Boundary Line

As Americans, when you hear the words "boundary line," you probably think immediately of the boundary lines between the United States and Canada or Mexico. However, within the United States there are boundary lines between the counties, townships, villages, and also between individual properties. The major continents of the world also have boundary lines between them.

Why do we need boundary lines? We have boundary lines to delineate different ownership and to delineate defense lines and thereby prevent aggression from the outside. As Unification Church members, you may say that we don't have boundary lines, that we don't have to defend anything, that we are really free, but this is not so. Within our own way of life there definitely are boundary lines that we cannot cross. If we cross over certain boundary lines in our way of life, there will be consequences. We may be held in another territory or by another master, or something terrible may happen.

Regardless of whether you are in the free world or the communist world, there are always certain inner boundary lines, just as there are invisible lines between territories, or sovereignties. In the free world, people think that there are imaginary boundary lines, or different ways of life that divide the communist world and the free world. But for the communists this is not so; they feel that their boundary lines may be bent into the territory of the free world to make small beachheads which can be expanded in order to enlarge the communists' territory.

Throughout history there has been a never-ending war between the side of God and the side of Satan. The battle between God and Satan has been waged in religious wars which are the pattern of all wars. Actually religion creates a boundary between the satanic territory and God's territory. The world of God started with the primitive religions and advanced into highly moral religions. The development of religion creates a base upon which God can stand, which means that even God Himself has a boundary. God is almighty; He can do anything He wants, but there is a certain line that God has determined He will not cross. There are certain things God will never do. It is not acceptable in the sight of Almighty God to cross that particular line. If He crossed that line, He would first have to defend that particular action. However, since putting up a defense is far more difficult and risky than remaining within the line, God will never cross that line.

According to the Bible, God gave a commandment to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. They could eat of the fruit of every tree except the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. That was the boundary that God imposed on man. When Adam and Eve did not take that boundary line seriously and violated it, there were grave consequences. Now too, we sometimes do not have such a clear understanding of the boundary line between Satan's side and God's side, but we must be serious about this boundary line from this time on. In many cases we lack concentration. We decide to go one place but listen to something somewhere else, and our attention becomes divided. That kind of moment is the most vulnerable time for man. Then instead of having a straight boundary line, we have a very complicated one.

In military operations one must always determine the vulnerable point because it is so critical to strategy. Many times situations have a triangular shape. This is very critical. If, for instance, the right-hand point of the triangle represents your eye, then you must guard that point. That is where you would place a cannon because Satan would be watching your boundary at the vulnerable point where it is sticking out. If your mind, however, is sticking out like another point of the triangle, then it would be very, very vulnerable to attack. You would have to have another cannon ready to go at that point, needing two cannons in all to defend yourself. Furthermore, having a wide distance between the two defense points is not good because it increases vulnerability and weakness. If you have a long, exposed boundary line, the defense needs and the expense are greater. With a short line of defense you can concentrate your energies with no problem.

There are people in religious life who have everything straight, all five senses focused, but there are others who look at one temptation, listen to another and think of even another. This makes them vulnerable in all areas; such people are very difficult to defend. A short straight line between two points is the best defense. However, some people have a boundary line that is so complicated that it cannot even be drawn, and there are many people whose boundary lines change many times even during the course of one day. Each of you has a certain type of boundary line. We bring that boundary line everywhere we go throughout our entire lives; we cannot leave it behind. What kind of boundary line do you have? That is the key question.

Think of it. Those straying away from the main line are in danger. What does this actually mean in our way of life? There are two major areas of vulnerability, external and internal. Externally, temptation comes from many areas. The number one element of temptation is probably money; the second, knowledge, and the third, power.

Then what corresponding weaknesses do you have that makes you vulnerable to being pulled or tempted by money? Greed. Actually greediness is not necessarily bad, nor is ambition; I am speaking of self-centered greediness. Let's say there are boundary lines for money, power, knowledge, or whatever. A self-centered person will cross those boundary lines to reach out for the money, knowledge, or power for his own sake. Self-centered ambition is always dangerous because it is most vulnerable to temptation.

There is another kind of ambition that is not self-centered. For instance if I am at the center of my family and I am ambitious to serve my family, then I will be protected by them, and if my family is ambitious to serve the society, it will be protected by the society. The same principle applies in the society's relationship to the nation and the nation to the world. This is a public-minded, selfless kind of ambition. When you have this kind of righteous, God-centered ambition, instead of crossing the boundary line and being tempted to fall, you push the entire boundary line outward to embrace all those things-money, power, and knowledge-within the area of safety. Then you can possess them as well. By living this way of life, you can mend the boundary line and extend it.

Instead of part of you sticking out and making you vulnerable to attack, once you have pushed out the whole defense line or boundary line, you will be safe no matter what you do. This means that a selfless, public-minded person has many protective layers in case Satan attacks him. The nation will defend him, the society will defend him, and his family will defend him. It is very difficult, even impossible, to reach him. A public-minded, totally selfless person is protected by the family, society, nation and world because they all benefit by him. But a person with a self-centered ambition is always vulnerable because he is always extending himself past the layers that would protect him, thus always exposing himself to attack. This is why all religious teachings throughout history have emphasized a totally selfless or public-minded way of life. There has never been a noble teaching in history that emphasized selfishness or self-centeredness. It would be impossible.

As a selfless, public-minded person, you have many shields around you; therefore, no one can attack you. But when you are on selfish ground you are like a naked body; you can be attacked even with a tiny needle. Actually, if you make yourself into a public-minded, totally selfless person, it's fine to think more about money, knowledge or power because they will all benefit humanity.

God is the same. God has a certain claim and principle that forms a certain boundary line. What kind of "ism" is God's? Let me ask you: Is God following Americanism and interested only in America? No. Which is bigger, Americanism or Godism? Godism is for the total well-being, not just partial well-being; while Americanism seeks only for the protection of America. In reality Americanism may actually be more for the protection of white people, segregating the black people due to prejudice. People always have prejudices about their local characteristics. Therefore, even within the United States there are many invisible boundary lines: the German-American boundary line, the Italian-American, Swedish-American, or Russian-American boundary lines. There is always an invisible line protecting a certain group of people. Godism, however, has no prejudices. god is always barging right through all the boundary lines, saying, "Break it up! We don't need it!" Do Americans like that?

Then, are the ones entitled to the Kingdom of God in heaven those who follow Godism or Americanism? Those who just follow Americanism cannot break through the boundaries and therefore cannot be entitled to the Kingdom of God in heaven. The person with no boundaries, save for the ultimate boundary of God which he makes his own, can travel freely in the world of God, and eventually end up in the Kingdom of God. But a person who has many boundaries and divisions is headed down to the dungeon of hell because in reality he is by himself.

You can now immediately tell by a person's way of life who deserves the Kingdom of God and who is headed for hell. There are narrow-minded people with so many different boundaries, so many dislikes and likes. They say, "I don't like that kind of man; I don't like that kind of woman. I don't like that kind of child." They don't like anybody. But there are also people who are open-minded and who welcome everybody. These people can comfortably go either to the top or come under foot. They have no boundaries. What kind of person are you going to be; what kind of "ism" are you going to live?

You have heard a very secret teaching this morning, which justifies even greediness, depending on which side you stand. What kind of greediness do you have? From this basic guideline, you now have the knowledge and power to evaluate and judge which religion and ideology and personality are truly God-centered. Through this one principle you can judge.

Let us compare the two ideologies of communism and democracy. Which one is closer to God? Communism has deep-seated prejudices. It tells people to hate the rich and the capitalists, to protect only the poor and the laborers. There are built-in prejudices right there. In the democratic ideology there are no such built-in prejudices. Democracy does not alienate laborers or farmers; it has room for everybody: rich people, poor people, intelligent people, ignorant people. The communists in Berlin actually need a wall to hold on to their people. If a nation wants to put a strong wall up to prevent people from leaving, it already demonstrates a built-in weakness in its ideology. The free world does not need walls to keep its people inside. From this principle, just with common sense we can tell that the free world is closer to God's ideology. When communists come to take over a certain territory, the first thing they do is to purge those not in line with their ideology. They just cut them out. The rich people, the intellectuals and the religious people are all purged when communists take over a nation. They do not think to liberate people by changing them or to bring about some kind of harmony.

Communists also have a deep-seated prejudice concerning religion. They say religion is an opiate of the masses, which they cannot allow. In Russia they say, "We have churches and religions; everyone can practice his own religion." But this is not true. Actually when you look into it, this is merely a front. There is no religion there. They also say, "If you believe in God or you want to operate a church, go ahead, but within the boundary of the communist ideology." How can one practice religion, how can one worship God within a boundary where God's existence is denied?

Religion has a very definite boundary, a definite line of principle. The religious boundary is universalism, a cosmic boundary. Religion is guiding man to acquire a gigantic personality enabling him to perceive and embrace everything under the sun. Therefore, philosophers and prophets in history have always said that religious teachings are timeless and without boundaries, and that they can embrace all the different cultural backgrounds in history. There are no boundaries in religion. Did the saints and founders of the great religions pursue pan-Americanism, pan-Asianism or pan-Africanism, or were they really following more cosmic ideologies? The greater the saint, the more widely he is embraced. All men throughout the world and throughout history can embrace the teaching of the greatest saint.

Now with the same principle, let us evaluate which religion is superior and see if there is a religion even greater than Godism. If there is, then even God will come under that religion, and will become a member of that church. You would not have to go too far to meet Him; just come to Sunday service and God would be there. Let me ask you a very elementary question about the Unification Church. Are we a religion or not? The outside world is so confused. They say that we are a political organization, or a cult, or a fly-by-night business enterprise. The world does not say that we are a religion.

Actually our Unification Church is a very ambitious religion. We probably have the greatest ambition of all because we are searching after an ideology greater than Godism. Have you ever heard of God's Heartism? When we say "heart," we mean the give and take relationship of heart. Heartism cannot be composed of God alone; God alone cannot consummate it, even though He is the almighty creator. It can only be fulfilled together with us. In a way that means we have outranked God, doesn't it? We can do something God cannot do. Since we really seriously pursue God's Heartism, we can say to God, "God, you and I are equal; you need me and without me you cannot be fulfilled." Isn't this a great thing'? Don't you feel good?

In history, no one has ever proclaimed as gigantic an ideology as God's Heartism. Actually no proper word exists to explain our "ism." It's not quite Godism. "Theocracy" does not quite explain it. We are talking about "God's Heartism." Would you like to be a person who knows God, someone who can say, "Good morning" to God, and God would say, "Hi Joe! " Or would you like to become a person who not only knows God but also who loves God and whom God loves'? God would say, "Joe, I love you." Actually, in the morning when you meet the God you love, you do not really need to say, "Good morning." People in love do not need the formality of a greeting. In the morning you just automatically become one. When lovers meet after a long separation, they just embrace each other in ecstasy. Would the husband say, "Wait! You must greet me first?" No! That formality is not needed.

In the world of love there is no boundary because love is the most powerful force in the universe. It can go beyond any boundary. Even hell has no boundary, which can withstand the power of love. According to Scripture, after the crucifixion, Jesus Christ spent three days in darkness. Where did he go? He went to the dungeons of hell and preached the gospel for three days.

Satan, the master of hell, might have said, "Jesus, you strayed into our cage. I'm going to lock the door; you are my prisoner." But that is impossible; Satan had no power to bind Jesus there. Jesus Christ, the complete manifestation of the love of God, said, "Love your enemy." Therefore he can even turn Hell into heaven, so going in and out of hell is no problem for him. Let's say there is a boundary in the Kingdom of God. If there is a person who truly loves God with his heart and mind and soul, will God say to him, "You cannot come in here; you have to have a passport, or you must bring a gift. You cannot come to the throne of God." Will he be stopped at that point? No.

In this universe, love is the most powerful force. But there are different kinds of love: selfish and unselfish. For instance, a couple may be in love and not care about God or humanity or even their neighbors. They just want to be happy and survive. There is also the kind of love in which people say, "America is number one. I'm concerned about America's well-being, but that's all. I don't care about Africa, Asia, or South America."

There are all kinds of love. Love is everywhere on every level, and it has every motivation. What we are talking about here, however, is the one kind of love that belongs to Godism or to God's Heartism. Once you completely perfect yourself in that love, then you will be completely free in this universe and no boundary will stop you. Everything in existence is within Godism, within God's Heartism. Then everywhere you go will be your home. Somebody may try to stop such unselfish, public-minded love from sheer ignorance, but no obstacle can stop it. The particular love in Godism is powerful enough to break through all the boundaries of the past, present, and future. Therefore, no matter what is trying to block the march of that love, it will still have historical consequences and will affect the past, present and future. That love exists before history and after history.

What does God love most? What does God want you to have'? Almighty, omniscient God doesn't particularly care for power or knowledge or wealth. The one-thing God cares for is love because without it He cannot be consummated; His happiness cannot be complete. With love alone the entire universe becomes His. In Godism there is no boundary at all because love transcends time and space. If lovers are far apart, say one is in England and one in America or one in Korea and one in America, it doesn't make any difference because the feeling is there and distance will not affect it. We didn't know this great secret of the universe, but now it is unlocked.

Where are you headed now'? Which kind of love are you craving? You can search for that love everywhere; why did you come here? There are many churches out there; they may have that love. They have very plush carpets and comfortable chairs, but here you sit without even a chair. Why did you come here at 6 a.m. on a cold morning to sit on a hard cement floor? It is not good for women particularly to sit on a cold, hard floor for a long time. But we are here every week, because we want to form the highest possible relationship with the highest possible love. I may not be such a handsome person that you can enjoy looking at me four or five hours every day, but the important thing is the truth that flows out of my mouth. Through it your spirit is uplifted; every hour you are elevated to a higher plateau, to a deeper understanding of the highest possible law or truth.

During this hour we are breaking up all the boundaries. Each hour, each minute that I speak, you are breaking another boundary and going up higher, right to the arms of Heavenly Father! That's why, even though it's difficult to wake up at 3 or 4 a.m. to come here and you may complain in your heart, once you come you know it is worthwhile. If you knew in your heart that you were in a losing game you would not come.

Imagine how much I have been thinking throughout my life. I have been a thinker all my life; if there were an easier way to go to heaven, then I would not even have to tell you about it, I would just go there first. If Communism were able to bring one to heaven and I knew it, I would have become the number one communist! If Americanism were the source of supreme happiness, I could have made myself welcomed by the 220 million people of America a long time ago. I don't have to be opposed; I don't have to be criticized. I don't have to take this route. But after an entire lifetime of thinking, I know well that no matter what the communists threaten and no matter how the free world opposes me, I cannot change one bit of my way of life or my conviction. This is the only way, whether you like it or not, and all men have to go this way at one time or another in order to get to heaven.

God's Heartism goes even beyond Godism. A relationship with the heart of God is the very core truth of the universe. Once you live that Godism, once you reach that Heartism, then you no longer live in a world of boundaries. God's Heartism is so gigantic that it can liberate even Satan and hell. I am proclaiming God's Heartism as the first and final "ism" of the universe. You can wait a thousand years or ten thousand years, but nothing greater will come. Once you accept this ideology as a strong way of life, your victory is secure. It doesn't make any difference where you are.

If you are inside a prison cell, do you think that Heartism will be defeated? Never. Whoever insists on putting such a man in jail will indemnity that a million times over. Soon, history will tell the nation that put him in jail and gave him hardship to bow down and apologize century after century, from the sovereign down to the most humble person. If this "ism" is that great, do you think that would happen? God-centered love alone shall dominate the entire universe, and even control God, who is so vulnerable to love. God-centered love alone can unite the world. No matter how difficult it may be, no matter how severely divided it may be, the world can become one under the banner of such love.

I began to speak about boundaries around an hour and a half ago. Within that time what kind of person have you been transformed into? Did you become a narrow person or did you break up your boundaries? Two hours ago when you thought that you might marry a person of another race maybe you did not think you could love such a person. But now, two hours later, you are entirely different, saying, "It doesn't make any difference!" No atomic bomb can be more explosive than this. No power of any government or head of state will be greater than this power of love. At this very moment, the greatest of all revolutions is actually taking place in this [fall. Do you realize that? This is the absolute truth. What we have is a tremendous treasure that no money can buy. Once the world knows this particular truth the entire world can come alive and become one.

Would you like to let the world know this truth and unite as quickly as possible, or slowly? When you consume something, it always decreases in quantity. Can the same principle be applied to the love of God? With the love of God, the more you give, the more you receive, and you become a giant. The more you give the more you receive, not only from God but also from people; your one investment derives benefit from both ends. When you give love to the world and humanity, there is not just a horizontal return, but a vertical harvest too. All other things are different.

For instance, no matter how much money you have, when you spend it, it decreases, and no matter how perfect the knowledge you have may be, the more you pursue it, the more you will limit yourself into certain areas. You finally just make up more boundaries. Similarly, the more you use power, the more enemies you make and you actually limit yourself. Beyond money, knowledge, and power you must want to achieve the love of God, and there is nothing you cannot sacrifice.

Now that you know the truth, can you sit still? Let's go out and spread love, give it away. White people must go all over the world, even to the black continents. Black people must go everywhere including to white continents. You must spread so much love that the entire universe will be filled with your love, and you will reap the fruit of all the seeds of love which you sowed. Then will you be rich or not? When you invest so much you will receive more back, something like a stock certificate. You will have stock certificates of love.

Do you really love me? How can I trust you? You have been searching all over the world. You have touched upon Americanism; you have touched upon Communism; you have touched upon other ideologies, but you have found here the greatest of all ideologies. That's why you are here. Now after hearing this teaching you know what you are living for.

Once you are following God's Heartism, it means you must make a constant effort to become like God. I ask you, have you been that way? Will you be that way? Why do you like fund raising? It is because we want to give for the sake of the world. We earn money in the most difficult way, with sweat and blood, but it's not for ourselves. It is to give to the world.

When you fund raise, I am sure everybody has experienced a few people who said, "I'm glad I gave two dollars to you. Come back and ask again." Since nobody easily pulls dollars out of his pocket, you must be very good salesmen. In many cases you meet people who give only reluctantly, and there are even more scornful people who will not give you even a penny. They give you a dirty look, spit at you and almost kick you, saying, "Why is a good girl like you doing that? Go and do something worthwhile." They preach at you; they do everything except give. The important thing is that you receive this mistreatment from society not for yourself but for the sake of the world. That is my way; it is the greatest way of all. Your own suffering is rather small and narrow, but the purpose is so gigantic and universal. Therefore, it will be rewarded a million times over in due course.

I am in the same position. The people in the street mistreat you, and at the same time America mistreats me. People misunderstand my motives, and are trying to put up legal difficulties and kick me out. Yet under these circumstances I am still teaching the young people. I am giving myself completely for the sake of America, and in due course this nation and the universe will have to reward our movement and me a million times over. Your parents sometimes come and oppose me, but contrary to their understanding, I am raising their children to make them saints and historical people. The showdown is over and the victory has been decided. You know the value of the eternal truth you have been hearing. Therefore, even when your parents misunderstand me, you defend me, trying to persuade your own parents. You do that because deep in your heart you know it is not for yourself. You know how shameful it is historically for your parents to oppose me, how miserable it is for the sake of your ancestors and posterity. Therefore, you want to somehow remedy and reconcile things so that these evil attempts cannot be successful.

God is determined to make one world out of this divided world. No other power can do it except the power of love. In religion, particularly in our church, people are talking about love as the central truth. This automatically proves that there is God because only God can come up with such solution, and only God's love can unite the world, not power, knowledge, or money.

In the latter part of the twentieth century, I emerged as a controversial figure, creating very much turmoil, but young people gathered around me because they discovered something very precious. The greatest ideology has been revealed through me, and you know it. That is why I am destined to remain controversial until we change the world completely. If you become a person receiving and utilizing this love, and you use your life as a bullet in God's war, then you will make yourself one of the strongest people on earth. Nothing will be able to destroy or deter you. You are standing in that precious position today. Today we are having a revolution to break up all the boundaries of the universe. It is our task to spread it. In the end only love will remain strong and prosperous. Thank you.