I

The Son of man continues to speak and guide us.

Unbeknownst to us, this insignificant man

has led us into one step after another of God's work.

We undergo countless trials, bear innumerable chastenings,

and are tested by death.

We learn of God's righteous and majestic disposition,

and also enjoy His love and mercy;

we come to appreciate God's great power and wisdom,

witness the loveliness of God,

and behold God's eager desire to save man.

In the words of this ordinary person,

we come to know God's disposition and essence,

to understand God's will, to know man's nature essence,

and see the way to salvation and perfection.

II

His words cause us to "die," they cause us to be "reborn";

His words bring us comfort,

yet also leave us wracked with guilt and a sense of indebtedness;

His words bring us joy and peace, but also infinite pain.

Sometimes we're as lambs to the slaughter in His hands;

sometimes we're like the apple of His eye, enjoy His tender love;

sometimes we are like His enemy,

and under His gaze are turned to ashes by His wrath.

We are the human race saved by Him,

we are the maggots in His eyes,

and we are the lost lambs that, day and night,

He is bent on finding, He is bent on finding.

III

He is merciful toward us, He despises us,

He raises us up, He comforts and exhorts us,

He guides us, He enlightens us,

He chastens and disciplines us, and even curses us.

Night and day, He never ceases to worry about us,

and protects and cares for us, night and day,

never leaving our side,

but spills His heart's blood for our sake

and pays any price for us.

Within the utterances of this small and ordinary body of flesh,

we have enjoyed the entirety of God

and beheld the destination God has bestowed upon us.

from The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Appendix 4: Beholding the Appearance of God in His Judgment and Chastisement