2. Efforts and Hardships of the Mission
World Scripture
I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim; each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”
And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
Then flew one of the seraphim to me, having in his hand a burning coal which he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin forgiven.” And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.” And he said, “Go, and say to this people:
‘Hear and hear, but do not understand;
see and see, but do not perceive.’
Make the heart of this people fat,
and their ears heavy,
and shut their eyes;
lest they see with their eyes,
and hear with their ears,
and understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.”
Isaiah 6.1-10
O Lord, thou knowest;
remember me and visit me,
and take vengeance for me on my persecutors.
In thy forbearance take me not away;
know that for thy sake I bear reproach.
Thy words were found, and I ate them,
and thy words became to me a joy
and the delight of my heart;
for I am called by thy name,
O Lord, God of hosts.
I did not sit in the company of merrymakers,
nor did I rejoice;
I sat alone, because thy hand was upon me,
for thou hadst filled me with indignation.
Why is my pain unceasing,
my wound incurable,
refusing to be healed?
Wilt thou be to me like a deceitful brook,
like waters that fail?
Jeremiah 15.15-18
The Thaqif… stirred up their louts and slaves to insult [Muhammad] and cry after him until a crowd came together, and compelled him to take refuge in an orchard… When the Apostle reached safety he said, so I am told, “O God, to Thee I complain of my weakness, little resource, and lowliness before men.
O Most Merciful, Thou art the Lord of the weak, and Thou art my Lord. To whom wilt Thou confide me? To one afar who will misuse me? Or to an enemy to whom Thou hast given power over me? If Thou art not angry with me I care not.
Thy favor is wider for me. I take refuge in the light of Thy countenance by which the darkness is illumined, and the things of this world and the next are rightly ordered, lest Thy anger descend upon me or Thy wrath light upon me. It is for Thee to be satisfied until Thou art well pleased. There is no power and no might save in Thee.”
Ibn Ishaq, Sirat Rasul Allah (Islam)
If any other man thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel… as to righteousness under the law blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, based on law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith; that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that if possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brethren, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature be thus minded; and if in anything you are otherwise minded, God will reveal that also to you.
Philippians 3.4-15
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
Living a life of faith presents many challenges. No doubt you received a call, but the question is: are you following it? It is hard to follow your call. It is even harder to be loyal and filial to God.
(40:86, January 24, 1971)
When following the path of God’s calling, you will surely face internal struggles. You who are called must be skillful in sorting them out. Since you are responsible for many people, if you make a misstep a large number may perish and you will have created a huge problem. Therefore, you should not act hastily or carelessly. Do not be overly joyful when you see something good, and do not grieve too much when you see something bad. You should always straighten your mind, sort out right from wrong, and move forward with care.
(40:98-99, January 24, 1971)
May we may be intoxicated with our sense of mission, that we might receive Heaven’s commands and fulfill our responsibilities completely.
To establish Heaven’s Will on earth, let us become sons and daughters who know only to fight without resting or deviating, who know the laws of Heaven and the laws of this cosmic battle, and who will represent the unchanging Center, until the glory of restoration and the ideal of the eternal God are revealed in all things of creation.
(2:180, April 14, 1957)
After receiving the call to walk the way of God’s Will, you should always search with sincerity for the objective you are meant to fulfill. I am moving forward with the entire problem of the providence of restoration; that path is not peaceful. I have to surmount many disturbing and ever-changing situations, beyond anything I could have imagined when I started. As you walk this way, purge your mind of greed and rid your heart of pride. It is impossible to succeed with the mind of “I am going to try this; I am going to attempt that.” Even if your plan succeeds, it may contradict the Providence since it was planned from a human perspective.
(40:77, January 24, 1971)
Father! Thou knowest the direction that we, Thy sons and daughters, should go; Thou knowest the path we shall have to walk. Our minds do not begin from within ourselves, for we have been chosen as Thy helpers, not for ourselves. Since it is for others and for Thee, Father, we pray Thou wilt take dominion over our hearts and not let them change to the very end.
(6:62, March 29, 1959)