The people of the kingdom of heaven are the sons and daughters of God the Creator. Just as it is written, “If you were Abraham’s children, then you would do the things Abraham did,” God’s children should act worthy of their status wherever they go.
If anyone does not devote themselves to the sound instruction of Christ and to godly teaching, they become conceited and led to envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions, and corrupt minds, ultimately being robbed of the truth (1 Ti 6:3–6). “Devote yourself to God’s word” means to live attached to the word, without separating from it. When we live closely to the word of God, we become humble and receive salvation. Living in godliness in accordance with God’s word is so important that God instructs us to “practice” it (1 Ti 4:6–8). Just as with studying or exercising, everything becomes perfected through practice. We become perfected and enter the heavenly kingdom by practicing godliness.
It is said, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Mt 4:4). Just as caterpillars live by eating pine leaves, God’s children live by the word of God. Just as not having a proper meal leaves one without energy, neglecting spiritual food leaves one spiritually hungry and weak. Therefore, we should feast on the word of God and continuously share it with others. Let us diligently study God’s word and wholeheartedly teach it to others, leading them to salvation. All we have to do is teach it as it is, without adding to or subtracting from the Word of God (Rev 22:18–19).
The Bible teaches that the kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough (Mt 13:33). If you take the amount of flour for one piece of rice cake and make dough, you can only feed one person, but if you add leaven to the dough, it swells up and the quantity increases enough for several people to share. In the same way, a hardened spirit that knew only self and didn’t think of sharing with others, when filled with God’s word, becomes eager to share. The fire of the Holy Spirit, desiring to save many souls through the word of life, arises.
Even if we once followed the desires of the flesh before receiving the truth, we, now as God’s children, must not continue in such ways. After being baptized, we have entered the kingdom of grace in Christ (Eph 2:1–6). Now if we act righteously, we can go up to the eternal kingdom of heaven. However, if we do not follow God’s word after coming into the kingdom of grace, we may fall. That is why God, who is love, has given us lessons to correct us in the way we behave as His children and take us to heaven. Since we cannot stand against the devil without God’s word, God repeatedly tells us to “put on the whole armor of God” and “take up the sword of God’s word” (Eph 6:10–19). Sinners can do nothing. It is God who makes all things possible. Therefore, we should always pray to God Almighty.
The mind of sinful man is enmity against God, and those who live according to the flesh cannot please God (Ro 8:5–8). We must not allow the thoughts of the flesh to override the thoughts of God. Even as strangers on this earth, we should learn to fear the word of God (1 Pe 1:14–17). Living in godliness and adhering to the word of godliness is imperative because we are citizens of the kingdom of heaven (Php 3:20–21). Those who will go to the kingdom of heaven should abide by the word of God, live in godliness, and follow God’s teachings. Now, God is in the process of transforming us, sinners, in our lowly body to be like His glorious body. To shape us into beautiful beings fit for the kingdom of glory, He has provided instructions such as “Agree to the sound instruction of Christ” and “Train yourself to be godly.”
To guide many people onto the path of salvation, let us cultivate good hearts and perform good deeds as children of God. Let us prioritize godly teachings of God and actively practice goodness, love, and godliness, striving to continually improve ourselves. By doing so, we can glorify God more fully and receive abundant blessings and fruits.
