Faith & Life

The More We Love Our Heavenly Family

“So I will very gladly spend for you everything I have and expend myself as well. If I love you more, will you love me less?” 2 Co 12:15 This verse beautifully reflects the spirit of sacrifice that Apostle Paul had—his willingness to give up even himself for the sake of the people of God. Sometimes, loving our heavenly family requires sacrifice, patience, and endurance. Yet in the end, when all members come to understand that love and share it with one another, our hearts overflow with joy and gratitude. Remembering the love of Heavenly Mother, who gladly sacrificed everything for us, I will strive each day to serve and embrace my brothers and sisters in Zion.

Juhee Lee from Chennai, TN, India

From One to Four

Long ago, after giving birth to my daughter and while still recovering, I met members of the Church of God. At that time, I had been searching for the true God, wandering from one church to another. So when I heard the words of truth, I gladly received God. My husband, however, who placed great value on the Confucian traditions handed down in his family, was displeased that I attended church. The more I felt the piercing stares of my husband and his family, the more I devoted myself to serving my parents-in-law and keeping my faith with sincerity. Since God said, “There is a time for everything,” I believed that if I obeyed His teachings and endured patiently, the…

Kang Min, Suwon, Korea

God’s Providence and Love

“Mom, my tooth is coming in!” My nine-year-old daughter opened her mouth wide to show me a tiny new white tooth sprouting from her gums. Babies usually begin teething around six to eight months old, and by the age of five to eight, their baby teeth fall out and permanent teeth start to come in. As my daughter proudly showed me her new tooth, I suddenly felt God’s love. Though the tooth had pierced through the tender flesh of her gums, there was no bleeding, and she hardly felt any pain. When baby teeth grow, children often feel only a slight itchiness, causing them to rub their gums with their tongues or drool a little. I was amazed. Even in…

Choi Hyeong-sun from Cheongju, Korea

Thanks to ‘Thank You’

People rely on each other in countless ways. Unless one lives entirely self-sufficiently in a remote place, meeting basic needs such as food, clothing, and shelter, we inevitably support and help one another. This fundamental aspect of life remains unchanged no matter how many years pass. When we receive kindness or assistance, whether significant or minor, we naturally feel inclined to give back in some way. At the very least, expressing gratitude is a simple yet meaningful way to acknowledge those who contribute to our happiness and well-being. Sometimes we leave words of thanks unspoken—because we feel awkward or shy, because we assume the other person already knows how we feel, or because we take their kindness for granted. Another…

Not Getting Distracted

One day, I saw a young girl, probably in the lower grades of elementary school, walking along the street when she bumped her head against a roadside tree. Since the tree stood right next to the road, it could have easily led to a serious accident. The girl was holding a cell phone in her hand—she had been so absorbed in the screen that she didn’t even notice the tree before her. Watching her made my heart sink, especially as a mother raising a daughter. The walk of faith is much the same. We are meant to fix our eyes on heaven as our goal, yet I often find myself reflecting on whether I have ever been distracted by the…

Kim Hyun-im from Suncheon, Korea

The Value of a Glass of Milk

This is a true story that happened in America. A university student was thirsty while walking along the road. As he was passing by a farmer’s house, he knocked on the door to ask for something to drink. The farmer opened the door and asked his daughter to give him a glass of water. The girl brought him a big glass of milk and served it to the stranger wholeheartedly. As time passed, the girl grew up, and later became ill and had to undergo a surgery. The doctor in charge of the obstetric surgery was the university student who had come to her house many years ago. The surgery ended successfully, but the woman was worried about the expensive…

Be Conscious of God

In mid-November, the Namibia Zion in Africa planned a three-day short-term mission trip. The place we went to was Swakopmund, the second largest city in Namibia. Although we had our jobs and studies, we willingly volunteered for the mission. Those who could not go supported us with what was needed for the mission, wanting to participate in the gospel work of God. The short-term mission was prepared smoothly, but there was one thing that we were worried about: Most members received the truth less than a year ago, and a sister started her life of faith only five months ago. We were proud of the new members who were passionate, but at the same time worried if they would not…

Short-Term Mission Team to Swakopmund, Namibia

True Heroes

In American history, there are a group of people who conducted the “Underground Railroad,” who are now viewed as heroes. The reason is that they risked their lives in order to free slaves with a pure and loving motive, without receiving anything in return. From the 1600s until 1865, the slavery of African Americans was legal in the United States. There came a point in the 1800s when slavery was outlawed in the northern states of America but still legal in the southern states. During this period, many slaves tried to escape to the north so that they could live freely, though it was extremely difficult to do so. In order to assist in leading these slaves to freedom, many…

D. Carly Dinnie from Connecticut, U.S.

Clean Lima, Shining Peru

On August 19, 2018, ASEZ the World Mission Society Church of God University Student Volunteer Group and about five hundred Peruvian members cleaned up around the Carpayo Beach, located in Callao, a chief seaport of Peru, where there was a lot of trash. There were not only plastics, bottles, rubber, and boards, but also trash between the stones. There were untold amount of trash that we picked by going here and there at the beach without a break. After about two hours, the beach which had been suffering from garbage became clean and fresh like a baby whose face just got washed. “Clean Lima, Shining Peru!” Just as the slogan goes, there must be people who take action in order…

Busan, South Korea, Gwon Ok-jin

Dad’s Love

In my childhood, I pledged myself not to become a businessperson. It was because of my dad who was a businessman. He was so busy all the time that I could hardly see him. He frequently went on a business trip; and when he wasn’t on a business trip, he had dinner appointments with his clients. I can hardly remember my family having dinner all together. Even when he was at home, he was always on the phone. When he was done with one phone call, he would soon answer another phone call. Sometimes, he was on the phone for hours. I could hardly see him whether he was at home or not, so I grumbled to my mom. “Dad…

Wei Wei from Singapore

Erika Reyes-Soto from Ridgewood, NJ, U.S.

I was working as a freelancer, and my work was done. I remember clearly the day I decided that I would travel the world. One day, I was sitting in a coffee shop, watching people passing by. Suddenly, my mind started wondering, and I started questioning things like, ‘What is the purpose of being on this earth? Why is everything so monotone and repetitive? Where is happiness?’ I realized that even if I travel the world, I would not feel complete happiness, because everything was a routine like wake up, shower, eat, and sleep. So I came to the conclusion that this earth is like a prison. Deep down in my heart, I was looking for answers, and I was…

Courage of a Mother

Pearl S. Buck, a Nobel Prize winner in literature, spent her childhood in China with her father who was a missionary. Once, there was a drought while her father was away on a long trip. A rumor spread that the drought occurred because her Caucasian mother had angered gods. As time went by, people were filled with anger, and one day they gathered around Pearl’s house to harm her mother. Her mother was scared as she heard the rumor, but she brought out cakes, fruit, and cups of tea. Then, she opened all the gates of the house as if she’d been waiting for the day. She told Pearl to play with some toys and she herself started doing needlework.…

Memory of Love

When I was little, it was always me who was in charge of running my mom’s errands as I was the youngest in my family. When my mom wrote down the things to buy from the market, I went all over the market near the house, holding the piece of paper in my hand. One day, I saw some cute puppies a middle aged lady was selling. The three or four puppies that were in a small box had ribbons of different colors around their necks. Their black and round eyes and noses, and slightly folded ears were so adorable that I sat down and patted those puppies, forgetting about the errand. “Excuse me, Ma’am. How old are these puppies?…

Ryu Mi-gyeong from Busan, South Korea

With Patience and Thanks

Heavenly Father and Mother’s undying love and great sacrifice are contained in the Passover of the new covenant. Even while Heavenly Father was walking the path of the gospel full of suffering and pain, His only joy was to find His lost children. Realizing that, we went for a short-term mission to Passi City every Sunday to please Father and Mother. Our goal was to find our lost brothers and sisters with the heart of Father and Mother, and establish Zion so that we would fulfill the gospel mission given by God. the heart of Father and Mother, and establish Zion so that we would fulfill the gospel mission given by God. Passi is the fourth-largest city in the Province…

Iloilo, Philippines

The Miracle of Kindness

One day, John Rockefeller, a global businessman called the King of Kerosene, received shocking news that he only had one year left to live. When he was sitting in the hospital and thinking about how he would live the rest of his life successfully, he heard a noise from a corner of the hospital. It was an argument between a hospital official and a guardian. The official was informing the woman that no one can be admitted without paying, but the mother insisted that they admit her child, saying that she would prepare the money in the meanwhile. Next to them was a child who looked like a patient sitting down and crying. Immediately, Rockefeller called his secretary to pay…

The Reason My Syngonium Revived

A few years ago, I went to a plant nursery. I didn’t think I could do a good job of raising a plant, so I asked the florist to recommend a plant that would grow well even if I didn’t take much care of it. Then she recommended syngonium. I decided to buy it because the fresh green syngonium leaves that had silver-white patterns in the center made me feel refreshed, and because I gained confidence when she told me that it would be even better if I was lazy for the plant to grow well. Just as she said, the syngonium grew really well. I put it in a spot where there was no sunlight or wind, and watered…

Jeong Eun-jeong from Seoul, South Korea

Bibimbap

When I came back from school, my mom used to make me bibimbap mixed with young radish kimchi, boiled barley, a spoonful of red pepper paste, and drops of perilla oil. It was one of my favorite foods. But over the past ten years, I did not eat bibimbap. Just looking at it, I was choked and tears welled up that I could not eat it. A decade ago, I heard from my brother that Mom had only one week to live. Although my mother was suffering from cancer, she had no big problem in her living. Whenever I talk to her on the phone, she always sounded positive that I thought she would be able to overcome her illness.…

Incheon, Korea

Success Created by Compliments

Jack Welch, the former CEO of GE, who was also known as a famous executive, stuttered a lot when he was young. He stuttered so bad that once, when he ordered a tuna sandwich at a restaurant, the waiter brought him two sandwiches because when he ordered tuna, he stuttered and said, “Tttuna.” So the waiter understood it as two tuna sandwiches. Whenever Jack Welch was frustrated in this kind of situation, his mother didn’t yell at him: “Why do you stutter so much? Why don’t you speak correctly?” Rather, she complimented and encouraged him: “The reason you stutter is because the speed of your thought is so fast that your mouth cannot catch it up. That’s why you don’t…

Sansevierias Revived through Care

I saw on TV a boy who was very good at growing plants. I was watching it without thinking, but then there was something that caught my attention. It was his attitude toward plants. The boy’s love for plants was different from other people; he even brought abandoned plants home to save them. It was impressive that he showed much attention to the plants and talked to them as if he was talking to someone he loved. What the boy said in the interview was even more touching: “Plants are living things. It’s sad when a living thing dies.” I admired the way the kid thought and felt ashamed of myself; because I recently let two sansevierias die. People say…

Yu Seung-hui from Busan, South Korea

Anger Is Poison Inside of Your Body

There is a saying that goes, “When you get angry once, you will age once. When you laugh once, you will get younger once.” Like these words, laughter makes us younger and healthy, but anger makes us get old and sick. When you get angry, your body produces hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol, which can cause your blood pressure to rise and your pulse to go faster, damaging the walls of your blood vessels in your heart. When this condition repeats itself, you can easily get diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis, and indigestion, and have a greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease due to the damage to the brain cells. Dr. Elmer Gates from America…