X Classic Words on the Reality of the Truth God’s Chosen People Must Enter Into | Classic Words on How to Practice Love of God

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X Classic Words on the Reality of the Truth God’s Chosen People Must Enter Into

(XII) Classic Words on How to Practice Love of God

296. “Love,” as it is called, refers to an emotion that is pure and without blemish, where you use your heart to love, to feel, and to be thoughtful. In love there are no conditions, no barriers, and no distance. In love there is no suspicion, no deceit, and no cunning. In love there is no distance and nothing impure. If you love, then you will not deceive, complain, betray, rebel, exact, or seek to gain something or to gain a certain amount. If you love, then you will gladly sacrifice and endure hardship, and you will become compatible with Me. You will give up your all for Me: your family, your future, your youth, and your marriage. Otherwise your love would not be love at all, but rather deceit and betrayal!

from “Many Are Called, but Few Are Chosen” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

297. God’s word says: “Love is a pure and a flawless emotion. In love, there is no suspicion, no barriers, no distance, where you use your heart to love and to be thoughtful.” This is the definition of love. This is the truth. This is what God says about love. But whom shall you love? Shall you love your husband? Your wife? Your brothers and sisters? No! When God speaks of love, He speaks not of love for your fellow man, but of man’s love of God. This is the form of true love. How to comprehend this truth? It means God wants people not to doubt Him or distance themselves from Him; this love is pure, and is flawless. Flawlessness means that your expectations toward God are not extravagant; it means that your love for God is unconditional and doesn’t require a reason; it means that you love God and no other. Other than God, nothing else can occupy your heart; this emotion is pure and it is flawless. This emotion occupies a certain place in your heart; you are always thinking of Him and missing Him, and remembering Him at each and every moment. To love means to love with your heart. Loving with your heart consists in being thoughtful, caring and remembering with longing. In order to love with your heart, you must first learn to understand. At the present time, while you lack understanding, you should use your heart to yearn for Him, to long for Him, to obey Him, to care for Him, to pray to Him, and to cry out for Him; you should even be able to share in His thoughts and concerns. You must put your heart into these things. Do not pay lip service, saying: “God! I’m doing this for You, and I’m doing that for You!” Only when you love and satisfy God using your heart is it practical. Although you don’t say so aloud, you have God in your heart, in your heart you are thinking of Him. You can give up your husband, your wife, your children, your relatives; but your heart cannot be without God. Without God, you simply cannot live. You cannot leave Him. This is what it means to have love and to have God in your heart. There is so very much to loving and caring for God with your heart. This is the true love that God requires of you; in other words, you must love and care for Him with your heart, and always keep Him in your mind. Use your heart, not your words, to practice. Do not use your actions as a kind of outward display, but rather, primarily, practice with your heart, let your heart govern your behavior, govern all of your actions. There must be no motivation, no adulteration, no suspicion; this is how a pure heart should be. As for suspicion, what does it mean to be suspicious? It means you’re always wondering: “Is it right for God to do this? Why does God say this? If this is what God says, but there’s no reason behind it, I won’t obey it. If God does this, but it is unjust, I won’t obey. I’ll drop it for now.” To not harbor suspicions means recognizing that whatever God says and does is right, and with God there is no right or wrong. Man must obey God, care for God, satisfy God, and share in His thoughts and concerns. Regardless of whether or not everything God does seems meaningful or appropriate to you, whether it is agreeable to your conceptions, and regardless of whether it makes sense to you or whether it conforms to your imaginations, you must always obey and must have a reverent, submissive heart toward all that God does. After all, isn’t practice such as this in conformity with the truth? Isn’t it the manifestation and practice of love?

from “Providing the Truth Is the Real Way to Lead Others” in Records of Christ’s Talks

298. A man who truly loves God and has the truth is one who is loyal to God, but does not outwardly reveal so. He is willing to practice the truth when matters arise and does not speak or act in a manner going against his conscience. He demonstrates wisdom when matters arise and is principled in his deeds, no matter the circumstances. A man such as this is one who truly serves.

from “Believing in God Should Focus on Reality, Not Religious Rituals” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

299. The path of believing in God is the path of loving Him. If you believe in Him you must love Him; however, loving Him doesn’t only refer to repaying His love or loving Him based on the feelings of the conscience—it is a pure love for God. … If you only use your conscience you will be unable to rouse your love for God; when you really feel His loveliness in your heart your spirit will be moved by Him, and it is only at that time that your conscience will be able to play its original role. That is to say that when people have been moved by God in their spirits and when their hearts have gained knowledge and encouragement, that is, after they have gained experience, only then will they be able to effectively love God with their consciences. Loving God with your conscience is not wrong—this is the lowest level of loving God. Mankind’s way of love of just barely doing justice to God’s grace absolutely cannot impel their proactive entering in. When people obtain some of the work of the Holy Spirit, that is, when they see and taste God’s love in their practical experience, when they have some knowledge of God and truly see that God is so worthy of mankind’s love and how lovely He is, only then are people able to genuinely love God.

from “Genuine Love for God Is Spontaneous” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

300. If you are unable to summon the strength within you to love God, then how can you pray? You should say: “O God! My heart is incapable of truly loving You, I wish to love You but I lack the strength. What should I do? I wish for You to open the eyes of my spirit, I wish for Your Spirit to touch my heart, so that before You I am divested of all passive states, and unconstrained by any person, matter, or thing; my heart I completely lay bare before You, such that my entire being is devoted before You, and You may test me however You wish. Now, I give no thought to my prospects, nor am I bound by death. Using my heart that loves You, I wish to seek the way of life. All things and events are in Your hands, my fate is in Your hands, and, moreover, my life is controlled by Your hands. Now, I pursue the love of You, and regardless of whether You let me love You, regardless of how Satan interferes, I am determined to love You.” When you encounter such things, you pray in this way. If you do so every day, the strength to love God will gradually rise up.

from “Concerning the Practice of Prayer” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

301. It is hoped that you can love God with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your strength, just as if you were protecting your own life. Is this not a life of the utmost meaning? Where else could you find the meaning of life? Would that not be so blind? Are you willing to love God? Is God worthy of man’s love? Are people worthy of man’s adoration? So what should you do? Love God boldly, without reservations—and see what God will do to you. See if He will slay you. In sum, the task of loving God is more important than copying and writing things down for God. You should give first place to what’s most important, so that your life has more meaning and is full of happiness, and then you should wait for God’s “sentence” for you. I wonder if your plan will include loving God—I would that everyone’s plans become that which is completed by God, and become reality.

from “Interpretation of the Forty-second Utterance” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

302. Having faith in God, you should not solely seek blessings, but seek to love God and know God. Through His enlightenment and your own pursuit, you can eat and drink His word, develop a true understanding of God, and have a true love of God that comes from your heart. In other words, your love for God is most genuine, such that none can destroy or stand in the way of your love for Him. Then you are on the right track of faith in God. It proves that you belong to God, for your heart has been taken possession of by God and you can then be possessed by nothing else. Owing to your experience, the price you paid, and the work of God, you are able to develop an unbidden love for God. Then you are freed from the influence of Satan and live in the light of God’s word. Only when you have broken free from the influence of darkness can you be deemed to have gained God. In your belief of God, you must seek this goal. This is the duty of each of you.

from “You Ought to Live for the Truth Since You Believe in God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

303. The first step of truly loving God and being gained by Him is to completely turn your heart toward God. In every single thing that you do, search yourself and ask: “Am I doing this based on a heart of love for God? Is there any personal intention in it? What is my actual goal in doing this?” If you want to hand your heart over to God you must first subdue your own heart, give up on all of your own intentions, and achieve the point of being completely for God. This is the path to practice giving your heart to God. What does subduing one’s own heart refer to? It is letting go of the extravagant desires of one’s flesh, not coveting the blessings of status or coveting comfort, doing everything to satisfy God, and that one’s heart can fully be for Him, not for one’s own sake.

from “Genuine Love for God Is Spontaneous” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

304. Genuine love for God comes from deep within the heart; it is a love that only exists on the basis of mankind’s knowledge of God. When someone’s heart completely turns toward God then they have love for God, but that love is not necessarily pure and it’s not necessarily complete. This is because there is a certain distance between a person’s heart completely turning toward God and that person having a genuine understanding of God and a genuine adoration for Him. The way for someone to achieve true love of God and to know God’s disposition is to turn their heart toward God. After they give their true heart over to God, they will begin to enter into the experience of life, and this way their disposition will start to change, their love for God will gradually grow, and their knowledge of God will also gradually increase.

from “Genuine Love for God Is Spontaneous” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

306. God’s substance is not just for man to believe in; it is, moreover, for man to love. But many of those who believe in God are incapable of discovering this “secret.” People don’t dare to love God, nor do they try to love Him. They have never discovered that there is so much that is lovable about God, they have never discovered that God is the God who loves man, and that He is the God who is for man to love. The loveliness of God is expressed in His work: Only when they experience His work can people discover His loveliness, only in their actual experiences can they appreciate the loveliness of God, and without observing it in real life, no one can discover God’s loveliness. … Regardless of how much people love the God in heaven, there is nothing real about this love, and it is full of human ideas. No matter how little their love for the God on earth, this love is real; even if there is only a little of it, it is still real. God causes people to know Him through real work, and through this knowledge He gains their love. It’s like Peter: If he hadn’t lived with Jesus, it would have been impossible for him to adore Jesus. So, too, was his loyalty toward Jesus built upon his engagement with Jesus. To make man love Him, God has come among man and lives together with man, and all that He makes man see and experience is the reality of God.

from “Those Who Love God Will Forever Live Within His Light” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

307. Man must pursue to live out a life of meaning, and should not be satisfied with his current circumstances. To live out the image of Peter, he must possess the knowledge and experiences of Peter. Man must pursue things that are higher and more profound. He must pursue a deeper, purer love of God, and a life that has value and meaning. Only this is life; only then will man be the same as Peter. You must focus on being proactive toward your entry on the positive side, and must not submissively allow yourself to backslide for the sake of momentary ease while ignoring more profound, more specific, and more practical truths. Your love must be practical, and you must find ways to free yourself from this depraved, carefree life that is no different from an animal’s. You must live out a life of meaning, a life of value, and you must not fool yourself, or treat your life like a toy to be played with. For everyone who aspires to love God, there are no unobtainable truths, and no justice for which they cannot stand firm. How should you live your life? How should you love God, and use this love to satisfy His desire? There is no greater matter in your life. Above all, you must have such aspirations and perseverance, and should not be like those spineless weaklings. You must learn how to experience a meaningful life, and experience meaningful truths, and should not treat yourself perfunctorily in that way. Without you realizing it, your life will pass you by; and after that, will you have another opportunity to love God? Can man love God after he is dead? You must have the same aspirations and conscience as Peter; your life must be meaningful, and you must not play games with yourself! As a human being, and as a person who pursues God, you must be able to carefully consider how you treat your life, how you should offer yourself to God, how you should have a more meaningful faith in God, and how, since you love God, you should love Him in a way that is more pure, more beautiful, and more good.

from “The Experiences of Peter: His Knowledge of Chastisement and Judgment” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

308. May God enlighten us, so that we can all know His loveliness, love our God in the depths of our hearts, and express the love all of us have for God in different positions; may God bestow upon us unswerving hearts of sincere love for Him—this is what I hope for. Having said this, I feel a bit of sympathy for My brothers and sisters also living in this land of filth, so I have developed a hatred for the great red dragon. It hinders our love for God and entices our greediness for our future prospects. It tempts us to be negative, to resist God. It has been the great red dragon that has deceived us, corrupted us, and ravaged us until now, to the point that we are unable to repay God’s love with our hearts. We have the drive in our hearts but in spite of ourselves, we are powerless. All of us are its victims. For this reason, I hate it from My very core and I cannot wait to destroy it. However, when I think again, this would be to no avail and it would only bring trouble to God, so I come back to these words—I set My heart on carrying out His will—loving God. This is the path that I am taking—it is the path that I, one of His creations, should walk. It is how I should spend My life.

from “The Path … (2)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

309. Within the promise I have made with God, I simply give My heart to Him and do not fool Him with My words. I would not do something like that—I am only willing to comfort the God that I love with My heart, so that His Spirit in heaven may be comforted. The heart may be valuable but love is more precious. I am willing to give the most precious love in My heart to God so that what He enjoys is the most beautiful thing I have, that He may be fulfilled by the love that I offer up to Him. Are you willing to give your love to God for Him to enjoy? Are you willing to make this your own capital for survival? What I see from My experience is that the more love I give to God, the more I feel that I am living with joy, and I have boundless strength, I am willing to sacrifice My entire body and mind, and always feel that I cannot possibly love God enough. So is your love a negligible love, or is it infinite, immeasurable? If you truly want to love God, you will always have more love to give back to Him. If that’s the case, what person and what thing can possibly stand in the way of your love for God?

from “The Path … (3)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

310. “Accomplish God the Father’s will” should be the motto of all who love God. These words should serve as man’s guide for entry and the compass directing his actions. This is the resolve that man should have. To thoroughly finish God’s work on earth and cooperate with God’s work in the flesh—this is man’s duty. One day, when God’s work is done, man will bid Him farewell on an early return to the Father in heaven. Is this not the responsibility that man should fulfill?

from “Work and Entry (6)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

311. Today, as you seek to love and know God, in one respect you must endure hardship and refinement, and in another, you must pay a price. No lesson is more profound than the lesson of loving God, and it can be said that the lesson that people learn from a lifetime of belief is how to love God. Which is to say, if you believe in God you must love God. If you only believe in God but do not love Him, have not attained the knowledge of God, and have never loved God with a true love that comes from within your heart, then your belief in God is futile; if, in your belief in God, you do not love God, then you live in vain, and your entire life is the most lowly of all lives. … Loving God requires seeking God’s will in all things, and that you probe deep within when anything happens to you, trying to grasp God’s will, and trying to see what God’s will is in this matter, what He wishes you to achieve, and how you should be mindful of His will. … If you truly love God, and do not satisfy the flesh, then you’ll see that everything God does is so right, and so good, and that His curse of your rebelliousness and judgment of your unrighteousness is justified. There will be times when God chastens and disciplines you, and raises up an environment to temper you, forcing you to come before Him—and you will always feel that what God is doing is wonderful. Thus you will feel as if there isn’t much pain, and that God is so lovely.

from “Only Loving God Is Truly Believing in God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

312. Thus, if you wish to love God, you must pay the price of pain and endure hardship. There is no need for external fervency and hardship, reading more and running about more; instead, you should put aside the things within you: the extravagant thoughts, personal interests, and your own considerations, conceptions, and motivations. Such is God’s will.

from “Only Loving God Is Truly Believing in God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

313. In His requirement that man love Him, God does not demand that man love Him using passion, or naturalness; only through loyalty and the use of the truth to serve Him can man truly love Him.

from “Only by Experiencing Refinement Can Man Truly Love God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

314. If man wishes to love God, he must be stripped of his self-rightness, self-importance, arrogance, conceit, and the like, all of which belong to Satan’s disposition. Otherwise, the love of man is an impure love, a love of Satan, and one which absolutely cannot receive the approval of God. Without being directly perfected, dealt with, broken, pruned, disciplined, chastened, or refined by the Holy Spirit, no one is able truly to love God.

from “Corrupt Man Is Incapable of Representing God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

315. God is eager for man to love Him, but the more man loves Him, the greater man’s suffering, and the more man loves Him, the greater man’s trials. If you love Him, then every kind of suffering will befall you—and if you don’t, then perhaps everything will go smoothly for you, and all will be peaceful around you. When you love God, you will feel that much around you is insurmountable, and because your stature is too small you will be refined; moreover, you are incapable of satisfying God, and you will always feel that God’s will is too lofty, that it is beyond the reach of man. Because of all this you will be refined—because there is much weakness within you, and much that is incapable of satisfying the will of God, you will be refined inside. Yet you must clearly see that purification is only achieved through refinement. Thus, during these last days you must bear testimony to God. No matter how great your suffering, you should go on to the very end, and even at your last breath, still you must be faithful to God, and at the mercy of God; only this is truly loving God, and only this is the strong and resounding testimony. When you are tempted, you should say: “My heart belongs to God, and God has already gained me. I cannot satisfy you—I must devote my all to satisfying God.” The more you satisfy God, the more God blesses you, and the greater the strength of your love for God; so, too, will you have faith and resolve, and will feel that nothing is more worthy or significant than a life spent loving God.

from “Only by Experiencing Painful Trials Can You Know the Loveliness of God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

316. You should know that everything that happens to you is a great trial and the time when God needs you to bear testimony. Externally, they might not seem like a big deal, but when these things happen they show whether or not you love God. If you do, you will be able to stand firm in your testimony to Him, and if you have not put the love of Him into practice, this shows you are not someone who puts the truth into practice, that you are without the truth, and without life, that you are chaff! Everything that happens to people is when God needs them to stand firm in their testimony to Him. Nothing major has happened to you at the moment, and you do not bear great testimony, but every detail of your daily life relates to the testimony to God. If you can win the admiration of your brothers and sisters, your family members, and everyone around you; if, one day, the unbelievers come, and admire all that you do, and see that all that God does is wonderful, then you will have borne testimony. Although you have no insight and your caliber is poor, through God’s perfection of you, you are able to satisfy Him and be mindful of His will. Others will see what great work He has done in people of the poorest caliber. People come to know God, and become overcomers before Satan and loyal to God to an extent. So none will have more backbone than this group of people. This will be the greatest testimony. Although you are incapable of doing great work, you are able to satisfy God. Others can’t put aside their conceptions, but you can; others can’t bear testimony to God during their actual experiences, but you can use your actual stature and actions to repay God’s love and bear resounding testimony to Him. Only this counts as actually loving God.

from “Only Loving God Is Truly Believing in God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

317. Pursuing the satisfaction of God is using the love of God to put His words into practice; regardless of the time—even when others are without strength—inside of you there is still a heart which loves God, which profoundly yearns for God, and misses God. This is real stature. Just how great your stature is depends on how great your love of God is, on whether you are able to stand fast when tested, whether you are weak when a certain environment comes upon you, and whether you can stand your ground when your brothers and sisters reject you; the arrival of the facts will show just what your love of God is like. It can be seen from much of God’s work that God really does love man, it’s just that the eyes of man’s spirit have yet to be completely opened, and he is unable to see through to much of the work of God, and the will of God, and the many things which are lovely about God; man has too little true love for God.

from “Only by Experiencing Painful Trials Can You Know the Loveliness of God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

318. It is during bitter refinement that man can most easily fall under the influence of Satan—so how should you love God during such refinement? You should summon your will, laying your heart before God and devoting the last of your time to Him. No matter how God refines you, you should be able to put the truth into practice to fulfill God’s will, and you should take it upon yourself to seek God and seek communion with God. At times like these, the more passive you are, the more negative you will become and the easier it will be for you to regress. When it is necessary for you to serve your function, although you don’t serve it well, you do all you can, and do it using nothing more than your love of God; regardless of what others say—whether they say you have done well, or that you have done badly—your motivations are correct, and you are not self-righteous, for you are acting in behalf of God. When others misinterpret you, you are able to pray to God and say: “O God! I do not ask that others tolerate me, nor that they forgive me. I only ask that I am able to love You in my heart, that I am certain in my heart, and that my conscience is clear. I do not ask that others commend me, or hold me in high regard; I only pursue to satisfy You from my heart, I serve my role by doing all that I can, and although I am foolish and stupid, and of poor caliber, and blind, I know that You are lovely, and I am willing to devote all I have to You.” As soon as you pray in this way, your love for God emerges, and you feel much more certainty in your heart. This is what is meant by practicing the love of God.

from “Only by Experiencing Refinement Can Man Truly Love God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

319. How should man love God during refinement? By using the resolve to love God to accept His refinement: During refinement you are tormented inside, as if a knife were being twisted in your heart, yet you are willing to satisfy God using your heart, which loves Him, and you are unwilling to care for the flesh. This is what is meant by practicing the love of God. You hurt inside, and your suffering has reached a certain point, yet you are still willing to come before God and pray, saying: “O God! I cannot leave You. Although there is darkness within me, I wish to satisfy You; You know my heart, and I would that You invest more of Your love within me.” This is practice during refinement. If you use the love of God as the foundation, refinement can bring you closer to God and make you more intimate with God. Since you believe in God, you must hand over your heart before God. If you offer up and lay your heart before God, then during refinement it will be impossible for you to deny God, or leave God. In this way your relationship with God will become ever closer, and ever more normal, and your communion with God will become ever more frequent. If you always practice in this way, then you will spend more time in God’s light, and more time under the guidance of His words, there will also be more and more changes in your disposition, and your knowledge will increase day by day. When the day comes and God’s trials suddenly befall you, you will not only be able to stand by God’s side, but will also be able to bear testimony to God. At that time, you will be like Job, and Peter. Having borne testimony to God you will truly love Him, and will gladly lay down your life for Him; you will be God’s witness, and one who is beloved by God. Love that has experienced refinement is strong, and not weak. Regardless of when or how God subjects you to His trials, you are able to care not whether you live or die, to gladly cast aside everything for God, and to happily endure anything for God—and thus your love will be pure, and your faith real. Only then will you be someone who is truly loved by God, and who has truly been made perfect by God.

from “Only by Experiencing Refinement Can Man Truly Love God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

320. No matter how God works or what kind of environment you are in, you will be able to pursue life, pursue the development of God’s work in you, and pursue the truth. You will have an understanding of God’s actions and you will be able to act according to the truth. This is your genuine faith, and this shows that you have not lost hope in God. You will still seek the truth in refinement, you will be able to truly love God and will not develop doubts of Him. No matter what He does, you will still practice the truth to satisfy Him, and you will be able to deeply seek out His will and be considerate of His will. Only this is true faith in God. Before, when God said that you would reign as a king, you loved Him, and when He openly showed Himself to you, you pursued Him. But now God is hidden, you cannot see Him, and troubles have come upon you. At this time, do you lose hope in God? So at all times you must pursue life and seek to satisfy God’s will. This is called genuine faith, and it is the truest and most beautiful kind of love.

from “Those Who Are to Be Made Perfect Must Undergo Refinement” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

321. When you face sufferings you must be able to not consider the flesh and not complain against God. When God hides Himself from you, you must be able to have the faith to follow Him, to maintain your previous love without allowing it to falter or disappear. No matter what God does, you must submit to His design, and be more willing to curse your own flesh than to complain against Him. When you are faced with trials you must satisfy God in spite of any reluctance to part with something you love, or bitter weeping. Only this can be called true love and faith.

from “Those Who Are to Be Made Perfect Must Undergo Refinement” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

322. If you wish to see and experience God’s love, then you must explore and seek in real life, and must be willing to put aside your own flesh. You must make this resolution. You must be someone with resolve, who is able to satisfy God in all things, without being lazy, or coveting the enjoyments of the flesh, not living for the flesh but living for God. There may be times when you do not satisfy God. That’s because you don’t understand God’s will; the next time, even though it will take more effort, you must satisfy Him, and must not satisfy the flesh. When you experience in this way, you will have come to know God. You will see that God created the heavens and earth and all things, that He has become flesh so that people can really and actually see Him, and really and actually engage with Him, that He is able to walk among man, that His Spirit can make people perfect in real life, allowing them to see His loveliness and experience His discipline, His chastening, and His blessings. If you always experience in this way, in real life you will be inseparable from God, and if one day your relationship with God ceases to be normal, you will be able to suffer reproach, and capable of feeling remorse. When you have a normal relationship with God, you will never wish to leave God, and if one day God says He will leave you, you will be afraid, and will say that you would rather die than be left by God. As soon as you have these emotions, you will feel that you are incapable of leaving God, and in this way you will have a foundation, and will truly enjoy God’s love.

from “Those Who Love God Will Forever Live Within His Light” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

323. You must experience such that God is your life, such that if God were taken away from you it would be like losing your life; God must be your life, and you must be incapable of leaving Him. In this way, you will have actually experienced God, and at this time, when you love God again, you will truly love God, and it will be a singular, pure love. One day when your experiences are such that your life has reached a certain point, you will pray to God, eat and drink the words of God, and will be unable to leave God inside, and even if you wanted to, you would not be able to forget Him. God will have become your life; you can forget the world, you can forget your wife and children, but you’ll have trouble forgetting God—that is impossible, this is your true life, and your true love for God. When people’s love of God has reached a certain point, nothing they love is equal to their love of God, He is their number one love, and in this way they are able to give up everything else, and are willing to accept all dealing and pruning from God. When you have achieved a love of God that surpasses all else, you will live in reality, and in God’s love.

from “Those Who Love God Will Forever Live Within His Light” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

324. Anything in Peter’s life that did not satisfy God’s desire made him feel uneasy. If it did not satisfy God’s desire, then he would feel remorseful, and would look for a suitable way by which he could strive to satisfy God’s heart. In even the smallest and most inconsequential aspects of his life, still he required himself to satisfy God’s desire. He was no less exacting when it came to his old disposition, ever rigorous in his requirements of himself to progress deeper into the truth. … Peter loved God to a certain point, which was required by God; only such people as this have testimony.

from “Success or Failure Depends on the Path That Man Walks” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

325. In his belief in God, Peter sought to satisfy God in everything, and sought to obey all that came from God. Without the slightest complaint, he was able to accept chastisement and judgment, as well as refinement, tribulation and lack in his life, none of which could alter his love of God. Is this not the ultimate love of God? Is this not the fulfillment of the duty of a creature of God? Whether in chastisement, judgment, or tribulation, you are always capable of achieving obedience unto death, and this is what should be achieved by a creature of God, this is the purity of the love of God. If man can achieve this much, then he is a qualified creature of God, and there is nothing which better satisfies the desire of the Creator.

from “Success or Failure Depends on the Path That Man Walks” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

326. Peter followed Jesus for a number of years and he saw many things in Jesus that people do not have. … Jesus’ every move acted as an exemplar for him in his life, and Jesus’ sermons were particularly engraved in his heart. He was very considerate of and dedicated to Jesus, and he never had complaints of Jesus. This is why he became Jesus’ faithful companion everywhere He went. Peter observed Jesus’ teachings, His gentle words, and what He ate, wore, His daily life, and His travels. He followed Jesus’ example in every way. He was not self-righteous, but he cast off all of his previous outdated things and followed Jesus’ example in word and deed. It was then that he felt that the heavens and earth and all things were within the hands of the Almighty, and for this reason he did not have his own choice, but he drew in everything that Jesus was to act as his exemplar. He could see from his life that Jesus was not self-righteous in what He did, nor did He brag about Himself, but instead, He moved people with love. In different situations Peter could see what Jesus was. That is why everything in Jesus became the object that Peter modeled himself after. In his experiences, he felt Jesus’ loveliness more and more. He said something like this: “I searched for the Almighty in the universe and I saw the wonders of the heavens and earth and all things, and I thus had a deep sense of the loveliness of the Almighty. But I never had genuine love in my heart, and I never saw the loveliness of the Almighty with my own eyes. Today, in the eyes of the Almighty, I have been looked upon with favor by Him and I have finally felt God’s loveliness, and finally discovered that for God, it is not just creating all things that would make mankind love Him. In my daily life I have found His infinite loveliness; how could it possibly be limited just to this situation today?”

from “On the Life of Peter” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

327. Now you should be able to clearly see the path that was taken by Peter. … You should experience Peter’s mood at the time: He was stricken with sorrow; he no longer asked for a future or any blessing. He did not seek the profit, happiness, fame, or fortune of the world, and only sought to live a most meaningful life, which was to repay God’s love and dedicate what he held most precious to God. Then he would be satisfied in his heart. He often prayed to Jesus with the words: “Lord Jesus Christ, I once loved You, but I did not truly love You. Though I said I had faith in You, I never loved You with a true heart. I only looked up to You, adored You, and missed You, but never loved You or truly had faith in You.” He always prayed to make his resolution, he was constantly encouraged by the words of Jesus[a] and converted them to motivation. Later, after a period of experience, Jesus tested him, provoking him to yearn for Him further. He said: “Lord Jesus Christ! How I miss You, and long to look upon You. I lack too much, and cannot make up for Your love. I beg You to soon take me away. When will You have need of me? When will You take me away? When will I once again look upon Your face? I do not wish to live any longer in this body, to continue becoming corrupted, and neither do I wish to rebel any further. I am ready to dedicate all I have to You as soon as I can, and I do not wish to sadden You any further.” This is how he prayed, but he did not know at the time what Jesus would perfect in him. During the agony of his test, Jesus appeared to him again and said: “Peter, I wish to make you perfect, such that you become a piece of fruit, one that is the crystallization of My perfection of you, and which I will enjoy. Can you truly testify for Me? Have you done what I ask you to do? Have you lived out the words I have spoken? You once loved Me, but though you loved Me, have you lived Me out? What have you done for Me? You recognize that you are unworthy of My love, but what have you done for Me?” Peter saw that he had done nothing for Jesus and remembered his previous oath to give his life for God. And so, he no longer complained, and his prayers afterward grew much better. He prayed, saying: “Lord Jesus Christ! I once left You, and You too once left me. We have spent time apart, and time together in company. Yet You love me more than all else. I have repeatedly rebelled against You and repeatedly grieved You. How can I forget such things? The work You have done in me and what You have entrusted me with I always bear in mind, I never forget. With the work You have done in me I have tried my best. You know what I can do, and You further know what role I can play. Your wish is my command and I will dedicate everything I have to You. Only You know what I can do for You. Although Satan fooled me so much and I rebelled against You, I believe You do not remember me for those transgressions, that You do not treat me based on them. I wish to dedicate my entire life to You. I ask for nothing, and neither do I have other hopes or plans; I only wish to act according to Your intention and to do Your will. I will drink from Your bitter cup, and I am Yours to command.”

from “How Peter Came to Know Jesus” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

328. When he was about to be nailed to the cross, in his heart he prayed, “O God! Your time has now arrived, the time You prepared for me has arrived. I must be crucified for You, I must bear this testimony to You, and I hope that my love can satisfy Your requirements, and that it can become purer. Today, to be able to die for You, and be nailed to the cross for You, is comforting and reassuring to me, for nothing is more gratifying to me than to be able to be crucified for You and satisfy Your wishes, and to be able to give myself to You, to offer up my life to You. O God! You are so lovely! Were You to allow me to live, I would be even more willing to love You. As long as I am alive, I will love You. I wish to love You more deeply. You judge me, and chastise me, and try me because I am not righteous, because I have sinned. And Your righteous disposition becomes more apparent to me. This is a blessing to me, for I am able to love You more deeply, and I am willing to love You in this way even if You do not love me. I am willing to behold Your righteous disposition, for this makes me more able to live out a life of meaning. I feel that my life now is more meaningful, for I am crucified for Your sake, and it is meaningful to die for You. Yet still I do not feel satisfied, for I know too little of You, I know that I cannot completely fulfill Your wishes, and have repaid You too little. In my life, I have been incapable of returning my entirety to You; I am far from that. As I look back at this moment, I feel so indebted to You, and I have but this moment to make up for all of my mistakes and all the love that I have not repaid You.”

from “The Experiences of Peter: His Knowledge of Chastisement and Judgment” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

329. During his lifetime, Peter experienced refinement hundreds of times and underwent many painful ordeals. This refinement became the foundation of his supreme love of God, and became the most significant experience of his entire life. That he was able to possess a supreme love of God was, in one sense, because of his resolve to love God; more importantly, however, it was because of the refinement and suffering that he underwent. This suffering became his guide on the path of loving God, and became the thing that was most memorable to him. If people do not undergo the pain of refinement when loving God, then their love is full of naturalness and their preferences; love such as this is full of the ideas of Satan, and simply incapable of satisfying God’s will. … The effect of the truth of the love of God is not achieved through spoken knowledge or mental willingness, nor can it be achieved simply by being understood. It requires that people pay a price, and that they undergo much bitterness during refinement, and only then will their love become pure, and after God’s own heart.

from “Only by Experiencing Refinement Can Man Truly Love God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

330. Only those who love God are able to testify to God, only they are God’s witnesses, only they are blessed by God, and only they are able to receive God’s promises. Those who love God are God’s intimates, they are the people beloved by God, and they can enjoy blessings together with God. Only people such as this will live to eternity, and only they will forever live under God’s care and protection. God is for people to love, and He is worthy of all people’s love, but not all people are capable of loving God, and not all people can testify to God and hold power with God. Because they are able to testify to God, and devote all their efforts to God’s work, those who truly love God can walk anywhere beneath the heavens without anyone daring to oppose them, and they can wield power on earth and rule all the people of God. These people have come together from across the world, they speak different languages and have different skin colors, but their existence has the same meaning, they all have a heart that loves God, they all bear the same testimony, and have the same resolve, and the same wish. Those who love God can walk freely throughout the world, those who testify to God can travel across the universe. These people are beloved by God, they are blessed by God, and they will forever live in His light.

from “Those Who Love God Will Forever Live Within His Light” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Footnotes:

a. The original text reads “by these words.”

from Classic Words From Almighty God, Christ of the Last Days

Read more: The Books from The Church of Almighty God: Help you to know Almighty God.