Spreading "Mother's Love" All Around the World

BUSINESS KOREA 2007-02

Spreading "Mother’s Love" All Around the World

In "The Giving Tree"authored by Shel Silverstein, a boy loved by the giving tree took everything from it throughout his entire life, but never expressed his gratitude to the tree. Despite that, the giving tree was willing to offer itself to the boy who then grew as an old man to shelter him.

That is not a kind of love that only appears in novels. Around each of us exists someone who is filled with such love and ready to give everything she has: mother.Just calling the name gives peace and rest to babies, and to the older people the name evokes poignant remorse and a feeling of longing. Some even goes to say, "Mother is like a religion", given how deep and wide the love of mother is.

Actually, one religious organization, which asserts that Almighty God is not only God the Father, but also God the Mother, draws huge attention from all across the world. That is the World Mission Society Church of God (http://english.watv.org). The Church of God raises the question "Is divinity confined only to men?" to those who associate God with a solemn God the Father. According to the Book of Genesis, God referred to himself as "us", and he created the man and the woman in his image (Genesis 1:26-28), which attests that God exists with both images of a man and a woman. The Church of Godemphasizes that every Christian should believe in both God the Father and God the Mother (Galatians 4:26).

The faithful members of the Church of God have shown their devotion to God the Mother and enthusiastically put their faith into action. The missionary work which has been carried out by the Church of God contributes to the rise of awareness of God the Mother and the spread of Her love all around the world. More than 2,000 foreigners, who are from 50 countries or more and now live in Korea, were invited to the "Jerusalem Festival for Foreigners in Korea", held at the Okcheon Go&Come Training Institute of the Church of God on Nov. 26 last year. The festival provided the foreigners a chance to learn more about Korean food and culture,and about the Bible. In this gathering which about 13,000 Korean members of the Church of God also attended, foreigners expressed their gratitude to the Church, by saying, "The sincere love and thoughtful consideration shown by the members of the Church of God really helped us overcome difficulties and loneliness from living in a foreign country."

In the first Korea-Africa Forum held in Korea last November, the President John Agyekum Kufuor of Ghana and the President Yayi Boni of Benin met with the pastors of the Church of God to show the wholehearted relationship between them. This was an expression of gratitude to the Aurah Supporters of the Church of God, who supported the national athletes of both countries during the Daegu Summer Universiade 2003.

The Church of God organized supporters for 174 countries participating in the Daegu Universiade. Volunteers who reached about 85,000 man-days successfully fulfilled their role as supporters, ranging from welcoming athletes upon their arrival in Korea, to cheering for them in games and touring the city, as well as supporting them from the opening ceremony to the closing ceremony. The heart-warming reception and enthusiastic cheering offered by the supporters infused vitality into every game of the Universiade, engraving in the minds of the foreign athletes and officials the image of Korea as a passionate and affectionate country.

On their visit to Korea during the games, IOC President Jacques Rogge and FISU (International University Sports Federation) George Killian were welcomed by the supporters. Jacques Rogge raved about enthusiasm shown by the supporters to Daegu Universiade President Cho Hae-nyoung, by saying, "The infrastructure prepared for the Universiade is quite wonderful, but what really impressed me was the passion delivered by the supporters." George Killian also commented in an interview with the foreign news media, "The Universiade was successful thanks to the efforts of the supporters."

In August, 2004, a year after the Universiade, the Mother of Church of God was awarded a medal by President Rho Moo-hyun and dozens of pastors were also granted medals from various groups, which show that the Korean government gave the Church of God credit for its achievement. This is the second official acknowledgement given to the Church of God, followinga 2003 presidential award granted to Rev. Kim Joo-cheol, the chief pastor of the Church of God by then president Kim Dae-jung. The organizing committee of the Daegu Universiade and athletes, embassies and consulates from the participating nations awarded the Church of God with appreciation plaques.

In fact, the Church of God is famous for its active volunteer activities. In 2002 when the Korea-Japan World Cup, Busan Asian Games and Busan Far East and South Pacific Games for the Disabled (FESPIC Games) were held, the Church actively engaged in volunteer activities and served its role as supporters, spreading the love of Christ and Korea’s affectionate image all across the world. For instance, the Church’s supporters looked after a wounded Nepalese athlete in the Busan Asian Games and an injured Mongolian athlete in the Daegu Universiade. And the Church is helping people in need outside Korea - Vietnamese children with heart diseases, victims of the 2004 Indonesia Tsunami and the 2005 Pakistan earthquake.

The faithful members of the Church of God also have tried to reach every corner of Korean society to take care of the disadvantaged. They give a hand to needy people from children with heart diseases, to children in poverty, unfortunate people, the disabled, old people, victims of disasters and even farmers who cannot afford to employ workers. In 2003 when the disastrous Daegu subway fire broke out, the Church membersconsoled the bereaved families by providing free meals, 24 hours a day for 55 days. The volunteer workers made great efforts to help the families traumatized by the unexpected catastrophic disaster.

What makes the Church of God consistently engage in volunteer activities is Mother’s "giving love". The members of Church of God always keep in mind John 13:34, "As I have loved you, so you must love one another", and at the same time they cherish the teachings of Mother: "It is more blessed to give love than to receive ", and "God came to us to serve us. To serve others, not to be served, is what God wants us to do." In other words, the Church stresses that people take lessons from both God the Father, who washed His disciples’ feet, and God the Mother, who sacrificed Herself to help others.

Mother’s teachings and messages also serve as the most fundamental power which strengthens the piety of overseas members. The New Jerusalem Temple located in Bundang, Gyonggi Province is always busy greeting a ceaseless flow of foreign members. Since its establishment overseas in 1997, the Church has welcomed 28 foreign members’ visiting groups from June, 2001 to December, 2006. It is the teachings of Mother that makes people from countries in South America, the United States and many other countries want to visit Korea.

Jesus Geraldine Arango Nunez from Peru said, "I was deeply touched by the love given by heavenly Mother and I feel the strong connection between brothers and sisters from all around the world. We are a union of love. I want to share this sincere love with people around me when I go back to my country."
Paul Browne from the U.S. said, "I used to associate Korea with North Koreaand nuclear threats. I thought that Korea was the most dangerous nuclear-armed country in the world, but now I think Korea is the country filled with the greatest love in the world.”

Foreign members’ visiting groups, along with missionaries sent to foreign countries, act as a bridge connecting Korea and the rest of the world. The foreign members, who say with one voice that they received great love in Korea, go back to their countries to share the love with others.

Established in 1948 in Korea, the Church of Godhas grown into a world-class church just within half a century with 400 and 120 churches in Korea and abroad respectively and more than 820,000 followers worldwide. The Bible-centered doctrine sets Saturday as the Sabbath just as the Early Church did, and they celebrates the "Passoverof the new covenant"which was established at the last supper before Jesus Christ suffered on the cross, having bread and wine that represent the flesh and blood of Christ (heavenly Father and Mother). Female members cover their heads with veils during worship. And there is not a single cross in and around the Church.

The path which the Church of God has walked was not only smooth. Due to the difference of the doctrine and the sudden growth of the Church, the Church of God suffered from the wrong rumors spread by other Christian churches. Concerning this, in November, 2006, the Supreme Court ruled that "Insistences such as that ‘the Church of God preaches a time-limit eschatology, wrecks families, and promotes people to leave homes and get divorced’ are false facts caused by religious prejudices," and made it sure that the pastors and their followers, who accused the Church of God unjustly, had violated human rights and defamed the Church of God.

Despite the restraint of the existing Christian churches, the Church of God has accelerated its efforts to spreadits doctrine all through the world. Rev. Kim Joo-cheol shows his confidence in successful evangelization, by saying, "Prophecy is sure to come true, truth is sure to be served by followers and love embraces everything in the end." Which means that because the Church of God is established based on the Bible, adheres to the Bible, and is armed with Mother’s love, it will be successfully spread its teachings to the world.

Those devoting themselves to the Church of God always try to make sure that the entire world gives an ear to the messages of God the Mother, and prove Mother’s love by doing good deeds. That’s why the world is paying attention to the Church of God.


Truth Will Win in the End

BusinessKorea sat down with Rev. Kim Joo-cheol, the chief pastor of Church of God, and talked about the Church’s role and his goals. Here are some excerpts from the interview.

Q: What kind of role does Mother have in the Church of God?

A: God the Mother is the core of our faith and the figure that guides us. A human, by nature, is susceptible to committing a sin. God the Mother, who understands human vulnerability, steers us in the right direction just as our mother takes care of children. God the Mother stands by and prays for us whenever we face hardships.

Mother teaches us how to love. As the Bible says, She helps us learn about how to love God and how to love brothers and sisters, and She is the perfect example of love. Following suit, we are able to have beautiful minds suitable for Christians.

Q: Tell us about the Biblical rationale for God the Mother.

A: God’s power and divinity are embodied in all God’s creatures (Romans 1:20; Revelation 4:11). All male creatures are paired with female creatures, and female creatures give birth to new creatures. What does this mean?

When God created human beings, He said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness..." The Hebrew word "Elohim", which directly translates to "Gods", is often used in the Bible. And God Himself self-refers as "us,"which suggests that there exists God of male image (the Father) and God of the female image (the Mother).

According to the last part of the Bible, the Holy Spirit and the Bride give the water of life to mankind (Revelation 22:17). The Bible says that the Bride is the Holy City Jerusalem coming down out of heaven, in other words, God the Mother. (Revelation 21:9-10; Galatians 4:26)

Q: All across the world, Christianity is on the decline and in Korea the number of church members is also in decline. Meanwhile, the Church of Godhas seen dramatic prosperity within just half of a century. Why do you think this has happened?

A: The Bible prophesies that Jerusalem Mother will be glorified on the earth. It is not a coincidence that the Church of God which received God’s words has prospered.

When children stumble, they cry, calling for their mom. That is instinctive human behavior. Likewise, humans have an instinctive longing for the spiritual Mother deep down inside them. Last January, Korean college students went to Africato experience another culture. They encountered some native college students there, and they talked about God the Mother. The African students were deeply moved about the story. One of them was especially touched by the fact that Korean students came to such a faraway country to let them know the existence of God the Mother. Another student was so grateful to the Korean students for delivering the truth and promised to visit Korea to meet God the Mother. All of these episodes show that people feel the existence of the spiritual Mother unconsciously.

Mother is love. Love touches every person’s heart in the world, and the world is now trying to learn about God the Mother.

Q: What is the ultimate goal the Church of God aims at? And tell us the goal you set for this year.

A: In this world full of evils and disasters, the only way to salvation is to follow what God the Father and God the Mother tell us to do in the Bible. Humans are sinners banished from heaven after sinning. Just as Israelis avoided disasters by sacrificing Passover lambs 3,500 years ago, humans can escape disasters, being forgiven and blessed with eternal life, by having bread and wine-the body and blood of God the Father and God the Mother (Exodus 12:11-14; John 6:53-57; Matthew 26:17-28).

What we ultimately wish to do is to make the world realize the story of heavenly family and spiritual principle so as to save everyone. For this to happen, we’ve dispatched missionaries to 50 countries which do not have the Church of God. And many missionaries want to fly to other countries to proclaim the truth. I hope that this year will be a year when all the world can enjoy the delight of salvation and be blessed by God the Mother.

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