I

If you believe in God, then you must submit to God,

put the truth into practice, and fulfill all of your duties.

Additionally, you must understand,

you must understand the things you should experience.

If you only experience being pruned, being disciplined, and being judged,

if you are only able to, only able to enjoy God,

but remain unable to feel when God is disciplining you or pruning you—

this is unacceptable.

Perhaps in this instance of refinement,

you are able to stand your ground, but this is still not enough;

you must still keep marching forward, keep marching forward.

The lesson of loving God never stops, never stops and has no end.

II

When God works to refine man, man suffers.

The greater a person’s refinement,

the more of a God-loving heart they’ll possess,

and the more of God’s might will be revealed in them,

the more of God’s might will be revealed in them.

Conversely, the less refinement a person receives,

the less of a God-loving heart they will possess,

and the less God’s might will be revealed in them,

the less God’s might will be revealed in them.

The greater such a person’s refinement and pain

and the more torment they experience, the deeper their love of God will grow,

the more genuine their faith in God will become,

and the more profound their knowledge of God will be.

III

In your experiences, you will see

that those people who suffer greatly as they are refined,

who are pruned and disciplined a lot,

have a deep love for God and a more profound and penetrating knowledge of God,

and that those who have not experienced being pruned

have but a superficial knowledge.

If people have experienced being pruned and disciplined,

then they are able to speak about the true knowledge of God.

So the more wondrous God’s work in man is,

the more valuable and significant it is.

The more impenetrable it is to you

and the more incompatible it is with your notions,

the more God’s work is able to conquer you,

gain you, and make you perfect.

from The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Those Who Are to Be Made Perfect Must Undergo Refinement