Faith & Life

If You Cannot Win Against the Weeds

Two farmers who had moved from the city to the countryside began farming for the first time. In spring, as they planted rice seedlings, they made a friendly bet to see who would reap the greater harvest in the fall. By summer, the rice in both paddies had grown lush and green. But soon, weeds began to sprout between the rice plants—so many that it seemed there were more weeds than rice. “No matter how much I pull them out, they keep growing back. How long do I have to keep doing this?” Grumbling, one farmer finally gave up weeding altogether. The other farmer, however, continued to pull weeds whenever he could—not trying to clear them all at once, but…

Preparing in Advance When There Is Leisure

A wild boar was diligently sharpening its long tusks beside an elm tree. A passing fox saw this and asked, “Boar, there are no hunters around, and no danger in sight. Why are you needlessly sharpening your tusks?” The boar smiled and replied, “When danger suddenly strikes, there will be no time to sharpen them. I prepare in advance so that I can use them when the moment comes.”

A Mother’s Hands

I once watched a social experiment video. Participants were shown photos of someone’s palms and asked what kind of work the person might do. Their answers were: “hands with many wrinkles that work with soil,” “someone who does hard labor,” “hands that have endured much hardship.” A moment later, the owners of those hands appeared. They were the participants’ own mothers, wives, sisters, or daughters. Stunned, they stood speechless for a while. Soon, tears welled up, and some even kissed the hands before them. Seeing the stories engraved in those hands—hands that had sacrificed for family and silently endured a lifetime of hardship—brought a lump to my throat. I, too, quietly held my mother’s hand. Married when she was still…

Gu Yeonhee from Suncheon, Korea

Mother’s Laundry

After leaving home to live in a dormitory for my studies, I go home once a week to deliver worn clothes for laundry. I stay for only a few hours to idle and to eat, leaving extra work to my mom. And then, I return to the dormitory. My home became more like the dormitory and my dormitory has become home to me. One day I came to stay home for a longer time. In the mean time, I decided to do good deeds at home. While unpacking my bags, I folded my laundry and stacked them one by one. Seeing the laundry piled up, I thought, ‘How did Mom wash all my clothes every week, along with all the…

Mary Rose Tandugon Tandoy from Quezon City, Philippines

The Thief Who Stole from Himself

There was an infamous thief who was skilled at stealing expensive jewels. He was clever enough to evade the police for a long time. One day, he was finally arrested while robbing a house, and spent twenty years in prison. When he was released from prison, he was sixty years old—the twilight of his life. He deeply regretted his past and began to live a decent life. One day, a reporter interviewed him and asked, “From whom did you steal the most?” With tears he replied, “The one from whom I stole the most . . . was myself. I was good with my hands, handling machines and playing the piano. I was an eloquent speaker, and I was in…

Waves of Emotion Flowing throughout Brazil

During the preaching festival around the last Pentecost, people got baptized every day. Our great fervor and enthusiasm for the gospel during the feasts and preaching festivals spread throughout the areas near Brasilia. After the festival, seven members went for a short-term mission to Governador Valadares, Caratinga, and Manhuacu in the state of Minas Gerais for forty days. They left Brasilia with a strong will to find our lost brothers and sisters from heaven, and after a whole day of trip, they arrived in Governador Valadares. We had been there once for a short-term mission in February. First, we visited those whom we had met during our first mission trip. “I’ve been waiting for you to come back. I’ve wanted…

Short-term Mission Team to Brasilia, Brazil

Mother Bird’s Maternal Love

While I was plucking out bean stalks in a vegetable garden with my wife, I found a bird’s nest. It seemed that there was only the nest, so we thought nothing of it and threw it away with the bean stalks. But while I was working, I was surprised to find a baby bird near my legs. In haste, I wrapped the baby bird in my hands, and when I looked around again, I saw another baby bird nearby. Just to be sure, I looked around here and there, and I found another baby bird at some distance. Just then, I suddenly remembered the bird nest that we had thrown away with the bean stalks. I gathered the baby birds,…

Nir Kaji Pakhrin from Kathmandu, Nepal

The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard

The following parable teaches us a lesson about unity: “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. About the eleventh hour he went out . . . ‘You also go and work in…

Mother’s Love That Bears Everything

When I started attending school, I was excited that I would meet new friends whom I could play and learn with. However, my mother was not like me; from the beginning of the semester, my mom walked me to my school and then headed off to work every day. When my class ended, she brought me to her workplace. Then she bought an ice cream and put it on my hand so that I could behave while waiting for her to finish. Mom always woke up early to prepare meals for my sister and me, walked miles away every day to drop and fetch me to school, and could not sleep until late to wash our uniforms so we could…

Judy Anne Gaquit from General Santos, Philippines

Precious Life, Precious Gospel

While preaching in a mall, I met a woman who had just started to believe in God. When a member and I asked if we could show her about God the Mother who is testified in the Bible, she said, “Of course! Actually, I just bought a Bible!” She took the beautiful hardcover Bible out of her shopping bag and handed it to me. We showed her about Heavenly Father and Mother, the Saviors in this age, and God’s regulations, through the Bible. For a long time, she listened attentively to God’s words. She was astonished at the earnest message of God which contained the truth and eternal life. She leaned in closely to pay more attention. When we were…

Joy Padua from Chicago, IL, U.S.

Those Who Were Conscious of God

The LORD said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them? I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they.” Moses said to the LORD, “Then the Egyptians will hear about it! By your power you brought these people up from among them . . . ‘The LORD was not able to bring these people into the land he promised them on oath; so he slaughtered them in the desert.’ . . . forgive the sin of these people, just as…

Ramie Mac Perfett from Pittsburgh, PA, U.S.

Writing has always been my way to understand the world around me, and I have kept many journals over years. I rarely went back to read old entries that I had written, simply because they always proved to be painful reminders of the constant struggles we face on this earth. They also served as a reminder that I hadn’t gotten any closer to finding answers as to why we suffer, even though they were written years ago. But recently after being blessed to be in the truth for one year—all thanks and glory to Father and Mother for the grace—I found myself reading through my old journals late one night. From one page to the next, each entry seemed to…

My Daughter’s Comfort

“Mom! I got one question wrong by mistake in the test today. I could’ve got it right . . . .” My daughter expressed her frustration as soon as she got home. “It’s okay, dear. You can do better next time! Is there something you want to eat at the dinner? I will cook it for you.” My daughter is young, but she has her own worries and things that make her upset such as the school tests just like any other kids. I feel bad because I can’t do it for her. The only thing I can do is comfort her with encouraging words, hoping that she can overcome it by herself. I think I should be concerned and…

Na Su-yeon from Wonju, South Korea

Like a Tree Planted by the Water

I was often troubled by the question of how to bear good fruit. I had faithfully sown the seeds of the Word, yet no visible results seemed to follow. Then one day, a passage I heard in a sermon deeply moved my heart: “But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” Jer 17:7–8 Just as a tree planted by the water keeps its leaves green even in the…

Jung Woo-hee from Jeonju, Korea

The Size of Love

Though I often said with my lips that God’s love is wide and deep, I could not truly grasp it, for it is invisible to the eye. One day, while reading the Bible, I found a verse that allowed me to measure, in part, the size of God’s love: “God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” 1 Ti 2:4 We are sinners who, because of the sins we committed in heaven, were sentenced to death (Ro 6:23). Yet God desires that even such sinners be saved. That is why He Himself put on the clothes of the flesh and came to this earth, enduring hardship, pain, and humiliation.…

Choi Miran from Seongnam, Korea

Mask

No matter how severe the fine dust was, I never used to wear a face mask. But now, I put one on faithfully from the moment I step outside until I return home. There are even times when I realize I’ve forgotten my mask and rush back to get it. It has become almost impossible to use public transportation or enter stores without one. Perhaps because I never liked wearing masks to begin with, they still feel uncomfortable. On days when the temperature rises even slightly, it becomes especially hard. With half my face covered, sweat pours down like rain, and breathing grows difficult. Even when the wind blows, it does not feel cool, and the urge to take off…

Kim Hye-seon from Seoul, Korea

The Treasure in a Life of Faith

On a television program, a university professor once spoke about the Korean language and writing. One might wonder what could possibly be difficult for a Korean person about speaking Korean. Yet recently, reading comprehension—the ability to read and understand written text—has become a major social concern, which caught my attention. Considering that language skills form the foundation for understanding knowledge in various fields such as science, mathematics, and social studies, and that they are also the basis for expressing one’s thoughts clearly and communicating effectively, it is indeed an essential ability for everyone. The professor suggested “word collecting” as a way to improve one’s Korean skills, saying that if you collect words one by one and keep them in your…

Jo Jae-eon from Stuttgart, Germany

The Reason the Door Opens

My 14-month-old daughter loves pressing buttons around the house and watching what happens. Whenever she presses the light switch and the living room lights turn on, she claps her hands with a bright smile—as if she’s accomplished something wonderful. When she’s especially delighted, she even shouts her own little exclamation, “Da!” Her favorite buttons are on the door locks—both for the main entrance of our apartment building and for our home. Whenever we return from an outing, she squirms in my arms, pointing excitedly at the door, eager to press the buttons herself. If no one else is passing by, we stop and let her try. Of course, the door never opens from the random numbers she presses. After a…

Kim Jong-bin from Gimje, Korea

A Great Way to Remove Weeds

A teacher brought his students to a field overgrown with weeds to teach them one final lesson before ending the semester. Pointing to the field, the teacher asked, “How can you get rid of the weeds?” Since it was the last lesson, the students were expecting to be taught something profound. However, it seemed like a trivial question, so they answered carelessly, “We can plow the field with shovels or picks.” “It would be better to burn them all by fire.” “We can just uproot them.” Nodding his head, the teacher said to the students, “Weeds like greed, selfishness, and hatred may grow in people’s hearts. The assignment for the last class is to go back and try to get…

The Beautiful Gospel Work in La Paz

The members in Tijuana and I had longed to participate in a short-term mission. God knew our minds and opened the way to preach in La Paz. We were very happy to hear the news. Fervor welled up in all of us at the thought that we were participating in the great work of God through the short-term mission. Tijuana is located in the northern tip of Baja California and borders the United States, and La Paz appears when you continue down toward the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula from Tijuana. After driving eighteen hours without stopping, we arrived in the beautiful city, La Paz. On the first day of the mission trip, many people listened to the…

Tijuana, Mexico