Belvedere
Translator - Bo Hi Pak
There are vast numbers of people in our world today, each one living in a different fashion, influenced by a particular culture and aiming for his own individual goals. Goals and directions also differ among nations-the aims of the United States are not the same as those of other countries, for example. The various religions as well seek different goals and take separate routes toward them. In the midst of such diversity, what do we have in common? When we consider God, our Creator, what was the original direction He gave to human life?
An important leader may make a key decision, but it has no meaning until he finds a way to unify those concerned. The President or the governors of states may make various decisions but their crucial challenge is how to weave these decisions into one harmonious goal. That is difficult enough, but then how much would that goal have in common with the goals of the rest of the world and where would they differ?
God is the supreme sovereign in the universe. All the nations on earth and all the elements of the universe should search for ways to harmonize with the universal will and align themselves with it; that is their most crucial challenge. Since almighty God is the ultimate ruler of the universe, whatever He decides is absolute; none of His judgments are relative. Nothing He ordains fluctuates from morning to night.
The leader of the Unification Church is Father. I am the hub of this incredible organization. There are many sub-leaders, such as Bo Hi Pak, Mose Durst, and so forth. Each leader is probably pursuing a slightly different course from what I have resolved. Then what is the standard of the Unification Church? That is a decision for me to make. If I make a decision, it is absolute within the Unification Church. I never waver from morning to night in what I have resolved. It is important to realize, moreover, that whatever I resolve to do must conform with God's direction. It can never contradict God's decision or pursue a goal or direction different from His. That has not been the case and it should never be the case.
There are two ways of heading in God's direction: to follow it, or to run parallel to it. Which is more significant? Which is more important and precious to God? Why is it more precious to follow? Even if you take a course parallel to God's will, at some point you will reach the summit and you will have to cross over. However, the path at the summit is very narrow; at the crest there is always a bottleneck and the only way to pass through it is by being totally united with God's will. If your aim is to run parallel with God's will, you are almost admitting that there are two origins, two ways, two solutions, two gates. That is not the case. Two parallel lines are like railroad tracks: they will never meet. So even if you chart a course parallel to God's will, you ultimately have to unite with His will in order to reach the goal. You can either change your course and unite with God's, or wait for God to change His direction. However, since God cannot alter His course, we must all align ourselves to Him.
These two attitudes illustrate one distinction between East and West. The Eastern way is to follow while the Western way tends more towards self-reliance. The Western character is more independent; each individual is more inclined to find his own way, to strike a parallel course. However, it takes much more energy to travel a parallel course; you always have to be your own locomotive, pulling yourself along the way. When you follow, you have the benefit of another locomotive-you can link up with another's initiative. You have someone to guide you and pull you along. You don't have to worry whether the direction is correct; you can just follow.
In human relationships, are you more at ease with someone who follows you, or with someone standing beside you trying to give you advice? Which kind of person do you feel more comfortable dealing with? We say God is absolute, but would His absoluteness mean anything if He were to consult with someone before making a decision? This is a simple concept, but one that has deep implications for the outcome.
Do you think that I was born for an absolute goal and was predestined for this particular way of life, or do I just act randomly, wandering through a maze and choosing the most expedient options? Have I been pursuing an absolute route or not? Even my features were predestined to be this way. God prepared these two eyes, this mouth, and even this extraordinary head to have the shape they do. What you see now is not the product of whim or chance. I grew up according to the Principle, conforming to certain formulas and natural laws; nothing was the product of expediency.
Suppose a school child is found on the playground during class time. Such a student is in an awkward situation and would be subject to punishment for violating the rules against playing during class time. However, perhaps the student was following some higher authority. Perhaps the school principal asked the student to look for something outside. If that were the case, the student would not be violating the rules but merely following a higher order. Therefore it is always beneficial to unite with a higher authority. The higher the authority you are under, the better off you are. You always thrive and have much greater freedom to maneuver that way.
The Unification Church has specific goals and is committed to following certain patterns and traditions for the betterment of mankind. If the Unification Church knows the will of God and is determined to follow that will absolutely, without neglecting even one iota, it will prosper and become the center of the universe. As long as you are following that absolute will, you have nothing to worry about. You never need to wonder whether you are on the right course. Your goal is set, so your only concern is how much and how quickly you can accomplish it. Success or failure in following God's will is easy to evaluate.
What is the will of God? What has God resolved to do? God always makes decisions in light of the purpose to be accomplished, never on whim. You could call it decision-making based on will. Therefore, in making a decision, it is of paramount importance to know the will of God.
Corporate decision-making follows a similar principle. A large company may have several thousand employees. However, what matters most is not what kind of employees it has or what educational levels they have attained, but the will and direction of the president or owner. There may be different levels of management, but there is always one vertical line: the will of the company's president or owner. In order to prosper and be successful, employees have to unite with that central will.
A department head may make a very brilliant decision and work to implement it among his people, but if it is contrary to the will of the president, which of them will remain? No department head who opposes the will of the president can survive in such an organization. Those in the department who remain faithful to the will of the president will remain, but not the department head. This holds true for section chiefs, bureau chiefs, ministers, department heads, or managers at any level.
The same principle can be applied to the universe. There is one ultimate, universal will: that of the universal owner, God. Therefore, no matter what level you are working on, the most important thing is to be totally united with and working with the universal will. As long as you do that, you have 100 percent assurance of surviving; otherwise, you will not survive.
Take the United States as another example. This is an independent nation founded two centuries ago. The documents such as the declaration of Independence and the Constitution were established based on the founding spirit of this nation. To seek to make this nation prosper means to unite with that founding spirit. The spirit of the nation as a whole should transcend small, local idiosyncrasies. Thus people have to go beyond their differences and unite with the central theme of the nation. Once a nation has been established and its laws and principles are set up, people and groups have to be grounded in that spirit and philosophy in order to survive in that nation. Whether an organization is civic, religious, academic, or something else makes no difference. If it doesn't connect with the national spirit, it cannot remain; it becomes an outcast.
It is vital to know whether a nation's founding principle is truly one with God's ultimate will. Does the national principle conform to God's will or oppose it? If there is some variation, is it to the north, south, east or west of God's will?
In the United States, for instance, no one knows whether the national founding spirit conforms to God's will. No one has made that determination. No one has made a clear declaration whether this nation is to the east or west, the north or the south of God's will. Once you plot your precise location relative to the standard, you can make an adjustment. Suppose the founding spirit of America is on the east side of God's will; then you would have to move to the west in order to unite with it. If you are on the west side, you have to move east; if you are on the north side, you have to move south; and so forth. You must make adjustments. At the end of the world, during the consummation of human history, there are many adjustments to be made, causing great confusion and chaos.
The problem is that no one knows where the world is heading. People are desperately searching for the future direction of the world but have not yet found it. Living in confusion, chaos, and darkness, people are ignorant of God's clear will. In order for the world to have hope, some prophetic voice must come and proclaim, "This is God's will and this is the true direction," dispelling the confusion and giving light to the darkness. This is the world's only hope. This is the role of the Messiah. The Messiah's task is to give direction to the world, to cast out confusion and bring light to the darkness. Only he can bring hope.
In this confused world, each person is trying to maneuver around, thinking they have found a solution. However, they have the wrong solutions, and they are wandering around in a thousand different and contradictory directions. In this confused world, one voice will stand out: the voice of the Messiah crying, "No, this is the proper direction."
What way will the Messiah point out? Yes, he shows God's way, the road or direction of God's will. The will of God is clear and unmistakable; it is one direction. This is what the Messiah comes to show the world. Do you think God's will is just to make the world religious, or is it to bring the world to completeness? To fulfill the ideal world is God's will. Religion itself is not God's ultimate goal; it is a tool. God's ultimate goal is the fulfillment of His ideal. Therefore, God's most important concept is His original ideal of creation. What is the will of God? To fulfill the ideal of creation. Anything less than the ideal of creation has no meaning or value in God's sight.
What about knowledge as a .goal? At Harvard University there are famous scholars and tens of dozens of Ph.D.'s possessing a wealth of knowledge. But if that knowledge has nothing to do with creating the ideal of creation, it has absolutely no value in the sight of God. Do you follow me?
What are you members of the Unification Church doing? The Unification Church has been making so much noise that people think we are gangsters! It is so controversial that people all over the world have been waiting to see it demolished. Instead of being annihilated, however, the Unification Church keeps growing and is becoming stronger and stronger every day.
Do you think God's will is for the Unification Church to perish or to prosper? Why does God wish the prosperity of the Unification Church? As you have heard, the Unification Church is pursuing the fulfillment of the ideal of creation, and that is God's will. In other words, we are right behind the will of God. That is why God wants us to flourish. Amen?
Some educated people might protest, "Father does not have a Ph.D. I know more than he does." Here is a man of great wisdom, Dr. Mose Durst. Suppose Dr. Durst were to say, "All you people, come with me. I can lead you. Reverend Moon doesn't have a Ph.D., but I do, so you should follow me." What do you think? Would you prefer to follow Dr. Durst, or follow me? Well, you are not so dumb, are you?
We need to reorganize our thinking and align it in one direction. When I discovered the ideal of creation, Satan began to revile me. He was filled with hatred and protested my discovery violently. He was completely overwhelmed when I started building on it. Satan has no power under the sun over God's ideal. No one can touch the absoluteness of the ideal of creation. If God's will is the fulfillment of the ideal of creation, the only way to accomplish it is to pursue this route. There is no alternate method.
Is God's ideal something He can fulfill all by Himself? No, the ideal is meant for everyone; it encompasses the whole world and seeks the harmony of all beings. Take this microphone for example. Is it part of the ideal of creation? What about this floor'? So the ideal of creation includes all of creation, all beings, all existence. The ideal of creation is the fulfillment or the consummation of the entire creation so that all creatures will realize their fullest potential. Microphones are made by many different companies-Japanese, German, American, and so forth-and one of these manufacturers sets the standard of highest quality.
What is the fulfillment of the ideal of creation? Can you fulfill the ideal of a microphone by throwing it down and kicking it, or by patting it, loving it and talking into it? The microphone finds greatest satisfaction if I put it in
the breast pocket of my coat, doesn't it? Then the microphone will thank me for loving it. Even on the lowest level of existence, there is a certain sense of feeling; it may be minimal, but it does exist. All beings can perceive love.
What is the thread than can weave all of creation into one? It is true love. True love can be defined as the love that comes from the highest possible level. Originating in God, it extends all the way down to our level, interacts with us and becomes a part of us. That is true love. If you could ask the microphone what it requires to fulfill its purpose, it would say: "Somehow and some way, I wish to be linked to the highest possible source of true love, which is God. That would be my fulfillment." In some indirect manner, even a microphone can sense that a connection to the source of true love would be its fulfillment. It would not ask for a few more dollars, great knowledge or tremendous power. A microphone does not care about money; it just wants to be used by a godly person, by men and women of conscience, because such people can connect the microphone to the higher path of true love. Everything longs to be a servant of righteous men and women.
The ideal world was created as a system of pairs. You may wonder why God created men and women as they are, why there are male and female animals, why flowers have stamen and pistil. They were created according to such an idea. All kinds of godless ideologies prevail today, such as the theory of evolution. Evolutionists feel that life emanates out of a source of energy, but how can they explain the fact that everything in the universe is organized in pairs? What power did that? Life does not move from one stage to another at whim, or by random mutation, as evolutionists claim. Before the next stage can be developed, an idea or concept is always necessary; a blueprint is drawn up. The created world was organized in pairs because God's original blueprint contained that idea long before any beings appeared in the created world.
We discover that not only do all things exist in pairs, but they seek to harmonize with each other. Male and female, plus and minus, try to complement, not kill, each other. Why do they try to harmonize? Who gave the order to all creation to cooperate? Why did God give such a message? It is because harmony is an essential condition for fulfilling the ideal of creation. By harmonizing, all beings can fulfill love and make a connection to a higher being-and God is the supreme being.
As you know, the ideal of creation involves discipline and order rather than random development. God began His creation with the most elementary beings and consummated it with men and women. God designed human beings as His supreme creation; nothing is created higher than men and women. why? Once people fulfill their purpose of creation, the entire ideal of creation will be consummated. All creatures exist for men and women and focus on them. Human beings are the apex of the pyramid of the created world. Men and women are designed as subject and object, complementary partners. Since human beings are fashioned that way, the animal world follows the same pattern; all other existence is modeled on human beings. Complementary relationships are the key relationships in our universe; there is always subject and object, which create harmony and unity through give and take.
All the elements and components of the universe want to connect to the human body and become part of it. By becoming part of a human cell, they can connect themselves to God. People are the mediators between the creation and God; we are meant to be a bridge to the divine. By crossing the bridge of men and women, all things of creation can span the river and reach God.
In the universal order of things, higher creatures always absorb the lower ones. That is how creation was planned; that is the pattern of the universe. Godless philosophies try to exploit this concept by claiming that the strong prey upon and plunder the weak. Actually, there is a beautiful, godly discipline in this plan. Lower life forms become part of ever higher creatures until eventually they reach a human cell and enter into a relationship with God. This is how they can attain the love of God. What a beautiful concept it is!
For what purpose do men and women make unity? You are created by God in heaven and you are returning to heaven through the road, or bridge, of true love. True love is the only route that can connect you to God. In its quest for true love, all of creation can be compared to a vine which twists and turns this way and that but always heads toward the sun. Every creature is constantly seeking the source of life, God.
What is the ideal of creation? The core of the ideal is the fulfillment of true love which emanates from God. When you become a recipient of that true love and partake of it, the entire universe will rejoice and be able to savor God's love through you.
Why do people strive for beauty? Why do men look for a beautiful woman and women look for a handsome man? The universe craves true love, and true love is more likely to dwell in beauty. But what makes a person beautiful or handsome? It is when all features are properly positioned, nicely shaped, and well-balanced. Suppose someone has nice eyes, ears and mouth, but a nose like Pinocchio. That would be abnormal. Suppose all the features were okay except for the eyes; instead of eyes, the person had just two large holes. That is not normal either; there is no harmony there.
People admire big things; most people would like to be tall, for instance. But would you want your arms to be 30 feet long? You can understand that automatically, even subconsciously, people search for harmony and perfect balance. That is what beauty is: the perfect balance of harmony.
When I look at your faces I see beauty. No matter how much you try to conceal your features with lipstick, eye make up, powders, and various cosmetics, you cannot hide the original shape. You can't hide from me! You might as well take off your cosmetics, then.
All creatures of the universe strive to reach the realm of the ideal; they are all reaching out for the true love that emanates from God. Therefore, when you eat, enjoy your food and let the food partake of your joy. That food will feel happy because through you it is coming closer to true love. When you eat with that spirit, you are not plundering creation. The fish in the ocean want to be eaten by the people who are closest to God's love because through them, the fish can partake of true love, too. Even the molecules within the fish want to become components of the men and women who do God's will. The greatest fulfillment for the fish is to become part of such people. Not only fish but all creatures feel that way.
There are billions of cells in Father's body, and those cells come from all the elements of the universe. Some originated in the depths of the oceans, others from minerals in the mountains; some came from vegetables, some from fruits, some from flowers. The components of the entire universe have assembled to form the billions of cells in this body. Every cell, every component of the universe that becomes part of me experiences this ultimate fulfillment. Their excitement is almost like what a student feels upon getting accepted into Harvard University. "I got it! I got it!" the student proclaims. Likewise, when these cells from all over the universe reach me, they shout out, "By George, we got it! We have become a part of Father's body."
In contrast, if you do something ungodly, you have a guilty conscience and you think: "Oh-oh, I did something against the will of God." Then all the cells in your body declare a day of mourning: "My boss is doing the wrong thing!" Your cells reflect whatever you are feeling.
Suppose a little fish swimming in the big ocean happens to be caught by the New Hope boat and Father makes sashimi from it and eats it. That fish becomes part of my cells, and all the cells of that little fish shout out, "Mansei!" These cells feel that they have attained the highest possible destination: Father's body. There is nothing better, because within Father is the dwelling of God.
All the inhabitants of the universe-all things in the mineral kingdom, the plant kingdom, and the animal kingdom-crave God's love. In the autumn, for example, all the ripe and golden grains are waiting to be harvested so they can be eaten by righteous men and women and thus come closer to God's love. In the spring, all the flowers blossom, extending an invitation to men and women: "Come, use me and appreciate me. Come and take my everything. Eat the honey made from me and use it in your body so I can become closer to God." All the universe pleads with us to help it reach the love of God.
Once you understand the ideal of creation you realize that all things can exist in harmonious oneness. Otherwise, there is no way to explain our actions. What right do people have to kill animals and eat them? What right do people have to go out to the fields and cut plants for food? Actually, fallen people have no right. But through the ideal of creation, we understand that all life has a purpose designed by God and that all these purposes culminate in people who fulfill the ideal of creation.
In the language of the Principle, to fulfill the ideal of creation is to consummate the four-position foundation centering upon the love of God. That completes the ideal. Once you fulfill it, the entire universal purpose is achieved.
The four-position foundation has God in the first position, then man, woman and children. The full interaction of these four beings creates a four-position foundation centering upon true love. You men are representatives of all the male aspects of the universe, and you women are representatives of all the female aspects of the universe. All the plus features and minus features of creation are embodied in men and women. When a man and a woman join in love, centering upon God, their unity is universal. No other force under the sun can unite such a man and woman; power, money, and knowledge are inadequate. Only love can bind them together.
The power of love is voluntary. It never uses coercion. Compulsory love makes no sense because love is a natural process, a willing and harmonious interaction. The multiplication of such harmonious and voluntary love will be genuine; pure descendants will come forth. New offspring will be born and a new lineage will emerge, centering upon the pure love of God.
If your love is given only under certain conditions or bound by a contract, however, it has no purity. If you can love only at gunpoint or under pressure, your love is tainted. Pure descendants cannot come from such love.
God resolved to fulfill the ideal of creation through establishing the four-position foundation centering on true love. Through what historical event were true men and women lost? The human fall. True men have been missing; true women have been missing. Therefore, the work of God has been to restore true men and true women. Is the president of the United States a true man? What is the qualification of a true man? He knows God, then he knows the archangel and Eve. These are the simple qualifications of a true man.
Do you know God? How well do you understand Him? If you do not know God absolutely, you belong to the category of human trash cans. How can you say you know God if you come here and fall asleep? How many of you can say you know God absolutely? When will you finish the process of learning?
A true man must understand history. He must absolutely know God, the archangel, and Eve. True women, for their pan, must absolutely know God, the archangel, and Adam. When you fully understand these three, their significance and their positions, you become a true man or women. If you men know God, the archangel and women, whom should you follow? American men often follow women. You are absolutely powerless in front of women. You are swayed by women, aren't you?
Women instinctively crave God, men, and children. The position of the archangel is that of servant. You should understand that the archangel is your servant. Use him; send him on errands. The role of women is to love God, love men, and love children. Your primary love should be for God; that love for God should then be your pattern for loving men. Then you can love children as much as you love men. This is the absolute mission of women; this rule will never change. Without fulfilling this formula of love, no Kingdom of Heaven can emerge on earth. No woman who hates men can belong to the Kingdom of Heaven. Unless you are able to love men as much as you love God, you will not be able to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The heavenly four-position foundation is the cornerstone of the Kingdom of Heaven.
For you men, who is the most important person? It is God. Next it is women. And then it is children. Through the fall, the archangel became Satan and a satanic lineage was begun. That satanic lineage produced false parents, who in turn gave birth to fallen children. In this way, the original archangel was lost, and man has been incapable of truly knowing God, the archangel or women. In our present situation, we have to go through the process of restoration in order to regain the original positions of archangel, man and woman. The most important thing is to cut off the false lineage and transfer it to the true lineage. The root has been wrong; therefore, you have to change roots and be transformed.
The problems of this world are due to the persistence of the satanic lineage. At this time in the world, all the satanic natures have been confronting each other. Each morning the newspapers are filled with stories of self-centered exploitation. The original blueprint of life has been torn into pieces. No one has known that original blueprint except God-and Satan. Because Satan knew it, he has tried to keep people ignorant of it. Satan has been working to make every aspect of our world the antithesis of that blueprint. Therefore he has been degrading all human relationships. Instead of love between men and women, he has been promoting love of men for men and women for women. Instead of respect for parents, he has been urging young people to disregard their parents and consider them old-fashioned. Satan has been tearing society apart and confusing moral issues.
The scene of Satan's greatest activity in the world today is the United States. This country has become Satan's base. Why? It is because the entire world follows the United States. If Satan can tear this country apart, he can tear the world apart. Our mission is to apply the brakes to the decline of the United States; this locomotive to destruction must be stopped. Satan has tried to counter my work by labeling me a heretic and controversial. But this is all that the people on Satan's side can say, because Rev. Moon has discovered God's original blueprint. He is the only one who understands completely the nature of an original person.
I have been unfolding this blueprint for you, and you should follow it and put it into practice. Have you been doing that? Does Satan's power have any connection to you? His power persists throughout the world. In order to expel Satan from this planet, we need to spread our movement throughout the world and work on a global scale. We need a home church network that will knit the entire world together. When we expel Satan from our home church network, eventually the whole world will expel him.
What is the mission of the Unification Church? Our mission is to fulfill the ideal of creation-centering not on power, money or knowledge but on the true love that emanates from Almighty God. Amen!
What is the significance of the Blessing in the Unification Church? It is the means of cutting off the satanic lineage and transforming it into the heavenly lineage. There is no way to sever that lineage without going through the Blessing process. In a profound sense, you and your spouse need each other's help in order to be linked with the heavenly lineage, so you become mutual benefactors through the Blessing.
Through the Blessing your lineage is changed. Do you have the power to do it by yourself? Through whom is your lineage changed? Yes, it is through the True Parents. Your lineage has to be altered before you can become true men and true women. Through the Blessing, you are all headed back to the original blueprint. You are leaving the satanic realm and returning to the original realm. Fallen men become original men; fallen women become original
women; your children can stand in the original position of children. Even Satan will be restored from the position of adversary to that of the original archangel, or servant. The entire spirit world is coming down to assist the Unification Church because it is in the archangel's ( position. You merely have to initiate the work, and the spirit world will finish it. Do you follow?
The consummation of the spirit world and the consummation of God's will for the physical world and all mankind is at hand. Are you true men? Are you true women? How did I just define true men and women? They are those who know thoroughly God, the archangel, and men and women. Your children will automatically have that knowledge as well. To know the archangel is very important. Adam and Eve did not understand the position of the archangel, so they were enticed, or coerced, so to speak. Once you understand the position of the archangel, you will know Satan as well.
Through perverted love and free sex Satan is trying to turn the United States 180 degrees away from God's will. But what he offers is destructive love; it will lead people to their graves.
Now that you know the definition of true men and true women, can I erase it from the blackboard? Are you true men and true women? To say you are trying means you still have a long distance to cover. I have a blueprint, and I will test you by its standard and give you a grade on it. If I say you are still far away, you will have to repeat the course over and over until you pass it, even if it takes an eternity. You cannot drop out, because you cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven unless you pass the course.
Through the Blessing, are you automatically elevated into the Kingdom of Heaven? To think so is a misconception. The Blessing opens the door to the Kingdom of Heaven, but you have to put on the robe and enter. That process still remains. Will anyone give you the robe? NO, YOU have to make your own robe. I will not give you one; the church will not give you one. You have to accomplish your five percent responsibility. If you do not fulfill it here on earth, you will be burdened with it in eternity. NO matter what difficulties you may encounter, you have to resolve these eternal issues here on earth. Nothing is more important. This is more essential than eating, more vital than your daily life, more important than visiting I your wife or children, more crucial than anything.
You may be a university student working hard to get good grades in your courses, but the scope of academic learning is like a peanut compared to the mission you are called to fulfill. All the knowledge of the world is nothing in comparison to this. I am offering knowledge of the meaning of life, of the tree of life. Presidents of nations and the royalty of this world will have to learn this and follow it. When you read my book of sermons, God's Will and the World, you can see that I have spoken the truth plainly and boldly. There are no more symbols or parables. I have set everything before you. The truth has emerged; this is real knowledge, the knowledge that you need.
Who decided the heavenly four-position foundation? This is God's original principle. No human being devised it. Without going this route no one enters the Kingdom of Heaven. Those who have embarked on the course may wish to vary your pace from time to time. Some of you say, "Today is Sunday, so I'll take a rest. I don't have to go to church today." You must understand that the Unification Church does not need you; it is you who needs the Unification Church.
I have given you all the resources necessary for entering the Kingdom of Heaven. I have explained all the conditions you need to fulfill in order to reach it. With all these materials and knowledge, all you have to do is put it together and do your portion of responsibility to fulfill it.
According to our Principle, will single individuals enter the Kingdom of Heaven, or those who fulfill the heavenly four-position foundation? The Kingdom of Heaven is composed of families. The family is the building block. What kind of family are we talking about? Each of you has to establish your own family. You or your spouse start out by saying "my family," but when children are born, it becomes "our family." When Adam and Eve are united it becomes "our family." When you include God, it becomes "God's family." So "my family" becomes "our family," which ultimately becomes "God's family."
In an absolutely God-centered family where true love is the core, everything will be harmonized. Grandchildren can enter any room in the house without hesitation. When their grandfather is sleeping, they can climb on his lap and pull on his beard, but the grandfather won't get mad. He will even rejoice at the pain. Only with the love of God at the center of life can such things happen. Nothing else can justify such a deed.
My adult children who are now between 20 and 25 years old still long for their roots, which are True Parents. "I want to be with the True Parents and live with them," they say. That is the most utterly beautiful manifestation of the true love of God. Many young Americans think, "I am an adult so I no longer need my parents; they are just a burden to me. The generation gap is so deep that I will go out and create my independent way of life." That is the common attitude in this country today.
Children are in the position to receive gifts from their parents. When you enjoy something your parents have given, you should express your gratitude to them. You owe much to the True Parents, and you should be grateful to us, too. Gratitude is at the core of any true family. Good sons and daughters always want to reciprocate; they want to give back to their parents even greater gifts than they received.
The Kingdom of Heaven is fulfilled first of all in your heart and your mind. This internal heaven will then manifest itself in an external heaven. This is the blueprint of the ideal of creation. Do you understand? When you have finished this course, you will become its fulfillment. All things of creation humbly and obediently long to serve the purpose of true men and women; in a similar way, men and women should obediently serve each other. Furthermore, when men and women come together, they should humbly kneel down and ask God to use them to do His will. Your basic attitude in life should be gratitude. Women should feel, "I thank God for the opportunity to serve my husband." Men should feel, the same way about their wife. Both of them should think, "Thank God we have the opportunity to serve our children, and the opportunity to serve God. We are ready to give our lives to fulfill God's purpose. We are deeply grateful to do this for the sake of true love."
Think about how much you have taken from the animal kingdom during your life. How many animals were killed to provide nourishment for you? How much of the vegetable kingdom have you consumed? We are so deeply indebted to the universe and to God that unless we fulfill our purpose, unless we live in gratitude to God and are ready to do anything to serve Him, we are not worthy.
You should feel that whether you live or die you will follow this course. When I went to Danbury, I considered it part of my path of service. By the same token, even if my life has to be sacrificed, I will accept it with gratitude and pray that it can be a worthy offering. This is the road of true love. The entire universal principle is based upon true love. Would you be willing to give your life for the sake of true love? It is convenient to answer, "I will think about it," but your attitude should be, "Yes, I would do."
Are you genuine or fake? If you cannot pledge your life for the sake of God, how can you pledge your life for the sake of your spouse? How can you pledge your life for the sake of your children? When a mother nurses a baby, her energy and even her blood and her life are going to that child. Nursing your baby is training in how to raise your children. As a parent you have to give yourself for the sake of your children. True love always engenders a sacrificial feeling. God's principle is for the wife to sacrificially serve her husband, the husband to serve his wife, and for parents to serve their children.
The Principle and the four-position foundation are not just theory; they are a real way of life. This is the formula that you must fulfill in your daily life. Those who cannot do it are no different from Satan. Each of you has this knowledge in your mind, but your body doesn't always put it into practice. However, if you can exemplify this pattern, Satan will become totally helpless before you.
On the worldwide scale, there is an Adam nation, an Eve nation, and an archangelic nation. The first and second World Wars, as well as the present spiritual world war, have been tremendous tests for mankind on a worldwide scale. We have been struggling against satanic forces, but now we are gaining the victory on a global scale. From the Principle point of view, the Adam nation is Korea. The Eve nation is Japan and the archangel nation is the United States.
Who gave Americans stewardship of this land? It does not belong to the U. S. itself but to the world and to God. American citizens have been given the right of stewardship for the sake of God's will. According to the Principle, the Eve nation must give itself willingly for the Adam nation; then the archangel nation should be willing to serve for the sake of Adam and Eve. If this could be carried out, the world's problems would be solved.
The Korean leaders and I have come to the United States in the position of Adam. The Japanese members have come in Eve's position to this country. The archangelic membership, the Americans, should join together and try to resolve the historic problems of these positions. You protest that the Japanese are bringing in Oriental tradition. Of course, the Japanese and the Koreans have different concepts about the proper way of life, just as you Americans have your own concepts. But what we are working to establish is not the Japanese way or the Korean way; it is True Parents' way of life. Who decides how we should go? True Parents, based on God's will, and you have to abide by the decision. You cannot amend it.
Have you seen me consult with Bo Hi Pak or Dr. Durst about strategy or what God's will is? Is it my nature to seek the advice of others? No. I consult only the will of God. Once I know the will of God, I follow it. Then I set up the tradition, and that tradition will prevail throughout our movement and throughout the world, regardless of nationality, regardless of boundaries.
We have been talking about God's decision and our decision. What should our decision be based on? God's will. God has transmitted His decision to the True Parents who have been transmitting it to you. To stray from this decision or try to amend it is futile. Do you feel that I should use the democratic method of decision making, since this is a democratic country? Should I consult with each of you?
What has the great system of democracy done for this land? What kind of society has it built? Could you construct the Kingdom of Heaven through the democratic system? Should God follow democracy, or should democracy follow God? If democracy were the ultimate way of life, and the ideal and perfect way, then God should be democratic. But would it be right for people to vote on God? Can you elect your mother and father? Not at all. Parents are the principle, and nothing can change them.
God's will should be the root of all decisions. I adhere to God's will absolutely, with no modifications, no amendments, no deviations. When you look around for other alternatives, using your own perspective to evaluate whether what I am saying is true or workable, Satan enters. He says, "I can claim that; I can put my label on it." Do you follow? There is no way you can make the ultimate decision. Your ancestors could not do it. No national sovereignty can legislate it. No money can buy it. No learning can reason it away. No objections can alter it. If anyone would like to protest: "Father, you are wrong; you have strayed from God's will. You are not true," stand up now and say it.
To follow faithfully to the end is your prime duty. The blueprint of the Kingdom of Heaven is absolute and eternal. Nothing under the sun can change it. Unless you meet this criterion, you cannot follow me-or even if you follow me partially, it will serve no purpose. Think about it.
Consider how difficult it is to gain admission to Harvard or Yale. What about entering the Kingdom of Heaven? Are admission requirements haphazardly applied? Can you come and go as you wish? Even if you invest all your faith, heart and soul into the effort, you cannot always be sure that you will achieve the goal. And there are some of you who don't even make any effort.
You have to make an absolute decision today. The heavenly blueprint will be your judge. Everybody will be evaluated by it. Just as tests evaluate students, the heavenly blueprint will be your judge. I have fulfilled this blueprint on the individual level and have extended restoration all the way to the global level. All the members of the True Family are united with me. Mother and the True Children are following this one principle I have established. That tradition has been set. Even Mother and the True Children cannot act according to their whim or personal desire. They too are following the blueprint of heaven.
Eventually you will be graded according to one question: how much you have fulfilled the blueprint of heaven. Even if you are at the gate, you may be unable to enter. A score of 10 or 50 is a flunking score. If you flunk the course, who will accuse you? Your children. They will wonder what you did and why you failed so miserably. "Why did you bring us to this miserable place?" they will ask. In a way, to be accused by your own children is far more severe than' to be accused by Satan.
One of my strongest determinations was never to be accused by my own children. That is why I always try to keep ahead of them, working so hard that they will inevitably feel humble and grateful. No convenient route, no practical, pragmatic solutions will help you fulfill the heavenly course. All that is to no avail.
The ideal of the principle of creation is very simple. As Unification Church members, you have learned the Principle; you understand it. None of you can claim ignorance. Knowing is one thing, but doing is another. You have to act on it. The task remaining before you is to fulfill it. Not only do I know it, but I have been putting it into practice throughout the world. That is why my deeds have created so much controversy and aroused such opposition; there are a lot of enemies trying to destroy me.
Can you understand how difficult the path is? The True Parents have had the most difficult course in the entire universe. Are you trying to get it free? At sale price or at a discount? To think like that is to think like a thief. You know that your five percent portion of responsibility remains to be done, don't you?
The ideal of creation is the blueprint by which you will be evaluated. It is the ultimate test you have to pass. You wait and see. You may think that just being to be a member of the Unification Church and trying to follow me is enough. But it isn't. Unless you measure up to the requirements of the ideal of creation, you will have no victory. I want you to realize this. Knowing this, I am so serious that I have pledged my life for the sake of America. It is no joke to me. I am not just a visitor passing through this country.
You don't need to consider other options. I have already tested every imaginable way before you even thought of checking it out. In spite of opposition from the entire world, I am still moving forward toward vindication and success. Why? Because God cannot afford to fail here on earth. Every step of the way God has been helping me. Why won't the same God assist you in your path? I have been laboring under totally adverse and hostile circumstances, but even so, with the power of God I have been victorious. Now I have created a new environment. You don't have to endure the kind of opposition I have faced. If you cannot accomplish your task under these different circumstances, you deserve nothing.
The time has come to make an absolute resolution, and commitment. It is time for absolute accomplishments. Can you do it? Will you make a lot of criticism and analysis? I have analyzed everything before you ever began. In the spirit world. I answered all analyses and criticisms. Therefore, you don't have to do it anymore. At one point, the entire spirit world came against me, but now all the leaders and founders of all the world's religions are united with me and supporting this providence. Who are you to say, "Wait, I want to test it out"?
Furthermore, you have been given this training and heritage without paying any price. How can you ever complain or disobey? Until I was 40, I never even wore a new suit or tie. I lived like a laborer. Since I had not fulfilled my responsibility, I could not imagine wearing new clothes or eating fine food. I felt I couldn't have such things without fulfilling God's responsibility.
Is this a human decision or is it God's decision? You know it is God's. I spent all these years working in the face of every adversity, following God's absolute will. How can you ever ask me to do things the democratic way? How can you expect me to consult with you or let you journey side by side with me? The wisest way to reach the Kingdom of Heaven rapidly is by willing obedience. Should a Harvard student respond, "Yes, Father, I will go your way"? Or should he say, "Oh, Father, I have six months before graduation. Can't I wait to follow you until I graduate?" In those six months he might die; he might be involved in a traffic accident, for instance. Then God's will and my will for him would all have been in vain. Do you think this blueprint will yield to your desires and make compromises? There can be no compromise.
Have you been living more in heaven, or more in hell? Evaluate yourself and your life. This time is like the 40 years in the wilderness during Moses' course. Incredible things happened during those 40 years; the people complained and demanded, complained and demanded. What did God do to them? They all perished in the wilderness; none of them entered Canaan.
Compare the Ten Commandments to the ideal of creation; which is more important? Which is more complete-the Old and New Testaments or the Principle of creation? Which is more important, the Divine Principle book, or the fulfillment of the ideal of creation? Everything, including the Divine Principle book and the Principle itself, exists to fulfill the ideal of creation. Without the ideal of creation, there can be no Kingdom of Heaven on earth or in heaven. No heavenly nation can be born.
This is why the Bible states that the members of your family can be your own enemy. Many times your closest relatives serve as the worst instruments of Satan. The wife may get in the way of the husband; the husband may obstruct the wife; children may block the way of the parents, and so forth. When you fulfill the ideal of creation. dwelling in harmony and absolute unity. you are in heaven. This is not my will or decision; it is God's. I have followed it absolutely, down to the most minute detail. Now it is your turn to follow me, even to the last detail.
It is certainly your responsibility to have your own children. I can't do that for you; that is your job. You have been given the Blessing and the title of husband and wife and now it is your job to practice love and fulfill it in your own family. I cannot do that for you. I have my own mission and my own course.
Now you know the way of absolute faith. Those who cannot fulfill this course are not genuine in my eyes. Are you real men and women? Do you understand the ideal of creation? What should follow understanding? Living it and recreating it. The first creation was lost, so you have to recreate it.
I have not had an easy path in life; obstacles have always been in my path. But when obstacles appear, I go over them and recreate the original pattern. If members of my own family did not follow the Principle, I would have to treat it as any other obstacle. The Principle applies across the board, without exceptions.
This formula has universal applications. You have to follow each step of the way, omitting none. Even God cannot skip part of the formula because that is the Principle and God cannot violate His own Principle. This is why we call it principle and not a theory that someone thought up.
Where does the Principle come from? It comes from God. I have been following the Principle and you are following it too. My time was a time of pioneering, and no part of the task was easy. But for you it is different; I have already laid the universal foundation, so your job is a thousand times easier than mine.
Those of you who can say, "Yes, Father, this morning I understand your message deep in my bones. Not only do I know the ideal of creation, but I am going to live it. I will recreate the ideal and fulfill its standard. I am going to win the victory," please raise your hands. We will see how you do. Your ancestors and the entire spirit world are watching you. Don't ever think that you are alone and unobserved.
You should be able to make one simple promise today. "Father, I will follow you absolutely. Amen." Absolute means there is only one way. There are no alternatives. You cannot say you'll try it and hope to accomplish it some day. You must recognize that there is one absolute way and then resolve to follow it. Will you do it? Thank you.
