Many people around the world are now gathering to Zion according to the prophecies of the Bible. Among them, there are some who have thrown away their sinful ways and habits and are putting on a heavenly nature, there are also some who have not yet been cleansed from the dirt of their sins and are still following the sinful ways of this world.

We have been called by God in advance, so we should set a good example for those who have come into the truth but still have an angular personality, by always speaking gracious words and having the divine nature. Now, through God's words, let's learn about the virtue of gentleness that is one of the most important characteristics of love, which the children of Zion should possess.

A poor couple's gentle love

There was a couple who were happy though they were poor. But one day, an unexpected misfortune befell them. The wife contracted an unknown disease and began to suffer chronic illness. The husband was so frustrated and heartbroken when he saw his wife suffering because he had no money for medical treatment and was unable to obtain medication for her which was very expensive. After much thought, the husband bought a root of ginseng in a market, and after returning home he said to his wife,

"A man appeared in my dream, and showed me where this ginseng was, saying you will get well if only you eat it. So, please eat this and recover your strength."

The wife ate all of the ginseng, which her husband gave her, saying he had dug it up himself. The husband, who was looking at his wife beside her, felt thankful to her for believing what he said. But on the other hand, he also felt pity for her who couldn't even distinguish between wild and cultivated ginseng and took his word for it. Surprisingly enough, however, his wife started to recover from her illness, and finally her health was restored. Then the husband, who had been feeling guilty since he lied, told his wife the truth.

"Honey, to tell you the truth, I told a lie inevitably because I had no money for medical treatment for you. Please forgive me."

As the husband apologized to his wife from the bottom of his heart, she was touched by her husband's sincere love for her and hugged him, and then she said,

"What I've eaten is neither cultivated ginseng nor wild ginseng. I've only had your love."

When the husband heard his wife saying this, he realized that what he had done for her was not in vain and felt great joy.

In the story of the poor couple, the husband told a white lie while he was showing his love to his wife, and she forgave her husband for lying to her because she understood the sincerity and depth of his love for her. Even though we do not hear the rest of their story, we can presume that the couple lived happily for the rest of their days.

What enabled the couple to sustain their beautiful love? It was gentleness immanent in their love. Gentleness is one of the characteristics of love. Like the couple in the story, we need to learn God's love and gentleness inherent in His love and spread the fragrance of love throughout the world, as sincere Christians.

God's love and His gentleness that belongs to His love

God came to this earth not only to baptize us but to save us. So, we should not just be satisfied with the fact that we have led people to Zion, but take good care of them, always thinking about "what we should do in order to lead them to stand rightly before God and to receive salvation." Also, we need to show the love we've received from Father and Mother to many new brothers and sisters who have just come to Zion, until they are able to attain salvation.

There is a saying that goes: "Women are weak, but mothers are strong." Here, what is the difference between "women" and "mothers"? The most obvious difference between them is that women are more accustomed to receiving love than giving and mothers are accustomed to giving love. If a woman puts herself in the place of a mother who gives love endlessly instead of the place of a woman who just wants to receive love, she can be strong enough to do everything. Like this, the same woman may be weak or strong according to whether she just wants to receive love or tries to give love. If she only wants to receive love, she may sometimes be irritated or exasperated. So, we should always give love rather than to receive. Then our faith can be strong and our Zion can be a stronger city.

1 Jn 4:7-8 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

God is love, so those who do not love cannot know about God. God's love is unconditional; God only gives us love boundlessly, not wanting to receive it. With this infinite, unconditional love, God came to save mankind. We are sinners who rebelled against our Father and Mother for Their grace and love and were cast down from heaven to earth. Nevertheless, God our Father and Mother left all Their glory in heaven and came down to this earth, only wanting to save us, Their children.

Thus, God sacrificed everything to redeem mankind from sin and give them forgiveness of sins. This came from God's great love. We need to learn the love of God and put it into practice.

1 Co 13:1-8 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. . . . Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

Corinthians 13 describes love in great detail. One of the various characteristics of love, which we should put into practice, is gentleness. Gentleness cannot come from a selfish heart. Without gentleness we cannot expect the fruit of love. If we have gentleness, our love can grow bigger and bear fruit.

The gift of salvation given to those who are gentle and humble

Ps 25:8-9 Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
He guides the humble ["the meek," KJV] in what is right and teaches them his way.

God teaches the meek His way. It's because only those whose minds are gentle can fully understand the way of the new covenant. So, even though we were stubborn and lived only for ourselves, not compromising with others but being self-complacent, we should now have a gentle personality in God who is love. In order to learn the way of God, we have to put off the harsh tempers we used to have in the past and should come to God with a gentle and humble mind.

Ps 76:7-9 You alone are to be feared. Who can stand before you when you are angry? From heaven you pronounced judgment, and the land feared and was quiet-when you, O God, rose up to judge, to save all the afflicted of the land ["all the meek of the earth," KJV]. Selah

God saves those who are meek. Here, the meek refer to those who are gentle in God. Meekness shown with a will to save mankind in the truth of the new covenant is true gentleness which the Bible speaks of.

Mt 11:28-30 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

The mind of Christ, which the Bible tells us to learn, is also a gentle mind. There are many meaningless and empty things in our life on this earth. Because of our empty desires, sometimes we hurt our souls and cause pain in our hearts. However, God says when we come to Him and learn gentleness, we will find rest for our souls.

Now, many of our heavenly brothers and sisters are coming into the arms of Father and Mother. We must learn gentleness from God and have gentle mind. Gentleness is a virtue that all of God's children should have in the truth of the new covenant so that Zion can be filled with joy and pleasure, full of warmth and happiness.

Gentleness, a virtue indispensable to Christians

Let us learn about gentleness which the Bible teaches, and become more united with one another in love, as the children of God. It is also the virtue of gentleness that we should have when we exhort the members.

2 Co 10:1 By the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you-I, Paul, who am "timid" when face to face with you, but "bold" when away!

Gal 5:17-26 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. . . . The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. . . . those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

We should crucify the angular, dishonest and stubborn mind that we used to have in the past. With such a mind, we cannot learn Christ.

The Bible tells us to learn the teachings of Christ and follow the path of our heavenly Father and Mother, having a gentle disposition. When we get rid of our dishonest and arrogant mind and learn the gentle and humble mind of Christ, we will be able to understand the truth of the new covenant more easily, realize the love and sacrifice of Father and Mother fully, and put it into practice.

Eph 4:1-3 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

To live a life worthy of the calling we have received, we should have gentleness. So, whenever the Apostle Paul sent a letter to each church, he told the members to treat each other with gentleness and preach the gospel in meekness. This was one of the important teachings of the Early Church.

In the truth of the new covenant we follow, there are not only teachings on God's law or on faith. We must not forget that we also have an obligation to learn love and gentleness from God.

1 Ti 6:11-12 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

In order to fight the good fight of the faith, we need to follow the path of gentleness. Even though we face circumstances where we can hardly do so, we should gradually increase our endurance. Then we will be able to understand the heart of God who patiently endured all the pain and suffering on the cross to save us. Also, we will be able to realize the love of God who is slow to anger and leads us to the kingdom of heaven with gentleness and patience.

The gospel accomplished through gentle love

When we, God's children, who are taught by God in Zion, change beautifully and have a gentle personality, full of love, according to the will of Father and Mother, we will be able to lead many souls on the way of salvation and God's spiritual creation will be completed. However, we are still in the process of being cleansed from the dirt of our sins. We should be cleansed from sin and impurity as soon as possible and glorify Father and Mother with a gentle personality and a humble mind which we have learned from Them.

Zion is now being rapidly filled with new brothers and sisters. To them we should show much more love and take care of them wholeheartedly. It is said that the most effective education is to learn the behaviors of leading members. Let's show the examples of gentleness, love, humility and good deeds, which we have learned from God, to our brothers and sisters, so that they will also set a good example to the new members.

The Bible says that in due time God will make us, the weak, strong. In the past, we were weak and just wanted to receive love, but now we need to be strong and mature enough to learn to give love and put it into practice. By doing so, we should make Zion a place overflowing with love, and take good care of the new members who have come into the truth, stained with the dirt of the world, so that they can be cleansed through the teachings of Father and Mother.

I earnestly hope all my brothers and sisters in Zion will treat one another with gentleness and learn the way of suffering and sacrifice our Father and Mother have walked. Let's engrave the importance of gentleness deeply in our hearts and put it into practice, so that our Zion will be overflowing with true joy and pleasure and we will be able to receive many blessings from God.