Whoever Wants to Follow Me Should Deny Himself

Cheon Seong Gyeong 2220

In going the way of filial piety for the
sake of God, even if you have to die away
from home, you should protect whatev-
er environment you are in such a way
that will earn you the appreciation of its
inhabitants. Only by bequeathing such
a legacy can you go to heaven. If you do
not, you will not. (280-41, 1996.10.13)

Cheong Seong Gyeong 1656

God-centered people are like His
body, and everything in the universe
is sent to us from God with substantial
forms which symbolize Him rather like
shadows. All things in the universe are
modeled after God Himself. Every one of
them was created with Him as the orig-
inal Subject; the only difference being
whether they are in image or symbolic
form. (153-119, 1963.11.15)

We Who Are Walking a Life Course

Sun Myung Moon
September 6, 1959

1 Peter 1: 21-25

Ladies and gentlemen, in the society in which we live, the tide of truth is infiltrating even though we are unaware of it. The flow of the world of conscience is seeping in. It is connecting to the feeling of life. The relationship of the heart is coming around. Yet have you ever shed tears and welcomed them, saying, “Please come”? If you have never done so, you will remain a sinner before Heaven and earth.

If there is someone who sheds tears and says, “Tide of truth, please strike my mind. Movement of God’s heart, please dwell in my heart. Feelings of God’s life, please dwell in my mind. The relationship of God’s love, please govern my heart,” he is greater than a Ph.D. You have to understand that such a person is an honorable guest whom Heaven can invite and welcome.

Jesus was such a person. Jesus looked at the sins and evils of the people and said, “People! You do not know that the heart of God is springing forth within your minds. You do not know that the eternal and unchanging life is vibrating in your life. You do not know that God’s love dwells within your minds, that there is a God who is shedding tears with a mournful heart in this hour.”

Jesus passed away. Although Jesus came, he passed away without being able to fulfill all he was supposed to accomplish. Who will be responsible for what he left unfinished? Who will inherit the truth that we must learn and teach it to us? Who will pioneer the mind that we should have? Who will establish the standard of life? Who will build the connection with the love with which we should forge an eternal relationship? You have to understand that Jesus is forced to lament and pray even on the right hand of God.

This person, Jesus, is our bridegroom. Ladies and gentlemen! No matter how wooden a person may be, when he looks at the world with such a heart, he will find there the tears, flesh and blood of Jesus. When he looks at Heaven and earth he will sense that the love of God is penetrating into their hearts. When he then runs on the path that others do not travel, without a rest during the day and night, he is a helper of God. God needs such a person. Humanity awaits the appearance of such a person.

Korea also awaits the emergence of such young men and women. If there are young men and women who can pray, “Heaven! Earth! Please let me take on the burden of this fateful sorrow,” when others are basking under glamorous neon lights, this country will never perish.

If we forget that there is an ideology of life which has implanted its roots in the back alleys of all things, then we will perish. Before we rise to high places, we should become a sacrificial offering in a lowly place and shed blood and fall, crying out for the people and the future of this country with concern. If there are statesmen who can listen to those voices of concern and seek them, then their country will prosper. Such has been the history of Heaven.

Among the sages who came to this earth or great persons who were chosen by Heaven, was there anyone who did not shed tears, blood and sweat? Those who remain on their path, even when they are struggling in the back alleys of life and are trampled upon, pushed out and fallen down, are walking the religious path.

Ladies and gentlemen! Let us honor those who are in sorrow. They struggled and were persecuted in order to implant the roots of life in the back alleys of death. This people broadened the foundation by connecting with the flow of history, life, truth, heart and love even without being totally aware of it. Heaven cannot ignore such people.

Jesus who said that he will be responsible for all humanity from the back alley of the world was not a Messiah of glory. He was not a Messiah who could enjoy love, joy and happiness. He was a Messiah of agony and sorrow. He was a Messiah of death. You have to understand that Jesus took responsibility in the most unjust back alleys and was sold at a wholesale price. To believe Jesus is not to rush to him and cling to him. Rather, it is shedding tears and holding onto him, saying “Now we are about to die with You.” Do you deny this?

Jesus said, “Whoever wants to follow me should deny himself and bear the cross each day and follow me.” (Luke 9:23) What is the self to deny here? It is the authority of the satanic world. The powers of self-centered individuals, the self-centered standard of criticism, and the self-centered world come from Satan, the king of this world. Those who sever these and shed lonesome tears are fertilizers who are absorbed as an element and lay the foundation to implant the roots of life. Struggling in the dark and troubling alleyways of life, these are the people who are living a religious life.