Father has been loving God and all mankind so much, that he really expects us to love God, America, and all mankind even more than himself. As I have been with Father for all these years, I remember often when I was with the other leaders and I began to get tired, I would say, "Father, it is already getting so late; maybe you should think of the busy schedule tomorrow and finish today's activity."
But it is always after one or two o'clock when he finishes. He doesn't say it in words so much, but what he is showing us by this example is: "You are much younger than I, so take responsibility for whatever you are doing. You should be able to do much more than I." That is what I have been feeling from him. Father doesn't always explain in words, but he is always showing us the way to go.
Since he trusts us, he doesn't feel he has to tell us and tries to help us understand him through his example. Even though we are so immature, Father is always trying to learn from us. When we are reporting to him or discussing things together with him, he is at the same time trying to learn from us. You may be curious as to how Father can learn from us. You think that it is our position to always be learning from him.
Of course, Father knows so much more than we do, but Father's enthusiasm is also much greater than ours. Because of this enthusiasm, he is always ready to listen to us to get a point clear. I would like to give a few examples of this.
One day Father heard a report from Japan that there was a Japanese member who had been wearing one pair of pants – the same pair of pants – for over seven years. These pants were so worn out, that whenever he went in to take a shower. He always had to try to hide them from the other people.
This is not because he couldn't get money to buy another pair of pants, it was because he wanted to save the money to be used for all of mankind. When Father heard this, he went back into his room and cried and cried. One of the early Korean pioneer members would go up into the mountains and sleep because he had nowhere to stay in the village. Because he was trying to teach the Divine Principle, he was not received by the people.
He didn't have anything to eat and nowhere to sleep. so he would just fast all the time.
After many days, he came down from the mountain because he became very hungry. In your country, dog food is very high quality; even ordinary people could eat it if they had to. In Korea, however, dog food is so bad that people would not think of eating it. The dog food in a poor house is especially bad. The member came to a house where a dog was eating. It looked so delicious to the man, even though a dog was eating it. So he began to explain to the dog, even though the dog couldn't understand him, "You are eating that food for yourself, but I am going to eat your food for God and all of mankind."
Father will never forget this story or other stories about the hard work and sacrifice of brothers and sisters. There is one thing that we should understand. There is no question as to the depth of sacrifice of our True Father. But when Father sees a member who has even one good point, Father respects this point and tries to learn from this point.
We should understand that it is a parental heart to love us for our one good point, even if the other 99 points out of 100 are bad. He wants us to forget about our mistakes and only think about and love us for our one good point. There was one member in Korea who was trying hard and undergoing a lot of persecution, but he could still not get results.
The church leader sympathized with him, but because of no result, he felt that this person should change locations. He felt that he couldn't send him to the front line again, so he was sent to a factory. The factory president also wondered where to put this man because he was so incapable. He had a hard time finding a place for this person, so he took the problem to Father.
Father knew that this person had been very faithful and loyal to Heavenly Father, so he told the company president that he should create a new position just for this man. Very often we don't understand how much Father thinks of us.
We struggle back and forth. How often have we pledged to Father and did not fulfill? If we really think about the situation, we might feel that Father cannot trust us. But really, Father is always looking for the one good point. Because of this one good point, Father will bless us and try to put us in a higher place. Often I have been with Father through such experiences. I remember another thing that happened in England.
One day I was thinking that since I am the first one to be with Father, and the first one who was blessed by Father, I must be the closest one to Father. If you compare the driver to Rev. Kim, maybe you might agree that I am closer to Father than Father's driver. If you ask the driver, he might agree.
But I realized that it wasn't true. For example, when Father wants to go somewhere, no one has to invite the driver to sit in the front seat, he has no hesitation because he is in the position of Father's driver. But I don't go into Father's car without asking permission, and very often I cannot go in Father's car. So, in this case, who is closer to Father, Rev. K, I'm, or the driver? Only the driver can be responsible for the life of Father and can drive Father anywhere. I am unable to do this, so in this sense, Father's driver is my Abel.
Even though he is a much younger member, and a later blessed couple who doesn't understand as much Divine Principle, actually he is in the Abel position to me, and I must treat him with this kind of respect. Suppose there is one member in East Garden who is responsible for cutting the grass. He has the responsibility to shape the lawn and by doing this, he can create a very nice atmosphere for Father and the many guests and leaders who come to visit Father. These brothers have a responsibility to show the guests a wonderful and fresh atmosphere. This is a service that I am not in the position to do, so, in this sense, the person who is taking care of the grass at East Garden is my Abel.
That is why these members can live together with Father in Father's house. I do not Jive there in Father's house, so who is closer to Father? In the World Mission Center, many members are taking care of the building. If they do not take care of the building properly, elevators won't work, and all kinds of problems will come up. So we must help them and support work because without them we couldn't take a shower or turn on the lights.
We would have all kinds of difficulties. None of us could do without the members of the house staff. Therefore, they are our Abels. When we look from this viewpoint, everybody is Abel to me. Still, from the principled viewpoint, we know that there has never been, or will ever be, another me. Heavenly Father could not experience joy and happiness by Himself. He must have you and me.
That is why we must treat all brothers and sisters as if they were so precious and important as if they were able to me.
Rev. Kim Won-Pil
