I

Upon knowing that God loves humankind, they define Him as a symbol of love: They believe that no matter what people do, no matter how they behave, no matter how they treat God, and no matter how rebellious they might be, none of this really matters, for God has love, and His love is unlimited and immeasurable. Is this really the way it is? You are all muddleheaded in your beliefs; you are all believing blindly, to the point that you have an irreverent attitude toward God and even brush Him aside. Your having this kind of attitude toward God leads to your always making conclusions about God. Once you have acquired a little bit of knowledge, you then feel as though you have obtained God in His entirety. Afterward, you conclude that this is how God is, and you do not let Him move freely. Furthermore, whenever God does something new, you simply refuse to admit that He is God.

II

You use the words of God, the work of God, and more doctrines to draw conclusions about Him. Moreover, you never even attempt to understand God; you never try to figure out His intentions, understand His attitude toward humans, or comprehend how God thinks, why He is sad, why He is angry, why He spurns people, and other such questions. Moreover, even more people believe that God has always been silent because He’s simply watching humanity’s various actions, with no attitude or ideas about them. Although God is silent, He still has an attitude and a viewpoint, as well as a standard He demands people to live up to. Though people don’t try to understand Him or seek Him, the attitude of God is very clear.

III

God reminds you to be careful and prudent in your approach to everything around you, and learn how to practice according to the principle of “following God’s way—fearing God and shunning evil” in all things. You must develop an accurate understanding with regard to the matters of God’s intentions and God’s attitude, and you must seek in earnest. Do not view the God of your belief as a puppet—judging Him at will, arriving at arbitrary conclusions about Him, and approaching Him with an irreverent attitude. While God is bringing you salvation and determining your outcome, He may grant you mercy, or tolerance, or judgment and chastisement, but in any case, His attitude toward you is not fixed. It depends on your own attitude toward Him, as well as your understanding of Him.

from The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. How to Know God’s Disposition and the Results His Work Shall Achieve