Faith & Life

How to Keep Your First Resolution

Once upon a time, a king was passing through a country village. On his way, he met a young shepherd who was greedless and diligent, and took him as his official. As the shepherd was always honest in assisting the king even after being called, he finally rose to the position of prime minister. At this, other courtiers became jealous of him. They were all obsessed with an idea of driving him away, but they found no fault with him. One day, they found out that he used to visit the house he had lived before once a month. On knowing that he opened the cover of a big jar in the house and looked into it for a while…

A Judge Who Made a Girl Cry

“Stand up, please.” A judge said in a soft voice to a girl who was in the court for theft. When the girl stood up hesitantly, the judge added, “Repeat after me in a loud voice. ‘I’m the best-looking person in the world. I can do everything. I’m not afraid of anything in this world. I’m not alone in this world.’ ” The girl, who was repeating after the judge in a loud voice, burst into tears in the end. Actually, the girl used to be a good student until the beginning of the previous year; she got good grades in school and dreamed of becoming a nurse. However, as she was beaten up by a group of students, she…

When I Am Weak, Then I Am Strong

Palmerston North is a small city in the North Island of New Zealand. This city is full of youth and enthusiasm, and when I stepped foot here, my heart was beating fast with excitement. God opened the way for the gospel work to begin in Palmerston North, so I was confident that heavenly family members would be here. On the other hand, I felt Mother’s anxious heart of seeking Her children, which also made me feel the urgency to seek my lost brothers and sisters. We knew that we cannot do the gospel work only with our earnestness. It is not an exaggeration to say that living the life that depends on God thoroughly is a fight with myself day…

Yu Ae-ri from Auckland, New Zealand

“As I Have Loved You, So You Must Love One Another”

People who live by the word of God make efforts to put this teaching into practice. However, it is not easy, contrary to their expectations. God said, “Love one another,” and so they expect to receive as much as they give. They feel that they are losing many things when they give to others without receiving. So it becomes difficult to give love. However, there is something we must not overlook: That is the word, "As I have loved you,” which is placed before the word, “so you must love one another." God sacrificed even His life, and yet He loved us. Did He expect to receive anything in return? Just as God loves us without any condition, let us…

Mission of a Libero

In a volleyball team consisting of six players, we can see a player who is in a uniform different from his teammates. He is a libero, who is specialized in defensive skills. Since he is allowed to replace any other player, he is called the “libero” meaning “free.” However, in actuality, he has many restrictions. Without being permitted to block or serve or attack the ball when it is entirely above net height, the libero is only responsible for the serve of the opponent team and has to catch the ball that comes at the full speed. In this way, he takes care of all the chores of his team in securing the end line. For these characteristics, he doesn’t…

The Wage of Overcoming Pain

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, a French artist in the impressionist style, did not put down the painting brush in his hand even on the day when his fingers were in extreme pain. His friend saw him barely painting with his sore fingers and asked, “Do you have any reason for painting even in the pain?” Renoir replied with a smile, “The pain passes, but the beauty remains.”

Three Percent of Salt That Will Purify the World

Not long ago, we conducted a street cleanup in Junggwan-eup, Gijang, Busan. The day before we were supposed to do the cleanup, it started to rain at night, and it didn’t stop until the next morning. We were worried about the bad weather, but thankfully the rain stopped at 9 a.m. and the sun started to shine. The cleanup started and we joyfully cleaned the trash hidden between buildings and the areas that sanitation workers couldn’t reach, and also cleared weeds that covered the trees and the waste in the sewers. We moved in perfect order with the tools in our hands such as mops, tongs, and trash bags as if we were one body. I was reminded of the…

Kim Suk-gyeong from Busan, South Korea

Woodpecker’s Brood Patch

Feathers are light and have very good thermal stability. So in winter, down jackets are popular among people. However, woodpeckers pluck out the feathers that cover their bodies and keep them warm. It’s only for their young. Woodpeckers willingly pluck the feathers off their bellies that directly contact the eggs during incubation. This bare area is fluid-filled and highly vascularized, making it possible for the birds to transfer heat directly to their eggs when incubating. This featherless area on their chest that they press against the eggs to keep them warm is called a brood patch. In most birds, a brood patch on the abdomen is automatically developed, but woodpeckers pluck their feathers from their own bodies. Moreover, their beaks…

Giving Time to Save Life

A three-year-old son of a man living in Germany had leukemia. The man had to go to the hospital for his son’s treatment, but he could not quit his job because of the medical expenses. For a while, taking his leave of absence, he went to the hospital. However, he used all his leave of absence, so he was worried that he might lose his job as he requested unpaid leave. Then his company officials and colleagues helped out. The employees voluntarily worked overtime on behalf of their colleague. More than 700 employees worked overtime for two weeks, making their work hour 3,264 hours and 30 minutes. Each person worked about five hours more to fill in for him with…

How to Overcome a Tsunami

When a tsunami is generated, where should a ship escape to if it is already out in the sea? People generally think the ship should quickly go toward land where there is a port, but it is safer to go out into the open sea as far as possible from land. That’s because the closer it is to land, the shallower the water gets that the waves become dramatically high. But in the offing, the waves do not rise high. In fact, when a tsunami hit Fukushima in Japan in March, 2011, the ships that fled to the port were swept away, broken and sunk by the waves, but the ships that went far to the offing were able to…

When Do You Give Up?

Someone asked a famous salesman, “Does someone like you get rejected by a customer, too?” “Certainly! I haven’t had a day of rejection since I started work.” “Then how many times do you get rejected before you give up?” The salesman replied, “I don’t give up before the other gives up.”

Happy Workplace

One of my acquaintances helped me search for a job. I liked my new job because I already knew someone there and colleagues seemed nice. Since I was there to work, I thought I might as well do my best, and paid attention to even the things I didn’t have to. But strangely enough, I felt happier than tired though the work was not easy. While working until late at night, my eyes hurt and I felt tired, but I was excited while cleaning and was just happy even when someone said something not so pleasant to hear. Soon after, one of our Zion members started working here as well, and the atmosphere of my workplace became much brighter. I…

Baek Seon-mi from Jeonju, South Korea

Match of Faith

In most sporting events, it is difficult to predict victory or defeat until the final whistle blows. A team outscores the other in the beginning, but it might be defeated with lack of persistence. On the contrary, a team seems likely to lose, but it comes from behind with a dogged fighting spirit and concentration. The touching scenes remembered by sports fans are usually displayed at the last moment of the match. It is not different in the match of faith that is played right before the completion of the Bible’s prophecies. Although you’ve done well so far, the victory might slip from your grasp when you relax your attention. On the contrary, you can get an amazing result by…

Motive for Voluntary Services

One foggy morning, the members from Santiago and La Florida, Chile, gathered to participate in the blood drive despite the cold weather. The hospital was very crowded with more than 400 volunteers. So, some of us had to move to a different place to be able to donate blood. People wondered how we could be so willing to do the voluntary service. Whenever we were asked about our motive for voluntary services, our answer was the same always: “It is to spread Mother’s love to the whole world.” Where will be the next place for us to answer this again? We’re very excited!

Jose David Ancamil Rocha from Santiago, Chile

Liebig’s Law of the Minimum

There is a law called Liebig’s Law of the Minimum. This was announced by Justus von Liebig, a German chemist. It states that the growth of plants is controlled not by the total amount of available resources, but by the scarcest resource. An image of a barrel—often called Liebig’s barrel—can explain this law: Just as the capacity of a barrel with staves of unequal length is limited by the shortest stave, so a plant’s growth is limited by the nutrient in shortest supply. Although a man is healthy, if one of his organs is not good, his lifespan is shortened. No matter how smart a student is, if he or she doesn’t get a good grade at one of the…

Organizing Skill

There are many objects and lots of information around us. However, do we need all of them? If we think about this matter carefully, we can easily realize that we don’t need them all. Liz Davenport, a famous organization consultant, explains that workers spend about 150 hours a year just on searching necessary information or objects. In fact, everyone frequently wastes much time on searching for things at home. Experts explain that we can have more time for ourselves to spend on what is valuable by saving time spent on searching for things, and they pass on the knowhow of organizing things and information. In summary, their instructions come down to “Set your priorities and put things and files within…

A Fruit Taught Me Patience

I went out to preach the gospel at Osasco Center and met a lady near the subway station. She lived in Itapevi, about an hour and a half away by car from Osasco. She had visited many churches, but she had not attended any of them because no one taught her the Bible correctly. When she heard the truth about God the Mother, she was very interested and said, “It is testified in the Bible so clearly, but how come no one taught me this until now?” She wanted to know more about the Bible and to meet again on Sunday. A few days later, I headed for Itapevi to meet her as we had agreed. I took the train…

Jeon Myeong-hui from Sao Paulo, Brazil

Give a Cheerful High Five!

High five is an action to celebrate victory or to express happiness in which two people raise one arm each and hit their open hands together. Sports players often do high fives to improve teamwork during games. A study says that the teams with good results often had a light physical touch like high fives, handshakes, and hugs among the players. Another study says that the students whose teachers patted them on the back or arm to encourage them participated in class activities nearly twice more than other students. Just as you clap your hands unawares when you’re excited, clapping makes you feel positive, refreshed, pleasant, and even confident. Clapping hands is good for health, too! Tip Do high fives…

A Boat Waiting for High Tide

Steel King Andrew Carnegie kept an old painting in his office. The painting he treasured was neither a masterpiece drawn by a famous artist nor an antique that was highly worth possessing. It was just a humble painting of a boat on a sandy beach. When he used to be a traveling salesman in his early days, he found this picture in the house of an old person and politely asked for the picture. At the bottom of the picture was a sentence that read, “The high tide will come.” The boat that seemed abandoned was waiting for high tide. Just like the boat that will row out to the sea when high tide comes, Carnegie had the firm belief…

100

The highest point on most exams is 100. When expressing something that is satisfied or full, the number 100 is used in a percentage. Even at 99℃, the water stays still, but when it reaches 100℃, it boils. So the number 100 is the final goal that cannot be surpassed or the highest score with no fault. There is a final goal for us as we work to save souls. Until all the prophecies of the Bible are completed, we must do our best to fill ourselves with 100% faith and 100% passion for the gospel, and change into a 100% beautiful character, so that we will complete the God-given mission of the gospel. It is difficult to accomplish the…