Your Will Be Done on Earth As It Is in Heaven

A clear conscience and good deeds are the basic virtues that God’s children must have. As the day of God is drawing near, God wants us all to live holy and godly lives and achieve true repentance, so that anyone will not perish but everyone will enter the kingdom of God (1 Pe 3:16–17; 2 Pe 3:8–13; 3 Jn 1:11).

Since we live in a wicked and adulterous generation, many people are insensitive to wickedness and like evil things, but God’s people must not conform to the pattern of this world (Ro 12:2). If there are still some parts of God’s word that we fail to fully put into practice, let us change ourselves completely to be good. I want you all to live according to the teachings of the Bible, so that you can all be worthy enough to enter the eternal kingdom of heaven.

A mother’s teaching and the “Great Mother” award

A good book brings us spiritual joy and benefits; the more we read the good stories in it, the more joy and benefits we experience. These days, we often hear people say the word “healing.” God heals the wounded souls and leads those who are wandering about aimlessly, without knowing where to go, to the right path, through the teachings of the Bible. God’s children, who have received the teachings of God, are moved by them and put in writing what they have realized from those teachings, and when we read their stories we also gain many realizations.

In the book entitled “We Are Happy Because of You, Mother!” which is a collection of essays, there is a story titled “Great Mother Award”: One day when the writer of the story was a student, during the morning assembly at her school she unexpectedly saw her mother receiving the “Great Mother” award for having educated her child the right way to be a good example for other students. Being admired and envied by all her friends, she became puffed up with the thought that she was a “model student for others.” When she returned home, she received compliments from the women in her village as well, but as they started to focus more on her mother, saying, “You’ve raised your daughter to be such an upright person,” she suddenly felt disappointed. At that moment when she thought it was because she had done well that her mother received the award, her mother said, “It’s all because my daughter did well,” giving all the credit to her daughter and being grateful to her that she had grown up so well.

Only then did she understand the heart of her mother who wanted her daughter to receive more praise and did not even express her joy to make her daughter happy. She came to realize it was all because of her mother’s love that she was praised as an exemplary student. Then she gained a greater realization as follows: God has promised to give us praise and honor, and it is possible because of our Mother’s efforts and sacrifice behind the scenes—because Mother has been bringing us up with love and devotion. Her story ends with a resolution to think of Mother first who guides us and to display God’s glory through her good deeds as a child of God, anytime and anywhere.

I think this is a really good story which is short but leaves a long-lasting impression on us; it helps us realize that the good deeds of the child brought her mother the “Great Mother” award, and what motivated and inspired her to do good was her mother’s teaching. In the story, the daughter thought that her mother received the award because she did well, but she came to realize that the instructions and efforts of her mother in the family helped her become the person she is today.

It is a mother’s teaching that basically motivates her children to perform good deeds. So, the “Great Mother” award is something that the mother truly deserves. Considering this from a spiritual perspective, we need to live a better, more righteous life in this world according to the teachings of Mother. If we do not set a good example before people and angels, how can we bring Mother the “Great Mother” award?

Reading this story, I thought that the member, who wrote the story, was probably a standard type of student who conducted herself as an exemplary, upright person in school and at home as well—the kind of person everyone wants to be. Likewise, if we live a good and righteous life by putting into practice all the teachings that Father and Mother have given in the Bible, we will be able to become the heavenly children good enough to present Mother with the spiritual “Great Mother” award.

God’s will to defeat evil be done on earth as it is in heaven

When Jesus came to this earth 2,000 years ago, He taught His beloved disciples the “Lord’s Prayer,” which contains the phrase as follows: “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Mt 6:9–10).

There are many things that God fulfilled in heaven, and one of them is found in the book of Revelation; we can see a scene where God drove out evil. There was war in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was not strong enough, so they lost their place in heaven and were hurled to the earth (Rev 12:7–9).

We want God’s will to be fulfilled on earth as it is in heaven. For this, I believe that we, God’s children who have accepted the will of God on the earth, should strive above all else to reject and defeat evil, as God did in heaven.

God has taught us, His children, to be the “salt and light of the world.”

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Mt 5:13–16

As Jesus taught us, let us become the light of the world that defeats the darkness and the salt that purifies the world. We need to put into practice the good teachings of our Heavenly Father and Mother in our lives on this earth, so that all people in the world and even angels and all other spiritual beings in heaven will give glory to Elohim and that our Father and Mother will be presented with the “Great Father” award and the “Great Mother” award respectively.

Let us examine ourselves again to see if we are setting a good example for others by living an upright and righteous life. Even though all people in the world take crooked paths, we the people of Zion need to follow the teachings of the Bible and fully put into practice the instructions of Mother who teaches and trains us in righteousness.

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? “I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.” Jer 17:9–10

God has said that He will reward everyone according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve. Our every word and behavior is very important. We should be examples even to angels and all other spiritual beings in the whole universe through our good deeds as Christians, through our righteous acts as God’s children who believe in Elohim, so that we can glorify our Heavenly Father and Mother. Let us try to be like the writer of the story, who conducted herself in an exemplary manner and presented her mother with the award for having raised her child to be such a good person.

God searches our hearts and minds; He knows all of our thoughts. Since God knows everything—our good thoughts, our efforts to live right, and all our labors, He says that He searches our hearts and examines our minds, to reward each of us according to our conduct, according to what our deeds deserve.

“Be holy, because I am holy”

These days, many people in the world call someone who lives in a good way a “fool.” However, this kind of person is not a fool at all. The Bible teaches us that we must not be deceived by such people’s mistaken words. We are not “those belonging to the world” who listen to the words from people of the world, but “those belonging to God” who believe God’s word and rely on it; we are God’s children (Jn 15:19; 8:47).

I die every day—I mean that, brothers—just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord. If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame. 1 Co 15:31–34

If we follow bad company that corrupts good character, we will end up turning our steps toward hell together with them. God loves us so much that He wants to give us the blessing of eternal life and the honor of the royal priesthood in the eternal kingdom of heaven, which will never fade away but last forever and ever. So, God does not want us to listen to the deceptive words of people in the world or to pay attention to their sweet temptations right in front of us.

That is why the Bible tells us not to be deceived by bad company. They corrupt good character and tempt us to go astray. The Bible shows us that those who listen to their words can never produce good results in their lives.

Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” 1 Pe 1:13–16

Are not all the teachings written in the Bible our Father and Mother’s instructions given to us for our eternal life and salvation? Any word written in the 66 books of the Bible is not something to be trifled with or something unrelated to our salvation. Some of you may think, ‘What is the relationship between living a good and righteous life on this earth and going to heaven?’ It actually has something to do with the kingdom of heaven. It is God’s will for our salvation that we should be holy in everything we do, as God is holy.

Glorify God through your good deeds

Reflecting on ourselves again in this aspect and looking around at our family, neighbors and all other people close to us, let us think about whether or not we are truly living as salt and light for them.

It is written in the Bible that we, children of Mother, can give glory and honor to Her through our exemplary deeds. The Bible also says that it is God’s will to establish Jerusalem and make Her the praise of the earth (Isa 60:1–3; 62:6–7). So, shouldn’t we walk the right path of faith by conducting our everyday living according to the teachings of the Bible so that our Mother will be truly glorified on this earth and in heaven, our eternal home?

Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. 1 Pe 2:10–12

As it was at the time of Jesus’ first coming, so it is at this present time. There are some people who spread all kinds of malicious rumors and slander the Church of God. However, the Bible tells us to live good lives, so that those who slander us may see our good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.

If we conduct ourselves in a bad manner and leave a stain on our lives, we will cause our Heavenly Father and Mother to worry, instead of giving glory to Them. When we fully put the teachings of God into practice in our homes and in the community as well as in the church, people in the world will also understand the glory of God little by little. “Although I don’t know about his parents and family, I’m sure he’s a truly upright person,” “Whatever church that person goes to, I can trust it. Even though I don’t know much about the Bible or the church, I can trust the church that person attends.” Thus, there are some cases where people around our members follow them to church.

For our faith in God, our behaviors are also very important. Our every word and behavior, our mindset and so on—all these can be a factor that glorifies Father and Mother. Keeping this in mind, let us abstain from things that God forbids us to do, so that we can always walk the path of righteousness, the path of truth.

The bride’s clothing of fine linen represents the righteous acts of the saints

The Apostle John, while on the island of Patmos 2,000 years ago, saw in a vision the following scene:

Then a voice came from the throne, saying: “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both small and great!” Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.) Rev 19:5–8

The fine linen which the bride of the Lamb is clothed in, bright and clean, is made up of the many strands of the righteous acts of the saints. Do not forget that the righteous acts of the saints glorify our Heavenly Mother, the wife of the Lamb, and become beautiful ornaments on Her clothing of fine linen (Isa 49:14–18).

As God defeated Satan the devil in heaven and established a world of righteousness, so the will of God must be fulfilled on this earth, too. All evil should be removed and swept away from the world. Since we believe in God, shouldn’t this work begin from our hearts?

The good deeds of the child brought her mother the “Great Mother” award, and it turned out that the award was an outcome which could be achieved because the mother always gave good instructions to her child. Today, too, our Heavenly Mother wants Her children to walk the righteous path, the path of truth, and to always pay attention to the Bible and live according to the teachings of the Bible. Following those teachings Mother has given us, we are growing as Mother’s children who always live in Her word, not being tempted by the world.

God has told us to be the salt and the light in this world, no matter how wicked and immoral this generation is. And He has shown us that the fine linen which the bride of the Lamb is clothed in, bright and clean, stands for the righteous acts of the saints.

As children of Mother, let us gather our strength to fulfill God’s will on this earth as it is in heaven, so that our Mother can receive the “Great Mother” award. Brothers and sisters in Zion! I want you all to follow the right path, the path of righteousness and truth, until the day we go to heaven.