Belvedere
Translator - Bo Hi Pak
You are some of the many young people living in the present time. When we look at young people on the college campuses or on the street, we wonder where they are headed. They live lives of intoxication. but without a goal. They don't care much about the past or worry much about the world, and they don't care too much about the future. They would rather live a free style of life at random, without contemplating any responsibility, and are basically self-centered. They don't worry about such fundamental questions as why man was born.
They have also forgotten about the founding spirit of America, which was basically religious and focused on a God-centered ideology. When you really study the founding spirit of this nation, you come to the conclusion that this nation is really not a democratic country but a religious nation founded on the spirit of God. That has been the national motto.
At the present time, however, America is not living like a religious nation and is even less than a true democracy. Right now the American way of life is totally materialistic and money seems to have become almighty. People are trying to locate human value within the realm of money to such an extent that they are incapable of thinking outside that sphere. But who should be subject, dollars or man? In the present way of life in America none of these things are clearly defined or realized.
In America the most important information is the minimum wage law, which says that a worker is worth at least $2.95 an hour. America is so totally enslaved to the money system that every measure of human value is translated in terms of dollars. When you hear $10, you think that is worth three hours. If you loan someone $10, you think that you are entitled to three hours of work. Sometimes children loan their parents $100. and before thinking of their parents as parents they think, "You owe me thirty hours." It is to the extreme that the money concept dominates all other human relationships.
Money has become the tyrant of America's way of life. Children often resent having poor parents and think that if their parents were better people they would be rich like some other people. Sometimes children are very critical of their parents simply because they are poor. Particularly when looking for a husband, American women are checking in terms of dollars. ' How much is that man worth?" Many women marry because the man is very well off, forgetting however, that money cannot stay in one place. Once the money is all spent. those women who married for wealth start complaining. If their husbands don't earn good money, the wives become scornful towards them. Money increasingly supercedes other human values, such as character, morality, religion. etc. These are the more valuable things but money seems to be blinding people. This is the kind of life we see around us.
How much value do we have as men and women? Man's value has become so small that people are considered insignificant unless they have money behind them. If offered a choice between having money or good men and women around them, people would normally choose the money. You say no, but that's the way American life seems to be going. When people cannot satisfy their fantasies through money, they seek to intoxicate themselves with other external methods, such as drugs. They are trying to find intoxicating happiness through many external means.
What would be the end result? The fundamental illness of today's society is irresponsibility. People don't want to take responsibility so they abuse freedom and reject any kind of disciplined or organized life. They have no goal or master plan for their lives so they live capriciously. In the final tragic result of such a life a person will feel he has hit a stone wall and be shattered into pieces. If individuals are living in that fashion, they will form an irresponsible society, which will lead to an irresponsible nation and an irresponsible world.
Knowing that such a way of life will eventually lead to disaster, people must start a trend or new movement that denies the existing value system. We see this trend in the attitudes of young people who question why they need money, democracy. parents. or the institution of marriage. If a person is only denying all the objects of the world without a clear-cut goal to substitute for them, he will soon conclude there is no reason to exist and eventually come to deny even himself. He cannot avoid the fact that in this world no one can survive all by himself, so he will either end his own life in despair or live out his days as human trash.
There are two ways to deny life and value. One way is to deny a lesser value by securing a greater value Denying the lesser value in order to search after a greater value is the right thing, but total, blanket denial is dangerous because then people cease searching after true goals or the true way of life. There are many thinking people in this country who are searching and experimenting with new values. That's how the hippie movement began. But people couldn't find values they were seeking there, and in their search many even ended up in a communistic way of life without knowing its true nature. They thought they might find something worthwhile in communism and never realized that once a person gets in he becomes a victim of that philosophy, which denies human value.
In the communist system no individual, no human rights, and no freedom are recognized. Communism itself becomes god. To ensure the survival of that god, communists would sacrifice anyone without a second thought. Compared to communism. human life and even love is considered unimportant, and even the family system is forcibly sacrificed to promote the prosperity of the communist system. The communists claim that their ideology will bring utopia, that it is the ideology of ultimate human satisfaction. If that were true, maybe their sacrifice would have some meaning, but we know that communism is based on lies. There is no truth in it.
Today both communism and democracy have come to a deadlock. Then what do we need at this juncture of human history? Even though communism and democracy can be shattered into pieces, there must be one ideal that can survive and clarify the value of human existence. Where can we find this ultimate human values? The dilemma is this: the world is dirty, yet you can never totally deny the whole world and liv•e all by yourself because you need someone to live for. On the other hand, you can't completely embrace the way the world lives either. This is the dilemma of our society today.
No matter how great the democratic ideology is, it cannot digest the human situation. and neither can communism. Then what kind of ideal do we need? An ideology is needed which can start out small and grow to greater and greater horizons, finding something that is greater than the world, the universe and the cosmos. Some ultimate destination must exist, but without an ideology of this dimension it would be impossible to reach. It is almost like climbing over a mountain with a small ladder. As you climb further and further, instead of finding your small beginning disappearing, you will find it becoming wider and wider and providing you with a much sounder foundation for your further climb. Whoever goes by that route and climbs step by step to the end will win the respect of all people because it's a goal everyone aspires to.
Every individual has certain aspirations and desires to climb higher and higher to a commanding position. You have ambition, don't you? Everyone wants to fulfill his own aspirations, but today most ambition is squelched by the world, and instead of bringing fulfillment it is only one more heavy burden. When all ambition is shattered, your life is hell. No matter how many great things you are given, if you are in that position then nothing can satisfy you because no one lifts your burden. We are in a contradictory position because each individual is small compared to the world, but our ambitions. goals and ideals are so big that they are greater than the universe. This is man's eternal dilemma.
Then how can we satisfy these contradictions? Suppose you become a billionaire. Even with great wealth you are still small compared to the world and are unable to change or deal with the entire world. There is a vast world out there untouched, so where can we find true inner satisfaction? All men and women have an inherent ambition to become conquerors of the world. First, everyone wants to rise to the top of the world, and second, everyone wants to possess the most precious thing in the world. Do only Americans harbor that kind of ambition? All people want to fulfill that kind of dream.
As you know, each person has two aspects, mind and body. Which one should be subject? Which one would you follow? Do you live for your ambition. desire and ideal, or for your physical body? You may work very hard, but is work itself your goal in life, or is it the means to fulfill the goal of your life? That goal is always ahead of you, and though you can't see it you are always working toward it. Then what should become your fundamental concern-giving satisfaction to your mind or your body? Does that mean you neglect to give your body food and sleep? The most ideal situation is to give satisfaction to both your mind and body. In lieu of the ideal, however, there could be a very easy solution: give the body enough to maintain itself, but give the utmost satisfaction to the mind. If there is such a way then that .should be the ideal. In other words, you may not eat or dress like a millionaire, yet your mind is infinitely free and happy. Your ideal is there and being fulfilled. The person who lives this way must be a very happy person.
Two ways of life can be seen among men. One kind of person doesn't care about the desire of his mind or about pursuing a larger will or ideal: he just follows the sensual desires of his body for good food, lots of sleep. fun and sex. The other kind of life doesn't pursue the satisfaction of the body but of the desires and goal of his mind. These are the two basic types of life that can be seen in our world today. Which one would you prefer?
What about the happiness of the body? That's happiness, too. A person is basically dominated by the ambitions and desires of his mind, however, which govern his entire life. No matter how some tyrant may try to eliminate ambition or desire from man, it is impossible because a person's goal, desire and ideal are greater than the universe. Each individual has his own universe. When you are centered upon the goal of your mind, even though it seems to be difficult to achieve in the beginning, there is always hope for opening greater horizons everyday. But when you only seek to gratify the desires of your body you know that your momentary pleasure will not last and that you are headed down the road to despair.
Basically we can define good and evil by saying that the direction pursued by the mind is good. while the direction pursued by the body is evil. As a result there are two types of people in our world: Conscientious people are trying to satisfy their own consciences, while others are only living for the carnal satisfaction of their bodies.
Who is the man of conscience? He lives for the public purpose and is willing to give himself as a sacrifice. In doing so he sacrifices his outer person, not his inner self, which is steadfast and constant. When you try to be humble and meek, you are making an effort to control your body. At the same time your ideal is not limited but is as free and as great as it can be. Your ideal is pursuing the benefit of others and the public purpose, the purpose greater than yourself Your mind unceasingly pursues that goal.
National laws or constitutions are enacted in any good nation, basically to enhance the public way of life The philosophy and basic nature of the law is to uphold the giving way of life and to attempt to limit those who would live only for themselves. Once you make yourself the center and try to pursue only self-centered goals, the more effort you make, the more you narrow down your life ultimately confining yourself to darkness and despair.
Many people today embrace the 'me-first" philosophy. When you pursue that goal, you evaluate everything in terms of how happy it makes you. Actually the opposite will occur; your nation and society will turn away, and your parents, friends, and brothers and sisters will all go away. Even your children will leave you. In the end you will be left all by yourself and you will eventually hit the sharp edge of a stone wall and get a bloody face. The outlook will be so dark that finally you will not be able to see any more hope to continue. Though you tried to be happy and to gain the most for yourself, you actually suffered the most. Your suffering begins inside yourself because you will be struggling with your conscience.
Everyone has another public man inside himself who keeps insisting that living selfishly is wrong. The person who tries to ignore his conscience is only torturing himself. If a dog barks at him, his first reaction will be to think that the dog doesn't like him. If he passes by Belvedere and hears the birds singing, he won't think their songs are for the glory of God, but will feel the birds are criticizing him.
A person who is this self-centered is so closed that he cannot relate to anything. Consequently he is perpetually scared to death that everything is coming against him. In the end, he will feel he is no good and that everything is against him and then he will want to kill himself. That is why the suicide rate in this country is phenomenal. The statistics show that last year at least 38,000 young people committed suicide, and the rate of attempted suicides was 50 per cent greater than that. This is the reality, but it is only the logical outcome of the way America is heading now.
Where are you? Have you hit the stone wall? There is one hope for democracy. for this nation and the free world. and that is to create a movement that will deny the materialistic and self-centered outlook. We must find the way of life in which our greatest ambition and ideal can be freely pursued and a sense of fulfillment attained. Even the smallest person has a dream and a goal and wants to possess the entire world. That is an undeniable dream.
Everyone also has the desire to be liked by everyone and everything, even the birds and the flowers. That's a natural desire, but how can we satisfy it? It's impossible to erase this desire from within yourself. Do you want to possess the United States or the world? When you go beyond America, you do it joyfully because you receive the world instead of one nation. What is greater than the world? When you receive a greater value, you can give up a lesser value without any complaint. The earth is a very small particle compared to the universe. so if you can own the universe then you are willing to give up the world. Is there something greater than the universe? If there is some greater value than the universe, then in order to receive that value you can gladly give up the universe. What is greater than the universe? How do you know there is a God? Have you seen Him?
Deciding whether or not there is a God is really a problem for many people. When you look at the universe, however, would your logic tell you that everything came about at whim or random, or that there is someone who planned and willed the universe to exist? We live in a solar system in which the earth is but a very small particle, and there are millions of other solar systems and galaxies in our universe. These heavenly bodies are not stagnant or still like a dead fly on the wall, but are in constant orderly motion. Not one heavenly body is standing still for one second. Have you ever heard of a traffic accident between planets in the universe? The earth has been rotating for millions of years, but have you ever read that one day God's alarm clock didn't work and the earth didn't get in on time and 365 days became 379 days? The exactness of the universal movement cannot be compared to any man-made computer system.
Is it logical for someone to say that all these things just happened at random with no will behind them? The logical answer is that there must be some cause or will which preceded all existence. There was an invisible cause somewhere and the universe was the result.
During my school days I knew many people, some of whom were communists who argued that material is real because they could see and touch it. but God is a fantasy because He can't be seen. I said to one fellow, "You believe in logic, don't you?" He replied, "Yes." "Then if I logically explain that there is God, would you accept it? Let me ask you a question. Do you know the history of your eye? Where did your eyeball originate? The first man on earth must have had eyes, and whether born with his eyes open or closed, he eventually opened his eyes and saw." This person knew that no baby has his eyes open in his mother's womb, so he said, ' 'I'm sure that baby's eyes were closed before he was born." "When you close your eyes, do you see your eyeball?" I asked. "Then was the eye the result of some accident?"
He replied that it must have happened at random because there is no will in such a thing. Then I asked him which came first, the sun or the eye. The eye was made to perceive light, and without it the eye has no function. The eye of the baby inside the mother's womb didn't know the sun was shining, but someone else had to know because the eye is made in such a way that it can function in sunlight. The eye didn't know but some cosmic knowledge knew and matched the sun's rays with the eye.
If everything can happen at random then the eye could have been like the sole of your foot. "Now think," I said. "Was there some knowledge prerequisite to your birth and the creation of your eye." There was some universal intelligence existing that organized the two to match. Either the eye knew everything that was going on outside and decided to become as it is, or else there must be some outside will or intelligence which matched the eye to the sunrays. The eye certainly had no consciousness of it. Then what do you think? There must be some previous intelligence. You may call him anything, but we happen to call him God.
"Before you were born, did your eyelash know that there would be lots of dust in the air? Some will or universal intelligence knew there was air and dust outside and that your eye needed something to prevent the dust from coming into the eye. There is also a water supply which moistens your eye all the time. Do you think the eye knew that there was heat and dry air outside that would prevent the eye from functioning unless there was moisture always available?"
"Do you know how hard your eye works? Try lifting your hand and blinking it all day long like your eye does. It's hard work, isn't it? If your eye was open 24 hours a day it would dry out like a fish eye after three days. But because your eyelids blink. your eyes are cleansed and moistened. If someone says that everything happened at random and no one planned this universe, I have to say he is crazy. How can you say that material comes first and spirit second," I asked this communist. I was young and very excited, and at the end of our heated argument the first communist surrendered to me.
From today on, when you look in the mirror look at your eye and appreciate it. "God, thank you for giving me a built-in water hose and for eyes that blink."
When I first came to America and saw how women here talk so fast, I wondered how their lips could work that quickly. What kind of incredible skin did God give to American women? When you think of the beauty of man and the intricacy of the human body, you come to the conclusion that the human body is a mystery palace. There is incredible beauty and mystery within your one body, which is a microcosm of the universe. One human body is so delicate and complex that the entire universe cannot compare with it.
The human ideal is infinitely gigantic and there is no limit to the capability of man's mind. Every man is born with ambition. The ultimate question is: If there is an Almighty God, would you want to possess Him? There is only one God. but billions of people want him. So what should we do? To whose home should He go? If God has only one body and everyone wants Him, it's a great problem. God thought,
Everyone wants me, so in order for me to go to everyone's home I should be invisible. Now I'm available to everyone and they will come to me in spirit."
With what spiritual substance would God want us to make a relationship with Him? With what kind of love? Does true love have a string attached? When you go to God with true love, He has no sensation, but as soon as you contact Him with true love He will jump from the shock of it. You don't want to touch a live wire, do you? If you attach a live wire to a wooden stick and touch someone with it. he won't feel any sensation. If you connect it to metal, he will feel some sensation, but if you connect it to pure gold then all the electricity will be conducted and the person will really jump.
God said, "I am the Alpha and the Omega. the beginning and the end." The love God is talking about is not just wooden love or metal love, but genuine gold love with 100 per cent conductability When the gold wire is connected to a source of electricity it doesn't make any difference whether it's 1,000 miles away or one mile because the same sensation and power are conducted. There are all kinds ot love, but true love has that 100 per cent conductability. What kind of love do you have?
Are your body and mind united into one, or is there some struggle within you? Your mind and body may be pretty good friends, but you should make them absolute friends. Are you the kind of person whose mind conceives some thought and whose body then gets excited and echoes that thought to your mind? This morning your mind said to go to Belvedere early and sit right in front of me. but your body said to forget it and sleep a couple of hours longer. Normally does your body come to Belvedere first and then your mind follow, or does your mind come first and your body follow? Your mind comes to Belvedere and then your body wakes up and says, "Mind, where are you? I want to go to Belvedere too. Why did you leave me?" Do your mind and body work together as one team and does your body respond quickly to your mind? If that is the case then your mind and body are one. If you are genuine gold. you should act like that. What is your real situation?
The man of conscience always has his body under control. God is invisible, but we know through Divine Principle that God has internal and external characteristics, sung sang and hyung sang. Even though God is invisible, He has two parts which work together 100 per cent. When you love someone with your mind and body in total oneness, you are completely flexible and can penetrate anything. The heart of God is perhaps the most impenetrable of all things, but when a bullet of gold love hits it, even God surrenders. When true love hits the heart of God, it causes the greatest thunder and lightning.
Even the birds sing songs of love in the spring. Then how much more glorious would it be for man, God's greatest creation, to sing an eternal love song? Their love together would be the supreme power. Have American men and women thought about noble and true love? When that love hits men and women, they become totally consumed into love. How can two things which are utterly melted into one be separated? Even at death that love cannot be parted. If I think and preach in this fashion, how much more must God have this conviction?
Is there divorce in the spirit world? Are you convinced you can give a shock treatment to God with true love? Do you want to be the men and women of love? How beautiful you are. When you look at each face here, there is none that is truly ugly. When you just look at the surface it may be sometimes ugly. but when you see the origin of your life, everything is so beautiful. When you know your true origin, everything on your face-your eyes, nose, teeth, lips, hair, ears-possesses incredible beauty and mystery.
Do I look like an ugly man, like a potato or pumpkin? Even if I do, it doesn't make any difference. When men and women come into the Unification Church do they love me? Is it because I give you sweet things all the time? Your simple answer is that you like me, even if you don't know why. When you come to see me you feel different vibrations, don't you? People outside our Church can't understand these vibrations and so they decided you must be brainwashed. They are trying to describe me, but they can't do it because these vibrations can't be detected by any instrument.
When sunrays shine onto a dirty mirror they aren't reflected well, but a clean mirror gives 100 per cent reflection. If sunlight is being reflected from a mirror into a cold room, then warmth and light come in there. You feel that reflected warmth and move closer to it. I am like a mirror reflecting God's love, so in this cold and freezing world you want to come closer to be warm.
If I taught that there was no love and no ideal, would it do any good for you to come here? If I only craved power and money, there would be no attraction or vibration between us. God doesn't need money or power or knowledge. God needs only two items: true life and true love. True life is lived by men and women who have mind and body united. What is true love? It is the infinite give and take between God and yourself. Only through true love can you have give and take with God heartistically. Our ambition is bigger than the universe. If there is a God then we want to conquer Him, but there are many different ways to possess God. You can possess God's wealth, God's things, or you can hold God's hand or body, but the ultimate way to possess God is to conquer His heart.
The heart has different contents, so where would you like to concentrate? The center of the heart of God is love, and in the deepest corner of God's heart is true love. The Unification Church was born in heart, shim jung. You don't have a word in English to translate shim jung, so I created a new word, heartle. The wisest men and women aim at this innermost heart of God. Snatch it and put it in your pocketbook, for as long as you have God's heart in your possession He cannot leave you.
Imagine a gigantic powerhouse generating millions of watts of electricity. If that power is burning within instead of being sent out over the lines, how big an explosion will be generated? The power of it will shock the world. This is what I am like inside.
When you touch true love you can taste and appreciate it, and then when you look at the spirit world you understand it completely. In true love there is nothing you cannot see, so getting a diploma from Harvard or Yale isn't worth as much; in true love you have the highest education of all. When you look at the world through the eyes of true love, you already know the world. When you look at the spirit world through the eyes of true love, you already know what is there. There is nothing more you can learn.
If that is the case, are you an unhappy, miserable person? If you have this ambition and come to experience true love, is there anything else you need? No more effort is needed because you have reached the peak and you can stay there for eternity. You live in love, dance in love, sing in love.
If that is the case, do you think love should be the ultimate goal of life? Then what is the Unification Church for? We are very greedy people, so greedy that we want to Possess the universe and more. No matter how much we are persecuted, we persevere because we are greedy. I, for example. am the greediest Moonie and I go on and on because nothing bothers me. We are so greedy that we can't stop until we reach the heart of God. Once you arrive at the center, you can occupy the precious heart of God. Then the whole universe and the entire world of persecution will be turned around.
Recently a report came from Scotland about a minister who was so vicious in his attacks on us that one day as he was making an anti-Moon speech he collapsed and was taken away on a stretcher. We don't advertise such events, but many such mysterious things have happened around me throughout my life. The Japanese members had a certain fund raising goal to meet this year, and it was reported to me that most of the result is coming through the activity of spirit world. Often a person has received a revelation or had a dream to have a certain amount of money waiting. Then when our member knocks on the door, his response is, "Please come in. I was waiting for you."
The other day Mr. Kamiyama met with me and we discussed whether the outstanding MFT members would like to receive good watches. Mr. Kamiyama said they didn't want anything like that; they wanted a picture signed by me instead. Unification Church members don't care about money. It has no value to them. Can you find young people anywhere in the world who say they don't need money? That's why people think you are crazy. In the world money governs everything, but in our world money has no power. Everything is secondary to receiving the love of God.
Do I have lots of money or very little money? I myself don't have any money, but when some goal is given to raise money in fifty days, can I do it? Everyone thinks I am a billionaire but my pockets are empty. I have a need for money because there is so much to do, but not a single penny goes for my own well-being. It all goes for the sake of the world. Therefore, I don't love money. I love God and mankind, so money is merely the instrument with which to do God's work.
A diamond ring is actually only valuable as an expression or an accessory of love. The money I spend is also an accessory of the love of God. I would like to give every American a diamond ring as an expression of God's love. In a way I am doing that now, and because our work represents God's love it would be more precious than any other diamond under the sun, even the First Lady's diamond.
People know that I am doing many projects and spending much money, but they only see that external aspect. What they do not know is that this expenditure of money is an accessory of the beautiful love of God. The day will come, however, when Americans will know the true meaning of my presence in this country and my projects here. Once they come to understand the core of it, they will cry out in praise. If this generation doesn't do it, your ancestors who are already in spirit world will do it. This is the truth.
The man who pursues the "me-first", materialistic goal will hit a stone wall because he is living a contradiction between his mind and body. The ultimate freedom and liberation is not offered by democracy or communism, but by the one ideology which will offer total harmony between man's mind and body. That is Godism, the absolutely God-centered ideology. The Unification Church possesses the ideology that can satisfy the infinite ambition, will and ideal of man. That means we have the possibility to help man settle in the ideal world.
No matter how powerful or greedy a person might be, the love of God can satisfy him instantly. The purpose of life here on earth is to develop our sensitivity and capacity to have give and take of love with God. That's the way God intended life to be, but because the fall of man shattered everything into pieces we need salvation and restoration. The consequence of the fall was the total loss of everything, and the most precious thing to mankind-God. God is our common parent, the beginning and end, alpha and omega. When we discover our eternal king, we discover ourselves as eternal princes and princesses. The ideal world is the atmosphere or circumstance in which that prince and princess can receive a formal education of the love of God.
The love of God will fill you according to the size of your container. When you have a greater container, more love comes. Our job here on earth is to expand the capacity of our containers. Are we then creating a better world than the democratic and communist worlds?
The American people are basically smart, so when they compare the conventional way of life and this new way of life, they will see that the new way is a greater. more valuable way. Then they will get rid of their old mode of life.
When you come to the Unification Church you can find an incredible value that cannot be swapped for anything. Sometimes your parents or your society persecute or kidnap you, but nothing can stop you because you have found your ultimate value. If you are kidnapped, will you want to stay with the kidnappers? If loving husbands tell their wives to stop coming, will all the wives not come again? Even your husband should not be allowed to become a barrier between you and the ultimate love of God. That doesn't mean he should be cut off but that his wife must win him. Go to the goal and come back with a rope strong enough to pull him there with you.
If two people are caught in a flood, the best way for both to be saved is for one to somehow reach shore, anchor himself and then pull the other to safety with a rope. That's the way you must think about your life now. Sometimes your parents can't understand your mission and don't have the patience to delay judgment about what you are doing. Nevertheless, many members have succeeded in winning their parents.
When God looks down at how the secular world is doing things and how we are doing things, which side do you think He will take? If God doesn't support me but sides with the world, when the world crumbles God will crumble too. Do you think God can afford to crumble? There are many prayers petitioning God for my removal, such as God, Reverend Moon is a heretic from the Orient. Please summon him to spirit world soon so that we can be without him. Do you think God will listen to that prayer? He comes to me and says' "My son, this person is praying for your death. But keep going 100 per cent."
The Unification Church will provide the ultimate satisfaction. We have the ideology and the way of life to attain the ultimate ambition and ideal that mankind can possess. But at the same time, Unification Church members are not living in a fantasy on cloud nine. We are bringing practical restoration starting at the individual level by upholding one central way of life. First you perfect the individual, then restore your mate, create your family and have children. Finally you change your society, nation and world. We have a practical master plan to build the kingdom of God here on earth.
Ultimately when we restore the entire world we will liberate God. Have you ever heard anyone talk about liberating God? It is an incredible proclamation. John 3:16 says that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son and whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. God loves the world, but the circuit of love has been broken and God is not in a position to truly love the world now. We must liberate God so that the circuit can be reconnected and God can truly love the world once more.
There are many ideologies in the world, but nothing that surpasses this Godism that I am proclaiming. All the great professors and theologians are entitled to inherit these things, but the inheritance is going elsewhere instead. The inheritance of the blessing is one thing, but fulfilling the responsibility that comes with it is the problem. You can do it, however, because the message is a simple one. No one is asking you to lecture at Harvard University; all God is asking you to do is practice true love.
There is a specific way to practice our love of God, and your 360 home area is your battleground. This is your university curriculum. You should receive at least eighty points of credit, so in order to make this grade at least 288 homes in your area must say, "yes, you are truly my tribal messiah. You are a great savior and subject of love." What kind of men and women should you become in your home church? Suppose there is a newly married couple who have just come back from their honeymoon. If they are in the bedroom when you knock on the door, then they should want to jump up to greet you.
The amazing thing in the Unification Church is that wherever I go, no matter how much a couple love each other, they follow me rather than each ether. You should also be followed and respected to that degree. If you truly represent God then your home church people should respect you that much. Recently I tested what kind of standard our married couples live by and called all the wives to assemble for new missions. All the husbands urged their wives to go instead of trying to hold them back.
There is no doubt that I have become controversial but it was inevitable because without undergoing persecution we could not kindle the revolution of love in this world. We are the planters of the universal standard of love on the individual level, and when you extend this standard it will cover the family, tribe, nation and the entire world. That's the way step-by-step restoration will be conducted. Are we doing it? We possess the loftiest ideology, but at the same time we have a very realistic master plan to fulfill it. We are not just dreamers. Every individual knows where he is standing now, what he has achieved and how much further he has to go. You know whether you have passed the examination, or are just a first or second grade student because you have a standard to measure by. We have triumphed over the individual, family, nation, world and spirit world.
With this central standard we are changing ourselves. The important thing is to deny the world first and then to rebuild it. When you deny the old, you already have a responsibility to build something better. I deny the democratic world and the communist world because I have a plan to build a better America and world. It is only upon that condition that I can speak out. If you just deny for the sake of denying, you will become the enemy of this nation and of the world.
The only thing I want to say to those who deny me is this: show me your blueprint to make this nation better, and to make this world better. If you don't believe me, show me a better alternative. But no one has submitted a better proposal. Therefore, we can come to the conclusion that I have already won this battle.
Do you think I am just sitting idle because of all the persecution that has been directed against me? I am thinking of all possible ways to go. I lived in the worst kind of concentration camp for several years. Do you think I just sat back passively and waited for something better to happen? That is not the way I am. I thought out every possible way to solve the situation. As an individual and as the head of a family I have fulfilled my responsibility. As the head of the society, nation and world I have been fulfilling responsibilities as well.
When we had the 705-couple engagement, I declared to you that we are the love race. Does the love race consist of white marrying white, black marrying black and yellow marrying yellow? It was beautiful to have a lovely white woman say, "Give me a black husband." When God saw that did He say, ' What's wrong with you? You will stain your beauty by forsaking your tradition that way. Don't do it"? No, God said,"She is part of my love race." That is not just an ideal. It has become reality. The world is small for Unification Church members. Going to England is like a weekend sightseeing trip.
Where are all your chairs? You are sitting for hours on a concrete floor. Because we live with all kinds of cultures, we can be comfortable wherever we go. In Asia, Africa, Europe, South America we are comfortable because we have the capacity to embrace different cultures. I am doing the most incredible mission possible, but is this making everyone miserable and unhappy? Before we began our new life we were lost people. We had lost God, the universe, the world, the nation, and ourselves. But as soon as we came to this new vision of the world, we found we got everything back and more. Now our hearts are filled with gratitude and excitement. That should be our way of life.
When people persecute you, have mercy on them instead of being mad at them. Have a compassionate mind which is big enough to embrace them and smile. Actually, they are jealous of your position. They feel you have come to this position without any qualification and that they should have come first. That's why they come against you. By persecuting you, they will make you greater sons and daughters of God because through them you can fulfill all the qualifications. Don't go in a mediocre way but prove yourself worthy.
I created the home church system to give you an arena in which to be persecuted and to realize what your position is, to feel gratitude and really live the heart of God. You must have a grateful heart and really understand the life we are living at this time in history. We know the most precious truth under the sun so now we have a great responsibility. The entire world is like a rag that we must mend, and even though our hands are roughened and hardened by mending this dirty rag, we will be grateful.
Even though you have been persecuted, you can be grateful for being born in this country, because it is here that we met. Thank your father and mother for giving you birth at this particular time in history. Be grateful to all the teachers who instructed you, to everyone who benefited you so that you could be in this position today. Thank all things of creation which provide you with physical food. Thank the birds for singing a beautiful song of God. Thank the farmers and their fields for providing for you.
Declare to all creation that you have become the princes and princesses of true love and love them as a representative of God. Love the grass and the trees. The entire earth is like a glacier, so now you must bring the warmth of the love of God and enable the earth to truly feel the cosmic spring. Do you feel the joy of being the harbinger of the cosmic spring? Feel the warmth in your heart, that satisfaction and purpose of life. Look at the world and all things of creation with that frame of mind. We have discovered God's will and dispensation and will live on earth in eternal faith and gratitude.
Even though your heart is willing to give thanksgiving to God, sometimes your body lets you down. Always repent that your body can't keep up with your will. That way God will be very sympathetic with you. Can you complain then? The moment you know the will of God and His dispensation there is no way you are entitled to utter even one word of complaint until you die. You should not even know how to complain. Are you living that way? Even though you go through the valley of the shadow of death, fear no evil but be grateful instead. We have so much to be grateful for. We should begin our life in gratitude and end our life in gratitude. With this heart you can desire to bear a greater burden and be grateful for it.
If anyone lives this way of life and it comes to no avail, then he can accuse me. I myself have lived this life and been persecuted, but many incredible things happened. When other people wanted to see me destroyed, God was right behind me and I became more and more prosperous year by year.
The road of dispensation is our way of life and the way we can restore the individual, family, tribe, nation and world. Our way of life is the way of restoration. Every feeling and sensation in your body should be an expression of gratitude. Would you be grateful to the will of God? After working all day in the heat like a horse, would you be grateful at night when you come back home? One brother requested a Korean bride, but I gave him a white woman instead. Is that reason to complain? You must always think you were given the best.
Recently I declared an emergency situation at The News World and now everyone is going out to get fifty subscriptions. Should you be doing that with a complaining heart? Would you wish I would go away because you don't want to do it?
Mother has carried many children and her physical ordeal is great, but my mandate to her was that she must have twelve children. Should Mother pray to God, "My husband is crazy. How can I have twelve children? Could you somehow convince him to be satisfied with less than that?" Mother is precious because she is grateful to God for her mission. It is an incredible mission but that's why she is even more grateful. That is also why each child is more beautiful and great than the ones before. Then Mother wants to give more because God is rewarding us in such a fantastic way. God shows His love by blessing this family.
If you want to start complaining, you have all kinds of reasons to do so. "Why do I have a flat chest," or "Why do I have no hips?" God has a reason for everything so you should be grateful for whatever you have. If you are big and walk heavily, think of the thin person who looks at you and is grateful to be thinner. Have that kind of serving attitude. When your body has some abnormal condition, you are serving some godly purpose.
If you are crippled, thank God. There are many healthy people who don't appreciate their condition, but when they look at you they must appreciate being given two healthy legs.
We have gotten so involved this morning that we have forgotten the time and it's almost time for the home church service. So in conclusion, everyone lift your hands and open your eyes and mouth and thank God. God bless you.
