The Life and Mission of Jesus Christ: Episode 47

Rev. Sun Myung Moon: The Life and Mission of Jesus Christ
Chapter 5: Ethics of the Kingdom, The Prodigal Son, Page 123-124

The Prodigal Son

Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.

“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’ So he got up and went to his father.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

“Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him…‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’” (Luke 15:11-32)

 

God wants to have his day of victory, and once he has it he will never release it. God has suffered so much that on that one day his joy will be endless; on that day God will become crazy! Then he can forget all his past suffering. Think of being loved by that crazy God in that precious moment. Lovers today try to show their love by hugging and kissing, but that cannot be compared to God’s elation when he has his one day of victory. When his own children achieve that goal and bring comfort and liberation to God, he will be crazy in joy and the world will be crazy in joy.

Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son demonstrates this. There was a son who wanted to take his inheritance and leave home. He went far away and squandered everything he had and became so destitute that he had to feed pigs to survive. Finally, with a repentant heart he decided to return home. His father had compassion and ran to embrace him. His elder brother, however, condemned him and complained at their father’s generosity, but the father’s joy at his son’s return had no limit. If even a prodigal son was welcomed that much by his father, how much more will God welcome you, not as a prodigal son but as a loyal, faithful son who has given his life for the restoration of God’s kingdom? When on the day of homecoming you walk to God’s throne, how much more will God welcome you? My only desire is to see God feeling that joyful.

God’s Day
January 1, 1978

Who could receive the love of God, who had been patient for 4,000 years to give his infinite love? There was no one but Jesus. Jesus knew this, and he could be grateful for the love of God even when he felt lonely.

Then where was there a person of character who understood that God had been sad for 4,000 years and that he had been patiently fighting Satan during that time? Again, it was Jesus alone. Thus, Jesus, who had to walk the path of heaven’s principles on behalf of God’s patience, carrying the hope of God, who wished that he could lead humans the right way, was sunk in grief.

Therefore, you should also feel God’s loyal heart as Jesus did. Thus, you should realize that you should not remain in the position of the prodigal son, but come to represent the full value of God’s principles as the ideals of the creation. We should take after Jesus, who felt the love, patience, and loyalty of God. He understood that he was found through God’s 4,000 years of toil and patience and that he was the hope of God. We should inherit his love, loyalty, and patience.

Jesus’ True Heart for God
August 4, 1957

[Among you] there should never be racial discrimination. White people find that it is hard to throw away their old habit of discriminating against blacks, even after the Blessing. But if you do not correct that quickly enough, you will surely go to hell in spirit world. You will perish. That sense of belittling another and feeling superior to them is like a cancerous growth within your spirit. We see in the Bible the story of the prodigal son. He comes back and repents and receives all the blessings of the father. So his position becomes even better than the elder brother. That elder brother was saying, “My younger brother was a bad person but I was good. Why did you give all the blessing to him?”

The Responsibility of Authority of the Unification Family
March 1, 1992