God’s Will and Christmas

The speech below was given December 25, 1976, New York, NY

By Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon

Today is Christmas, 1976, and people around the world are celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. In the history of the Unification Church the year of 1976 was a most critical and extraordinary year and today we have ample reason to be grateful, especially as we gather together for the first service in this holy place, our Manhattan Center.

We are not an ordinary group. There are many Christians in the world but the Unification Church and this particular gathering have a special meaning and purpose in God’s dispensation. It is most important in celebrating this day of Christmas to know the purpose of the coming of Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago. Without knowing that purpose clearly this celebration is meaningless, so this morning I would like to deliver a message on the topic, “God’s Will and Christmas.”

When we ask if God’s original intention for this world has been completely fulfilled, the obvious answer is no. The will of God was thwarted because of the fall of man. Through history fallen mankind has been searching for the ultimate fulfillment of the will of God and the purpose of creation. As this providence has been advancing on many different levels of the individual, family, society, nation and world, God’s original will or blueprint has never changed. All the while that unchanging goal has been there for man to accomplish, waiting for man to catch up.

God is eternal, unchanging, absolute and unique; therefore, the will of God is also eternal, unchanging, absolute and unique. God cannot yield His original standard or give up His principle because of the failure of men. He cannot compromise or deviate from His original goal no matter how much sacrifice we men have to pay. He cannot come down to the level of men; men must go up to the level of God.

Realization of the ideal hinges upon the perfection of one man

As soon as the fall of man took place, God’s will focused on the goal of restoration. God Himself is destined to save mankind, to show people how to get out of the fallen state and into the original ideal of creation. That is the providence of God’s salvation, or restoration. Throughout history men have not been in a position to save themselves; salvation comes instead from a higher place. This is why a savior must come to save mankind. As yet no individual has successfully showed God’s original ideal of creation to the world….

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