ORDER NUMBER
88-11-09
REVEREND SUN MYUNG MOON
SPEAKS ON
CHILDREN'S DAY 1988
FROM THE VIEWPOINT
OF THE PROVIDENCE
Belvedere
November 9, 1988
Translator - Bo Hi Pak
The word "Providence" means the history of God and men
working together for God's purpose. Therefore, the very first step in
understanding the Providence is to understand God. Unless we know about
God, we cannot know about the Providence, and providential history
means nothing to us.
Behind each of you in this room there is a history. You are the
fruit of that history, as well as the foundation of contemporary
history heading toward the future. You are dwelling in the center of
past, present and future.
If we merely existed on the human level, we could not aspire to
anything beyond ourselves. We could not imagine anything higher or
greater than the human being. There are multitudes of human viewpoints.
Standing on the same mountain, ten people can see from ten different
angles. They can look down on a river and see various parts of it, for
example. Everybody has his own personal world view, national view, and
universal view. Yet all people have it in their nature to look forward
to something better in the future. People in the past were hoping for
something better to come, perhaps greater prosperity or a higher, more
noble standard.
So people have within themselves the desire to achieve something
higher than what they have at the present time. This striving upward
extends to the realm of ideals. Human beings are striving for the
highest, most noble of ideals, and therefore the yearning for God is
truly a natural expression of human nature.
What about God? If God truly exists, what is His aspiration? If God
is also striving for a higher and nobler goal, there would seem to be
no possibility for man to achieve an encounter with God. The question,
then, is whether God's ideal is a straight upward line, or does it make
a circling motion and come back to the original point? If God just
moved upward higher and higher in a straight line, then no ideal could
be achieved.
The smoothest motion is of the absolutely circular shape. No matter
how huge our universe maybe it is at least a depth and width of 21
billion light years-it must have a spherical shape. That is most
important. When you travel from one point, you don't plan to go out and
keep on going and just disappear. It is most satisfying to come back to
the original point.
In any circle or globe, no matter how gigantic, there must be a
center or core. Everything within that globe has to be existing in a
harmonious relationship with the core. If someone is pulling that core
from one position to another, what happens? The entire globe has to
move as well.
If you could grab God, what would you like to do with Him? Would you
want to penetrate God, shove Him away, or destroy Him? Wouldn't you
want to embrace Him, completely encircling and possessing Him? Suppose
you covered up God, creating a globe with Him as the core and yourself
as the outer covering. What next? Would God just stay imprisoned in the
middle, or wouldn't He cover you up, too, creating another layer of
relationship? Then you would cover Him up and the process would
continue. That is a relationship of many layers and one in which you
will find true happiness. Don't you agree?
If those layers upon layers are heavy, pressing against one another,
that would be suffocating. Therefore, it is important what kind of
layers you create-are they oppressive layers or harmonious layers?
Everybody likes harmony. That is the source of joy and fun.
Almighty God is so gigantic, He is beyond your imagination. Compared
to God, each one of us is smaller than a tiny ant. How can someone as
small as that harmonize with a giant being like God? What sort of
element makes that possible? Actually, it's not the size of the beings
that determines whether they can harmonize. It doesn't matter how big
one person is or how small the other. There must be some other aspect,
some element that brings them together into absolute harmony.
Let me ask you: would you rather eat a delicious meal or go out to
work? Even though somebody said "work," I know everyone would
prefer to enjoy good food. What about wearing nice clothing? Wouldn't
you rather feel comfortably dressed than have to wear rough clothes and
go out to fight? Nobody really likes the idea of struggle. Yet life is
full of it, particularly in the work arena where we must struggle every
day to make more money. Companies compete continuously for business and
dollars.
Fighting itself is not an enjoyable thing, but there is an element
of joy when you are fighting for something good. Through fighting we
can either improve something or destroy something. Two different kinds
of results can be engendered. What about a fight between two sides
which are both good? What will be the result? Can goodness still be
engendered when there is conflict between two parties of goodness? In
order to advance toward some higher goal, that process is necessary.
Let's look at the recent 24th Olympics in Seoul, Korea. Champions
from around the world came together there. Just to be able to attend
the Olympics, those athletes had to go through a tremendous process of
competition, fighting to achieve the position of best in their nation.
Is that kind of fight a good one or a bad one?
What about those who were defeated and eliminated from the
competition? Imagine the sadness of people who worked, trained and
struggled for four years in order to compete for the Olympics. They
worked so hard, yet they were defeated in just a few minutes. That's
the end for them. Those men and women are bound to be heartbroken and
miserable; yet they serve a great purpose. Those who are defeated are
the ladder or stepping stone for those who eventually win. Without the
defeated, there can be no champion. They can say, "You won the
gold medal because I came in second. I served a purpose, so I am a part
of your gold medal." When a competitor thinks like that, he won't
feel so bad.
Therefore, the most important thing is the ultimate purpose for
which you work or fight. When you are working for a great and noble
purpose, you will have much competition; there will be lots of winners
and losers. It is a huge ladder you have to climb. However, once you
achieve that ultimate goal, the whole process can be regarded as good.
Anybody who is fighting and giving sacrificially for a cause greater
than himself is part of a good process, even though there is inevitably
struggle and conflict.
Contrast this to someone else who is working for a self-centered
goal, trying to achieve his own selfish or criminal ideal. In order to
achieve it, he fights and struggles. In that case, the whole process,
including the struggling, is evil.
We just witnessed the outcome of the U.S. presidential elections.
Dukakis and Bush and their respective parties had been in the process
of struggle for the past 18 months. If either candidate had been
working only for the good of his own party, then that would have been
self-serving, and the struggle would not have been a worthy one. But
as long as both candidates are working for the benefit of the whole
nation, then the process is a good one. George Bush won, but he is not
the Republican president. He is the president of the United States.
The point is that when you are pursuing a greater and nobler
purpose, fighting for that purpose is a good fight. But any fight that
is for selfish purposes is an evil fight and creates a downward motion.
When I came to this country, I engaged in tremendous struggle and
confrontation. When I struggled with the United States of America, it
was not for the purpose of bringing this country down. It was only to
improve the well-being of the world and therefore this country. That
is why my fight has been a good and noble one.
Looking at my incarceration in Danbury prison, the United States
might declare that it won the fight against Reverend Moon. However,
from the greater Providential point of view, the United States is the
loser and Reverend Moon is the winner. That is because I was fighting
for the greatest purpose of the world and the ultimate advance of this
nation, while the United States was opposing me. Who is Cain and Abel
in this struggle?
What is the most important commodity or element in the world? Is it
the almighty dollar? Money is very important and good, so is it greater
than the nation and the world? After all, with enough money, you can
just about buy the nation and even the world, right? What about the
importance of knowledge? The more you know, the better equipped you are
to pursue your goal. So knowledge is a tool, not the goal in itself.
Then there is power. That must be the most important thing.
Look at George Bush. He has the greatest position of power in this
country. Suppose he decided to go out to the velvet-green lawn of the
White House and show off his power. Imagine that he shouted, "I
have the greatest power, so I demand that all you blades of grass turn
brown and die!" Would the green grass obey George Bush? Suppose he
sent a declaration to the birds, "I am commanding that no more
creatures should fly through the air!" Would the birds obey? Of
course not. Then what kind of power is that?
Even though we recognize the limitation of all these temporal
things, still human beings pursue money, knowledge and power. What
about God? What does God pursue? He doesn't need money, knowledge or
power, since He can create those things at any time. Is there anything
in this universe for which God says, "I want that so badly, I am
going after it with all my might"? Is there something which God
works hard every day to obtain? Do you think God has some purpose and
daily goal? Surely He has something, or otherwise His life would be
dull.
Look at yourself. If you had nothing to do and just sat around every
day, you would be a bored, unhappy person. You want some goal to
achieve, and so does God. God made Life with a purpose and with
meaning. What is it that God has been doing every day throughout
history without resting? That is what we call the Providence.
If you pull one particular string, you can pull God in any direction
you want. When you pull that string, even God becomes helpless. What is
that string of God's vulnerability? If there is such a thing, you want
to know about it, don't you? What we are talking about is TL-True Love,
with capital letters. When you just talk about love, it is often a
cheap word. Americans say, "I love this thing, I love that. I love
my cat." But God is not talking about cheap love. There are a lot
of husbands going to work every day, kissing their wives and saying,
"I love you, darling." The wife says, "I love you, too,
dear. Have a great day." But how deep is the root of their love?
The root of love must be digging deeper and deeper, as well as
blossoming higher and higher. What is the importance of a woman loving
her husband, or a man loving his wife? If that love is not connected to
anything greater or higher, then it doesn't serve any true purpose. The
love of men and women must be connected to the love of the clan, the
extended family. Is that the end of it? No, beyond that there is a
greater tribe or community, and the nation. So the tribe belongs to the
nation, the nation belongs to the world and the world to the cosmos.
The true center and root of the cosmos is God; therefore, true love
has to be that deep, reaching the ultimate core which is God. Each of
us has to reach GTL-God's True Love. Husband and wife are saying,
"Darling, I love you," but that does not go beyond the
horizontal level. No true love has ever before existed between husband
and wife. Why is that? It is because no true husband or true wife has
ever existed. How could there be true love?
What is true love? What is a true husband or wife? The true husband
and the true wife are each directly connected to GTL. When God says
that their love is true, then God's True Love will be with them. But
when we try to claim that our love is true by our small human
standards, God will not be able to follow that. No matter how intensely
a husband and wife may love one another, if they fail to love their
country, then they cannot belong to GTL.
What about the country? We have to have a true country, as well as a
true husband and wife. Every level has to be connected to GTL.
Therefore, you must become men and women who can connect with and
communicate directly with Gods' True Love. That has to be your
foundation and position; without that, you cannot move about freely.
God's True Love is the greatest of all pluses, so all the rest of
the universe, including all the true husbands and wives, will be
together as the greatest of all minuses. The true man is loved by his
true wife, his true community, true nation, world and universe. That's
the kind of man we are talking about. The same applies for true woman.
There are two kinds of members of the Unification Church: the true
ones and the not-so-true ones. What is a true member of the Unification
Church? True members are connected all the way from the bottom to the
top with GTL. True members say, "We have to give love to our
country in this national campaign, so let's do it!" The other kind
says, "Well, I don't care about America or the world. I'm just a
Unification Church member."
Let's say one member is working for the sake of the world. Then I
ask him, "What about working for the sake of the universe, for
God's sake?" Suppose he says, "Oh, no, I don't need to. I'm
already working for the world." Is that a good enough member? Are
you that type? True members are connected to the root and all the way
to the top of GTL. Can there be flowers or trees without roots? Why do
they need their roots? As long as the root is intact, they can maintain
their life. The cycle of the seasons-from blossoming to bearing fruit,
and so on-can continue. That's the circular motion of their life.
Imagine two different women. One is beautiful to look at, sitting
inside a room on a lovely chair, clutching artificial flowers. She
looks like a doll, but she has no root. Then there is another woman who
is out working in the garden, digging up the dirt and laying out
fertilizer. She and her clothing stink, but she is holding a bunch of
real flowers and enjoying their fragrance with a smile on her face.
Which woman represents the true woman? Certainly, it would be the
second one.
Let's get back to this question: What does God want and like the
most? Now you have a very good idea. You and God both have the same
desire: to hold onto something precious and never be separated from it.
Once you unlock the secret of what God considers precious, you can hold
onto that and also be connected to God forever. Of course, we are
talking about GTL-God's True Love.
No matter how much you have been preached to, it hasn't really come
into your very bones. This is the problem. Even though you may think
you understand true love, I am talking about something much deeper.
That true love is connected all the way to God, not just to husband and
wife, not just to the clan, the tribe, nation or world. It must go all
the way to God. That must be our goal.
If there is truly a true love, then God wants to hold onto it.
Likewise, all people want to hold onto it because we have the same
desire. True love is the goal of God and the goal of man.
True love is spherical and everything is contained within its
parameters. Even my smelly foot belongs to true love. True love
doesn't say, "You stinky old foot, get out!" Smelly feet are
like fertilizer to true love. Even Satan himself can be encircled by
true love.
Christianity and all the world religions have been talking about the
greatness of love. Love is the most altruistic impulse. When you know
the depth of true love, you can understand the meaning of Jesus'
command: "Love your enemies."
Do you think you can occupy God's kingdom? True love has been in
existence for millions and millions of years. God created this universe
which is so gigantic you can't even imagine it. Yet you small guys and
gals who were born in the present time can say, "I'm going to
occupy God." Can you occupy that infinite, universal God and His
True Love? Yes! As I said originally, it doesn't matter how big one
side may be or how tiny the other side is.
God created this universe for a reason. What was it? Was it for His
own selfish purposes? God created for the purpose of experiencing joy,
but what is the core of that joy? Simply, God created everything for
the sake of the fulfillment of true love.
What is involved in the fulfillment of true love? Did God create the
universe for the primary goal of receiving true love, or for giving it?
Yes, giving true love comes first. In English, you always say,
"Give and take," not "Take and give." That's good,
but while your mouth is saying "give" first, your hand is
taking first. That is the primary problem of America today-taking
rather than giving. America should give itself for the sake of the
world. The citizens of this great country don't understand this point.
The government doesn't understand it, either. Maybe President Bush
should change his name to "Push," which is equivalent to
give. When you push out, you are giving of your effort and self.
The Principle of True Love requires giving before receiving. Then
there can be multiplication and growth. But when there is taking and
selfishness, there is shrinking and, ultimately, total loneliness. The
person who always takes finds himself alone, while the one who gives is
surrounded by others. When you give, it eventually comes back to you,
along with interest. A person may leave his home and go off to a
foreign land, as did Abraham in the Bible. But once he fulfills his
goal, where does he go? He goes back to the original point, to his
home.
By giving, you grow and prosper. This simple secret is not
understood by most people. Why is that? It is because they do not
understand God's purpose of creation and how He created. Almighty God
poured Himself out into His creation, giving every ounce of His
energy. Giving, as we said, produces growth and prosperity. That's why
this universe is so vast. Anyone who lives parallel to this Principle
of Creation will therefore prosper and grow.
What are God's ultimate goals? True love is God's goal, and in order
to achieve it, He needs a partner, an object. Love requires a
circuit-two, not one. Can true love be shared between two women? No,
that is sisterly love. Only a man and a woman can create the circuit of
true love because they represent the two extremes.
In the relationship between man and woman, can they just take love
from one another? Is that the first step? No, if two people try to take
from each other, their relationship will fall apart. But when they
give, they create a vacuum within themselves and the force of the
universe will fill them up. Thus they will have greater and greater
power. The process of giving to one another pushes them into circular
motion. What is the axis of their motion? It is true love.
Anybody who makes giving his life's guiding principle will find the
entire universe as his ally, supporting and protecting him. But anyone
who consistently takes from others will be making an enemy out of the
universal power, finding himself isolated and rejected. God's way is
giving, while Satan's way is taking.
When you American women get married, are you thinking primarily
about giving love or receiving
it? More and more Western men are rejecting the typical American
woman in favor of the Oriental woman. Why is that? Many American women
want to control and take from their man. They say, "You must take
care of me and love me." On the other hand, the Japanese and
Korean women say, "I will serve you. I give myself to you."
The root of true love is eternal giving-without end.
According to the laws of the physical universe, power which is
expended will dissipate and decrease. But true love power is increased
when it is output; it multiplies and becomes greater and greater. This
is why true love is such a secret and why so many people don't want to
practice it. They need to understand that the True Love Principle is
the only way to bring prosperity to themselves and to humanity as a
whole, now and forever.
Look at the histories of all the major religions. Each started out
small and none was established without going through persecution. Yet
as each religious group practiced the True Love Principle, it grew and
developed.
As you know, I was incarcerated in Danbury prison for 13 months.
That was a totally unjust imprisonment representing a vendetta against
me and the Unification Church. However, it made history. Now, when
Korean and Japanese members come to the United States, they feel they
must go to Danbury and offer a prayer. Otherwise, they have no purpose
in coming to America. That feeling is growing and increasing.
When I first went to Danbury, there was tremendous hostility toward
me on the part of the government, as well as the prison officials and
even the inmates. They did many shameful things and tried to embarrass
me. But what happened? Day by day, the people in the prison changed
their attitude toward me. Eventually, they were all melted. Why is
that? It is because I live the Principle of giving. In every way, I
gave of myself in the prison. By the time I was released, the inmates
gave me a tearful, heroic send off.
What was the result of Danbury? Did I decline or prosper there?
Because I practiced the Principle without deviation, the results were
total prosperity.
Think about it. Look at this humble horse stable here at Belvedere.
Why do you suppose we haven't replaced it with a great temple? This is
the starting point for our great prosperity. This humble stable could
not be exchanged for the Versailles palace in France. In the future.
millions of people will come here to sit and pray and shed tears
because this is where true love was taught by the True Parents.
The only thing which Almighty God needs is love. In order to attain
that love, He requires an object. Thus He created the object of true
love. Think about how serious God was when He created man and woman.
Was He just entertaining Himself by creating, like enjoying a hobby?
No, God was creating people who would become equal partners with Him in
true love. Would that urge of God to share His love be less than or
stronger than men and women yearning for each other? It is even
stronger. In human society, men have sometimes challenged one another
to duels to the death in order to obtain the love of a woman. Think
about how much more serious is God's determination.
God is the root of all love; that root is therefore most dedicated
and serious. In common Christian understanding, God simply said one
day, "Let there be light," and snap! It happened while God
laid back and rested. Then He said, `'Let the oceans arise," and
so on, and the rest of creation happened without much ado. God is seen
as rather complacent about the act of creation. But, I tell you, God
invested every ounce of His great energy-every bit of Himself was
poured into the act of creating this universe.
God was creating human beings in His exact image in order that we
might be His partners of love. We were given the capacity to
accommodate God's almighty love. God certainly wanted to enjoy a full
return on His investment, so how seriously would He have given
Himself? The resulting man and woman were His supreme form of
creation. God's expectation was that man and woman would give of
themselves fully and freely and would eventually become one through the
power of love. God's own power was the force driving the love power.
Man and woman were supposed to give of themselves totally, emptying
themselves out, holding nothing back. Thus they could swap positions
with each other. They would give more and more, swapping positions,
then give more, changing positions again and moving back and forth in
that process. That is how their circling motion was to continue. What
was to be the center point of that circling motion? Their axis was to
be true love.
Without an axis, turning motion becomes chaotic. So husband and wife
must be centered upon the proper vertical axis between God and man.
There is only one vertical axis, not two, creating that gigantic
circular motion between God and mankind. Yet within that larger sphere
are all the smaller, parallel vertical and horizontal lines. Different
cultures, geographical locations and so forth have their varying
spheres, but they must all be aligned with the central axis of the
universe. The basic rule is that each vertical line should be always
parallel with the central one. Horizontal lines should be always
parallel with the central horizontal line.
Should East and West harmonize or clash? Which of the two is plus,
which minus? Actually, it doesn't matter which takes the plus or minus
position.
Your mind and body represent the vertical line and the horizontal
line, respectively. In other words, your mind is your vertical self and
your body is your horizontal self. So two selves combined into one
gives you your true self. Both the mind and the body have desires and
goals to achieve. Your mind desires something greater, nobler, higher
along the vertical line, while your body seeks for acquisition along
the horizontal line. When your vertical desire grows in accordance with
your horizontal desire, that is fine. But the problem is that the
vertical desire stops and the horizontal desire grows all out of
proportion. That is where evil comes in.
In relation to the universe, God is the Master of the vertical line,
while the universe itself is the horizontal God.
We could give another definition of true love. It is where the
vertical, mind-centered love and the horizontal, body-centered love
cross at 90 degrees. Why 90 degrees? That perfect right angle can fit
anywhere in the circle. Suppose it were just one degree off, say 91
degrees. Is that okay? No, it will not fit properly within the circle,
so it is not good enough. True love must be absolutely perfect, with no
room for deviation.
Minus and plus must go to the center to be united. You cannot set
the place of unity arbitrarily. Your horizontal line must be aligned
perfectly so that it crosses the vertical line at 90 degrees wherever
it goes. That is the law. Only at this perfect juncture point does True
Love become acceptable. No deviation from that can be acceptable. This
90 degree crossing point is called the definition of true love. This is
exactly how God wants His relationship to be with man and woman-the 90
degree true love relationship. Once that happens, nothing can separate
you. You will know nothing but expansion of joy, prosperity, and
development of your love.
Centering upon God at the vertical line, man and woman come toward
each other along the horizontal line and finally meet at the center.
That is the original line of the Principle of Creation. Perfection or
maturity of human beings means they have reached the center, they
understand God's True Love and this vertical line. You are meant to
grow through your childhood to that level of completion.
When a boy grows to a certain age, we might say he experiences the
love awakening. He comes to the poignant realization, "God created
me to meet a woman." The same thing happens to a girl: "I was
created to meet a man." However, where are you supposed to meet
each other? Only along the central line. That central vertical line is
actually the line of eternal life. Only God's True Love makes your life
eternal. Therefore, unless you meet one another at that GTL line, you
cannot enjoy eternal love and life.
We might represent human life along a horizontal line. You are born
at the end point of the line and move toward the center as you grow up.
God is moving down along the vertical line, seeking to make His
rendezvous of love with you. When a man and woman have both grown
enough to come to the central point and they meet one another there,
God is also coming right down to that point. There is the meeting
between man, woman, and God. God is the center of the love
relationship. Eventually, God is the core, like the bone, and Adam and
Eve encircle Him, like the flesh. In that relationship, there is no
power that could ever intervene. That is when man and woman truly
become the temple of God. In this relationship, everyone is fulfilled.
Eve finds her love fulfilled and so does Adam, and so does God. The
center of all of them is GTL-God's True Love.
Now we move on to other questions: what kind of creativity does God
have? The center of the Unification Church teaching is that of True
Parents, so who and what are they? These are questions that need to be
answered.
God represents your vertical parents. In other words, God is the
vertical true love parents. Where exactly is God? This is the great
agony for all of fallen mankind: where can we find God? Our greatest
point of need is to find our central point of vertical true love. What
about the True Parents? They are the central point of horizontal true
love. If there had been no fall, every man and woman would
have been perfected in true love. Everywhere they went in the
universe, both in the physical world and spirit world, they would have
been welcomed and would have fit perfectly with their 90 degree love.
Everything in creation is made in the pair system-from man and
woman, to male and female flowers, to plus and minus relationships in
the mineral kingdom. Therefore, God's vertical love is expressed
throughout the creation. Every aspect of creation has to follow that
law and parallel the vertical line; otherwise, it cannot exist. The
entire creation is like a reference manual for man and woman.
Everything exists for the purpose of supporting the true love between
man and woman.
In a way we can call the creation a museum of true love. It teaches
men and women God's True Love Principle. Watching the birds, or
observing the bees flying from flower to flower, seeing male and female
creatures relating-all of this is the world of God's love in action.
When you see all this, you can realize that God is trying to teach us
something important. You can be proud because human beings are the only
part of creation that is aware of God and connected to Him as well
throughout eternity.
Everything follows the true love way, but the rest of creation
doesn't have eternal love. Only man has that ideal, vertical, forever
love. Looking at the creatures, man can think, "You are only here
for a short time, but man is God's partner, so we can enjoy love
forever and ever. How wonderful!"
When you have this attitude toward nature, everything is lovable.
You want to touch the grasses, hold the flowers, stroke the trees and
the birds because they are all part of the creation of God and are
practicing God's true love in their own temporal way. The center of
true love in the universe. Is man and woman because only man and woman
can go on with true love for eternity. That is why we have dominion
over the creation with true love. You can communicate with anything and
everything through true love. There is nothing you cannot understand
and appreciate.
God is the King of wisdom. When He created, He made all things
capable of communicating with each other, particularly with man. So God
could sit and look at His beautiful world, the singing birds and the
roaming animals, the blossoming flowers and fragrant plants, and He
could rejoice: "Hurrah! All of them are the expression of my true
love centered upon my true object, man and woman." That is how God
really wants to enjoy His creation. Do you understand?
Therefore, the truth is that having True Parents on the earth is the
hope of mankind. God is invisible, but God's love can be everywhere
when True Parents can come to the earth. They are like the body of God
through which the true love for the universe can be disseminated.
I am just getting warmed up and we haven't even touched our topic
yet!
In order for you to be a recipient of both vertical and horizontal
true love, God has given you a mind and a body. Vertical unity with
God comes about through your mind, and with your body you can achieve
horizontal unity with true love. When you say you are the ideal self,
that means you are a container capable of receiving the vertical true
love from the vertical True Parents-God-and the horizontal true love
from the True Parents on earth.
What is God's position? Who are the True Parents? The simplest way
to understand it is to say that God is like your mind and True Parents
are like your body. God has given you both True Parents-the spiritual
True Parents and the physical True Parents. You were born into these
two worlds and are the result of these two loves. When you practice
true love by giving and living true love, then God is with you. You
become God's temple. God absolutely stays with you.
You cannot leave God or True Parents. You need both. You must attend
God as the vertical True Parents; you must attend True Parents as the
horizontal True Parents. Amen! Both are combined with one forever. We
can never separate mind and body. Only through God and True Parents can
we talk about eternal life.
So which is first, love or life? Love comes before life-our life was
conceived and created as the fruit of our parents' love. That means we
also participated in the parents' love. Do you know what I mean? We
were meant to participate in the original true love. Our original
ancestors-Adam and Eve-were supposed to have originated true love on
the horizontal level. We could stand at the center point of vertical
love and horizontal love, connected with the beginning point through
love. Thus we would participate in the original vertical love of the
parents.
You simply cannot deny your father or your mother. By the same token
you cannot deny your God. You wouldn't be here today without God, your
father or your mother. The truth is that if the human fall had not
occurred, your physical parents would have been your True Parents as
well. You cannot be separated from your parents because they are your
starting point. Your life is a joint venture between three parties:
your father, your mother and yourself.
If the fall of man had not happened, our life cycle would begin with
love and end with love. Your life began with the love act of your
father and mother. You dwelt within your mother's womb for nine months,
receiving nourishment and love from her. Then you were born and began
to grow up through the love and guidance of both your father and your
mother. As you grow in love centered upon God, you are supposed to
become an embodiment of true love. You can go on to give birth to your
own children and then the same process will be repeated, with you in
the parent's position. Again, God is the center. You were conceived in
love, you will end your life in love, and love continues for eternity.
The family system is the most important institution of God's true
love school. In the family you go through your life pattern,
experiencing love and obtaining eternal life. So the True Parents are
teaching you about the truth. Is the American secular way of life
today, including the perverted "gay love," parallel with that
teaching? No. Furthermore, when their parents grow old, many Americans
simply send them into an institution, like a human zoo, where they can
wait for death. Can that be the right way?
Who is the oldest person in the universe? It is God! God is your
vertical parent. Can you send God into a senior citizens' home? What
about the True Parents? No, you have to serve and attend your parents
as training to serve your eternal, vertical parent, who is God. With
that proper kind of training, you can go to the spiritual world and
easily inhale the atmosphere there, which is love.
For many American men, practicality and pragmatism are the only
considerations. Many men think, what a burden women and children are. I
don't need that. All I need is a small apartment and a simple life. I
don't want to be bothered with a family." But that sort of
"pragmatism" stops a person from growing, from learning how
to breathe spiritually. You've got to breathe the air of love when you
go to spirit world, so when you stop the development of your love in
the physical world, you stop living.
The way of true love centers on others. The family situation
provides a person with the environment to learn how to love others. On
all sides- front and back, up and down, side to side-the relationships
within the family teach you how to love all the different kinds of
people.
The family is truly the building block of the Kingdom of Heaven.
When your family is strong, you are able to love the nation, world,
universe and God almighty.
Think about your own family. What is the degree of your crossing
point between vertical and horizontal love? Some may have a 50 degree
angle, some 19 degrees! That's a big problem! That is why you have the
Principle to learn how to be set free. The truth shall set you free.
God gave the truth to the world through the Messiah, the
representative of God on earth. So we might say that God's image, His
personification, is within the Messiah.
The fallen world lost God's image and therefore restoration became
necessary. The fallen world is full of enemy relationships on every
level Adam and Eve fell into an enemy relationship; Cain and Abel were
supposed to be loving brothers but became enemies instead. That enemy
relationship was the seed for the rest of the human race. Therefore, at
the end of world history, the same enemy relationships will be seen on
the world wide level.
Among the nations, there is an Adam nation, an Eve nation, a Cain
and an Abel nation. Since these enemy relationships came about through
illicit love, an illicit love situation on the world level shall also
appear. What is occurring all over the world? Men and women are
becoming enemies, instead of loving partners. Husband and wife,
brothers and sisters, mothers and sons, fathers and daughters, parents
and children-all are becoming enemy relationships.
This is particularly true in the American family today. Where can we
find a true father, mother, brother or sister in the American home?
People are living with stepparents, stepbrothers and sisters,
half-siblings and all sorts of strange relationships. Satan is trying
to divide and conquer the world with the same seed of illicit love.
Does the American government have the power to solve this social
dilemma? What about the military? No one seems to know what to do about
the American family breakdown.
Many people have followed the so-called sexual liberation movement,
believing that everything should just be free and easy. All kinds of
tragic things are happening because of that attitude. Love was
supposed to be the point of the creation of eternal life, but once love
became corrupted, it began leading man toward corruption and death.
Everywhere we look we see despair in the world today. What shall we
do about it? We have two options: either we just give up on the world
and let them go to hell, or we work to restore everyone to life and
hope. There is really only one option: we must restore the world.
Suppose you were not a member of the Unification Church but were
listening to my words as an objective American. Would you agree with
what I am saying? Anyone would recognize the truth of this.
It is bad enough that America is going down so badly, but also the
rest of the world is following its lead. The entire world is declining
because of immorality. What is the satanic weapon to destroy this
world? It is none other than illicit love, although the people of the
world don't know that.
Look at the phenomenon of AIDS. That disease is telling the world
something very important. God is giving us a warning through that
terrible disease. True love goes in only one direction: toward
goodness, toward others. Satan tries to make fallen, selfish love look
bright and attractive so that people will follow that. American people
think, "Oh, we are going the way of love." But now that AIDS
has come along, people can see where fallen love will take them. God
has proclaimed to them, "You continue your destructive ways and
then who will protect you?" Even God doesn't know that answer.
Our mission is to become strong and march forward to reach out to
all of humanity. We cannot take rest. Every person is our brother or
sister. So the Unification Church members have the biggest mission. Our
job today is to create out of this divided, chaotic, fallen world a
true Adam country, true Eve, Cain, and Abel country. That is the
Unification Church mission. Instead of being separated and enemies, the
nations should be united as friendly brother and sister countries.
What is the prescription for healing this world? It is true love.
Since Adam and Eve separated and became enemies through illicit love,
the Adam nation and Eve nation should be united through true, unselfish
love in the process of restoration. In order to create the truly united
Adam nation and Eve nation, you have to plunge into this chaotic,
sinful world. You must win the battle there and then go back to create
the Adam nation and Eve nation.
That is precisely what the Providence is all about. That is why I
came here to America in the first place. I was certainly not
well-received here. The United States has been the enemy nation to me
but I came here and have stayed here for this long time. Why? It
doesn't matter whether America loves me or not. I came here to restore
this country, no matter what. To do that, I brought along the
"contingency troops"-individuals from the Adam nation, the
Eve nation, the Abel nation and the Cain nation. All together we came
to bring about the showdown, the confrontation here in the United
States.
The United States has been the enemy to all those other nations. By
coming here and loving the people more than their own countrymen, those
individuals are practicing the standard of true love. Otherwise, they
would not be able to return to their own nation and re-create it.
Japan and America were the bitterest of enemies during World War II.
Many Americans, including Dr. Durst, felt it was virtually impossible
to deal with the Japanese. Likewise the Koreans-their culture is so
different! The differences are still there even now, after they have
been in America for so many years. By the same token, I brought German
people to work here in America. I knew that Germans didn't like
Americans and vice versa, mainly because of the World War II
experience. But now individuals from those enemy nations are becoming
brothers and sisters, loving each other truly. The United States is
like a small world, a microcosm. That is why this nation must be the
battleground and why we must win the victory here first. Otherwise, I
cannot go back to establish the true Adam nation.
Satan is cunning and clever. He knows he is evil, that he is the
Devil. Yet he is protesting to God, "I was originally Your
archangel. Your son, Adam, was supposed to love me, so You and Your
true children, Adam and Eve, have to love me now to get into Heaven.
That is the original way of Principle." So Satan uses Divine
Principle to accuse Adam I know that very well. Thus I came to America
to love the enemy country. In order to enter Heaven, you must have the
power and capacity to love even Satan.
Jesus was well aware of this particular truth. That is why he could
say of the Roman soldiers who pierced his side as he hung on the cross,
"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
I know well how important it was for me to love this enemy nation of
America. If I am truly the son of God, representing Him in the True
Parents' position, then I must love the enemy in order to open the
gates of Heaven. I came to the United States to love this nation. That
is the precise reason I returned here after the indictment was made. I
did not have to return from Korea, since Korea and the U.S. do not have
an extradition treaty, so I had no legal reason to do so. All the
lawyers were telling me, "No, Reverend Moon, don't come
back." But I packed up my bags and came back the next day.
Why did I do that? It is because my mission is to save America, not
to be comfortable here. In a way, I welcomed going to Danbury prison
because that is where the worst sort of Americans are
assembled-criminals. I knew that if I could love them- the worst of the
enemy people-then I was truly loving my enemy.
Satan had claimed control of this nation; it was truly his
principality. But I climbed up on top of Satan and declared, "Get
out of my way! I am going to love America and you cannot stop me. I
will open the gates of Heaven here." Once I fulfilled the standard
of loving this nation in such a way, I could go back home to Korea.
Satan could not follow me there.
Everyone who has followed my path has been accused and persecuted.
The Japanese who came over here were certainly not welcomed. The
Europeans, likewise, were not welcomed. Even you Americans who became
my followers were rejected by your own people. But because all those
people united with the True Parents and purely and sacrificially
devoted their lives to loving the United States, they were victorious.
After making the condition for that victory, where must they go?
The Adam and Eve countries used to be enemies, but God's power is
grafting them into one. In that way, there is salvation for the Cain
and Abel countries. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve fell and
through them the fallen nations arose. Now God must bring together not
individual Adam and Eve but the nations representing them and unite
them in true love, thereby restoring the fallen act of Adam and Eve in
the Garden. When that happens, it is a condition for the restoration of
the world. I did not come just for the restoration of the Adam and Eve
nation but for the sake of the world.
The Korean peninsula was divided by the 38th parallel. North Korea
represents the satanic kingdom, under Kim Il Sung. On June 25, 1950,
they launched their attack against the South, trying to take over the
entire peninsula for communism. The whole country was ravaged. However,
with God's help, South Korea was not destroyed and freedom was
restored. What happened afterward? Two extreme poles came to
exist-north and south. One is satanic and communist, and the other is
democratic and freedom-centered. Thirty-eight years after the war,
South Korea became the host of the Olympic games. On September 16,
1989, 160 nations came together, including virtually the entire
communist world.
Sixteen free nations participated to save Korea's freedom during the
Korean War but, at that time, they failed to unite the country. During
the Seoul Olympics, 160 nations came together in harmony. 16 nations
represented the national level, while 160 represented the world level.
The 16 nations failed on a national level, but the 160 nations
succeeded on the worldwide level. Both the free world and the communist
world-the two polar extremes-came together in unity in South Korea.
It was historic that the second generation of the communist world
and of the free world came to Korea. During the exodus of the
Israelites from Egypt, 600,000 of the first generation followed Moses
through the wilderness. One by one, they all perished. Only the second
generation was able to go in to the Promised Land. All the elder sons
of the Egyptians were killed by the plague, while the second generation
on the side of God was saved.
The nations of the world have their own embassies in Korea, and they
were taking care of their countries' athletes.
From the heavenly perspective, those athletes represented Abel, while
the
embassies and governments represented Cain. On the part of Korea, the
True Parents were in the Abel position and the government, represented
by President Roh, was in the Cain position. So Cain and Abel on both
levels needed to find unity.
I invited all our missionaries from the 120 nations to Korea so that
they could serve their embassy and their athletes. Those three parties
would be united under the True Parents' auspices.
What happened? The model course of Jacob occurred this time at the
Olympics in Korea. Jacob worked desperately hard for 21 years and
amassed a great fortune: then when he returned to his home, he gave it
all to Esau, his elder brother. That is how he won his heart. By the
same token, in the position of Jacob, I gave everything gained in the
United States to my Esau. That actually happened, both symbolically and
in reality, on the worldwide level.
First of all, when the 160 nations' athletes had come to Korea, they
were given all the McCol they could drink. At first, they were rather
reluctant, saying, "We don't need the Unification Church's soft
drink." But once they tasted it, they said, "Oh, please, may
we have two or three truckloads brought to our embassy?" The
ambassadors were pleading with our people, "You must give us more
so we can serve our athletes!" Not only that, they were also
giving it to their staffs and families at the embassies.
Our missionaries worked hard to cheer on and support the athletes.
Sometimes the athletes felt lonely; during the games, no one from their
embassy was actively cheering for them and supporting them. But then
suddenly they would see someone waving a huge flag from their home
country. Brazil, Argentina, Zambia, Zaire-the champions from those
countries and others were wondering, "Who are those people up
there waving my flag?" Then they found out they were Reverend
Moon's people. Some African and Latin American countries did not win
even one bronze medal, and there was no one to cheer them up. But
thanks to Unification Church people, they could feel appreciated. They
automatically felt united with those missionaries.
What does all this mean? The Unification Church missionaries united
with their own countries' champions and also with their embassies. In
this way, the True Parents and all those parties were also united.
I particularly wanted to concentrate on the athletes from communist
countries. Those athletes were writing letters and telegrams home
saying, "There were some large cheering teams here from the
Unification Church!" The communist contingent was shocked.
This was just the first stage. We also held a great program at the
Little Angels School. We invited all the athletes, their coaches, and
embassy officials to a performance of the Universal Ballet Company, the
New York City Symphony, and the Little Angels. All who attended were
completely melted by the performance, particularly of the Little
Angels. Furthermore, every guest was presented with a special gift:
beautiful material for suits and dresses, and also scarves and
neckties. Some of the athletes had never seen such a fine necktie in
their life.
Among the Soviet delegation in the audience were many KGB agents.
Right now, those KGB agents are wearing suits made from material given
to them by Reverend Moon! They sent word to their superiors and their
government, "The city of Seoul is full of Reverend Moon's people
and they are giving out beautiful gifts." Every country's
government learned through their embassy the same thing: "It is
amazing! The Unification Church people are the only ones who are really
taking care of us." Unity and harmony were created in this way.
In the audience during the Little Angels' performance were coaches
and medal winners from Russia, the United States, China, Portugal,
Poland, Hungary, and so on, sitting side by side. Later on, they were
all invited up to the stage where everyone joined hands and sang,
"We Are the World." While they were on the stage, the Little
Angels presented each nation's coaches and medal winners with a
specially-designed Little Angels medal. The recipients were saying,
"This is better than an Olympic medal!"
Can you imagine such unity and harmony between representatives of
160 nations? This is a new launching pad for world peace. In the
position of the universal Jacob, I was able to give gifts to those in
the Esau position. Even though my own church members were thinking,
"Father is giving too much away," I unselfishly opened my
heart to the communist champions.
I made a very incredible proposal to the Soviet delegation: "We
will give you a gift of 2,000 cars to take home. But there is one
condition-you have to drive these cars through North Korea and
Manchuria to get them home!" They were practically salivating,
wanting those cars so badly. But they could not convince Kim Il Sung to
let them drive across North Korea with 2,000 brand new automobiles from
Reverend Moon. Therefore, they asked if they could take them home by
boat, but I told them no. Perhaps someday when Kim Il Sung changes,
they might come back to claim their automobiles!
The 24th Olympics in Seoul was a heavenly celebration. It was
actually a celebration of the 6,000 years of God's providence. Who was
the center of this celebration? It was the True Parents. The new age
has been ushered in. The indemnity is established for unity between the
Adam nation, Eve nation, Cain and Abel nations. It is the new
foundation for eternal world peace. The tactics of Satan are always to
divide and conquer. Every level of relationship-from individuals and on
to nations- has been one of division and enmity. But now for the first
time we have paid the indemnity and restored the enemy relationships
into harmony and brotherhood.
There will not be another Olympics held in Korea for a long time.
The incredible dispensational will of God was for this event to take
place in 1988, with the True Parents at the center in their own
nation.
During my stay in Korea, there were three major providential
accomplishments. First of all, I held a ceremony signifying the time of
transformation into providential unity. Cain and Abel have always
fought throughout history, but now that has been restored in this
transformation. The chain of command has been restored. Another
transformation which took place is that the Unification Church and True
Parents have now moved from the suffering period to the commanding
period. We are no longer going to just suffer. We are going to be in
command of the situation and transform the world into goodness.
The second major accomplishment was the ceremony on October 3, 1988.
On that day, the Korean nation celebrated the foundation of its nation
4,321 years ago. On October third, we declared Foundation Day for the
Nation of the World of Unification. This is not a secular nation but
the heavenly, unified nation of the world. This means that spirit world
and physical world are one. At this morning's Pledge Service, my prayer
was dedicated to this. The restoration of each nation has become
possible. Beyond communities and societies, nations can now be restored
into the one heavenly world community.
The third event which took place was the Blessing of 6,516 couples
on October 30, 1988. The most amazing characteristic of that Blessing
was the international matching between Koreans and Japanese. Korea and
Japan were enemy nations for a very long time, and the emotional wounds
have never been healed. By this mixing up, the two countries can become
one. The emotional strains and hurts are being removed.
This Blessing was a huge event. The entire nation of Korea was
watching. Likewise, the Japanese government couldn't believe what was
happening. By the time they figured it out, it was all over. Koreans
and Japanese were matched in 99.9 percent of the couples. They could
not speak to one another, for the most part; they could just use sign
language. The only way for them to stay together in the crowd was to
hold hands. In fallen history there was never such an event. Only in
God's history could such a thing be possible. Another amazing point is
that everyone joyfully and faithfully accepted their match-100
percent. That was a great miracle and victory in Korea.
The fall of man brought individual separation and enmity and
ultimately enemy nations. This Blessing brought two enemy nations
together into one through the couples. They are going beyond their own
countries. No longer do they even think of themselves as part of Korea
or Japan. The Heavenly Kingdom is the only nation they belong to. Satan
has no more business with them. They have a higher foundation of true
love, and since Satan can never follow the true love way, he has to say
good-bye!
Today is an extraordinary Children's Day. During this year of 1988,
we made tremendous providential accomplishments in Korea. I wanted to
come back to America to celebrate Children's Day with you.
One of the most special aspects of the Olympics this year was its
theme song, "Hand in Hand," signifying breaking down the
walls between races, nations, and cultures. We are going to make that
song a reality together, you and I. Mansei!
Let's start something new: in the past you have clapped your hands
together horizontally. Now you can clap up and down, vertically, when
you are applauding vertical love. This is just the beginning. Let us
pray.
(Dr. Pak prays.)
One final message I want to give you: Everything centered upon true
love will be prosperous and victorious. That includes husbands and
wives, nations, communities, and the world. It includes your own
mission as well. You must remember this. It is the rule and way of life
of the Unification Church. Amen!