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Recently we have been hearing the joyful news that our members in Zion all around the world are realizing the importance of repentance and achieving beautiful unity. According to Heavenly Mother’s example and teachings, many of our brothers and sisters have renewed their determination to live a life of repentance, apologizing first and being reconciled to one another in tears. They say to each other, “I’m sorry, please forgive me.” These words deeply resonate in our hearts.
God has promised that as the Kingdom of Heaven draws closer, He will remove our heart of stone and give us a heart of flesh, enabling us to become united in heart and mind (Eze 36:24–27). I’m sure that God must be pleased to see the unity of His children in Zion.
The Kingdom of Heaven Is for Those Who Repent
If our hearts have been far from some members even though we share the same space as them, let us approach them first and ask them for forgiveness while holding their hands. God has taught us to humble ourselves rather than exalt ourselves. We must follow this holy teaching of God, fully realizing that we are originally sinners.
We rebelled against God in Heaven by unknowingly becoming involved in the treachery of the evil one, and as a result we have been cast down to this earth. Originally, we didn’t have any sinful nature; however, since being tempted by Satan, it has been continuously growing stronger and stronger inside of us. Only when we completely turn away from our sinful ways can we restore our original sinless nature and return to Heaven.
“Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” Mt 4:15–17
To repent means to turn away from sin and change one’s heart and mind. Since we have been cast down to the earth as a result of committing sin in Heaven, it is not too much to say that the whole purpose of our life on this earth is to repent. If all of the members in Zion, not only a couple of members, repent fully and sincerely from their heart here on this earth, the eternal Kingdom of Heaven will be that much closer.
What is the main reason why the Israelites’ journey through the desert lasted as long as it did? It was not because the distance from Egypt to Canaan was far. The physical distance between both lands was short; yet, it took them forty years to travel from Egypt to Canaan because of their unrepentant hearts and lack of faith.
We need to engrave the teachings of Heavenly Mother deep within our hearts and achieve true repentance, restoring the love and respect for God we had once before. God has opened the way for us to return to Him through the laws of truth, including the Passover (2 Ch 30:1–8; Mal 3:7–12). As we steadily follow the way God guides us, God removes our sinful and arrogant nature that we had previously, recreating us to become beautiful enough to humble ourselves first and extend the hand of forgiveness to one another.
Repentance and Salvation
The way to return to God is not too far away. The Kingdom of Heaven is actually close to us. It is our own fault that we have been far away from Heaven. We must repent and change ourselves quickly to become beautiful enough to please God.
O righteous God, who searches minds and hearts, bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure. My shield is God Most High, who saves the upright in heart. God is a righteous judge, a God who expresses his wrath every day. If he does not relent (“If a man does not repent,” NASB), he will sharpen his sword; he will bend and string his bow. Ps 7:9–12
The Bible says that if a man does not repent, God will sharpen His sword. This means that God will oppose and judge the sinners who do not repent. Keeping this in mind, we must humble ourselves all the more and live a life of repentance and penance every day.
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. . . .’ But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Lk 18:9–14
In the above parable of Jesus, the tax collector realized that he was a sinner and prayed to God in humility. God acknowledged him to be righteous.
Keeping this teaching of Christ in mind, let us completely remove our unrepentant, arrogant and wicked nature from our heart and humble ourselves to become united with one another in love as the people of Zion. We should all examine ourselves once again to see if we are committing the sinful act of trying to exalt and please ourselves, even if it hurts the people around us.
We must make Zion a place filled with the sound of joy all the time. Wherever there is repentance and unity, there is always the fruit of God’s blessings. This is because if we repent, God allows us to bear fruit accordingly (Mt 3:8). Through the fragrances of Zion from all over the world, we are constantly hearing joyful news from many of our members that God’s grace is overflowing wherever there is repentance. As they have repented, God allows them to bear a lot of fruit and lead many people to Zion.
The Nature of Love That We Must Restore
Repentance is produced when we love God and when we feel God’s love for us as well. God urges us to repent because we can restore our original nature of love when we fully repent.
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. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us . . . 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, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. 1 Jn 4:7–21
Through the words in 1 John 4, we can understand God’s love. Let us all resemble God who is love. All of our members in Zion are putting forth much effort to practice and preach the truth of the New Covenant. I think that repentance is a virtue Father and Mother want all of us to fulfill within the New Covenant until the very end.
When we achieve repentance, we can restore our original nature. Therefore, we can say that those who have repented are the ones who have restored the nature of love. If we restore the nature of love, we can never hate our brothers and sisters. God has clearly said that anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. To restore us to our original nature of love, God has given us the virtue of repentance which we must fulfill in the New Covenant.
We Are Nothing Without Love
Love contains all things: repentance, patience, and everything else. To restore our original angelic nature which we have lost, we must thoroughly go through the repentance process, which God has given us.
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. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. 1 Co 13:1–3
If we speak in the tongues of angels, but do not have love, we sound only like a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If we have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, we are nothing. God is love. Therefore, God’s children are also born with the nature of love. Unfortunately, Satan has changed our original nature of love into his evil nature by filling our hearts with jealousy, hate, conceit, and arrogance. This is why God is making every effort to restore us to our angelic nature.
According to the precious teachings of Heavenly Mother, the repentance movement is now being carried out in Zion by members all around the world. Two thousand years ago, the apostles led 3,000 people to repentance in one day after receiving the former rain of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Ac 2:1–41). They were able to lead 3,000 people to salvation by preaching the truth to them. This was also a result of their repentance. When we achieve beautiful repentance in Zion, God allows us to bear fruit that is worthy of repentance. Today, we must repent first and foremost, and in doing so, we will be able to lead 3,000 people or even more to salvation in one day.
The Bible says that if we give all we possess to the poor, but do not have love, we gain nothing. God has embodied all of this true love within the New Covenant Passover; however, if we simply eat bread and drink wine during the Passover with a ceremonial mindset, it will become totally meaningless to us. The truth of the New Covenant that enables us to become one body through God’s flesh and blood has a very deep and important meaning.
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. 1 Co 13:4–7
Love is patient and kind. It does not envy, and it does not boast. Boasting about ourselves naturally results in exalting ourselves. The desire to be exalted comes from the arrogant thought that we are better than others. Love does not boast, it is not proud, and it is not rude. Love is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres.
The Fruits of the Holy Spirit Through Complete Repentance
We were originally good-natured in the angelic world; however, once we were tempted by Satan, we lost our original nature, and were cast down to this earth. While living in a fiercely competitive society, we wanted to hear “we’re better than others” and ignored the pain of other people, in order to obtain better living conditions than their own. Thankfully, we have met Heavenly Father and Mother in the New Covenant, and we have started to throw off our old evil nature. Throwing off our old nature means repenting of our sins, and our repentance implies that we have changed our minds and hearts, being able to return to God. This also means that we can regain our lost angelic nature. The Bible strictly warns that anyone who refuses to repent cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven, and that God will sharpen His sword against them if they do not repent.
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. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Co 13:8–13
We need faith, hope, and love, but the Bible says that the greatest of these is love. Only when we restore our nature of love can we enter the Kingdom of Heaven. As the people of Zion, let us achieve complete repentance and ask God more earnestly for the ability to produce fruit in keeping with repentance. By doing so, we can receive the Holy Spirit in abundance and bear many good fruits of the gospel that will glorify Father and Mother.
If you want to see fruit on a tree, you need to provide an adequate supply of fertilizer and water to its invisible roots. Then, fruit is naturally produced on its branches. There must be some form of action that takes place within the roots before the fruit can form at the tips of the branches. This is why you shouldn’t only focus on the branches. In order to bear fruit, we must remain in God and supply ourselves with the fertilizer of repentance. I would like to ask all of you to repent completely and bear good fruit abundantly through the Holy Spirit from God.