When autumn comes, we see the yellow-tinged leaves of gingko trees on the streets, which create a beautiful scenery. When we look carefully at the trees, some of them have fruit hanging off of them, and others don’t have any fruit. It is because there are separate male and female ginkgo trees and only female trees bear fruit.

The providence of God who created all things is truly profound (Rev 4:11). All living things are given life and bear fruit through their mothers. In Zion, God allows us to bear fruit for the gospel; we can bear fruit when we take care of our brothers and sisters devotedly with the heart of Mother and feed them the food of God’s word diligently.

God wants us, His children, to have the same mind as that of Mother. So, God has repeatedly taught us through the law of nature and the Bible that if we want to bear spiritual fruit more abundantly, we need to have the heart of Mother.

The best way to store seeds

Once upon a time, there was a king who had three sons. As the king grew older, his servants started to discuss which of the three princes would be eligible to become next king. However, the discussion was not easily concluded because all the princes had talents and were earning the trust of the royal servants and the people as well. So the servants suggested to the king that he should give each of the princes an assignment to store the seeds of crops properly until autumn, saying that what was more necessary than anything else to rule the country well was solving the hunger of the people, and that he should choose the prince who would handle it the best as his successor.

The king accepted their suggestion and called the three princes together and gave each of them a bag of seeds. Then he declared that the one who stored the seeds in the best conditions till autumn would succeed him as king. After receiving the seeds, the princes began to think about how to store them properly, and they found their own way.

When it was autumn, the king and his servants called all the three princes together and asked them how they had stored the seeds. The first prince said that he had built a strong storage room and kept the seeds in a sealed container so that moisture would not penetrate them, and he showed them the seeds he had taken out of the storage room. The second prince showed them the money which he had earned by selling the seeds; he said that he had sold the seeds because he was worried that they would be rotten or damaged by mice or other animals if they were just kept until autumn, and he added that he could buy new grains in the market anytime with the money which he had made by selling the seeds.

The third and last prince led the king and the servants to a field. The field was full of well-ripened golden crops swaying in the breeze. He said that he had planted all the seeds one by one to keep them properly and took good care of them, so every stalk could produce much fruit.

It was, of course, the third prince that moved the king and his officials the most. There is no doubt that the third prince succeeded to the throne.

God has given each of us the seed of the gospel. Some of us have been just keeping the seed somewhere, some have been keeping it in another way, and others have been diligently sowing the seed and taking good care of it, so that they can produce a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.

If Father asks you, “What have you done until now?” when He settles accounts with you for what you have gained your whole life, what will you show Him? Will you show Him the seed that was just stored away or the money that was made from selling the seed? If you show Father a field waving with golden grain, He will convince you of your salvation, saying, “You are truly worthy to be ‘a royal priesthood’ in heaven!” won’t He?

If the third prince had not done anything other than sowing the seeds, would they have grown up to bear fruit by themselves? It is necessary to provide suitable conditions for a seed to produce fruit. When there was no rain, the prince must have watered the seeds, and when insects attacked the crop, he must have made efforts to remove them. He must also have weeded the field frequently so that the weeds would not grow thick to hinder the growth of the grains. The same kind of effort and care are required for us to cultivate spiritual crops and produce good fruit.

The gospel mission to feed God’s flock and take care of them

This is the heart of a mother. She does all the chores in the house and takes care of her family’s health by preparing food for them every day. So, if we have the heart of a mother, we will naturally bear fruit for the gospel. Unless we have the love and devotion of a mother who always worries about the safety of her family and takes care of them, we cannot bear fruit.

Jn 21:15-17 W hen they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.”

When Jesus entrusted the early Church to the care of Peter, He asked him, “Do you love me?” and then said to him, “Feed my sheep,” and, “Take care of my sheep.” Feeding the family and taking care of them is the main task of a mother. Jesus said, “Feed my sheep,” and, “Take care of my sheep.” When we look at these words of Jesus spiritually, we can understand that it is God’s will for us to have the heart of Mother.

Pr 27:23 Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds . . .

Spiritually, God’s people are likened to a flock of sheep or a herd of cattle. The flock of God cannot grow spiritually unless we feed them God’s word and take care of each and every one of them. That is why God has told us to diligently observe them to see how their condition or situation is. Trying to see if there are some who are sick and taking care of them—this is the heart of Mother. Without having the same heart as that of Mother, we cannot do the work of feeding God’s flock and taking care of them properly. It is our Heavenly Father and Mother’s will for us to take care of our spiritual brothers and sisters with the heart of Mother.

Feed God’s flock with the word of God

A mother takes great care of her children in the family by feeding them good food so that they can keep their health and sustain life and grow upright. God has repeatedly asked us to have this kind of mind.

Mt 28:18-20 Then Jesus came to them and said, “. . . Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Jesus said, “Make disciples of all nations.” By this He meant that we should teach God’s truth of life to all people. Teaching them the words of truth is feeding them spiritually. The Apostle Paul emphasizes the importance of the mission of preaching the gospel as follows:

2 Ti 4:1-2 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season . . .

The above verses tell us the same thing as Jesus’ words in Matthew 28. All people in the world, if they fail to be saved, will be cast into the eternal lake of fire in hell. When we look at them with the heart of Mother, we come to have pity on them and pay attention to each and every one of them to save them all by feeding them the words of life.

Ultimately, preaching is something that we can do when we have the heart of Mother. Finding Bible verses fast and easily and delivering them to others—this is not everything we should do. If we do not take care of the world with the heart of Mother, it proves that we still fail to understand the true meaning of the gospel. When we give God’s love to all people in the world with the heart of Mother, only then can we say that we are preaching the gospel.

Let us think about whether or not we have been preaching the gospel with the same heart as that of Mother. We must not forget the fact that we can bear abundant fruit of the gospel when we feed our brothers and sisters, take care of them, humble ourselves and serve them with the heart of Mother.

Gaining many more talents with the heart of Mother

The ultimate way to accomplish the gospel is to learn the heart of Mother and have it. If we do so, we can bear fruit and each of us can be changed into a person full of love, as Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another” (Jn 13:34).

Php 2:5-11 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death―even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow . . . and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

To save the children who have flesh and blood, God Himself came to this earth. Though He has the authority and power to command all His creation, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death, taking the very nature of a servant and being made in human likeness. Although no one esteemed Him, He silently walked the thorny path of the cross, being beaten with rods and pierced with thorns (Heb 2:14-15; Isa 53:1-12).

This mind of Christ is basically the same as that of Mother. Christ humbled Himself, obeyed, served others and endured everything—all these virtues are contained in the heart of Mother. Now, shouldn’t we all learn this heart of Mother?

Mt 25:14-23 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents brought the other five . . . His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ The man with the two talents also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘. . . I have gained two more.’ His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ ”

In the parable of talents, Jesus used the expression “put money to work” (“trade,” KJV). If a business owner makes a good trade, whose nature do you think he or she has, the nature of a father or the nature of a mother? The father tends not to express his feelings to his children although he is very happy when they come home. On the contrary, the mother even runs outside barefoot and greets her children with open arms. The father has authority over his children, but the mother humbles herself and puts others first.

If a shop prospers, there is no doubt that the owner of the shop humbles himself or herself, takes care of his or her customers and shows consideration for them with the heart of a mother. The owner of the shop that prospers always greets customers gladly whenever they come to his or her shop. Trying to make them feel comfortable, the owner gives them an extra item for free when they buy something. Those who run a business cannot be successful if they exalt themselves and assert their authority. We often see people who engage in business educate their employees under the slogan—“The customer is king.” This means that they will humble themselves and serve their customers as kings. Those who can serve all who come to their shop, though their customers are little children, are truly the people who make a good trade.

Love achieved with the heart of Mother

It is the same spiritually; we, too, will be able to gain many more talents when we humble ourselves and exalt others with the heart of Mother. In the parable of talents, the servants who gained two or five more talents are like those who take care of people around them with the heart of Mother.

Lk 14:11 “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Jas 4:7-10 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you . . . Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

Humbling ourselves is having the heart of Mother. A mother does all the chores in the house, even though her position in the family is never low. She washes her baby’s clothes and also prepares food for the baby. When we humble ourselves and take care of each and every one of our brothers and sisters like that, we will be able to accomplish world evangelism and fill ourselves with the oil of faith which is required of us.

Php 2:1-4 . . . then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

The above verses also mean that we should have the heart of Mother. In many places in the Bible, whether in parables or practical lessons, God tells us to have the heart of Mother. Now the people of Zion are being made perfect through love with the heart of Mother.

1 Jn 4:7-21 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him . . . Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us . . . And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him . . . If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

The greatest love of all is the love of Mother. To put us on the same level as the love of Mother, God lets us have Mother’s heart sometimes through preaching and sometimes by training us to humble ourselves and exalt others. Considering others better than ourselves and doing all the chores for the sake of the gospel with joy and devotion—this is the way to have the heart of Mother.

To preach the gospel to the ends of the earth, we need to change and develop our hearts to Mother’s heart. Although we wanted to be served and comforted by others in the past, from now on we should have the heart of Mother—the heart of giving, not the heart of receiving. As for a woman, when she is young or before she gets married, she wants to be loved, but when she becomes a mother, she tries to give love to others, to share things with them and to serve them. So, women are weak, but mothers are strong, aren’t they?

I believe that if we replace our hearts with the heart of Mother, we will become perfect as heavenly beings and evangelize the whole world as well. As the Bible tells us to train ourselves to be godly, let us put forth our best efforts to practice godliness with the heart of Mother. Brothers and sisters in Zion! Let us humble ourselves, exalt others and take care of one another’s spiritual safety, so that we can accomplish the gospel mission entrusted to us by God and go to heaven together hand in hand.