In truth, based on what God has done in people, and given them, as well as that which people are possessed of, it can be said that His requirements of people are not excessive, that He does not ask much of them. How, then, could they not try to satisfy God? God gives one hundred percent to man, yet He only requires a fraction of a percent of people—is this asking too much? Is God making trouble out of nothing? Often, people do not know themselves, they do not examine themselves before God, and so there are often times when they become ensnared—how could this be considered cooperating with God?
If there were ever a time when God did not place a heavy burden upon people, they would crumble like mud, and would not take it upon themselves to find things to do. That’s what people are like, either passive or negative, ever incapable of actively cooperating with God, always looking for a negative reason to give in to themselves. Are you truly someone who does everything not for themselves, but to satisfy God? Are you truly someone who does not fulfill the needs of God’s work by virtue of their own emotions or preferences? “Why do they always try to bargain with Me? Am I the general manager of a trade center? Why is it that I wholeheartedly fulfill what people demand of Me, yet what I ask of man comes to nothing?” Why does God ask such things several times in succession? Why does He cry out in dismay thus? God has gained nothing in people, all He sees is the work that they pick and choose. Why does God say, “yet what I ask of man comes to nothing”? Ask yourselves: From start to finish, who can do the work of their duty without any choice? Who does not act by virtue of “the feelings within their hearts”? People give free rein to their characters, fishing for three days and leaving the nets to dry for two. They are by turns hot and cold: When they’re hot, they’re able to incinerate all things on earth, and when they’re cold, they’re capable of freezing all waters on earth. This is not the “function” of man, but is the most appropriate analogy about man’s state. Is this not fact? Perhaps I have “conceptions” of people, perhaps I am vilifying them—but regardless, “With the truth you’ll walk the entire world; without the truth, you’ll get nowhere.” Though this is a human aphorism, I think it’s apt to use here. I am not deliberately pouring cold water on people and denying their doings. Let Me consult you on some questions: Who sees God’s work as the work of their own duty? Who can say, “As long as I am able to satisfy God, I will give my all”? Who is able to say, “Regardless of others, I will do all that God needs, and no matter whether the length of God’s work is long or short, I shall fulfill my duty; bringing His work to an end is God’s business, it’s not something I think about”? Who is capable of such knowledge? It matters not what you think—maybe you have higher insights, in which case I acquiesce, I admit defeat—yet I must tell you what God want is a loyal heart that is sincere and passionate, not a wolf’s heart that is ungrateful. What do you know of this “bargaining”? From beginning to end, you have “traveled the world.” One moment you’re in “Kunming,” with its eternal spring, and in the blink of an eye you’ve arrived in the oppressively cold, snow-covered “South Pole.” Who has never gone back on themselves? What God asks for is a spirit of “No rest unto death,” what He wants is one in which people “do not turn back until they hit the south wall.” Naturally, God’s intention is not for people to take the wrong path, but to adopt such a spirit. Just as God says, “When I compare the ‘gifts’ they have given to My things, people instantly recognize My preciousness, and only then do they see My immeasurability.” How can these words be explained? Perhaps, reading the words above gives you some knowledge, for God takes out the whole of man’s heart for dissection, at which time people come to know these words. But because of the profound inner meaning of God’s words, people remain unclear about the “old flesh,” for they haven’t studied at a medical university, nor are they archaeologists, and so they feel that this new term is incomprehensible—and only then do they yield a little. For people are powerless before the old flesh; though it is not like a ferocious beast, nor capable of obliterating mankind like an atomic bomb, they don’t know what to do with it, as if they are powerless. But to Me, there are ways of dealing with the old flesh. Man’s never making effort to think of a countermeasure has led to the various oddities of man flashing constantly before My eyes; just as God said: “When I show My entirety to them, they look upon Me with wide eyes, standing before Me motionless, like a pillar of salt. And when I behold their oddness I can hardly stop Myself from laughing. Because they are reaching out to ask for things from Me, I give them the things in My hand, and they hold them to their breast, cherishing them like a newborn baby, a motion they do but momentarily.” Are these not the actions of the old flesh? Since, today, people understand, why do they not relinquish, and instead still keep on? In fact, part of God’s requirements are not unattainable by man, yet people pay them no heed, for “I do not chastise man lightly. It is for this reason that people have always given free rein to their flesh. They do not observe My will, but have ever misled Me before My judgment seat.” Is this not the stature of man? It is not that God is deliberately nitpicking, but that this is reality—must God explain this? Just as God says, “It is because people’s faith is so great that they are ‘admirable.’” For this reason, I obey God’s arrangements, and so I do not say much of this; because of people’s faith, I seize on this, making use of their faith to cause them to perform their function without Me reminding them. Is it wrong to do this? Is this not precisely what God needs? Perhaps, upon hearing such words, some people might feel fed up—so I’ll speak of something else, to cut them a little slack. When all of God’s chosen people beneath the universe pass through chastisement, and when the state within man is rectified, people will secretly rejoice in their hearts, as if they have escaped tribulation. At this moment, people will no longer choose for themselves, for this is exactly the effect achieved during God’s final work. With His steps having progressed unto today, God’s sons and people have all entered chastisement, and the Israelites, too, cannot escape this phase, for people are tainted by impurity inside, and so God leads all people to enter the great smelting furnace for refinement, which is a necessary path. Once this has passed, people will be resurrected from death, which is precisely what God foretold in “The Seven Spirits Speak.” I shall speak no more of this, so as not to antagonize people. Because God’s work is wondrous, the prophecies spoken from God’s mouth must ultimately be achieved; when God asks that people speak of their conceptions once again, they are dumbfounded, and so no one should get worried or anxious. Just as I said, “Of all My work, was there ever a step carried out by the hands of man?” Do you understand the substance of these words?
from The Word Appears in the Flesh
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