1) The Background of the Term Shik-gu

For what purpose are we Unification Church members gathered here today? We call our members "shik-gu," don't we? What does shik-gu mean? It does not mean the one who eats meals. By shik-gu we mean those who have the connections of brothers and sisters; those who were born under the same parents' heart. We should have the relationship of brothers under the same parents. Then we inherit the life, habit, and tradition of the parents, and we have the life style that Heaven likes. In this way family members come to be formed. (155-211)

What are requirements for family members? You have your position and situation establishing the relationship of above and below, front and back, right and left. Then you should bear your brother's tribulation as your own, your parents' tribulation as your own, your spouse's tribulation as your own. You should confront various difficulties, thinking, "Others' pain is mine."

If you accept the sorrow from your brother, his suffering will be dispersed. If you accept the sorrow from your parents, their suffering will be dispersed. We shall be closely related with each other as brothers if we have the strong will to fight against the enemies who are obstructing our providential way. Then we shall be protected and guided by our brothers. It is the heavenly way.

Through the age of struggle on the individual level, the age of struggle on the familial level, and the ages of struggle on the tribal and national levels, we have come to the age of preparation for the struggle on the global level.

Our life is not merely our life. All humankind and all the members of our family should harmonize with our life and march forward with us. Such a thing should happen. Then we are family members.

As family members, we live for our parents above and our brothers left and right. We live in order to build the kingdom of hope and goodness, a good nation and a good planet. In the presence of such solemn tasks, the storm of struggle will necessarily arise. Who will confront the storm? Our Unification Church members, namely our family members, will.

Today we who used to be strangers are gathered here hand in hand, young and old, men and women. We have the same blood lineage with the same God's heart. We have started, motivated by God, and therefore we should attain the divine result. (67-325)

2) Beings with Connections

The connections with which you are united, centering on God, could not have been established in a few years. Behind such connections, there is the fallen, sad history and God's hope for humankind. You should not forget that you have gathered here with such connections and with the heart of longing for each other. (49-216)

What are the connections with which we were born? They are vertical connections. They have not been established based on ideologies; rather, they have been established based on God's heart and His ideal of creation. They are firmly connected with the original human nature. You have to understand the absoluteness of such connections. (49-206)

3) The Points Family Members Should Keep in Mind

You should not say the kind of things that would hurt family members or disturb their religious lives. (18-43)

You criticize or judge other family members from a distance, thinking that you cannot get along with them. You must not do those things.(19-138)

I cannot tolerate such a thing as someone criticizing and deliberately attacking other family members. Where should we begin to love? We should begin to love by loving each other. We have gathered here from north, south, east, and west under the same connections, and therefore we should love each other. Our Unification Church is proud of such connections behind its members. Without them, we have nothing to be proud of. (49-62)

There should not be struggles in the Unification Church. You have gathered here to love each other. You should seek to love rather than to be loved. From whom do you learn to love? It's from Father. When you met Father, you naturally felt like loving Father. You felt love that you could not help but give to others. You should give such love to your brothers and sisters.

God will give you back many times over the love as you gave to others. It is because parents wish their children to love each other. If you love brothers and sisters in the same way you love God, the door to the Kingdom of Heaven will be opened. You should go together with brothers and sisters just as you want to go with Father.

In this respect, it is family members rather than God or Father who will guide you more highly and more quickly to Heaven. The one who has love greater than parental or conjugal love can lead people as the supreme subject of love.

You should make desperate efforts to train yourself to go to the Kingdom of Heaven. If you are in the Abel position, you should subjugate and lead the Cain-side people. Otherwise, your Kingdom of Heaven is merely a kingdom inside a well. It is not the Kingdom of Heaven where you can freely associate with people vertically and horizontally.

It is a global age today. A white man, a black man, and a yellow man are three brothers. You may wonder whether you will be happy living together.

There is no conflict among the various races in the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom of Heaven is not the place where only one race can enter; it is the place where people are allowed to enter depending on their achievement of love-how many people they loved.

\It is stated in the Bible, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God." (Matt 5:9) You should keep company with the children of God. If you keep company with the children of Satan, you will feel fear and anxiety. You should think that your brothers are more valuable than you. If you live for the sake of your brothers, you will naturally go to the Kingdom of Heaven. You will be welcome everywhere, and you will become a central figure.

The way to the Kingdom of Heaven is to realize brotherly and sisterly loves based on parental and conjugal love. The key to enter the Kingdom of Heaven is to give and receive love for joy. You should keep it deeply in your mind that brothers and sisters are more valuable than you are. (66-125)