I

“Fearing God and shunning evil” and knowing God are indivisibly connected by a myriad threads, and the connection between them is self-evident. If you wish to attain to shunning evil, you must first have real fear of God; if you wish to attain to real fear of God, you must first have real knowledge of God; if you wish to attain to knowledge of God, you must first experience God’s words, enter into the reality of God’s words, experience God’s chastening and discipline, His chastisement and judgment.

II

If you wish to experience God’s words, you must first come face to face with God’s words, come face to face with God, and ask God to set up people, events, and things, as well as all sorts of environments, so that you can have opportunities to experience His words; if you wish to come face to face with God and with God’s words, you must first possess a simple and honest heart, an attitude of accepting the truth, the resolve to endure suffering, the determination and the courage to shun evil, and the aspiration to become a genuine created being….

III

In this way, going forward step by step, you’ll draw ever closer to God, your heart will grow ever more pure, and your life and the value of being alive will grow ever more meaningful and wax ever more radiant as you come to know God.

from The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. Preface