Su Shun
Journeys through cities and villages open up a world of people-watching opportunities; Travel around mountains and waters gives full view of beautiful scenery. In the vast world, spring goes and comes, and a generation that goes is replaced by the one that comes. Some people seek glory and riches, fame and position, while some others pursue ordinariness and ease, living life peacefully. However, whether rich or poor, everybody has a thirst for the exploration of fate. Exactly what kind of life is valuable and meaningful? It seems a puzzle in our hearts that can never be solved.
In Search of a Real Life
When I came into this colorful world, Heaven bestowed upon me a home as shelter. With my family’s company and my friends’ care, I studied and worked, growing up unconsciously. How time flew! Then, a fortuitous opportunity arose for me to meet the other half of my life. We got married before long, and then had our lovely children, starting our own family. I thought that owning all of these things was happiness. However, when I strolled along country roads, when I saw that the sun rose and set and that grass and trees came and went, and when I experienced the alternation of the four seasons, I would often lament in my heart that life was too short. I quieted my heart and considered: Life is but a span, and in the blink of an eye it will be over. Even if one owns millions in property and supreme influence, he can never avoid death, the final juncture of his life. So, what is the real human life?
Halfway Station
With the doubt, I was led by Heaven to the side of the Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord made me immediately feel peaceful and released in my heart. I learned that mankind came from God’s creation and that the life of all things is supplied by God. I, who had drifted in the world for a long time, finally went back home. My heart depended on and rejoiced in the Savior Jesus. After that, I went to the church actively and heard the pastors preach the stories of the work of the Lord Jesus on the earth. I gave thought to the love of the Lord inside, longing for Him to come soon to take me to the glorious hometown. …
However, with the passage of time, I saw increasing lawlessness in the church. That the pastors loved status and money was already an open secret. During the sermons they cried out “Glorify God and help people,” yet in real life, what they did was not the same. They flattered the rich who donated, while despising and ignoring the poor. They often expounded on the following verses in the high pulpit, “My brothers, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if there come to your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; And you have respect to him that wears the gay clothing, and say to him, Sit you here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand you there, or sit here under my footstool: Are you not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?” (James 2:1-4). They also told the believers countless times, “We must engrave the Lord’s words in our hearts, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like to it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matthew 22:37-39). But the sharp contrast in what they said and did made me feel surprised: Is this the likeness of one who truly serves the Lord? Why do they go against the Lord’s teaching while speaking of His word? From their behaviors, I found they were precisely the experts who adorned themselves with biblical theology. How could such behaviors of theirs not be detested by God? With no new light in their preaching, I lost the former joy and peace in my heart, and I could only pour out my heart to the Lord, “O Lord! Why has the previously prosperous church become so desolate today? May You recover our faith and strength earlier!” Later, I heard more and more frequently that many good sheep from all denominations and sects turned to the Eastern Lightning because of its profound preaching, yet the religious leaders repeatedly warned us against it. I fell into puzzlement and confusion, and prayed to the Lord: “O Lord! Why have those good sheep left their churches? Could it be that they have received new nourishment and feeding in other places? O Lord! Where are You now?”
Happy Ending
The winter snow had already melted, and all kinds of flowers and trees were vying with each other in putting out new shoots. I yearned for the Lord’s coming again and expected Him to bestow the manna of life upon me, so that I could be supplied and shepherded in my spirit.
The Lord Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6). “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). The Lord is faithful. As long as we sincerely seek and long for the truth, He will listen to our prayers. Just as He heard my prayers. When I felt most helpless and disappointed, God sent the brothers and sisters of the Church of Almighty God to preach the kingdom gospel to me. After reading Almighty God’s words and hearing their testimonies, I was certain that Almighty God is actually the returned Lord Jesus. At that moment, I was so excited that tears welled up in my eyes, and my thirsty heart was finally nourished by the living water of life. Even now, I still remember the words of Almighty God I read at that time, which carry authority, “God is always doing His work, and is always leading the whole of mankind forward. When Jesus came into the world of man, He brought the Age of Grace and ended the Age of Law. During the last days, God once more became flesh, and when He became flesh this time, He ended the Age of Grace and brought the Age of Kingdom. All those who accept the second incarnation of God will be led into the Age of Kingdom, and be able to personally accept the guidance of God. … All those who submit under His dominion shall enjoy higher truth and receive greater blessings. They shall truly live in the light, and shall gain the truth, the way, and the life” (Preface to The Word Appears in the Flesh).
“God will accomplish this fact: He will make all people throughout the universe come before Him, and worship the God on earth, and His work in other places will cease, and people will be forced to seek the true way. It will be like Joseph: Everyone came to him for food, and bowed down to him, for he had things to eat. In order to avoid famine people will be forced to seek the true way. The entire religious community is starving, and only the God of today is the wellspring of living water, possessed of the ever-flowing wellspring provided for the enjoyment of man, and people will come and depend on Him” (“The Millennial Kingdom Has Arrived” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). I also remember what a sister communicated with me, “Since God opens up an age, He will end the age Himself; since He saves mankind, He will save man from the dark influence of Satan thoroughly. The work of the Holy Spirit has moved from the Age of Law to the Age of Grace, and then to the Age of Kingdom. Now is a new age. God has long been incarnated again on earth. Only those who have followed the Lamb’s footsteps can gain the watering of the living water of life, while those who still live in the old age have already fallen into darkness, without the light of God. Throughout the universe, all those who truly yearn for the Lord’s coming will return to the family of God, which exactly fulfills the words in the Bible, ‘It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to him that is thirsty of the fountain of the water of life freely’” (Revelation 21:6).
Now I am no longer at a loss, because Almighty God’s words have brightened and filled my heart. I have followed the Lamb’s footsteps, enjoyed the work of the Holy Spirit again, and received the supply and nourishment of truth and life in my spirit. Furthermore, I have finally understood that the existence of both mankind and all things is under the one true God’s sovereignty and care. Only when we obey and worship God, and become a man who fears God and shuns evil in accordance with God’s word, can we live out the most valuable and meaningful life.
Source From: find the shepherd
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