Since you are one of the people of My household, and since you are faithful in My kingdom, all that you do must meet the standards that I require. I do not ask that you be nothing more than a drifting cloud, but that you be gleaming snow, and possessed of its substance and even more its value. Because I came from the holy land, not like the lotus, which has only a name and no substance because it came from the mire and not the holy land. The time that a new heaven descends upon the earth and a new earth spreads over the skies is also the very time that I formally work among man. Who among man knows Me? Who beheld the moment of My arrival? Who has seen that I not only have a name, but, moreover, am also possessed of substance? I sweep away the white clouds with My hand and closely observe the skies; in space, nothing is not arranged by My hand, and beneath space, no man does not contribute his own tiny effort to the accomplishment of My mighty enterprise. I do not make onerous demands of the people on earth, for I have always been the practical God, and because I am the Almighty that created man and knows man well. All people are before the eyes of the Almighty. How could even those in the remotest corners of the earth avoid the scrutiny of My Spirit? Although man “knows” My Spirit, he also offends My Spirit. My words lay bare the ugly face of all people, and lay bare the innermost thoughts of all people, and cause all upon earth to be made plain by My light and fall down in the midst of My scrutiny. But though man falls down, his heart does not dare to stray far from Me. Among the creatures of God, who does not come to love Me because of My deeds? Who does not yearn for Me as a result of My words? In whom are not born feelings of devotion because of My love? It is only because of the corruption of Satan that man is unable to reach the realm as required by Me. Even the lowest standards that I require produce misgivings in him, to say nothing of today, the era in which Satan runs riot and is madly despotic, or the time when man has been so trampled by Satan that his entire body is caked in filth. When has man’s failure to care for My heart as a result of his depravity not caused Me grief? Could it be that I pity Satan? Could it be that I am mistaken in My love? When man disobeys Me, My heart secretly weeps; when man opposes Me, I chastise him; when man is saved by Me and resurrected from the dead, I feed him with the utmost care; when man obeys Me, My heart rests easy and I immediately sense great changes in all things in heaven and on earth; when man praises Me, how could I not enjoy it? When man witnesses Me and is gained by Me, how could I not be glorified? Could it be that all man does is not governed and supplied by Me? When I do not provide direction, people are idle and quiescent, and, behind My back, they engage in those dirty dealings that bring “pleasure.” Do you think the flesh, with which I clothe Myself, knows nothing of your actions, your behavior, and your words? Many years have I endured the wind and the rain, and so too have I experienced the bitterness of the human world, yet upon closer reflection, no amount of suffering can make man of flesh lose hope in Me, much less can any sweetness cause man of flesh to become cold, downhearted, or dismissive toward Me. Is man’s love for Me really limited to that area between pain and sweetness?

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. God’s Words to the Entire Universe, Chapter 9