Numerous Are the Gains From Belief in the Practical God

The Son of man has always been speaking and guiding us …
I
Unbeknownst to us,
this insignificant man
has led us into one step after another
of God’s work.
We undergo countless trials
and innumerable chastenings,
and we are also tested by death.
We learn of God’s righteous
and majestic disposition,
enjoy His lovingkindness and mercy,
come to appreciate
God’s great power and wisdom,
witness the loveliness of God,
and behold God’s eager intention
to save man.
In the words of this ordinary person,
we come to know
God’s disposition and essence,
to understand God’s intentions
and know man’s nature essence,
and see the way to salvation and perfection.
II
His words cause us to “die” and be “reborn”;
His words bring us comfort, yet also leave us
wracked with guilt
and a sense of indebtedness;
His words bring us joy and peace,
but also infinite pain.
Sometimes we’re like lambs in His hands,
to be slaughtered as He wills;
sometimes we’re like the apple of His eye,
and enjoy His tender love;
sometimes we’re like His enemy,
and under His gaze are turned to ashes
by His wrath.
We are the human race saved by Him,
we are the maggots in His eyes,
and we are the lost sheep that, day and night,
He is bent on finding.
III
He is merciful towards us,
He loathes us, He raises us up,
comforts and exhorts us,
He guides us, enlightens us,
chastens, disciplines, and even curses us.
Night and day,
He never ceases to worry about us
and to protect and care for us,
never leaving our side.
He pours out all His heart’s blood
and pays the entire price for us.
Within the utterances
of this insignificant and ordinary flesh,
we have enjoyed the entirety of God
and beheld the destination
that God has bestowed on us.

from The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Appendix 4: Beholding the Appearance of God in His Judgment and Chastisement