As we look back upon the past, we come to realize that we have received boundless love from our spiritual Mother, just as we’ve received much love from our physical mother. Though we are lacking in ability and have nothing, God has chosen us and leads us to the eternal kingdom of heaven. For this, we are truly thankful to God.

God has been always with us, giving us favorable circumstances and providing all our needs with His unconditional love. Now, let’s take some time to think about the love of our heavenly Mother, who trusts us though we are lacking in many things, encourages us and leads us to the everlasting kingdom of heaven.

God is love

God has been leading us with an unconditional, everlasting love until today. There is no rest for a mother with many children. Through the love and grace of Heavenly Father and Mother, so many children of Zion live in peace with the hope for heaven and the joy of salvation. So the Bible says God is love.

1 Jn 4:7-9, 16-19 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. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. . . . God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, . . . We love because he first loved us.

It is written that God first loved us, not that we first loved Him. God’s love is clearly shown in this: He came into this world, taking on human flesh, to save His children who were destined for destruction because of sin.

Jn 3:16-17  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

Jesus Christ came to this earth as the Son of God, but in actuality He is our God. Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity and sacrificed Himself to save them from sin and death (Heb 2:14-15).

To save us sinners who were destined to die and give us eternal life and joy in the kingdom of God, our Father and Mother came to this earth and bore the suffering of the cross for us. If we remember the love, we will realize God’s will—“Give thanks in all circumstances”—and truly thank Heavenly Father and Mother.

Human fathers and spiritual Father, and human mothers and spiritual Mother

God’s love cannot be compared with human love, but there are precious beings that teach us God’s love. They are our physical parents.

Everything on this earth is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven (Heb 8:5). Parents’ love towards their children is a shadow of our Father and Mother’s love for us. In this sense, a parent is a teacher who personally teaches us God’s love.

Our spiritual Parents always love us as our physical parents do. No matter how dutiful a child is to his parents, he cannot repay his parents for the love they’ve given to him. Nevertheless, children often forget their parents’ love. It is the same spiritually.

When we talk about parental love, we put more emphasis on a mother’s love than a father’s love even though fathers love their children the same as mothers do. God has given all mothers in this world a heart to love their children endlessly, so that He may teach us that we should understand our heavenly Mother’s love and also love Her.

Gal 4:26-31 But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. For it is written: “Be glad, O barren woman, who bears no children; break forth and cry aloud, you who have no labor pains; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband.” Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. . . . Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.

The Bible says that the Jerusalem that is above is our mother, who does not mean our physical mother, but our spiritual Mother. We all have our human fathers and also the Father of our spirits (Heb 12:9). Likewise, we have our human mothers and the Mother of our spirits as well. Our heavenly Mother has been worrying about our safety since the world began. Since we have been cast down to this earth, the city of refuge, by committing sin in heaven, our Mother has also come to this earth and is with us.

We should give thanks to our heavenly Mother for giving us a new life and allowing us to inherit the flesh and blood of God so that we may become members of the heavenly family. The Bible says that God is love. This shows the characteristics of the love that God the Mother has for us.

All human mothers on this earth serve as reminders of the sacrificial path that God walked for our salvation. Just as we can learn something about the original when we see a model of it, so we can find out about the life of our heavenly Mother through human mothers on this earth.

The one who has truly loved me in the world

At a side event for the Melchizedek Literary Awards Ceremony held at the end of last year, I read a piece of writing that especially touched my heart. Let me tell you the story.

A mother attended a kindergarten parent meeting. The kindergarten teacher said to her, “Your son is quite fussy and restless; he can’t even keep still for a couple of minutes. I think it would be a good idea to take him to a hospital.” However, the mother said to her son, “Your teacher complimented you a lot. She said you could not sit in a chair for more than a minute before but now you can sit still for three minutes.”

Time passed, and the son entered elementary school. One day, his mother attended a parent-teacher meeting. Then her son’s teacher said to her, “Your son got poor grades in his studies. Why don’t you take him to the hospital for an intelligence test?” When the mother heard this, tears streamed down her face. However, after returning home, she encouraged her son, saying, “Your teacher trusts you, my son. He said you are not really slow at learning and if you try a bit harder you will be able to surpass your friends.”

From that day on, her son began to change surprisingly. Owing to his mother’s continuous encouragement and compliment, the son made ceaseless efforts, entered a good high school, graduated with excellent grades and received a notice of admission to a famous university, contrary to the expectations of his teachers. Placing the official letter of admission to university in his mother’s hand, the son cried, saying, “Mother, I know I am not a smart boy. You are the only person in the world who has truly loved me.”

The kindergarten teacher reproached the child for not sitting in a chair for a couple of minutes. However, his mother encouraged and complimented him, patiently waiting for her child to change for the better. What if the mother had scolded her son, saying, “Today, I had to hang my head in shame before your teacher because of you. Why do you behave like that?” Her child would have lost interest in studying and failed to enter a good high school and a famous university.
What the child said at the end of the writing shows that he already knew how much support, comfort and encouragement his mother gave him. Even a little child can feel his mother’s love and concern for him. When the child felt loved, encouraged and comforted by his mother, he gained great courage so that he was able to do what seemed impossible.

Mother comforts Her children who are lacking in ability

The heart of the mother in the above story resembles the heart of our heavenly Mother. God has chosen us not because we are excellent or have a certain ability or power in the world, but because He took pity on us, like poor and weak little children, and covered our sins and transgressions with His boundless love and patience.

God knows everything about us. Although He knows that we are lacking in ability, He has chosen us and called us to be His messengers to proclaim God’s salvation throughout the whole world. There are many intelligent people who are better than us, but God did not use those people. He has given us, who are lacking in ability, an opportunity to work for Him.

The twelve disciples of Jesus were all lacking in every aspect. Think about the love of God who called Peter—a fisherman, Matthew—a tax collector and those like them, and made them His disciples and apostles for the gospel.

In this age of the Holy Spirit, our heavenly Mother has called us to become Her faithful messengers, and sends us to the ends of the earth. I believe that Father and Mother send us because we are Their children, not because we are better than others. As the mother in the story guided her son with love and patience even though all his teachers gave up on him, so our heavenly Mother raises us sinners to become worthy of God’s children with Her boundless love and patience. She untiringly loves us and takes care of us, who are lacking in many areas, so that we may repent and be changed into beautiful beings worthy to enter the eternal kingdom of heaven.

In the story aforesaid, the mother raised her son to be a good person in the end. It was not his ability but his mother’s continuous patience and encouragement that helped him grow up to become a worthy member of society. This is the way God our Mother loves us. Though we are lacking in every way, She loves us, encourages us and compliments us all the time. Now, many people are streaming to Zion from all around the world. It’s because our Mother has been guiding us and helping us grow in spiritual strength.

The children who imitate Mother’s love and put it into action

Mother’s patience and love have made us what we are today. Now, let’s look at ourselves to see how much glory and thanks we give to Mother and how much we share the love that we’ve received from Mother with people around us.

Every wife should ask herself whether she has taken care of her husband and children with the heart of Mother, and every husband should ask himself whether he has taken good care of his wife and family with the same love as Mother. Let us all think about how much love and blessing we receive from God our Father and God our Mother and how much love and support we receive from our family.

Wives, please consider how hard your husbands work at their jobs for your families. Husbands, please consider how much work your wives do for your families. In Zion, let us consider each other’s efforts and take care of one another. By doing this, we learn to give the love that we have received from our Father and Mother. Love is the first and greatest commandment of God we must keep.

Ro 13:8-10 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

God is love. God Elohim have been loving and caring for us as our Parents, not seeking Their own good but our good. If we have only received Their love until this day, we should now give love to our heavenly Parents in return.

Of course, we should not neglect our duty to repay the grace of our physical parents who bore and raised us on this earth. He who is obedient to his parents will be able to succeed some day, no matter what position he is now in. Such a person will also be able to understand the love of Heavenly Father and Mother. Some people in the world easily forget their parents’ love, but God has given us this command: “Honor your father and mother” (Ex 20:12; Eph 6:2). We should be thankful to our parents for having raised us, without neglecting to call or visit them, and we should also pray to God for them that they may receive spiritual blessings and salvation.

As for the law of the new covenant, we must not just hear it but continue to keep it. We should practice the love that we’ve learned from God our Mother, by planting the love in the hearts of all people around the world, beginning with those around us, shouldn’t we? Let us put what we have been taught by God, the best Teacher, into action not only at the Church but also at home, and share it with our neighbors as well. When we follow the example of God our Mother, we can have a living faith.

Let us all give love to others. If we give God’s love to our parents, wives or husbands, children and neighbors, the love of our heavenly Mother will fill our Church, neighborhood, society and country, and it will be proclaimed throughout the whole world. As God is love, we shall fulfill the gospel work through love, as the salt and light of the world, so that we may receive much blessing from God.