The goal of our faith is to become citizens of God’s country. If you do not become citizens of God’s country, then there will be no way for you as sons and daughters to freely receive the admiration and love of that nation’s people or of all things of creation. A person without a country is always attacked. He stands in a miserable position. He may often feel hopeless after suffering an affront. That is why the question is, where can we find the country of God’s desire? Which is the nation that can become God’s foothold? That is the issue. (55-79, 1972.4.23)
What is the starting point? It is the right of the true parents, true king and true firstborn son. These are the foundations which Adam and Eve should have built and stood upon. These three make up the principal palace of God. At that place would be His palace and His love. When human beings and the Creator are connected as one, the foundation of true love would be laid. The starting point of this union is the center of God. It is the original foundation for the perfected family of Adam and the palace where God can dwell forever. (218-189, 1991.7.28)
True love begins from investing and forgetting. (225:15, January 1, 1992)
Is the essence of [ordinary] human love the same as the original essence God’s love? Out of human love, people seek to receive; but when we embody God’s original love, we seek to give. (130:118, January 1, 1984)
Goodness is the driving force that advances life. Therefore, we must give. What shall we give? We should give life. More than your life, you should give your love—the one love that is of God—parental love. That is why our motto is, “Go forth with the heart of the parent, in the shoes of a servant, shedding sweat for earth, tears for humanity, and blood for heaven.” Do this, and you will not perish. Absolutely, you will not perish. (34:246, September 13, 1970)
The universe’s motion began with an act of giving. I teach that all motion arises according to the principle of give-and-take action.26 Does “give-and-take action” mean we first give and then take, or first take and then give? When you give first and then receive you feel good, but when you receive and cannot give you feel ashamed. (239:222, November 25, 1992)
In give-and-take action, does “give” come first, or “take?” Giving comes first. Do parents first give for the sake of their children, or children for the sake of their parents? Parents give first. Then it is logical that the act of giving began with the One who is the origin of all existence, and through the links of the chain of existence it has been passed down to us. (239:59, November 23, 1992)
Unity takes place where people invest creative energy—where there is giving. It does not happen where people mainly seek to receive. To receive can be good if after receiving, you add interest to it and give out more than you received. But even God dislikes the person who receives and only seeks to receive still more. No more will be given to him. (82:326, February 1, 1976)
Take an illustration of a good man and a bad man. Each begins with ten friends. The good man unselfishly serves his friends day in and day out, this year, next year, for ten years, for his whole life. All ten people say he is their very best friend. Since they like him, they introduce him to their mother and sisters and all their relatives.
The bad man thinks that his friends exist to serve him. By the time he tells them three times, “Hey you! Serve me!” every one of his friends would run away; they would want nothing more to do with him. Isn’t that true? It is universally true: A self-centered way of life leads you down the road of self-destruction, to hell. But those who give, living their lives in service to others, will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. They are living in accordance with God’s Principle. (69:86, October 20, 1973)
God created all creatures in heaven and earth by investing completely His heart of love. It means He gave. Because God has this nature, it is certain that a counterpart will come into being who also has such a heart. As a result, human beings can form a relationship with God, and through that relationship, to manifest God’s love. By living this way, we can only prosper.
Our conscience does not understand this fact logically and with certainty, but nevertheless it tells us to love each other and live for the sake of each other. Similarly, religions teach us to sacrifice ourselves for the sake of others. Thus our conscience, in agreement with morality and ethics, tells us to live for the sake of others, sacrifice ourselves for the sake of others, and love others. (112:300, April 25, 1981)
