was ready to die. If you feel you are really ready to die you are better than Abraham. That is the standard of life.
After that you will have to pass the standard of the New Testament. That means no matter how many people oppose you, no matter how much society opposes, jeers at and harasses you, your faith will still not move. We may find ourselves like the early Christians who were put into the dens of lions who ate them alive. But none of them said, 'I will escape,' but rather, 'I am only too happy to die for God!' They said that and they actually did it.
If, however, the Christians had thought at the time of dying in the lions' den, 'By my dying I will go to heaven,' then they would not have gone to heaven, and even if we died the same way, we would never go to heaven simply by dying. Only by obeying God, and saying, 'I die for the sake of mankind; I love mankind so much that even though I die I must keep on loving,' can a person go to heaven. Jesus showed exactly that example, but his followers did not follow it. They thought Jesus died thinking only that he was going to heaven, and thought the same way at their own death instead of thinking as Jesus did that their death was for the sake of God and mankind. The death is the same, but one goes to heaven and the other does not.
When you suffer, don't just think you are doing this simply but rather that you will widen the road of restoration by paying more indemnity to enable more people to come the easier way. Why shouldn't we feel that we are suffering for the sake of going to heaven? Because God has not been doing that and we have to take exactly the same pattern as God. When we suffer to an impossible degree, we still have to maintain to ourselves 'I will compare to everyone in the Unification Church, but I will suffer the most. I will never be outdone by any other member. I will be the one who suffers the deepest!'
We have to be like that even within our Unification walls, feeling that even if the President or highly placed leaders in the church were to escape at the point of death, we would see it through without evasion. We have to be like that; it is my only criterion. When I look at Unification Church members, I do not see them in any other way than this; to be ready and even willing to face death for the sake of the country and the sake of others. I look at Dennis Orme this way; I look at Doris that way and I look at the Korean staff members that way. I look at everyone for this one criterion: who is willing to die for the sake of the world?
It is a principle, a rule, that the children must stand in front of the parents. We will eventually have to reach the level where if the parents are endangered then the children will come right in front of them to try and protect them; and where the children are endangered the parents will come right in front of them to cover them. Where there is a wife in danger, then the husband will try to save her at the risk of his life. When the husband is in danger the wife will do the same thing. Everyone is trying to get ahead of each other to protect the others. We have to be that close-knit and integrated. This one original standard must come into existence in this world before God's true center of love is established.
Then who is qualified to go into this realm of true love? Actually, everyone is trying to qualify. Then how do we know if we qualify? What is the standard? Well, anyone who is willing to protect his own parents, protect his own spouse, his own children when they are in danger, disregarding his own safety without hesitation, of such a person you can say he qualifies to go into the realm of this love for the first time.
When I say you must go beyond the level of the Old Testament time and the New Testament time, this is exactly what I mean. More than anyone in the Old Testament era, to be ready to die at any time for the sake of others; and not because of a personal desire to go to heaven, but for the benefit of others. If you do that, then you will qualify and you will go to heaven. The Old Testament can be compared to the time of the children and the New Testament era to that of the true spouse, or married couple, and the Completed Testament Age is the time of True Parents.
The Old Testament Age is the time of preparation to get married; the New Testament Age the time of engagement and the Completed Testament Age the time of marriage, going to the perfect realm of the heart of love. God has been working the dispensation age by age throughout 6,000 years. So it is not only true but logically consistent that if you are willing to die for your parents, your wife and your children, then you are the master of all of history at all different times.
Here we must be reminded of one important thing. In the Western world there has been a tradition of dueling where men challenged each other and fought and died for their wives; and you are naturally ready to die for you own children. You have done that, and it is relatively easy to do. But you have never tried to defend your own parents with your life; you simply don't have that example in the Western world. Now we most build our own example and tradition, not so much in respect for wife and children, but for the parents for the first time.
If a father, wife and children are in the same danger, and there is a husband trying to save them, a Western man, by the way, to whom will he go first? I feel he will go to his wife first, but this is wrong. He should go to his parents first, because they represent God. It is not correct even to save the children first. If a man dies in defense of his parents, then he will cover the entire realm and God can restore the position. But if he died in defense of his wife or children in preference to his parents that is not good enough. What is your opinion? Is this wrong? Is it not so reasonable, not so logical?
In a family, if there are perfect relations between the parents then the horizontal relationships between the children come into existence automatically. If there is a perfect plus, a perfect minus appears automatically. This is a heavenly law. What about the existing family or social standards in the world? There are standards, but they have nothing to do with the original way.
Let Us Reexamine Ourselves
Then we have to reexamine ourselves. Who or what am I? We come to realize more and more that the enemy's blood is running in our veins. Satan's blood is trickling within us. We have to realize this. That is how we are all born. Now if we once realize that the satanic blood is flowing within us all, we may determine that we will subjugate that blood lineage within us. Even though we wanted to go the way Satan would have liked, we think that our spirits will be strong enough to dominate the body. But is this true?
We loosely reckon that if the body is directing us in one way, we ought to go in the opposite direction, assuming that that is the correct and spiritual way. We can say to God, 'God, it is fitting that I should shed this blood,' or in other words, we are unworthy of following God without any conditions. Even if we have to shed our blood, we deserve it; we have to be confident of that. We may pledge to God, 'Just as long as I come near you, whatever happens doesn't matter. I will exchange my blood, sweat, tears and everything I have for the right to come to closer to you.'
However, even if a person has 70 per cent of heavenly blood and only 30 per cent of satanic blood left, he will eventually turn round and go back to Satan. Even 98 per cent is not good enough. You have to have 100 per cent of heavenly blood and not even one iota of Satan's blood remaining within you before you can go straight to God and guarantee that you will never deviate from that.
Which way are we going? Do we sometimes wobble, but still go in the right direction, or do we go straight to God? Sometimes you don't walk straight, do you? We must determine to go straight and not to wobble a little bit and by doing so we know our blood will be completely devoid of satanic blood. What about a woman who says, 'I am already 35 years old and not married. Father shows no sign of blessing me yet.' So she looks around and thinks,' I would like to live with a man like that.' Is that walking straight? Is that a sign of Satan's blood working in you or isn't it?
We Marry For God and the World
So even when we marry, we marry for the sake of God and mankind, and we should not even think of getting married for ourselves because that has no meaning. What if you are blessed with the one you hate most? Can you imagine that? Can you say, 'Well, here is the worst woman for me, but God must have worked so hard to bring her to the level of the blessing! At least she is a woman!' Knowing how hard God worked, if you go along with it, you are right. Moreover, you know that you are not perfect either, far from it. But still God has brought a woman to you, so you can feel that God has a hope and he is trying to accomplish his will in the world even through a meager person like yourself.
In history it happened that many people were kidnapped and plundered in time of war and the meanest man would snatch a prisoner and marry her against her will. He would marry her at gun point and out of that would come children, some of whom might well be our ancestors. There were not only one or two cases like this, but thousands and present-day mankind is the result. It is better, then, to persevere, no matter how difficult your marriage is, so that you can indemnify all those things of the past. In this way you will become the king of all those marriages, the king and queen of indemnity and those people will really worship you for what you have done.
Compare this with a plain man and plain woman getting married and enjoying so-called happiness, which is a low standard of happiness in a meaningless marriage. Yet if you marry for this ideal, it is far better and more meaningful. Do you understand? What do you have in your body? Satan's blood. We must admit that we do not necessarily look to God so we have to consciously change that.
All you sisters and brothers, you want to get married, don't you? You must become entirely like concrete in your self-control. If a man becomes sexually excited, he must turn to that part of his body and say, 'You must understand the situation of satanic history!' It is the same for women. When your bosom expands, you have to feel likewise and reprimand the bodily instinct. Look at yourself in the mirror and challenge Satan, 'Why are you doing that?' Then you have to retreat; 'settle down.'
You may laugh, but this is a very real situation, and not funny at all. Those of you who have had a bad experience of reprimanding and scolding your own body, raise your hands. Everyone should be in complete control of their own body, never entertaining temptation and really scolding yourself to subjugate the flesh. One must be completely confident about this; it is of fundamental importance before you can ever qualify to be blessed. Whatever the temptation you might face, you can say that has nothing to do with you. You can come back to the zero point. To repeat: this is a basic test you have to go through, and only after you are absolutely confident that you will never fail do you qualify for the first time to be blessed and to do more important work in the dispensation. Actually, that is difficult. It is not easy to reach that level.
Changing the Blood Lineage
The blood of the enemy is flowing in man's body, and not just that of a simple enemy but of an historical enemy. Yet that blood will gradually change into that of an adopted son. The man with Satan's blood will go against God, in the opposite direction, but the man with an adopted son's blood will tag along with God. Wherever God goes, he will go. That is how you know he has an adopted son's blood.
Then when can you say you have the blood of a true son or daughter, and be sure of that? That's when you always find yourself in front of the parents, ready to protect him and to do what they do. There is a difference between the adopted son and the true son. The adopted son is aiming to get the inheritance, but the true sons are not so concerned. When it becomes dangerous, the adopted son tries to escape and is not willing to devote his life. The true sons and daughters are different in that they will spontaneously do anything for the parents.
What kind of son are you going to be? The answer is easy, but the reality is very difficult. If you will be a true son, are you ready to give up your own life? Jesus said that those who are willing to die will live, but those who try to live will die. How is that? If you are going to die, how can you live? Jesus' meaning is that in order to bear the cross of the heart of love you have to go through this step of being willing to die. Bearing the cross is better than dying because after dying you have nothing.
Each one of us knows very well who we are. We know whether we have the blood of Satan flowing within us, or of an adopted son, or a true son. Each individual knows that for certain, doesn't he? Do you or don't you? You judge for yourself what position you are in. An adopted son can never enter the realm of heart. Only after we become true sons can we go into the realm of heart. This is why I am speaking this morning about 'Victorious Sons and Daughters.'
The truly victorious sons and daughters are the ones who are willing to die for the cause and they go right into the realm of heart and are able to bear the cross of the heart of love. As true sons and daughters we have already worked hard, but we will do even more, going the impossible way without complaining and still feeling that we have not done enough. If we don't do that, someone else must and that is most likely our parents. If we don't want the ones we love the most to carry the cross, we must take it ourselves. Once we join the church in some way we are getting rid of the cross, but still you see in the world so many people still bearing their cross. Knowing that, you want to do as much work as possible to relieve them.
I have been doing that for many years, but now we realize this we will do it in his place. The parents will experience a new love for that kind of son, and there will be a reason for them to love him more than others. Parents like most the sons and daughters who really like to work on their own. The spirit world tells you this, advising you in a dream to follow me no matter what, and never let go of me. This is because I am doing the work of heaven. I am supposed to teach you, but heaven teaches you in my place.
Would you like to be the sons and daughters of Satan, adopted sons and daughters or true sons and daughters? For us to become like that we have to be prepared to face the situation of dying more than three times, feeling 'This is the end of my life; tomorrow I may die, proverbially I die.' We have to go through this three times before we get close to the realm of love. If something extreme happens to me, I cannot complain. If I find myself put in jail, that can still be a source of gratitude, for at least I am alive! Never complain because the work or the situation is hard. Then it has no value. You must always be willing to follow, and not only to follow but also to find the work of heaven and do it, to be sacrificed and go.
Such a man is a worthy one and he will surely reach this realm of love. We will do this kind of work which calls for this type of sacrifice, and we will do it here in England, trying to work harder than anyone else for this cause. We must feel responsible and work harder even than the heroes and patriots in the spiritual world who worked hard for the sake of this country, and be grateful to God. Maybe they suffered as much as you did, but the difference is that they complained while they died, while you go through your hardship being thankful and grateful to God. Such are the sons and daughters of God.
Even though we go without sleep, without meals, we will still work harder than anybody else and not complain, but be grateful for even that. Jesus showed us the example when he prayed, 'God, not as I will but as You will,' and we as Unification Church members have to pray as Jesus did and even more. We must always pray like that. Have you ever prayed that seriously? When we go out witnessing and people persecute us, mistreat us and say bad things against us, sometimes we cannot help the tears rolling out of our eyes because we are so mistreated; but we still have to be tolerant and pray to God, 'Do as You will, not as I will.' Then you will go over the situation and Satan will leave.
The Borderline In Myself
There is always a borderline, with one side being heaven and the other side belonging to Satan. If you go over the borderline, always falling on the side of heaven, you will eventually find yourselves as sons and daughters of God. It is a habit, almost like conditioning. It will take you at least seven years before you become accustomed to it. Is that easy or difficult to do? Difficult work is valuable and precious.
Now do you know where you are on the historical map, in the Old Testament time, the New Testament time, or the Completed Testament time? You know that, and you also know whether the blood flowing in you is the blood of Satan, of an adopted son, or the blood of a true son and daughter. If anyone still does not know where they are, raise your hands. If you still do not know then either you have never heard of the Principle or you don't have any intelligence!
When you go to heaven, you must know to which area of the spirit world you are going. Even though we are all doing the same activities in the same Unification Church, the heart of someone who has the mind of a true son or daughter goes straight to God when he goes to the spirit world, but the adopted son goes to Paradise, like Jesus and his disciples. The one who has Satan's blood flowing in him goes straight to hell when he goes to spirit world. But as a Unification Church member you would still go to the boundary of Paradise and Hell. This is not just an abstract thing or imagination. You just go there and you will find out. We should make sure before we go, though. Your mind already knows and you cannot deceive anyone. You go where you are fit to go. Even when you are in the spirit world you can't complain about where you are. You will have to say, 'I had to come here, I knew it.'
But here is something very important. While you have your physical body you can go through all kinds of barriers, almost instantly, once you make up your mind and train yourself to do that. But once you get rid of your body and go to the spirit world, you can never go from one place to another. Here, when someone teaches you, you learn seriously and you can do so much; but in the spirit world you already know things without being taught, but you cannot move freely. You cannot even go next door, although it is only one step away. This is why we drive ourselves to surmount all difficulties while we still have our physical bodies. If you do that, you don't have to worry about it when you go to the spirit world.
This is what happened to St. Paul. He was not of great faith until he saw the spirit world in a vision and saw that there were three levels there. After that, he never cared about anything anymore. Even though he was dying he went to every corner of the world trying to do the most difficult things because he already knew what was awaiting him when he went to the spirit world.
This is what I myself found. Since I know it very well, nobody has to tell me what to do and what not to do. Even though everyone says bad things about me, I still know that this is the one thing I must do, and I do it. We must be very careful, realizing that here on earth, no matter how difficult it is, all you have to do is turn around one step, and then adjust your heart to the good way. But if you don't do that on earth, when you go to spirit world it takes a hundred or a thousand steps, or even a thousand years.
Don't Think This Course Is Difficult
Here on earth we have to tolerate much suffering, toil and hard work, but we must still go over this one point. Once we determine ourselves and we are ready to die, then it is no problem, and you can do that much more, and more quickly. It really does not take much effort, and you can do almost anything very quickly. There are many boundaries, but once you are determined to die, you can almost jump them all in one leap, if you do it here on earth. Don't think it is difficult to go from the individual level, family level and national level. If you have the determination to do it, the barriers are already down. Heaven has already shown us that if an offering sheds blood then there is a straight path to the destination without obstacles. When you determine yourself, you have made yourself an offering. Whenever you are willing to die, you will live, for sure; your life is guaranteed.
Then why do I encourage you to do things the difficult way? Is it because I am not smart enough? Then what about Jesus? He was the son of God, but he too went the difficult way. If God is omnipotent, which means he can do anything, then why does he encourage his people to suffer? Because this is the only way, by making yourself determined even to die you will drastically change. God is advising you to do that, even demanding it. Are you going to be true sons and daughters? Do you really mean that? Then now you surely know what to do, how and why, so you cannot say later, 'Father, I didn't know, and you didn't tell us.'
Working On the World Level
It is difficult, in the worldly sense, to move from one country to another, where customs are different and you don't even speak the language. It would be more difficult if you were sent to evangelize in places where the church is not already established, but in fact wherever we go, we find the church is already there. We have a foundation, and so the work is much easier. Who made that foundation? Of course, it was me. If you had to make the foundation yourself it would be much more difficult.
I am providing the foundation in England for free to all the nations who come here to do this work. Once we work on this foundation we will pass on the inheritance to those following us. As we expand our territory, we will pass it on. We must be willing to work harder than True Parents, with the attitude that we are ready to die tomorrow. If we do that then we actually won't die. Nevertheless, be determined that if there is any point where death is necessary in the Unification Church, that you will go there rather than anyone else. Those who think like that are guaranteed to reach all other goals.
One of our Family members came to me and said, 'Father, according to your speech, it looks like we must go to Russia soon. In Russia, if I am arrested I could be sent to prison camp, possibly sentenced to death, but I will do that ahead of anyone else in the Unification Church.' And before I could say 'Yes' he just went there. He wrote a letter to me saying that he expected to see me in the spiritual world. This should be the typical example for all of us, not an extraordinary one.
This task is holy and sacred. St. Paul did not go to Rome to have a comfortable time, but he was ready to die. When I came to America, I did not expect to have a comfortable time. In fact I was ready to die, for this was possible at any time. I collided with people, including those in authority, and gave some very straight talking. This nearly cost me my life. You know how much wickedness there is in America and the world, but I had to proclaim this truth and moreover, I taught many thousands of American young people who are working straight towards this goal without wobbling. I say things to people and look them right in the eye.
As long as there are these kinds of people all of us respect and would like to become like them. Every country has its own heroes. Here in London, at Trafalgar Square, we see Lord Nelson's statue. When the French people come to London, perhaps they do not want to see him, but he is a patriot for the British. If he had not been determined to die for victory, is it possible that he could have led his men in combat and achieved that victory? Not at all.
Even though Admiral Lord Nelson fought bravely and won a great victory for England, has he become a son of God? No, far from it. He could not get anywhere near that position. You are in fact in a much better position, even with the little you do now. But can you keep that position without being as determined to sacrifice for the cause as was Lord Nelson? We should surely be even more determined than Nelson himself, since we know this way is right and that there is no other way to go. Whether we live or die really doesn't matter so long as we do our job right.
It's a strange thing, but as we have said, the man who is determined to die bravely will in fact live longer. I can see this in my own life. I was always willing to die, but God, knowing the consequences, cannot permit that. With me all ready to die, God sent down his angels to prepare the situation so that I would live. For example, even in the prison camp at Hungnam, where so many died, I was protected. I was often starving and only a few days from death. But then a person would mysteriously bring food to me saying, 'In my dream I was commanded to bring this food to you. I don't know what's going on, but here it is.' On other occasions, during the Korean war, I would sense intuitively that I should leave a place, and moments later it would be shelled. This was not just once or twice but dozens of times. Yet I do not normally make a point of telling this to people because it is something which is not normal.
Anyway, when we are willing to die to save someone, we will not. Both will live, the saver and the saved. Everyone of us must experience that way of live at one time or another, and preferably make a habit of it. There are times when you have no leader apart from God Himself and True Parents. At that moment friends are no help to you, nor are leaders. Only your determination that you are not doing this for yourself, but for God and all mankind remains.
How We Must Work Now
Some of you are bound to go witnessing and end up sitting on a bench doing nothing, aren't you? When you feel that your feet are aching too much to carry on, but keep walking with your aching feet, it is more valuable and you will bring in better results. When we do without food or sleep, our work is more precious and much more of a condition of indemnity. This is the way we must feel to become victorious sons and daughters. While you are working hard in London, you should still think, 'Well, this is a hundred times better than going to Africa by myself, or to a place where people were barbarians who understand nothing of the ideal and do not even work. I must preach the gospel here and then go to the communist world where they may try to hurt or kill me when I am captured. Even then, I must do that and work harder.' Working in London is the best place for you to be trained.
You can imagine that if you were to go to a primitive tribe in Africa and tell them about Adam and Eve, Abraham and Moses, they would never understand what you are talking about. You would have to start from scratch and build up, year after year, even to be able to mention Adam and Eve before your die! If you go and talk about Abraham in the communist world now, would they understand? And you will have to tell them all about the Christian religion, and other religions, before they can understand that you are talking about Adam and Eve and other biblical figures.
But here in London, you need only mention the name 'Moses' or 'Abraham' and people at once know whom you are talking about. You never thought about this point, did you? It takes less effort here. After all, this is less of a barbarian country! This knowledge can be a source of power. You can feel that this is even an easy life and that you can easily do it. But if you complain here, then how can you even imagine making one step out of the country and going to Africa or into the communist world? There they will try to kill you, or put you in jail; here, they won't.
My topic this morning was 'Victorious Sons and Daughters.' What I actually had in mind was how you have to work here in order to become such victorious sons and daughters. Knowing the qualifications, we now have to train ourselves. I told you that even if you walk until you drop, and an ambulance picks you up, that is part of the glory of doing God's work. We should compare ourselves with people of the world who are working hard for their own sake and then work harder than they do for the sake of God and mankind. This gives us courage and power.
Now do you know for sure how to become victorious sons and daughters? Those of you who do, raise your hands. Now that you know for sure, if you pledge to do it and put it into practice, raise both your hands, with your fists clenched as tight as you can. Look at your own fists and see how dependable they are. Even though your hands get tired, they should always stay there; we should be determined. God Bless You!
