This is the Closing Banquet Address given at Assembly 2001 held October 21, 2001 in New York, NY.
As we draw this important meeting to a close, I cannot help but feel sad. Nonetheless, we have no time to waste. We all must go to the frontline with a God-given mandate inscribed in our hearts. The more we hesitate, the more serious and difficult will become the problems faced by humankind. Let us look around the world. Who besides you truly worries about the crisis we are facing? Who can solve today’s problems?
I would like to take a moment this evening to share a part of the Truth that God has asked me to convey to all of you. I believe that as brothers and sisters under God we can share our hearts with one another. The topic of my message is "Let us Discover the True Meaning of ‘I’."
Ladies and gentlemen, what do you think is God’s ideal of creation? It begins with our becoming a true seed by connecting to God in true love, true life and true lineage. The true seed then grows into a true family, the true family becomes the seed of a true tribe, the true tribe becomes the seed of a true people, a true people becomes the seed of a true nation, and a true nation becomes the seed of a true world. Because of the fall of our ancestors, humankind became Satan’s seeds through inheriting Satan’s false love, false life and false lineage, which have nothing to do with God’s true love, true life and true lineage. This is a tragedy for humankind and is the biggest problem for us to resolve.
Throughout history, God has been leading the providence of salvation for humankind by accepting sacrifices on different levels. In the Old Testament Era, the sacrifices were on the level of all things. In the New Testament Era, the sacrifices were His children who became martyrs. And finally, in this Completed Testament Era, the necessary sacrifice was the True Parents’ life-long suffering and countless conditions.
To what does God want us to be awakened? On what foundation might one be qualified to speak about one’s true self? You may not like to hear this, but as the descendants of fallen parents, humankind has not realized the value of the true self nor do we know the position we would occupy upon realization of the true self. At the time of creation, God wanted to be able to say "we" with reference to a true family and Himself, and to multiply this family to create a world of peace, His ideal of creation. Due to the fall, however, human beings could not find their true self, nor God could use the word "we."
If this is so, then upon what foundation do human beings say, "I"? We all live in the fallen world, so if you are an American, you receive education based on American history and tradition, and that is the ground for your concept of "I." No one could establish a relationship with God such that God would call us "mine" or consider us His children who dwell consciously in the realm of His ideal of creation. Therefore, the concept of self we possess has no connection with the original ideal of God’s creation. To reach that ideal, we absolutely must negate ourselves.
As an individual, we each have to achieve the position of a perfected "I." We can never attain that status unless we place ourselves at the "zero point" and negate ourselves absolutely. We can achieve absolute unity of mind and body only on that basis. Please think about it. Unless we establish an absolute "I" that heaven and earth can recognize, and establish a perfect family, perfect nation and perfect world, we are defective. How can God embrace defective humankind in the realm of true love, true life and true lineage? How can He enunciate "we" in league with imperfect people?
God has led the providence of restoration with the expectation that He could one day cry out "we" inclusive of a true man and true woman as His children.
Reflecting on this, we should question whether we are qualified to cry out "I" in front of God. Even before asking that question, we must examine whether our mind and body are united absolutely. A person without a clear answer to that question has a long way to go.
Since God is the subject of true love, the owner of true life and the origin of true lineage, He has been seeking true children who are inseparably one with Him. In other words, God has been waiting for the children who are connected to His life and lineage centering on true love. We become such children through absolute faith, absolute love and absolute obedience. One cannot find true love by looking within. We find true love only with a partner. Even the almighty God cannot attain true love by Himself. That is the reason He created His children as His love partners.
First, we must achieve individual perfection through the unity of mind and body. On that foundation, we should establish a vertical, father-son relationship with God. The vertical relationship alone, however, does not justify use of the word, "we." By all means, the word "we" necessitates the harmony of vertical and horizontal relationships. For this purpose, a man and a woman must receive the Blessing of marriage from God to become a true husband and wife. They must produce true children and form a true family. They are to build a three generational family based on the "Four-Position Foundation." Only then will God cry out "we" inclusive of that family.
How can we reach such a position? We have to return to the situation of God at the time of the original creation. In what position do you think God first started creating? God started creating from a position of absolute unity between mind and body. He invested Himself absolutely, centered on absolute love and absolute life. There was no room for self-interest or self-concern in that process. The teaching of "life for the sake of others" originated there. It is to give 100% of oneself, over and over.
Our family life follows the same principle. Parents, who are in the position of God in the family setting, must give themselves absolutely for the sake of the family, centering on true love. From the perspective of the Origin-Division-Union principle, parents occupy the position of Origin.
Therefore, they procreate children and must properly rear them so that they can establish the vertical axis of "we" together with their children. Furthermore, the husband and wife, taking the position of Division from the Origin, must establish the horizontal axis by uniting with each other absolutely, centering on true love. On this foundation, the children in the position of Union naturally will unite with one another following the pattern of the vertical and horizontal axes. As they do so, the children establish another axis, that of front and rear. On that foundation, the concept of "we" is substantiated in every direction: vertical, horizontal, front and rear. This is the perfection of the Four-Position Foundation and of the "Three Subject Purposes" in a family setting.
A family cannot completely manifest Origin-Division-Union action unless the lineage is connected through three generations. That is why family is important. Family is the most precious gift from God. Without a proper family environment, how can one even think about discovering one’s true self? How can we dream of seeking the perfect "we" that is absolute in every direction? Family truly is the cradle of love, peace and happiness!
Ladies and gentlemen, we must not make the mistake of falling prey to worldly fame, knowledge, power or wealth. No matter how famous one may be, if one cannot discover his or her own true self, centering on absolute unity between mind and body, and connect to God vertically, there is no meaning to life. A person has nothing to do with God’s providence unless God embraces him and proclaims "we" together with him.
Where can you find your own true self? You will discover it only by living for the sake of others. You absolutely have to put yourself at the zero point, to negate yourself and live for your family, your nation, the world and God. There you will find your true self automatically. This is the inescapable course for human restoration and salvation. It is our destiny.
We must not puff ourselves up by trying to show our true self to others. If we understood even a bit of God’s heart, a heart that has been filled with agony and lamentation from waiting for His true children throughout restoration history, we would not talk about our true self easily. We would live to build our ideal family day and night. If we can build world peace, which is the original world for which God has been waiting for tens of thousands of years, this will become the Kingdom of God on Earth. In that world, the sorrowful heart of God will be liberated.
Ladies and gentlemen, let us discover our proud true self that is free of shame under the sun, that has honor before the ocean and that has nothing to conceal facing all things. Let us build our true family so that God will cry out "we" together with us.
Again I extend to all of you world leaders my sincere thanks for attending this conference in spite of your busy schedules. Upon your return, please share the truth you have learned through this conference with others. I am sending you out to the world as the God-appointed ambassadors to realize world peace. Please go to the frontline with heavenly pride.
