Historical Children’s Day
by Rev. Sun Myung Moon
October 28, 1981. World Mission Center (USA)
Translator – Bo Hi Pak
Edited by esgd
40 minutes (4 parts of 10 minutes)
PART 1
We are celebrating the 22nd Children’s Day today. We have several major celebrations in Unification Church, Parents’ Day, Children’s Day, Day of All Things, and God’s Day, but the world does not have these days, or know the significance of them. Our Church is founded on God’s dispensational purpose, and as a religious institution the Church installed these Holy days. They have meaning not only to us, but to God and to religion itself.
What is the purpose that religion must fulfil in God’s sight? When we say that the purpose of God is fulfilled, we mean that God’s kingdom is established, and God’s family has been erected. The Kingdom of God begins from the heavenly family of men. What makes up that God-centred family? It consists of God-centred men and women, the essence which makes up the family, society, and the centre of all things that God created. That perfection must reign at the level of men and women, as the foundation of all.
Each of us belongs to one of those poles, either man or woman. We must realize that the standard of men and women who can create the Kingdom of God on earth shall be unchanging, in either the past, present or future, and will go on for eternity. Ask yourself whether you are a man of God who is entitled to the heavenly kingdom; if you can say yes, then you are on the right track.
We also must realize that men and women in the world today are separated from the original standard that God established. In God’s sight the most heart-breaking thing is the fall of man, when the heavenly standard was lost. But the tragic thing is that mankind does not realize how far they have fallen, or know the anguish of the fall. All religions talk about the fall of man, but there is no real seriousness about it in religious circles. Even here you speak more meaningfully about it, but still the meaning of the fall has not penetrated to your very bones.
We are here thousands of years after the fall; should we be more serious about the fall than Adam and Eve? You may say that we should be more serious about it, but how much do you really feel the pain of it in your heart? Here we recognize that there is a gap between God’s pain and man’s pain. The purpose of religion is to close that gap. Through religion God was constantly raising up champions and messengers to educate the people on earth, to close the gap so that men and God could feel the same joy and pain. For this purpose, God has paid a great price and made many sacrifices of men and women and families and peoples and religions.
What is the price that religious people are paying? The general thinking of religious people today is quite self-centred; they join a religion because they want to receive some benefit, and they expect God to lift them directly up to heaven just as they are. Who, then, will eradicate the historical gap between God and man?
People today are like patients who don’t know they have cancer, trying to live life normally, not knowing they are being destroyed from inside. Which has more severe consequences – cancer, or sin from the fall of man? Even Almighty God is helpless to eradicate the problem of the fall by Himself. We must realize that truly a serious problem is at hand. No one really can claim that they are God’s people or nation.
In the course of restoration, the first step must be to properly diagnose what went wrong, and what kind of disease we have. The first consequence of the fall was the emergence of the self in the central place. After the fall, all mankind became self-centred. Isn’t it true that each and every one of you have been infiltrated by the essence of self-centeredness? Second, through the fall everyone wants to control and dominate things for themselves, being greedy for power.
A third consequence of the fall is the establishment of the false lineage on earth. We are born in the lineage of our enemy. The blood of our enemy flows in us, so his self-centred feeling and greediness permeates our bodies. Man’s insides are contaminated by the satanic blood and selfishness; mankind is like a facade, a front for Satan. Our job is to remove that satanic element from our bloodstream. How can that be done?
It is a poignant moment when young people experience first love as they enter adolescence. Is there some power great enough to eradicate that love? The problem in America is that boys and girls become mature too quickly. Even at the age of twelve they want to date. The question is whether within ourselves there is a power than can overcome that sensation. Is there such a brake?
I’m sure there are blessed couples here; can they say that they have eradicated their first experience of love? It’s easy to say yes, but when we truly analyse ourselves, it’s not that simple. Each person is living in the bondage of satanic love. Satanic love is binding every facet of your life. Do you have a greater power to resist such love? If you know you are pulled every moment by that love, can you have any moment of relaxation? It is as though every day you were being pulled by a winch, and each day just one more pull will yank you over the cliff. Have you ever thought about that vivid illustration?
God is moving forward with the work of restoration, trying to cut the satanic lines that hold you and completely set you free. It is a natural law, that to unwind something you must reverse the procedure. You must do the reverse of what Satan wants. Satan has hooks in you, but what power is there to pull you the other way? If you stand still in the centre of those two forces, you will be split into pieces. With all your heart and soul you have to hold onto the salvation wire to avoid being split apart.
Your grip on God’s wire begins in your mind, with your conscious thinking that you must follow God’s teaching. Then your body will follow your thinking. Have you felt that within you there is a battle going on every day? The same eye can work in two directions; so can the rest of your senses. Satan is a world-renowned tempter and deceiver, with all kinds of techniques.
The battle we are in is exactly like tuna fishing. To catch a tuna you have to bend over backwards to please that fish, tempting him with all kinds of bait, unconditionally giving it tasty food. Maybe some of you are like the tuna that thinks it is too smart to be hooked by the bait, but is convinced that it will just have a little sniff! Then after smelling around, it thinks it will have just one bite and then go away, but with that one bite it is finished.
PART 2
Is the religious way of life difficult or easy? Every day we are just one step short of our own deaths; religious life is that intensely difficult. When you are walking the streets and see a stunningly handsome man or beautiful woman, do you have some interest or surging reaction? I’m sure you have some feeling that you wish such a person could be your husband or wife. In your thinking you associate with that person right? You can see how dangerous an atmosphere is created by the world we live in, offering all kinds of bait.
Suppose you are on a trip, in your hotel room, and suddenly the world’s beauty queen walks in, the most glamorous movie star, offering to be your companion. What would you do? Sometimes the idea of witnessing to them would be a convenient excuse to continue talking with him or her! But you could pull out a little knife in front of your tempter, sharpening as you talk.
Our worst enemy always presents himself in the most favourable form, being very attractive and charming to melt your heart. The second kind appeals to your greediness by offering money or material temptation, even leaving it while you are away anonymously. What would human instinct do? One part of you says “Boy, I want that!” As soon as you pick up that gift however, you know it is hooked to Satan.
The third weakness is the temptation to receive praise from other people and have them bow down to you. This is an inclination to the ‘me-first’ philosophy. There is a built-in arrogance in the fallen world. Americans look down on the short, foreign Japanese and Korean leaders, for instance. Each time you feel that way, you are hooked by your eyes, ears and mouth. Even though people don’t express it, they have many of these things in their subconscious.
Satan is throwing his hooks at you, and it is a very serious matter. Are you totally slippery, or do you have many places where he can grab you? We know it is not easy to escape, since even after thousands of years God Himself has not been able to change the situation. Are we more susceptible to the satanic element or heavenly element? The heavenly and satanic elements are exactly opposite.
Do you think I am saying that in your first love you should be enthralled by the ugliest person? In the world today, the people who really love God look like human trash. Even if you are an elite person, to follow religious teaching means you must become an outcast element in society. Such an attractive person who wants to follow God should study how to make himself unattractive so that he will not attract temptation. In God’s sight, the mind is everything. Sometimes, in order to be truly faithful, you might not wash your underwear for several days. Then people won’t touch you! Instead of lovely manicures, you might have dirty, ragged nails. We live in the enemy’s world, so we want to create our own sanctuary where all temptation will be chased away. That is the best protection. Perhaps someone will insist on giving you diamonds to replace your plain, simple earrings. You should be able to say, “Don’t worry about my ears. These earrings are the best. My ears are allergic to diamonds.”
In the world everyone worries about himself, but we are worrying about other people, and in the meantime we have been kicked around by society. Each person is a target in the cosmic competition, for both Satan and God are throwing hooks at us. Depending on what kind of niches you have, either Satan or God can snag you. People today have the free-sex niche, so will Satan or God be more likely to get them? Is disco dancing a niche for God? What kind of reward do people expect from disco dancing? Most people are trying to hook a glamorous man or woman.
No matter how giant a tuna you are, if Satan gets a hook in you, you are finished. We have to smooth over the satanic niches and create niches where God can hook us. My rule for that, is to live for others, not myself. I want to use my things to make other people happy. Then I elevate my goal, so that I not only make other people happy, but other nations happy, and the entire world happy. In the meantime I take the sacrificial position. That attitude is completely opposite to the satanic position. Thus, only heavenly hooks can grab me.
When you create lots of heavenly pockets and God can hook you, even if you want to go in the other direction, God can pull you back. Then there is no way you can end up in the satanic camp! There is a struggle inside of us. Our mind is more susceptible to God’s hooks, while the body is more vulnerable to Satan’s hooks; there is a contradiction within us.
I don’t know why, but Unification Church women are all beautiful, and you undoubtedly have a desire to have some handsome man hold your hands. But your hand should be ready to feel more joy in holding the hand of an old grandfather to comfort him. If you really feel joy in helping old people and in helping people of your parents’ age, then when you are firmly holding their hands and you meet a handsome young man, he will already respect you. Without holding his hand, you have won him already.
To make it more extreme, the white sisters should hold the hands of black grandparents. Then when Satan tries to hook you, your body is as slippery as an eel, and you elude him. When you are totally immune to satanic elements, God allows you to go anywhere in the world, with complete freedom. Am I an exception to this? There is no exception to this rule.
Many people think I am a millionaire, and now they are saying I am billionaire. But on the contrary, I am penniless. Nothing belongs to me; there is nothing I can personally claim. I don’t really know what a personal checkbook or savings account looks like. For you, I wore a decent suit today, but only for official occasions do I pay attention to what I wear. I don’t feel that I must always be dignified in my dress.
I can be arrogant and tough-minded, but only with Satan. When I meet people, I never ask if they can help me. Instead, I always check how I can help them. I am determined to help you; I can help you in the most fundamental thing – your life. Do you believe that? I can help you with true love. Why should I worry about your blessing? I could easily tell you to find love on your own, but I am concerned with your life and love; that is the most supreme help I could give. If some people are having difficulty with their fiancés, they may think that I misjudged in choosing their mate. But you see only the horizontal element; I see the entire vertical element of your family tree and your ancestors. You don’t know that person yet, so you haven’t experienced the true value of your fiancé.
A poplar tree should marry a poplar, and a pine should marry a pine. If you put a poplar and pine together, however, you have disaster. A pine tree is green for all four seasons, while a poplar should shed its leaves in the fall. Can a poplar go against nature and insist on keeping its leaves all year? In the same way, I see your vertical nature. I may not give you a handsome husband, or a person with whom life is easy, but I give the gift of true love.
PART 3
The Bible teachings are full of dilemmas for us. Jesus said that the person who would lose his life for Jesus’ sake would live; it seems contradictory. But the Bible teachings are meant to make you immune to Satan’s hooks. You think you are independent people. but I see many wires and hooks attached to you. Are they all heavenly hooks?
Our job is to declare a war of the self, and the outcome all depends on you. In leading a public life for the dispensation, I set forth a cardinal credo: ‘before desiring dominion of the universe, let me gain dominion over myself’. I declared war on myself: against misuse of love, against material greediness, and against arrogance. This is how I conquered myself.
When you Westerners look at me through your blue eyes, how do you see me? Am I strange and foreign, or am I dynamic and handsome? I never decided about myself, but in my life, I have received many proposals from outstanding women of the world! I have experienced many odd events. Some women wrote me letters of love with their own blood. Some women have burst into my room at night to try to win me. Do you think I passed the test?
In my high school and college days I made a conscious effort to look like a beggar, letting my hair become shaggy, and dressing in old clothes from a thrift shop. Instead of dressing nicely for events, I dressed comfortably at home, but wore rags when I went out. I seldom spoke to people outside. That was how I lived when I was young. You could not have figured that out unless I told you this morning.
I went to the ‘Harlems’ of Japan and Korea, mingling with poor people. I never mixed with the elite. I worked hard at manual labour to pay tuition for people who were my friends. I know the mentality of the satanic world. No one can deceive me.
There was one rich girl who was infatuated with me. She got much money from her parents, and one day she snuck into my room and left that money in my drawer. I took that packet of money back to her, unopened, and told her that she should learn what life should be like, that she couldn’t buy my mind with money. The world doesn’t know what kind of experiences I have passed through in order to come this far.
It is not easy to be recognized by God, to win His acknowledgment that you love Him most. I prayed very much, but never for revenge against my enemies. I prayed for their forgiveness and to know what indemnity I could pay so that my enemy could overcome his sin. This is my way of life. I don’t know whether God loves me or not, but certainly I have prospered in going God’s way. It is amazing to see that followers come to me from all six continents. Do you think that is a sign of God’s love?
I never said that you should follow me. I never forced one person to do that. But what happens is that you feel in your hearts that following me is the right thing to do. You have no idea how important and fearful it is that you are sitting here today. To enable you to sit here today, God and historical people have paid with much sacrifice and pain.
I fear nothing; I will not be threatened. Even if die, my tradition and my goal shall be achieved, and God will march by our side. I am very strict about money spent for my family. Even when Mother wants to buy something for the family, I check it carefully beforehand. But I tell her that if she sees any needy Church members, she should even borrow money if necessary to get them what they need. As recently as three years ago, Mother had no freedom at all to spend any money. Only recently have I given her freedom. I am abiding by the heavenly tradition in my family to prevent them being caught by Satan.
The base of the heavenly kingdom is the erection of the heavenly family. The same laws apply to the family as a unit, for they may also have niches for Satan to hook. Is it easy to prevent that? You might think the if you have children then one hook for Satan could be overlooked. If there is just one hook in one family member, however, the entire family will suffer. Do you have confidence that you can create the heavenly family? The answer is easy, but the deed is difficult.
I could say many things to those who are already blessed. There are many things I could say about the blessed children also. When the parents hear my word, they can evaluate where they are. Can we meet the heavenly standard by following the individualistic American way, with parents going separately their own ways, and children pursuing only their interests? It is incredibly difficult to truly live up to the standard of God’s family. However difficult it is, though, we must pass the test, one way or the other. Do you think my job of leading the entire Church into the Kingdom of Heaven is easy or difficult? But someone has to do it, even if it takes eternity.
Here there are people of all different races and nations and ancestries, and I am trying to mould them according to one heavenly standard. There are so many things dividing us that we have to be glued together with the love of God. On top of that, my job is even more difficult because every time you go out the door you confront temptations from the satanic world, and you are still influenced by your habits from your old way of life. Once you are hooked by habits like marijuana, free sex and disco dancing, it is a painful problem to overcome them. But each person is still an individual truth body, and you can’t just be melted down into nothing and then rebuilt from scratch.
Your mouth is your enemy sometimes, multiplying evil through complaint. Morning to night there is complaint going on. Do you still think unification is an easy word? From this point of view I want you to realize how strongly your behaviour affects the person next to you; you cannot think that you are isolated individuals. Within our movement we must feel concern for each other. If someone is hurt or sick, you should forget your own meals and sit with him.
Have you ever really thought about caring for your brothers and sisters? We have to think about creating a good atmosphere in which only healthy things grow, where ungodly things cannot survive. When you consider all these things, you realize that the job I have undertaken is not easy.
Do you miss me when I am away for many months? My teaching to you today is that as much as you miss me and Mother, you should miss each other, caring for and loving each other. Why? Because we want to enter the Kingdom of Heaven collectively. When the Jews came out of Egypt, instead of complaining about what Moses did they should have been concerned about each other, and then they would not have been destroyed in the wilderness. The same is true today.
God sees you as His hand-picked champions whom He has pulled together to create the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. What an overwhelming task that is for Him! Even when you go to spirit world, it is difficult to forget your first love experiences. Therefore, God is sending His representative to earth so that everyone can remake themselves in love by loving the Messiah so deeply that all their past experiences can be melted away. By loving the man sent by God more than you love anything else, you shall be liberated from the iniquities of your past. God must be able to recognize that you have met His central figure and loved him so fervently that you forget everything else. Then your past can be cleaned as white as snow.
Can you be proud before God if you bring your husband or wife along with you to heaven in spirit world? Or would you say instead that your whole life together on earth was centred on loving God, and that you both love your spouse in order to love God more? That will bring great joy to God. Even when you love your husband or wife, it is for the sake of God. But if you love your spouse with the attitude that you can get more goodies from God, that is no good.
Is it easy to be God? God is almighty, but even after His efforts for thousands of years the world has remained sinful. In order to achieve His goal, God gives you the rule that you should love your brothers and sisters as much as Him. Each of you should be God to each other; treat each other as you treat God.
If you live in that tradition and thousands of you come forward to God, He will embrace you as His true children. Your level of heartistic achievement in spirit world will be determined by such intensity of love. There have been many people in history who said they loved God, but they mistreated and hated their own brothers. Now God really wants us to love each other and come forward to Him together.
Be honest and confess whether you are happy you met me! If you say you are truly happy to meet me, then you are greater than I am. Sometimes I regret meeting God; it has been like grabbing a tiger by the tail. I never let go, but sometimes I wish I hadn’t met God! There is no way I could let go, so I am just hanging on to the end. In hanging on there is not even time to let go with one hand to clean yourself when you go to the bathroom!
PART 4
Today is Historical Children’s Day. What does that mean? God cannot erect His Kingdom alone. God needs a champion, an assistant to act as mediator. Should God’s children or His servant be the mediator? Would He prefer being served by a servant, or by His children? There must a unified effort from four directions of north, east, south and west, and we shall be the unifying factor. So far it has been the unification tradition to follow an Abel figure, but how much did we really give the same kind of fidelity to our brothers and sisters?
I tell you that running after Dr. Durst (American Unification Church Leader in 1981) will not lead you to the Kingdom of Heaven. The important thing is that you must unite among yourselves centred on him, and then you will enter. Divine Principle says that Cain and Abel must unite before any restoration takes place. If the central figure only wants you to unite around him instead of with each other, he is a false central figure.
In the Sermon on the Mount there is an important phrase – the peacemakers shall be called the sons and daughters of God. The Bible didn’t say that only those who obey commands will enter heaven. With how many people have you made harmony? Loving each other means loving the world because here in Unification Church we have a small world; what you are doing here is actually being done on the world level.
Those who can harmonize with other people will rise higher and higher, and ultimately become great leaders. If a blessed couple only worries about their own family, they’re in the wrong. They should worry about others before they worry about themselves. They should give themselves to the brothers and sisters first; those true blessed couples shall be admitted to heaven.
The ‘Cain-Abel theory’ in Unification Church is very strong, and sometimes I worry that it is understood incorrectly. Leaders who are given responsibility sometimes have the mistaken idea that they have sole authority, but I tell you that Abel is only Abel when he saves Cain. Divine Principle teaches that you must love and embrace Cain, and then bring him to the mother. If you sometimes don’t get along with your leader but you take care of brothers and sisters, that leader will still look for you because without you he cannot be successful.
This is why the Bible says that when two or more gather to pray then God will be in their midst. Your prayer is not powerful when you pray singly; but only when you pray together. Brothers and sisters must truly unite so they can share life together. Today I am declaring a new beginning: the leader-centred movement is over, and the member-centred movement is going to begin. Why should it be like that? If the head of the family thinks only about himself, the family is unhappy. Only if he worries about the whole family can they be successful and happy together.
The Unification Church is one family. I am concerned and worried about each one of you, and you should be concerned with each other as brothers and sisters, and together come to parents. What we need now is an environmental Kingdom of Heaven. If you only move in one direction, that is no good. You must move in 360 degrees, in all directions.
My teaching today is this: as much as you love God and True Parents, you should love the world and unite with it. Don’t shy away from adverse conditions, or from smelly or ugly brothers and sisters. They are the ones who need you. Willingly participate in the dirty places and make them fragrant. Don’t run away from problems, but face them and conquer them. God feels greater joy when He sees that you love each other more than you love Him. Parents want to see their children loving each other more than they love their parents. The 36 couples are the elders of our Church, and this rule applies to them as well; unless they love the true children and the members more than their own families, they are the enemies of our movement.
Our ultimate goal is Canaan. While we are marching toward Canaan, our supreme duty is to follow orders, but once we enter Canaan we don’t live by commands but by love. This is that time. We are arriving now, and we must live in a God-like way. The second three seven-year courses have been announced. In the first 21 years we marched toward Canaan, and in these 21 years we shall live by love.
I am teaching you that you should love one another as much you love God and True Parents. Then the dwelling of God is with you, and Mother and I shall be with you. Because this day marks the beginning of that new era, I called this the Historical Children’s Day. Those who have not been blessed should make unity with each other first.
There are four directions and four seasons, with three months in each season. When you arrive at heaven in spirit world you will see twelve pearl gates. Your relationship with your leader is important, but it is more important to unite with twelve types of people on earth. Even Jesus practiced this way of life by serving his twelve apostles. Rebellion occurred, however, and they sold Jesus. The most sacred act Jesus performed was washing his disciples’ feet and saying that he did not come to be served but to serve. That was the supreme expression of love. By doing so he became the central figure around which twelve people joined. When people are linked in unity they cannot be separated.
There are three categories of people: married people, engaged people – or people living together without having had a formal ceremony – and virgin men and women. These three have providential meaning. Married people represent Adam’s family, where husband and wife joined out of their own will. Engaged people represent Jesus, who came to look for his bride, but could not achieve that goal. The virgin men and women represent the Second Advent, in which they are matched by heaven. The entire world is a mixture of these kinds of people.
Twelve of each of these types were chosen for representation in the 36 couples; that’s why this number of couples was chosen to be the ancestors of mankind. not twelve couples. Their mandate is to unite all 36 types of people. If the 36 can be united, it represents harmonizing all three levels of twelve personalities, thus bringing everyone into the Kingdom of Heaven. I have been serving those couples, those tough individuals – matching them, providing them with homes, sending them to travel. When they come to America, Mother and I shop for them, getting clothes and furniture.
Some people think the 36 couples are masters of the Unification Church, seeing that I shop for them and listen to them, but that is wrong! I have been setting the example of the servant. If I gave the order, they would immediately go to the jungles of Africa. After you serve twelve types of people and 36 couples, serving one God and one set of True Parents is an easy task!
The heavenly dispensation is like a relay game, with each person carrying the baton in turn, back and forth, down through the 36 couples. Some people think that they don’t even want to look at the 36 couples, who are all Korean. But I am telling you that you need them. Without them there is no foundation, no backbone for Unification Church. The backbone carries the central nervous system, so it is linked to every tissue. Jesus wanted to consummate his service to twelve people, but three of them betrayed him.
Would you want to be eligible to go through only one gate to heaven, or through all twelve? If you can only enter one gate, you can only move back and forth in one direction. But if you can enter all twelve gates then you have total freedom of movement.
You get the pass to enter all twelve gates by serving 36 people. Then you can enter both heaven and hell. Would you want to be limited in spirit world as though you were in a prison cell or do you want total freedom? Look at each person as one gate. A soft person is the spring gate; a tough person is a winter gate. There are twelve different styles. Look at each person as another gate to God, and think that you will melt his heart and win him.
Black and white are like north and south; there is no centre. When there is a centre, everything can come alive, but there has been no centre so far. My mandate to you is to unite among yourselves. Where you can do that, the dwelling of God shall be with you. Can you do it?
During the exodus it is a virtue to focus on following the leader, but when you enter Canaan you live by the give and take with brothers and sisters. From today on our membership around the world shall perfect that way of life. Even if I am not here, it should not matter. You already know the secret of going to heaven: loving each other. At night you should think that you are a parent to someone; pick someone to care about the next day, and the following day pick another person. It doesn’t matter whether he is younger or older. The cardinal rule is to forget yourself.
You will turn the three satanic elements into heavenly elements. You will give sacrificial love and talk about “our position,” not “my position”. Satan is arrogant, but you will go the lowest place to lift the people up. Satan is throwing all kinds of hooks around you, but when Satan tries to pull them in, nothing should move. Then he will cast his hooks again, but when nothing ever moves he will say goodbye to you forever.
Have a love competition among yourselves. It doesn’t matter whom Mother or I love most, but who is the king of loving brothers and sisters. Who loves me? I know your love is real, so now pledge to me that you will love your brothers and sisters more than you love me. That will please me more than your love for me.
Who says that they can only love me and love God? That is baloney; there is no substance to that love. Who says that they know the truth, and from now on they shall open the Kingdom of Heaven on earth? Amen!
