How to Be Unforgettable

What are brothers and sisters? If you shut your eyes, who do you think of first? How many of your friends can you visualize when you shut your eyes? Whose face can you visualize?

Your mother, your father, your teacher, or your friend? If you have even one or two people whom you cannot forget, you're happy. Many of us I think, cannot even find one whom we cannot forget. If you cannot love even one whom you cannot forget, you are sad. Your life must have been lonesome or miserable in a sense.

Reverend Sun Myung Moon's speech, he said, "I myself have one unforgettable person - my physical father. He has many defects but still he's the one I cannot forget.

"He was sick and he couldn't work well. I was going to junior high school and I got up early in the morning to go to the train station by bicycle. When I arrived at the train station I found that I had forgotten my train ticket. The train was coming, but I couldn't get on board. When I looked around, I found my sick father coming after me by bicycle.

"He was sick and he could hardly walk, but still he came. His gray hair was white because of snow. And his hair and head and coat were covered with snow. I couldn't stop crying. Even though he had many defects, still, because of this one point in a sense, I cannot forget him. He's my unforgettable person.

"Why is he my unforgettable person? Is it because he's my physical father? I don't think so. It's because he came after me even when he was sick. He had sickness in his back bone and he had a cast and he came on a bicycle. Because of the snow if he had slipped down, he might have died. But he didn't care at all because he intended to help me.

"This is the reason why I can't forget him. Not just because he's my physical father, but because he loved me at the price of his life. This is the reason why I can't forget his hair all covered with snow. His face was pale and he came. My father gave the most precious things he had to me. This is the reason why I cannot forget him.

"My father is an unforgettable person to me but not to others. If he dies I will feel grieved because he sacrificed himself for me. But he didn't sacrifice anything for others. He never gave the most precious thing to others, just to his son. He can be an unforgettable person to me, but he cannot be an unforgettable person to all nations and to all mankind because he didn't give his most precious thing to his nation and his world."

The Ultimate Unforgettable Person Ever

Then who is the one whom mankind cannot forget?

Jesus. He gave his life to all mankind. He gave his life which was more precious than mankind, than the lives of mankind, to all mankind. Therefore, whoever was given precious life from Jesus cannot forget him at all. Mankind remembers him even though 2,000 years have passed since he died on the cross, He died, but he's in our heart.

Those who killed Jesus have disappeared, but he who was killed by them didn't die. He's alive in the depths of the heart of mankind. Mankind cannot forget him because everyone was given his life. This is the reason why we cannot forget him.

Then, how about ourselves? Is there anyone who cannot forget us? Who do you think remembers you when they shut their eyes? Is there anyone who cannot forget you because they were given life from you - because you sacrificed yourself? For how many people did you cry even one day for the problems that person can't overcome?

For whom have you ever cried one day from morning till night. For whom did you shed tears and sweat? For whom? If you can find someone for whom you shed tears and sweat even one week, then you'll be sure he cannot forget you, she cannot forget you. But if you haven't, you have none who cannot forget you.

 Then if you die, your existence in life on earth will be in vain. Without cause there is no effect. Without giving anything to others you cannot expect to be given anything.

Jesus came on earth to realize the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom of Heaven isn't the dominion of force. The Kingdom of God isn't the dominion of violence. The Kingdom of God isn't the dominion of regulations or law. The Kingdom of God is the dominion of love. Jesus came to realize the world of love.

At the end of Jesus' life course, because of the disobedience and disbelief of Israelites, crucifixion was near at hand. Jesus knew that the only way to save mankind was to suffer tribulation on the cross, to shed blood on the cross, and to establish Christianity. Jesus knew already. When Jesus gathered his disciples at the time of Last Supper, he brought a basin full of water and he began to wash the disciples' dirty feet. The disciples couldn't understand at all what it meant. From Jesus' point of view what he spoke there were the last words to be given to the disciples.

Jesus knew he couldn't come back again. He had known the disciples three years. Jesus gave so many messages to the disciples, but they couldn't understand well. In the beginning Jesus had had great hope, but now Jesus was hopeless to realize Kingdom of God on earth. He could not see disciples anymore. That moment might be the last moment in which Jesus could see his disciples whom he loved most even though they were not so wise, they were not so excellent. Still, they were the only ones who obeyed Jesus, who loved Jesus.

Jesus tried to realize the Kingdom of God on Earth upon this foundation: upon Peter, or James, or John, outcasts, or tax collectors. They were the only ones that he was able to realize, whom he was able to trust. But time was crucial and it was the last moment Jesus was able to see them. Jesus had to give the last words to his disciples.

When someone dies, what is the last words which will be given his own family members? Can he joke? No. He cannot joke. The last words which he will give at the last moment of his life must be the most serious ones, the most important ones, giving the most serious contents which he cherished throughout his entire life and which cannot be fulfilled. Then even Jesus' last words must have been the ones which he cherished throughout his entire life and which could not be realized. Then what were his last words which he gave to his disciples.

The last words Jesus gave to his disciples were words of love: Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. The most essential desire of Jesus must have been desire of love that he cherished in the depths of his bosom. His desire was love, love all mankind, love brothers and sisters, love disciples, love Israelites, love mankind. His essential desire must have been to embrace his disciples, to embrace his race, his nation, his world. His desire must have been to embrace all mankind, entire mankind, in his arms. He must have desired to shed tears of love, to shed tears of joy because of love.

Love.

But he wasn't able to love all mankind fully as a father, he couldn't love his nation, he couldn't love his family, he couldn't love his disciples. And no one loved him. His family didn't love him, his disciples didn't love him, his race didn't love him, his nation didn't love him, his world didn't love him. No one truly loved him or sacrificed for him, so Jesus couldn't love anyone at all in a sense.

Therefore, his grief must have been the grief of love. If he has resentment in a sense, the resentment must have been the resentment of love. He wanted to love, but he couldn't love. He expected love, but he wasn't given love. He died in the resentment of unfulfilled, unaccomplished love. Therefore, he left the last words of love. The only way for Jesus to be able to love mankind was the crucifixion.

Therefore, at the final moment he decided to receive the cup in order to show his love. Therefore, the crucifixion was the symbol of the love of Jesus. The crucifixion was the only way for Jesus to show his love. This is the reason why mankind was given love through the crucifixion. If the motivation wasn't love, we could not feel love. If the motivation wasn't love, Jesus couldn't be the unforgettable person to all mankind. Therefore, Jesus' crucifixion was a crucifixion of joy because it was the last chance for Jesus to be able to show his love, how deep his love was. Since he couldn't realize the world of love, his spirit died in the depths of grief and anguish and a resentment of love.

It is by giving that you are given to. Without motivation there is no result, it is by sacrificing ourselves that someone can sacrifice for us.
 
"It was by giving the most precious thing he had to me that my physical father became an unforgettable person to me." Reverend Moon, "It is by giving his life to all mankind that Jesus became an unforgettable person to all mankind. And so many people even now are waiting to give their lives to Jesus because Jesus gave life to them.

Return for Tomorrow's Post: How to Love Anybody

Photos courtesy: freedigitalphotos.net

This was a lecture given by Ken Sudo titled "The Meaning of Brothers and Sisters".  It is based on the Divine Principle and was given during a 120-day workshop.  The Divine Principle was written by Dr. Reverend Sun Myung Moon who worked 92 years before his homegoing this year for efforts to bring God's final words to earth in order to realize the peace on earth.