Those Who are Willing to Die Will Live

View pictures from the Urban Family Life Success and Happiness Training Workshop: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmEW6UBN.

Cheon Seong Gyeong 259

Language is one of the most chal-
lenging problems. When Koreans are
here, those who do not know Korean
have a difficult time. They look pitiful.
How great it would be if language were
unified! When I first came to America,
I only knew “Yes” and “No,” although I
had studied English through books. Can
you imagine how stifled I felt! You need
to know how necessary the unification
of language is. Do you wish to listen to
my speeches through an interpreter or
directly from me? Of course, you want to
listen to them in Korean. Why? Because
Book 2 • True Parents 260
Korean is the original language. There-
fore, in studying the Principle, if you
do not know the original language, you
will not understand the meaning of the
words. Furthermore, when you go to
the spirit world in the future, will you
be proud if you can say, “I understood
Father’s speeches directly, without trans-
lation” or if you have to say, “I listened
to his words through an interpreter?”
Which? Moreover, they are words that
express the ideal world of love. Does it
mean anything to whisper words of love
through an interpreter? The fifth para-
graph of our former pledge says, “We are
proud of the one culture.” The question
is how that one culture can come about.
You should know that in the world of
heart you have no choice but to become
one. The one who truly desires one world
of heart cannot go without knowing
this. Now, when you reach out to some-
one because you love them so much,
your feet move first before any thoughts
about love. Your feet move first, and not
the loving thought. How foolish this is! If
you think about eating in the same way,
it is as though you enjoyed eating left-
overs. Without the tradition and spirit
of the ideal family the ideal world can-
not appear.

Cheong Seong Gyeong 779

For whom does God exist? God, the
subject of love, exists for the purpose of
seeking and raising a partner of love.
With what shall He do this? He will do
this based on true love. True love is liv-
ing and investing oneself for the sake of
others, and forgetting one’s investment.
Eternal life can be found here. The entire
world is made this way. I myself am like
this. As I know the value of eternal life,
facing the gallows is not a problem. There
is nothing to fear. That is why the Unifi-
cation Church refers to death as seung-
hwa and its ceremony as the Seunghwa
Ceremony.

Man Is an Explorer in Search of Truth

Rev. Sun Myung Moon
July 19, 1959

John 10: 1-18

10 Jesus said:

I tell you for certain that only thieves and robbers climb over the fence instead of going in through the gate to the sheep pen. 2-3 But the gatekeeper opens the gate for the shepherd, and he goes in through it. The sheep know their shepherd’s voice. He calls each of them by name and leads them out.

When he has led out all of his sheep, he walks in front of them, and they follow, because they know his voice. The sheep will not follow strangers. They don’t recognize a stranger’s voice, and they run away.

Jesus told the people this story. But they did not understand what he was talking about.

Jesus said:

I tell you for certain that I am the gate for the sheep. Everyone who came before me was a thief or a robber, and the sheep did not listen to any of them. I am the gate. All who come in through me will be saved. Through me they will come and go and find pasture.

10 A thief comes only to rob, kill, and destroy. I came so that everyone would have life, and have it in its fullest. 11 I am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd gives up his life for his sheep. 12 Hired workers are not like the shepherd. They don’t own the sheep, and when they see a wolf coming, they run off and leave the sheep. Then the wolf attacks and scatters the flock. 13 Hired workers run away because they don’t care about the sheep.

14 I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep, and they know me. 15 Just as the Father knows me, I know the Father, and I give up my life for my sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not in this sheep pen. I must bring them together too, when they hear my voice. Then there will be one flock of sheep and one shepherd.

17 The Father loves me, because I give up my life, so that I may receive it back again. 18 No one takes my life from me. I give it up willingly! I have the power to give it up and the power to receive it back again, just as my Father commanded me to do.

Prayer

We have listened to the words You have granted. Although many people in this world stand in the face of death, in reality they are preoccupied with praising themselves and boasting to the universe.

Can anyone show himself off and elevate his own value in this kind of a world? As we silently search our hearts, we cannot deny that one who does stands in a false position.

Father, what do our minds long for today? Toward what should we direct them in order to be elevated? This is the moment to realize that our minds and bodies cannot be our own. This is the moment to understand that we are in a miserable situation where we cannot be proud of ourselves.

Please allow us to realize at this moment that we are not the final arbiters of the value of our minds and bodies, that we did not make ourselves and that we are pitiable beings who cannot reach our destination. We did not cause our own lives, nor did the ideology that leads our minds in the direction of goodness originate with us either. Please allow this hour to be the moment when we realize that they originated from something other than ourselves.

Father, today is the moment when we should feel that we must disdain ourselves, we who were so busy making excuses to save face. Please allow us to realize at this hour that the true self whom Heaven and earth, the world and humanity, the society, the family, and myself are looking for is a victor who can conquer himself and who can ignore and stamp out the arrogance that makes him want to elevate himself and stand out.

Jesus said, “Forget everything and follow me.” He also said, “Those who are willing to die will live; those wanting to live will die,” and “Those who want to rise up will go lower and those willing to go lower will rise.”

When we understand the content of these words, we realize that we have to throw ourselves away. We have fallen ancestors and we cannot break away from the bondage of fallen history.

Therefore, our course of life is a pitiable one. The living environment is so chaotic that we live in a confused state, unable to distinguish good from evil. Heavenly Father has labored to pioneer the path of life in such a land. Numerous saints have come and gone in this land in order to bring the ideal of the true person, the true ideology, and the true cosmos to humanity.

Leave a Reply