The meaning and the secret of self-denial

The meaning and the secret of self-denial

The self-centeredness of the archangel who wanted to receive more love from God was transferred to Eve, and then to Adam, and this ultimately was inherited by their offspring. Today, all humans have become self-centered.

If humanity is to return to God, humans have to walk the path that is the opposite of self-centeredness. In other words, we must practice self-denial.” Satan stays with those who keep on living in self-centered ways. Therefore, we must deny ourselves and live our lives centered on God.

Father tells us that there are many ways to deny ourselves, but the most effective way is to be persecuted by other people. Self-denial is achieved when we endure harsh persecution and achieve victory. So following Father while doing something that we don’t like is an important way of practicing self-denial, and offering sincere Jeong seong is another way of denying ourselves.

The raison why Father makes us do impossible tasks, instead of possible one, is because he wants to help us deny ourselves. We should take the path of as much suffering as possible in order to escape from the grasp of self-centeredness as soon as possible.

Father told us once when he was in America, “The archangel’s self-centeredness was passed onto human beings. God’s Restoration Providence has taken 6000 years to change the selfishness and self-centeredness, which we have received from the archangel to other centeredness that is discarding our selfishness and living for the sake of others.

As mentioned earlier, self-denial is the exact opposite of self-centeredness. Self-centeredness is the attitude that make us say, “I can do anything I want! Lucifer did what he wanted. Self-denial, however, is the opposite: it is the attitude that makes us to say: “I don’t want to do it, but I will! It’s difficult to do this, but I will make it happen no matter what!” However, self-denial is not so easy.

Then, who received the most training in self-denial? Father said it was him. Father received so much training in self-denial from God that God never allowed him to do the things that he wanted to do, things that he could easily do. God, ceaselessly made him do things he did not want to do, things he couldn’t easily do, training Father to deny himself.

Father told us un example. He said that the hardest time while receiving the training of self-denial was when eight of his most beloved friends and relatives died. Once, Father youngest sister whom he adored so much died very young. There was event one time Father met a friend that made him think “ I Like him, I really want to share my heart with him.” Then his friend was struck by disease and died. Eight of those whom Father loved so much passed away, some of them went missing and some of them died in the water when a boat crashed.

Father thought, “oh, why do I have to go through this kind of hardship? Why does God train me so harshly?” However, in hindsight, Father come to the realization, “Yes! Adam could not be perfected and become united with God.” He realized that, until Father reached the point where he was completely one with God in love, God could not allow so much as a single hair to come between Him and Father.

During his difficult training, he thought, “Alright, God has separated Satan from me by putting me through complete self-denial, and I can train the leaders of the Unification Church by putting them in the position of complete self-denial just as God let me!”

Brothers and sisters, we have joined the Unification Church because we like it, correct? We joined the church because we like the Principle, like the Will of God, and we entered with hopes, yes. However, how do you feel know? The church keeps making you do things you do not want to, right? Why is that? That is because Satan likes it when we do things that we like doing, so we must take the opposite path and practice self-denial, doing things that we do not like, things that are difficult and impossible.

Tithing and economic restoration are difficult too, right? However, we still have to do it. Witnessing is difficult, yes? But we still must witness. What about the Blessing? Receiving the Blessing and making others receive the Blessing is difficult, isn’t it? However, we still have to Bless. It all works as self-denial training that leads us to return to God.

When somebody reported to Father, “This member worked very hard in the church then left,“ Father said, “I see, he didn’t know the principle so well.” It is because the Principle requires self-denial from us. The raison why we must know the Principle well is because we must do the things that we must even though they may be difficult, and they are our path of returning to God.

Therefore, we cannot complain if we know the Principle. We must do the things that we must, we have to summon all our energy to just do it. Father even said once “God often made me do things that I just could not do, and every time, I did the task with the determination to throw away my life. You wouldn’t be able to imagine how much I cried and shivered in pain. Unification church would not be where it is today if it only took the comfortable path. We are here today because God whipped us and forced us to move.”

Father had a special way of thinking, even when he went to prison. Prisoners normally walk very slowly because they would do anything to avoid the prison. However, Father walks in as if he is running. Father enter the prison with joy, anticipating that someone must be waiting for him in there already because God always prepares twelve disciple for him.

That is because Father knew the law of indemnity. But Father is also a human with a physical body. Joy could not have been the only feeling he experienced.

Father told us that the archangel tried to seduce Eve from age twelve. We therefore regularly teach the Principle to the second generation and third generation children starting at age twelve.

So God’s Restoration Providence is a battle of love between the side of Heaven and the side of Satan. Satan seduce Eve with unjust love, so why shouldn’t be able to bring the people in the Satanic world to the side of Heaven if we give them true love? Shouldn’t we have to invest a lot of Jeong seong in order to bring them to the side of Heaven?

Everyone in the early days of the church was spiritually attracted because Father bestowed us with the True Love of God, in other words, the love of sacrificing for others. It was not only women, who were spiritually attracted to Father. There were many men. On the journey along the path of God’s will, I have slowly begun to forget myself. Father said that we have to be in such a state of self-denial that when he asks us one day, “who are you?” we should not even be able to answer.

Father has taught us the way to forget ourselves. Father told us that we must always attend God and True Parents and never leave for even a brief moment. So he always told us to pray.

Father said that we should always have three conditions when praying.

First, when we pray, we must greet God. As his children, we of course have to greet Him first when we pray. In other words, we have to say hello in details, such as “”I am so and so,” Also, we who attend True Family are the Cain-side family, so giving a sincere prayer for True Parent’s family is, according to Father, a greeting. As praying for the Family of True parents is joining in the heavenly fortune brought by the victory of True Parents Family, we must sincerely pray for True Parents Family.

Second, we must report. We have to give report often, saying, “I am doing such and such things.” We have to report about good things and bad things that happened during the day.

Third, we have to ask God, “God, how shall we solve this problem?” we have to keep asking. I also live my life in such a manner. I always report and I always ask. Father told us to wait for the answer that God gives us.

True Parents always work so hard to represent God, so much so that they almost lost consciousness of themselves. As we think of True Parents words, always ask Parents as if you live in personal attendance to them. If we live our lives while thinking “I am not the center of my everyday life; it’s True Parents,” then we can solve any problem if we stand in the position of complete object partner in front of True Parents.

Also, something that really help when witnessing is to keep calling the names of the one you are trying to witness too. Young Ja Kim! Young Ja Kim! Like this. If you keep calling their names like that, that person will want to meet you, want to call you, and start to miss you.

Father called our names very diligently during the early days. We did not know this at the beginning. We were all hot-blooded 20-something-year-old at the time of Cheong Pa Dong. After being expelled from Ehwa Women University, I took a break for one year then entered Sook Myong Women University with a major in medicine. I could not come to church in the morning because there were many mock exams for the state-issued test. I always went to the church on my way back home. If I did not stop by the church, I could not focus on studying at home. I could not do anything because I missed Father so much.

Those who had jobs they had to stop by the church, and even housewives had to stop by the church. Father came down from the second floor of the old headquarters church at 7 in the morning. Then people, with their eyes wide open, rushed to see him as if there was a fire. Father told these members, “Did you see Teacher in your dream last night” You couldn’t even sleep because you wanted to see him, right?”

It was actually true. Members broke into tears and sobbed, saying, “Yes, that’s right!” After a while, Father asks, “Who made you like that? And begging explaining. “The raison why you are in such state is not you but me. I spent the whole night last night calling your names in my prayer.” That is why we dreamed about Father and always found ourselves thinking about Father.

Father offer such sincere prayer and think, “Let’s wait and watch, I have offered so much Jeong seong and called the names of those members. I’ll see how the spirit world helps me.” Then he goes to bed. Then members came running to the church in the morning.

Some members’ feet moved towards the church on their way to work, and some members took the wrong bus and ended up at the church. Such miracles happened. People were going mad every morning. It was maddening but they still come, even though there was noting to do at the church. This is the secret of witnessing. We must have within us the heart of loving others, and if we drive ourselves insane in hopes of rescuing them from death, that person will be driven mad too. Then we can open the path.

Unimaginable persecution that I received in the early days of the church made me angry and disheartened but I still remained on the path of following the Will. Father asked us when we were still students, “What kind of heart do you go with as you walk the Path of the Will?” so I told him, “I go with cold vengeance in my heart” He said, “Then you are good”.

I was burning with vengeance. However, after so much time, that vengeance has become the vengeance of love. In other words, I realized that true revenge is to love our enemies and subjugate them naturally.