Our Loving God

God truly loves us. In order to save His children, Heavenly Father left the glorious Kingdom of Heaven behind, and came to this earth in the flesh 2,000 years ago. He endured countless forms of ridicule and insult. As if that were not enough, He bore the pain of being severely whipped, and suffered an excruciating death on the cross. He did all of this to pay for our sins. God loves us so deeply that it cannot be expressed in words.

Even at this very moment, Heavenly Mother is walking with us on this earth and endlessly showing us how much She loves us. Heavenly Mother loves and cares for us so much that She has given up Her glorious throne in Heaven in order to come to this earth. She is even willing to sacrifice Her own life, just for us, the unforgivable sinners. Mother loves us more than anything else in this world. She always understands the difficult circumstances we face, and comforts us through everything, even though we are still immature.

It is true that we love God in return; however, we need to consider whether or not there have been moments when we forgot about God, despite saying that we love God. Only when we love God and fill our hearts with God’s love can we truly walk with God and enter the eternal Kingdom of Heaven.

Walking With a Loved One

During a game show, the following question was asked: “What is the quickest way to travel from London, England, to Paris, France?” The contestants gave many different answers: By plane, by high-speed watercraft, and so on; however, the answer was not found in any physical means of travel. The answer selected by the host was “traveling together with your loved one.”

When you are traveling with your loved one, it does not matter what form of transportation you use to reach your destination. Even if you were to travel by a slow-moving cart, the trip would still feel very short. It does not matter how long the distance in front of us is or how many obstacles lie ahead; we are always happy, as long as we can walk alongside of the one we love.

Suppose you were to receive a long letter from your loving family member or someone else you love. In that moment, would you complain, “Why did they write all of these things, instead of just briefly summarizing their main points?” No one would respond in this way. Even if the letter is ten or twenty pages long, you would read it, full of excitement. You will never feel bored if you are doing something with someone you truly love, regardless of what the activity is. In actuality, you will always be full of joy and happiness whenever you talk to them, sing with them, or do anything else.

Granting the request of someone you love is a joy in and of itself. If a wife were to ask her husband to buy a delicious cake for her on his way back home, he would willingly grant the request of his loving wife. Even if he initially forgot to buy the cake and only remembered it when he was almost home, he would willingly turn around and travel all the way back to the store to get it, wouldn’t he? Although he may be very tired from work, he will do whatever his wife asks of him, as long as he loves her.

God, whom we love, is walking with us on our gospel journey toward the eternal Kingdom of Heaven. We need to reflect upon ourselves and consider what kind of mindset we should have while walking the path of faith. Additionally, we need to examine ourselves to see whether we live a life full of excitement and happiness with love for God every day or we sometimes feel bored and tired.

As long as we are walking alongside of our loving God, our life can never be boring. If we have genuine love for God, we are never bored while listening to a sermon or when talking to God through prayer, even though it may last a little longer than normal. We also take delight in praising and worshiping God. Whenever we read the Bible, we regard it as a letter from our beloved God and receive every word deeply into our hearts, without distorting it by adding or taking away from what has been recorded. Our loving God has also entrusted us with the task of preaching the gospel (1 Th 2:4). Understanding God’s love for us, we should fulfill this mission joyfully in any and every situation.

The Israelites Did Not Love God

God walked with the Israelites 3,500 years ago. He led them with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Whenever they were faced with a difficult situation, He defeated their enemies for them. In this way, God constantly protected the Israelites and provided for them from the moment they left the land of Egypt up until the day they entered the land of Canaan. He also rained down manna for them to eat, which was a spiritual food from heaven. By displaying wondrous works such as these, God always reminded the Israelites that He was with them.

The Israelites were able to physically witness the presence of God among them, as they saw either the pillar of cloud or the pillar of fire resting over the tabernacle at every moment. Despite all of these miraculous signs, the Israelites continuously felt bored with their life in the desert. As a result, they endlessly poured out complaints: “Why is it taking so long for us to enter the land of Canaan? Why do we keep returning to the same place we just came from?” Their journey would have felt shorter, had they been walking with the One who loved them. Sadly, they did not have love for God in their hearts. Consequently, they never stopped complaining; they worshiped idols and took part in many other things that God absolutely hated. As a result of their evil actions and mindset, they were all destroyed in the end.

For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink . . . Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert. Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were . . . And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel. These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. 1 Co 10:1–7, 10–11

Although the Israelites seemed as if they were walking with God, they were not walking with Him at all. In actuality, they were unable to walk with God because they did not have love for God inside of their hearts. As a result, they continually grumbled during their 40-year journey through the wilderness, complaining that there was no food or water for them.

Joshua and Caleb were very different from them. Both Joshua and Caleb had sincere love for God inside of their hearts. As a result, they never felt bored during their desert journey, and they always obeyed God with genuine faith, which allowed them to enter the land of Canaan in the end (Nu 14:20–38).

We should learn a lesson from this history and reflect upon ourselves. Through self-reflection, we need to consider what kind of mindset we have had throughout our desert journey of faith. It does not matter how long our journey is. As long as we walk with our beloved God, it will always feel shorter. If our journey to Heaven feels like it has been a long journey, we need to quickly fill our hearts with the love for God first.

Walking With Our Beloved God

Two thousand years ago, Jesus appeared to Peter after His resurrection and asked him, “Do you truly love me?”

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.” Jn 21:15–17

Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved Him, after he had previously denied Him three times. Peter answered Jesus by saying, “Yes, Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “If you love me, feed my sheep.”

From that moment on, Peter put his whole heart and soul into taking care of God’s people, His sheep, because it was a direct request from God, whom he deeply loved. During the persecution of Christians under Roman Emperor Nero, Peter was eventually sentenced to death by crucifixion. In that moment, he requested to be crucified upside down. Peter truly understood that he was a sinner, and as a result, he felt unworthy to be crucified in the same manner as Jesus. Peter had such genuine love for Jesus.

We must have this same kind of sincere love for God and walk the path of the gospel in the same manner that our forefathers of faith walked it. God has asked us to preach the gospel to Samaria and even to the ends of the earth.

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Ac 1:8

Preaching is a holy command of love, which our loving God has entrusted to us. This is something that we should do, as it is a direct request from God to us. If we are still hesitating to preach the gospel by using our circumstances as an excuse, or if we do not feel joy while carrying out the gospel work, we need to renew our mindset and quickly fill ourselves with the oil of faith. If we truly love God, we must be able to joyfully fulfill whatever God has asked of us.

The Reason Jesus Told Us to Love God

Love for God is the most important part of the mindset that gospel workers must have. Jesus has said that to love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind is the first and greatest commandment.

One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Mt 22:35–40

Do you think God has given us this command because He needs our love? Certainly not! God is the owner of the entire universe, and He is in need of nothing. God does not need to receive love from the people living on this earth, which is nothing but a speck of dust. In actuality, no matter how much we love God, it does not affect God at all; however, if we do not love God, our eyes cannot help but turn toward the path of death. This is because Satan always deceives us into believing that joy, happiness, and pleasure can be found on that path.

God is always worried that we may slip into hell, a place of eternal punishment. The sole reason He has given us the command to “love God” is for our own salvation. If we truly love God, we will make every effort to never take part in the things God hates, ultimately avoiding the punishment of hell. This is why Jesus told us to love God above anything else. According to Jesus, all of the Law and the Prophets hang on the first commandment, which is the most fundamental and essential prerequisite to receiving salvation.

However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” . . . 1 Co 2:9

God’s love for us is beyond measure. God loves us to the point of giving up His glorious throne in Heaven. He willingly came into this world and laid down His life for us. Through the teachings of the Bible, we should always remind ourselves just how deeply God loves us, and we should also reflect upon ourselves to see how much we love God in return.

The world God has prepared for us, His beloved children, is a wonderful place which no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has ever conceived. God has covered up all of the transgressions of His children who sinned in Heaven and were cast down to this earth. In His overflowing mercy, He has opened the way for us to return to the brilliant Kingdom of Heaven, our eternal home, where the crown of glory will be bestowed upon us. God will open every door for us, as long as we keep the love of God inside of our hearts.

Let Us Truly Love God

During the reign of Solomon, the third king of Israel, two women came to be judged before King Solomon, both claiming to be the mother of the same child. In rendering his decision, King Solomon gave an order to cut the baby in two and give half to each woman. At that moment, one of the women shouted, “Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!” On the contrary, the other woman desperately begged King Solomon, “My lord, give her the living baby! Please do not kill him!” Through their responses, Solomon was able to discern which of the two women was the true mother, who genuinely loved her child (1 Ki 3:16–28).

Love reveals itself through action. God distinguishes those who truly love Him from those who do not love Him, through their actions. Let us examine ourselves to see if we are doing everything with love for God. If we joyfully study the word of God and take delight in finding our lost brothers and sisters, then we can be considered those who are following the path of God.

Approximately 3,500 years ago, when Joshua and Caleb walked their desert journey, they loved God wholeheartedly, instead of simply knowing Him. God, whom they loved, filled their hearts, enabling them to never feel bored during their 40-year journey through the barren wilderness. They joyfully carried out every single thing God had commanded them, and they always placed the word of God above everything else in their lives. As a result, they were able to receive the land of Canaan flowing with milk and honey.

This same kind of faith is also required of us, as we are walking with the Spirit and the Bride in this last age. Even in difficult times, we should always give thanks to our Elohim God, and constantly fill ourselves with peace and joy throughout our life of faith. Let us preach the gospel joyfully, study God’s word joyfully, pray joyfully, and share brotherly love joyfully. If we do so, the sound of joy and singing will never cease in Zion, just as the Bible has prophesied (Isa 51:3). I earnestly ask all of you, the heavenly family members in Zion, to remember the great will of God who has given us the command to “love God.” Let us love God with all of our heart, all of our soul, and all of our mind. In this way, we can become worthy enough to enter the eternal Kingdom of Heaven.