I

What do you see in God's promise to Abraham? God bestowed such great blessings upon Abraham simply because he obeyed God's words. In this, we see God's heart: God especially treasures man's submission to Him, and cherishes man's understanding of Him and sincerity toward Him. At a time when no one comprehended God's words or understood His heart, Abraham did something that "shook the heavens and made the earth tremble," and it made God feel an unprecedented sense of satisfaction, and brought God the joy of gaining someone who was able to submit to His words. This satisfaction and joy came from a created being made by God's own hand. It was the first, and in God's eyes, the most precious "sacrifice" that man had offered to Him, ever since man was created.

II

God had had a hard time waiting for this sacrifice, and He treated it as the first most important gift from man, whom He had created. It showed God the first fruit of the heart's blood He had expended, and it allowed Him to see the hope in mankind. Afterward, God had an even greater yearning for a group of such people to keep Him company, to treat Him with sincerity, and to show consideration for Him with sincerity. God even hoped that Abraham would live on, for He wished to have a heart such as Abraham's to accompany Him and be with Him as He continued in His management. Even though God accepted his sincerity and submission, Abraham was still unworthy of becoming God's confidant, of becoming someone who knew and understood God and had knowledge of God's disposition; he was far from being of one mind with God and following God's will.

III

So, in His heart, God was still lonely and anxious. The more lonely and anxious God became, the more He needed to continue with His management as soon as possible, and be able to select and gain a group of people as soon as possible to accomplish His management plan and fulfill His will. This was God's eager intention, which has remained unchanged from the very beginning until today. Ever since He created man in the beginning, God has eagerly yearned for a group of overcomers, a group of people that are able to understand, know and comprehend His disposition, to walk with Him. This intention of God has never changed. Regardless of how long He still has to wait, regardless of how hard the road ahead may be, and no matter how far off the objectives He yearns for may be, God has never altered or given up on His expectations for man.

from The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God's Work, God's Disposition, and God Himself II