God Himself, the Unique IX God Is the Source of Life for All Things (III)
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| God Himself, the Unique IX God Is the Source of Life for All Things (III) |
Over this period of time, we’ve spoken about many things related to knowing God and recently we talked about something very important on this topic: God Is the Source of Life for All Things. Last time we talked about a few aspects of the environment for survival that God created for mankind, as well as God preparing all sorts of sustenance necessary for people in their lives.
In fact, what God does is not only to prepare an environment for people’s survival nor is it only to prepare their daily sustenance, but it is to complete various aspects of a great deal of mysterious and necessary work for people’s survival and for mankind’s lives.These are all God’s actions. These actions by God are not only limited to His preparation of an environment for people’s survival and their daily sustenance—they have a much broader scope than that. Aside from these two types of work, He also prepares many environments and conditions for survival that are necessary for man’s lives. This is another topic that we are going to discuss today, which is also related to God’s actions. Otherwise, talking about it here would be meaningless. If people want to know God but they only have a literal and doctrinal understanding of “God,” of that word, or of all aspects of what God has and is, that is not a true understanding. So what is the path for knowledge of God? It is knowing Him, knowing every aspect of Him through His actions. So, we must next have fellowship on God’s actions when He created all things.
Ever since God created them, based on the laws that He determined, all things have been operating and have been continuing to develop regularly. Under His gaze, under His rule, all things have been developing regularly alongside the survival of humans. Not a single thing is able to change these laws, and not a single thing can destroy these laws. It is because of God’s rule that all beings can multiply, and because of His rule and management that all beings can survive. This is to say that under God’s rule, all beings come into existence, thrive, disappear, and reincarnate in an orderly fashion. When spring arrives, drizzling rain brings that feeling of spring and moistens the earth. The ground begins to thaw, grass germinates and pushes its way up through the soil and the trees gradually turn green. All these living things bring fresh vitality to the earth. This is the sight of all beings coming into existence and thriving. All sorts of animals also come out of their burrows to feel the warmth of spring and start a new year. All beings bask in the heat during the summer and enjoy the warmth brought by the season. They grow rapidly; trees, grass, and all types of plants are growing very quickly, then they bloom and bear fruit. All beings are very busy during the summer, including humans. In the fall, rains bring autumn’s coolness, and all types of living beings start to experience the harvest season. All beings bear fruit, and humans also begin to harvest all kinds of things because of the fall production of these beings, in order to prepare food for the winter. In the winter all beings gradually begin to rest in the coldness, to become quiet, and people also take a break during this season. These transitions from spring to summer to fall and to winter—these changes all occur according to the laws established by God. He leads all beings and humans using these laws and has established for mankind a rich and colorful way of life, preparing an environment for survival that has different temperatures and different seasons. Under these orderly environments for survival, humans can also survive and multiply in an orderly way. Humans cannot change these laws and not a single person or being can break them. No matter what radical changes occur in the world, these laws continue to exist and they exist because God does. It is because of God’s rule and His management. With this type of orderly, larger environment, people’s lives go forward within these laws and rules. These laws cultivated generation after generation of people and generation after generation of people have survived within these laws. People have enjoyed the beings and this orderly environment for survival created by God for generation after generation of humans. Even though people feel that these types of laws are innate, even though they are entirely dismissive of them, and even though they cannot feel that God is orchestrating these laws, that God is ruling over these laws, no matter what, God is always engaged in this unchanging work. His purpose in this unchanging work is for the survival of mankind, and so that humans may continue on.
1. God Sets Boundaries for All Things to Nurture All of Mankind
Today I’m going to talk about the topic of how these kinds of laws that God brings to mankind and all beings nurture mankind. So what is this topic? It is how these types of laws that God has brought to all beings nurture man. This is a huge topic, so we can divide it into several parts and discuss them one at a time so that they can be clearly delineated for you. This way it’ll be easier for you to grasp and you can gradually understand it.
First, when God created all things, He drew boundaries for mountains, plains, deserts, hills, rivers, and lakes. On the earth there are mountains, plains, deserts, hills, as well as various bodies of water—what are all of these? Aren’t they different terrains? God drew boundaries between all these different terrains. When we speak of drawing boundaries, what does that mean? It means that mountains have their delineations, plains have their own delineations, deserts have a certain scope, and hills have a fixed area. There is also a fixed quantity of bodies of water such as rivers and lakes. That is, when God created all things He divided everything very clearly. God has already determined how many kilometers the radius of a mountain is, what its scope is. He has also determined how many kilometers the radius of a plain is and what its scope is. When creating all beings He also determined the scope of the desert as well as the scope of the hills and their proportions, and what they are bordered by—He also determined all of this. He determined the scope of rivers and lakes when He was creating them—they all have their boundaries. So what does it mean when we say “boundaries”? We just talked about how God’s rule over all beings is establishing laws for all beings. For example, the scope and boundaries of mountains will not expand or decrease because of the rotation of the earth or the passing of time. This is fixed: This “fixed” is God’s rule. As for the areas of the plains, what their scope is, what they are bounded by, this has been fixed by God. They have a boundary, and a bump won’t just arbitrarily come up in the middle of a plain. The plain won’t suddenly turn into a mountain—this won’t happen. The laws and boundaries we just talked about refer to this. As for the desert, we won’t mention the roles of the desert or any other terrain or geographical location here, only its boundaries. Under God’s rule the scope of the desert won’t expand either. This is because God has given it its law, its scope. How large its area is and what its role is, what it is bounded by, and where it’s located—this has already been set by God. It won’t exceed its scope, shift its position, and it won’t just arbitrarily expand its area. Although the flows of waters such as rivers and lakes are all orderly and continuous, they have never gone outside of their scope or gone beyond their boundaries. They all flow in one direction in an orderly way, flowing in the direction they are supposed to. So under the laws of God’s rule, no river or lake will arbitrarily dry up, or arbitrarily change the direction or quantity of its flow due to the rotation of the earth or the passing of time. This is all within God’s grasp, within His rule. That is to say, all beings created by God in this mankind’s midst have their fixed places, areas, and scopes. That is, when God created all beings, their boundaries were established and these cannot be arbitrarily altered, renewed, or changed. What does “arbitrarily” refer to? It means that they will not randomly shift, expand, or change their original form due to the weather, temperature, or the rotational speed of the earth. For example, a mountain is of a certain height, its base is of a certain area, it has a certain altitude, and it has a certain amount of vegetation. This is all planned and calculated by God and its height or area won’t just be arbitrarily changed. As for plains, the majority of humans reside in the plains, and no shifts in the climate will impact their areas or the value of their existence. Not even what is contained in these various terrains and geographical environments that were created by God will be arbitrarily changed. For example, what the components of the desert are, what mineral deposits are underground, how much sand it contains and the color of the sand, its thickness—these will not arbitrarily change. Why is it that they will not arbitrarily change? It is because of God’s rule and His management. Within all of these different terrains and geographical environments created by God, He is managing everything in a planned and orderly way. So all of these geographical environments still exist several thousand years, tens of thousands of years after they were created by God. They are still playing each of their roles. Although during certain periods volcanoes erupt, during certain periods earthquakes occur, and there are major shifts of the land, God absolutely will not allow any type of terrain to lose its original function. It is only because of this management by God, His rule over and grasp of these laws, that all of this—all of this enjoyed by mankind and seen by mankind—can survive on the earth in an orderly way. So why does God manage all these various terrains that exist on the earth in this way? The purpose is so that the living things that survive in various geographical environments will all have a stable environment, and so that they are able to continue to live and multiply in that stable environment. All of these beings—ones that are mobile and those that are immobile, those that breathe through their nostrils and those that don’t—make up a unique environment for the survival of mankind. Only this kind of environment is able to nurture generation after generation of humans, and only this kind of environment can allow humans to continue to peacefully survive, generation after generation.
What have you seen from what I’ve just talked about? It is that God’s laws in His dominion over all things are very important—very important! What is the precondition for all beings growing within these laws? It is because of God’s rule. It is because of His rule that all beings carry out their own functions within His rule. For example, the mountains nurture the forests, the forests then in turn nurture and protect the various birds and beasts that live within them. The plains are a stage prepared for humans to plant crops as well as for various birds and beasts. They allow the majority of mankind to live on flat land and provide convenience in people’s lives. And the plains also include the grasslands—huge swaths of grassland. The grasslands are the earth’s vegetation. They protect the soil and nurture the cattle, sheep and horses that live on the grasslands. The desert also carries out its own function. It’s not a place for humans to live; its role is to make humid climates drier. The flows of the rivers and lakes are convenient for people’s drinking water and for the water needs of all beings. Wherever they flow, people will have water to drink. These are the boundaries drawn by God for the various terrains. Because of these boundaries that God has drawn, various terrains have produced different environments for survival, and these environments for survival have been convenient for various kinds of birds and beasts as well as brought a space for survival. From this the boundaries for the environments for survival of the various living beings have been developed. This is just what we’re going to talk about next.
Second, what kind of environment do the birds and the beasts and the insects live within? Aside from establishing boundaries for the various geographical environments, God also drew boundaries for the various birds and beasts, fish, insects, and all the plants. He also established laws. Because of the differences between various geographical environments and because of the existence of different geographical environments, different types of birds and beasts, fish, insects, and plants have different environments for survival. The birds and the beasts and the insects live amongst the various plants, the fish live in the water, and the plants grow in the land. What does the land include? Various areas such as the mountains, plains, and hills. So, the birds and the beasts have their own fixed homelands and won’t wander all over the place. Their homelands are the forests and the mountains. If, one day, their homelands were destroyed, this order would be thrown into chaos. As soon as that order is thrown into chaos, what are the consequences? Who are the first to be hurt? (Mankind.) It is mankind! Within these laws and limits that God has established, have you seen any peculiar phenomena? For example, elephants just casually wandering around in the desert. Have you seen that? If that were the case, it would be a very strange phenomenon. This is because the environment that elephants live in is the forest, and the forest is the environment for living, for survival that God prepared for them. It has its own environment for survival and its own fixed home, so why would it go running around? Has anyone seen lions or tigers wandering around by the ocean? The homeland of the lions and tigers is the forest and the mountains. Has anyone seen whales or sharks from the ocean just hanging out in the desert? Whales and sharks make their homes in the ocean and they have no way to live on land. In humans’ living environment, are there people who live alongside brown bears? Are there people who are always surrounded by peacocks or other birds, inside and outside of their homes? Has anyone seen cattle and sheep inside of forests? Has anyone seen eagles or wild geese playing with monkeys? If so, these would all be peculiar phenomena. This is the reason I speak of these things that are peculiar phenomena in your eyes. It’s to have you understand that all beings created by God—no matter if they are fixed in one place or have breath and can walk—they all have their laws for survival. Long before God created these living beings He had prepared for them their own homelands, their own environments for survival. These living beings had their own fixed environments for survival, their own food, their own fixed homelands, their own fixed places suitable for their survival, places with temperatures suitable for their survival. That way they wouldn’t wander around or undermine mankind’s survival or impact their lives. This is how God manages all beings. It is to provide for mankind the best environment for survival. The living beings within all beings each have life-sustaining food within their own environments for survival. With that food, they are fixed within their native environment for survival; they are fixed in that environment. In that kind of environment, they are still surviving, multiplying, and continuing on according to the laws God has established for them. Because of these types of laws, because of God’s predestination, all beings interact harmoniously with mankind, and mankind and all beings are interdependent.
God created all beings and established boundaries for them, and among them nurtured all kinds of living things. As all beings were nurturing all kinds of living things, He also prepared different survival methods for humans, so you can see that human beings don’t just have one way to survive. They also don’t have just one type of environment for survival. We talked before about God preparing various types of food and water sources for humans, which is something that is critical for allowing mankind’s life in the flesh to continue. However, among this mankind, not all people subsist on grains. People have different survival methods due to differences in geographical environments and terrains. These survival methods have all been prepared by God. So not all humans are primarily engaged in farming. That is, not all people get their food from growing crops. This is the third point that we’re going to talk about: Boundaries have been developed from mankind’s various lifestyles. So what other types of lifestyles do humans have? What other different types of food sources do humans have? There are several primary types:
The first is a hunting lifestyle. Everyone knows of it. Do any of you hunt for your living? You are all modern people—you don’t know how to hunt, how to carry a gun. Your food sources are produced from the earth. What do people who live by hunting eat? (Game.) They eat the birds and the beasts of the forest. “Game” is a modern word. Hunters don’t think of it as game; they think of it as food, as their daily sustenance. For example, they would be happy if they got a deer. “Great, this deer is enough food for the family for several days.” When they get this deer it’s just like a farmer getting crops from the soil. A farmer gets crops from the soil, and when he sees his crops he’s happy and feels at ease. “For now there’s something to eat; we don’t need to fear going hungry.” The family won’t be hungry with crops to eat. His heart is at ease and he feels satisfied. And a hunter also feels at ease and satisfied when looking at what he’s caught because he doesn’t have to worry about food anymore. There’s something to eat for the next meal, there’s no need to go hungry. This is someone who hunts for a living. What kind of environments do people who subsist on hunting usually live in? They live in the mountain forests. The majority of them do not farm or plant crops; they live in the mountain forests. Is there arable land in the mountain forests? It’s not easy to find arable land, so they survive on various living things, various types of prey. This is the first lifestyle that’s different from regular people.
The second type is a herding lifestyle. Those who herd for a living don’t farm, so what do they do? Just herd? If anyone here is ethnically Mongolian, you can talk a bit about your nomadic lifestyle. (For the most part, we herd cattle and sheep for a living, no farming, and in the winter we slaughter and eat our livestock. Our main food is made up of beef and mutton, we drink milk tea, eat parched rice, and very few vegetables. Now all types of transportation are convenient and we have all sorts of vegetables and grains. Mongolians drink milk tea, and Tibetans drink butter tea. Although herders are busy all four seasons, they eat well. They do not lack milk, dairy products, or meat. They used to live in yurts but now they all build houses.) Mongolians primarily eat beef and mutton, drink milk, and ride horses to herd their animals. This is the herder lifestyle. The herder lifestyle isn’t bad—they ride bulls and horses in the field with the wind in their hair, the sun on their faces, and they don’t have the stress of modern lives. All day they just see the broad expanses of blue skies and grassy plains. People who tend herds for a living all live on grasslands and they are able to continue their nomadic lifestyles for generation after generation. Although life on the grasslands is a little lonely, it’s also a very happy life. It’s not a bad lifestyle!
The third type is a fishing lifestyle. There is a small portion of humans that live by the ocean or on small islands. They are surrounded by water, facing the ocean. This type of people fish for a living. What do these people who fish for a living rely on for food? What is the source of their food? It’s all types of fish and seafood. When Hong Kong was just a little fishing village, the people who lived there would fish for a living. They didn’t farm—they went fishing every day. Their primary food was various types of fish, meat, and seafood. They would also occasionally trade some fish for rice, flour, and daily necessities. People who subsist on fishing all live by the ocean, and some live on boats. This is a different lifestyle of people who live by the water. Those who live by the water rely on fishing; it is the source of their livelihood as well as their source of food.
Aside from those who farm for a living, there are primarily the three different lifestyles mentioned above. Aside from those who subsist on herding, fishing, and hunting, the majority of people farm for a living. And what do people who farm for a living need? They need soil. Those who rely on farming for their livelihood primarily grow crops for generations. They get their food from the earth. Whether they plant vegetables, fruits or grains, they all get their daily necessities from the earth.
What are the basic conditions for these different human lifestyles? Don’t they require basic maintenance of their environments for survival? That is to say, if hunters were to lose the mountain forests or the birds and the beasts, they would no longer have their livelihood. So if people who subsist on hunting lost the mountain forests and no longer had the birds and the beasts, they would no longer have a source for their livelihood. In which direction would that kind of ethnicity head; where would that kind of people go? The ability to survive or not is an unknown quantity and they could just disappear. And those who herd for their livelihood—they rely on the grasslands. What they truly depend on is not their livestock, but it is the environment in which their livestock survive—the grasslands. If there were no grasslands, where would they graze their livestock? What would the cattle and sheep eat? Without the livestock, what livelihood would the nomadic peoples have? They wouldn’t have one. Without a source for their livelihood, where would a people go? Ongoing survival would become very difficult; they wouldn’t have a future. With no water sources, rivers and lakes would dry up. Would all those fish that rely on water for their lives still exist? Those fish would not exist. Would those people who rely on the water and the fish for their livelihood continue to survive? If they didn’t have food, if they didn’t have the source of their livelihoods, those peoples would not be able to continue to survive. As soon as there is a problem with their livelihoods or their survival, those races would no longer continue. They wouldn’t be able to survive—they could disappear, be obliterated from the earth. And if those who farm for their livelihood lost their soil, what would the outcome be? They wouldn’t be able to plant things, they wouldn’t be able to get their food from various plants. What would the outcome be? Without food, wouldn’t people starve to death? If people starved to death, wouldn’t that type of human be wiped out? So this is God’s purpose in maintaining various ecological environments. He only has one purpose in maintaining various environments and ecosystems, maintaining the different living beings within each environment—it is to nurture all kinds of people, to nurture people with lives in different geographical environments.
If all beings lost their own laws, they would no longer exist; if the laws of all beings were lost, then the living beings amongst all beings would not be able to continue on. Humans would also lose their environments for survival that they depend upon for survival. If humans lost all of that, they would not be able to continue to live and multiply generation after generation. The reason humans have survived until now is because God has supplied mankind with all beings to nurture them, to nurture mankind in different ways. It is only because God nurtures mankind in different ways that they have survived until now, that they have survived until the present day. With that type of fixed environment for survival that is favorable and orderly, all kinds of people on the earth, all kinds of races can survive within their own prescribed scopes. No one can go beyond these scopes or these boundaries because it is God that has delineated them. Why would God delineate them this way? This is really important for all of mankind—really important! God delineated the scope for each kind of living being and fixed the survival method for each type of human being. He also divided the different types of people and different races on the earth and fixed their scopes. This is what we want to discuss next.
Fourth, God drew boundaries between different races. On earth there are white people, black people, brown people, and yellow people. These are different types of people. God also fixed the scope for the lives of these different types of people, and without being aware of it, people live within their appropriate environment for survival under God’s management. No one can step outside of this. For example, the white race—that is, white people—what areas do they mostly live within? They mostly live in European and American countries. Black people primarily live within Africa. And within what areas do brown people live? Primarily in Southeast Asia such as Thailand, India, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Laos. That is, Southeast Asian regions. Yellow people live primarily in Asia, that is, China, Japan, South Korea, and other similar countries. God has appropriately distributed all these different types of races so that these different races are distributed across different parts of the world. In these different parts of the world, God long since prepared an environment for survival suitable for each different race of human. Within these types of environment for survival, God has prepared for them the soil’s color and components. The components in white people’s bodies and black people’s bodies are not the same, and are also different from the components of people’s bodies of other colors. When God created all beings, He had already prepared such an environment for survival. His purpose in that was so that when that type of people started to multiply, when they started to increase in number, they could be fixed within that scope. Before God created human beings He had already thought it all out—He’d give a certain area to white people to allow them to develop and survive. So when God was creating the earth He already had a plan, He had intention and purpose in what He was putting into that piece of land, and what would be nurtured on that piece of land. For example, God long ago prepared what mountains, how many plains, how many water sources, what kinds of birds and beasts, what fish, and what plants would be on that land. When preparing an environment for survival for a type of human being, for a race, God considered many aspects of issues: the geographical environment, the components of the soil, the types of birds and beasts, the size of the various types of fish, the components in the fish, different water qualities, as well as all the different types of plants…. God had long ago prepared all of that. That type of environment is a native environment for survival that God created and prepared for white people.
You should be able to see that when God created all beings, He put a lot of thought into it. He did things with a plan. Now you can see that, right? (God’s considerations for various types of people were very thoughtful. For the environment for survival for different types of humans, He prepared the kinds of birds and beasts and the kinds of fish, how many mountains and how many plains there would be. All of it was considered very thoughtfully and precisely.) For example, what food do white people primarily eat? (It’s mainly high protein foods—different types of meat, dairy products, and wheat-based foods.) The foods that white people eat are very different from the foods that Asian people eat. The staple foods that white people eat are primarily meat, eggs, milk, and poultry. Grains such as bread and rice are generally non-staple foods that are put to the side of the plate. Even when eating salad, which is made up of vegetables, they put some roasted beef or chicken in it. Even if they eat some wheat-based foods, they add cheese, eggs, or meat to it. That is to say, their staple foods aren’t primarily made up of wheat-based foods or rice; they eat quite a lot of meat and cheese. They often drink ice water because they eat really high-calorie foods. When they eat a meal, before the food is served everyone drinks a glass of ice water first, so white people are really robust. These are the sources for their lives, their environments for living prepared for them by God, allowing them to have that kind of lifestyle. That lifestyle is different from the lifestyles of people of other colors. There is no right or wrong in this lifestyle—it is inborn, predestined by God and because of God’s rule and His arrangements. This type of race has a certain lifestyle and certain sources for their livelihood which is because of their race, as well as because of the environment for survival prepared for them by God. You could say that the environment for survival God prepared for white people and the daily food they obtain from that environment is rich and plentiful.
God also prepared the necessary environments for survival for other races. There are also black people—where are black people located? They are primarily located in central and southern Africa. What did God prepare for them in that type of environment for living? Tropical rainforests, all sorts of birds and beasts, also deserts, and all kinds of plants that go along with them. They have sources for water, their livelihoods, and food. God was not biased against them. No matter what they have ever done, their survival has never been an issue. They also occupy a certain location and a certain area in a part of the world.
Now let’s talk a bit about yellow people. Yellow people are primarily located in the Orient. What are the differences between the environments and geographical positions of the Orient and the Occident? In the Orient, the majority of the land is fertile, and it is rich in materials and mineral deposits. That is, all sorts of above-ground and underground resources are plentiful. And for this group of people, for this race, God also prepared the corresponding soil, climate, and the various geographical environments that are suitable for them. Although there are great differences between that geographical environment and the environment in the Occident, people’s necessary food, livelihoods, and sources for survival were prepared by God. It’s just a different environment for living than white people have in the Occident. But what is the one thing that I need to call to your attention, that I need to tell you? The number of the Eastern race is relatively high, so God added a lot of elements in that piece of land that are different from the West. In that part of the world, He added a lot of different landscapes and all kinds of abundant materials. Natural resources there are very abundant; the terrain is also varied and diverse, adequate for nurturing an enormous number of the Eastern race. Something that’s different from the West is that in the East—from the south to the north, from the east to the west—the climate is better than the West. The four seasons are clearly delineated, temperatures are hospitable, natural resources are abundant, and the natural scenery and types of terrain are much better than in the West. Why did God do this? God created a very rational balance between white people and yellow people. What does this mean? Every aspect of what white people can enjoy is much better than what yellow people are able to enjoy. Their food and the things that they use are much better. However, God is not biased against any race. God gave yellow people a more beautiful and better environment for survival. This is the balance. So now you understand, right?
God has predestined which types of people live in which part of the world and humans cannot go outside of this scope. This is a marvelous thing! Even if there are wars or encroachments during different eras or at particular times, these wars, these encroachments absolutely cannot destroy the environments for survival that God has predestined for each race. That is, God has fixed a certain type of people in a certain part of the world and they cannot go outside of that scope. Even if people have some kind of ambition to change or expand their territory, without God’s permission, this will be very difficult to achieve. It will be very difficult to succeed. For example, white people wanted to expand their territory and they colonized some other countries. The Germans invaded some countries, England occupied India. What was the outcome? In the end they failed. What do we see from this failure? What God has predestined is not permitted to be destroyed. So, no matter how great the momentum you may have seen in England’s expansion, in the end the outcome is that they still had to withdraw and that land still belonged to India. Those who live on that land are still Indians, not the English. This is because it’s something that God does not allow. Some of those who research history or politics have provided theses on this. They give reasons for why England failed, saying that it could be because a certain ethnicity could not be conquered, or it could be for some other human reason…. These are not real reasons. The real reason is because of God—He doesn’t allow it. God has an ethnicity live on a certain land and settles them there, and if God doesn’t allow them to move they will never be able to move. If God defines a scope for them, they will live within that scope. Mankind cannot break free or break out of these scopes. This is certain. No matter how great the forces of the encroachers are or how weak those who are being encroached upon are, their success in the end is up to God. He has already predestined this and no one can change it. This is how God has distributed the various races. What work has God done to distribute the races? First, He prepared the larger geographical environment, the larger environment, allocating different locations for people, and then generation after generation survive there. This is settled—the scope for their survival is settled. And their diets, their lives, what they eat, what they drink, their livelihoods—God long since settled all of that. And when God was creating all beings, He made different preparations for different types of people: There are different soil compositions, different climates, different plants, and different geographical environments. Different places even have different birds and beasts, different waters have different types of fish and aquatic products, and even the types of insects are determined by God. For example, there are magpies in Asia but probably not in the United States. This is very special. And in the US the sparrows are different from the sparrows in mainland China. The things that grow on the American continent are all very large, very tall and very robust. The roots of the trees in the forest are all very shallow, but they grow very tall. They can even get as tall as over a hundred feet, but the trees in the forests in Asia are mostly not that tall. I’m sure you’ve all heard of aloe plants. In Japan they’re very narrow, very thin, but the aloe plants in the US are really large. This is different. It’s the same type of plant with the same name, but on the American continent it’s relatively large—there really is a difference. The differences in these various aspects may not be seen or perceived by people, but when God was creating all beings, He delineated them and prepared different geographical environments, different terrains, and different living things for different races. Because God created the different types of people, He knows what each of them needs and what their lifestyles are. Thus, what God has created is very good. Now you should be clear on that.
After talking about some of these things, now do you have some familiarity with the main topic we just discussed? Do you have some understanding of it? There’s a reason I’ve spoken about these things within the broader topic—now you should have a basic overview of it. You can tell Me how much you understood. (All of mankind has been nurtured only by the laws determined by God for all things. When God was determining these laws, He provided different races with different environments, different lifestyles, different foods, and different climates and temperatures. This was so that all of mankind can settle on the earth and survive. From this I can see God’s management plan and His meticulous arrangements as well as His wisdom and perfection.) (In order to nurture mankind, God has determined these laws for us and has prepared geographical environments as well as various types of foods. And in order for us to better survive within this type of environment He prepared different spaces to live in. From this I can see that God’s work and plans are very precise, and I can see His love for us humans.) Does anyone have anything to add? (The laws and scopes determined by God cannot be changed at all by any person, event, or thing. It is all under His rule.) Looking from the perspective of the laws determined by God for the growth of all things, isn’t all of mankind, no matter what type, living under God’s provisions—aren’t they all living under His nurturing? If these laws were destroyed or if God hadn’t established these kinds of laws for mankind, what would their prospects be? After humans lost their basic environments for survival, would they have any source of food? It’s possible that food sources would become a problem. If people lost their sources of food, that is, they can’t get anything to eat, possibly they wouldn’t be able to hold on for even a single month. People’s survival would become a problem. So every single thing that God does for people’s survival, for their continuing existence and multiplication is very important. Every single thing that God does among all things is closely related to and inseparable from people’s survival. It is inseparable from their survival. If mankind’s survival became a problem, could God’s management continue on? Would God’s management still exist? So God’s management coexists with the survival of all mankind who He nurtures, and no matter what God prepares for all things and what He does for humans, this is all necessary for Him, and it is critical for mankind’s survival. If these laws that God determined for all things were departed from, if these laws were broken or disrupted, all things would no longer be able to exist, mankind’s environment for survival would not continue to exist, and neither would their daily sustenance, and neither would they. For this reason, God’s management of mankind’s salvation would no longer exist either. This is something that people must see clearly.
Everything that we’ve discussed, every single thing, every item is intimately linked to the survival of every single person. You might say, “What You’re talking about is too big, we can’t see it,” and perhaps there are people who would say “What You’re talking about has nothing to do with me.” However, do not forget that you are living as just a part of all things; you are a member of all things within God’s rule. All things cannot be separated from God’s rule, and not a single person can separate themselves from His rule. Losing His rule and losing His provisions would mean that people’s lives, people’s lives in the flesh would disappear. This is the importance of God establishing environments for survival for mankind. It doesn’t matter what race you are or what piece of land you live on, be it in the West or the East—you cannot separate yourself from the environment for survival that God has established for mankind, and you cannot separate yourself from the nurturing and provisions of the environment for survival He has established for humans. No matter what your livelihood is, what you rely on to live, and what you rely on to sustain your life in the flesh, you cannot separate yourself from God’s rule and His management. Some people say: “I’m not a farmer, I don’t plant crops for a living. I don’t rely on the heavens for my food, so I can say that I am not surviving in the environment for survival established by God. That kind of environment hasn’t given me anything.” But this isn’t right. And why not? You say that you don’t plant crops for your living, but don’t you eat grains? Don’t you eat meat? Don’t you eat eggs? Don’t you eat vegetables and fruit? Everything that you eat, all of these things that you need, are inseparable from the environment for survival established by God for mankind. And the source of everything that mankind requires cannot be separated from all things created by God, these kinds of environments for survival. The water you drink, the clothing you wear, and all the things that you use—which of these is not obtained from among all things? Some people say: “There are some items that aren’t obtained from all things.” Like what? Give Me an example. Some say: “You see, plastic isn’t obtained from all things. It’s a chemical thing, a man-made thing.” But this isn’t right. Why not? Plastic is man-made, it is a chemical thing, but where did the original components of plastic come from? (They came from the things originally created by God.) The original components were obtained from materials created by God. The things that you enjoy, that you see, every single thing that you use are all obtained from all things which have been created by God. That is to say, no matter what race, no matter what livelihood, or in what type of environment for survival people live, they cannot separate themselves from God’s provisions. So are these things that we’ve discussed today related to our topic of “God Is the Source of Life for All Things”? So do the things we’ve discussed today fall under this larger topic? It’s only because of this relationship that I’ve said all of this. Perhaps some of what I’ve talked about today is a bit abstract and it’s a little difficult to discuss. However, I think that you probably understand it a little better now.
These last few times in fellowship, the range of the topics that we’ve had fellowship on is rather broad, and their scope is wide, so it takes some effort for you to take it all in. This is because these topics are things that haven’t been encountered before in people’s belief in God. Some people hear it as a mystery and some people hear it as a story—which perspective is right? From what perspective do you hear all of this? What have you gained from all of this? Someone tell Me. (I have recognized an aspect of God’s authority and also seen His honor, and from that I can also see His love for mankind. Every single thing that He does contains His meticulous arrangements and plans for mankind. He loves and cherishes us so much that He has even thoughtfully provided us with our food.) (We have seen God’s actions, as well as how methodically He has arranged all things and that all things have these laws, and through these words we can understand more of God’s actions and His meticulous arrangements for saving mankind.) Through these times in fellowship, have you seen what the scope of God’s management of all things is? (All of mankind, everything.) Is God the God of one race? Is He the God of one type of people? Is He the God of a small portion of mankind? (No, He’s not.) Since that’s not the case, in people’s knowledge of God, if He were only the God of a small portion of mankind, or if you believe that God is only your God, is this perspective correct? Since God manages and rules over all things, people should see His actions, His wisdom, and His almightiness that are revealed in His rule over all things. This is something that people must know. If you say that God manages all beings, rules over all beings, and rules over all of mankind, but if you don’t have any understanding of or insight into His rule over mankind, can you really acknowledge that He rules over all things? Can you? You may think in your heart, “I can, because I see that this life of mine is all ruled by God.” But is God really that small? He’s not! You only see God’s salvation for you and His work in you, and from these things you see His rule. That is too small of a scope and it has an impact on your genuine knowledge of God. It also limits your genuine knowledge of God’s rule over all things. If you limit your knowledge to the scope of what God provides for you and His salvation for you, you will never be able to recognize that He rules over everything, that He rules over all things, and rules over all of mankind. When you fail to recognize all of this, can you truly recognize the fact that God rules over your fate? You can’t. In your heart you will never be able to recognize that aspect—you will never be able to recognize that level. You understand, right? (Yes.) Actually, I know to what degree you are able to understand these topics, this content that I’m talking about, so why do I keep talking about it? It is because these topics are things that must be understood by every single follower of God, every single person who wants to be saved by God—they must know of these topics. Even though at this time, at this moment you don’t understand them, someday, when your life and your experience of the truth reach a certain level, when your change in your life disposition reaches a certain level and your stature increases to a certain degree, these words—these topics that I’m communicating to you in fellowship—only then will they truly provide for and satisfy your pursuit of knowledge of God. So these words were to lay a foundation, to prepare you for your future understanding that God rules over all things and for your understanding of God Himself.
However much understanding of God there is in people’s hearts determines how much of a position He holds in their hearts. However great the degree of knowledge of God is in their hearts is how great His status is in their hearts. If the God that you know is empty and vague, then the God in your heart is also empty and vague. If the God that you know is limited within your own scope, then he is a very small God—that God is not connected to the true God and has nothing to do with Him. Thus, knowing God’s actual actions, knowing the reality of God and His omnipotence, knowing the true identity of God Himself, knowing what He has and is, knowing what He has demonstrated among all things—these are very important to every single person who pursues knowledge of God. These are inseparable from every person’s life, from every person’s practical life of pursuit of the truth. If you limit your understanding of God to just words, if you limit it to your own little experiences, God’s grace that you count, or your little testimonies to God, then I say that your God absolutely is not the true God. He absolutely is not the true God Himself, and it can also be said that the God you believe in is not God. This is because the God that I am speaking of is the One that rules over everything, that walks among everything, that manages everything. He is the One that holds the fate of all of mankind—the One that holds the fate of everything. The work and actions of the God that I am talking about are not just limited to a small portion of people. That is, it’s not limited to just the people who currently follow Him. His actions are demonstrated among all things, in the survival of all things, and in the laws of change of all things. If you cannot see or recognize any actions of God among all things, then you cannot bear witness to any of His actions. If you cannot bear any witness for God, if you continue to speak of the small so-called God that you know, that God who is limited to your own ideas, and is within your narrow mind, if you continue to speak of that kind of God, then God will never praise your faith. When you bear witness for God, if you only use how you enjoy God’s grace, accept God’s discipline and His chastening, and enjoy His blessings in your witness for Him, that is hugely inadequate, and is far from satisfying Him. If you want to bear witness for God in a way that is in line with His will, bear witness for the true God Himself, then you must see what God has and is from His actions. You must see God’s authority from His control of everything, and see the truth of how He provides for all of mankind. If you only acknowledge that your daily food and drink and your necessities in life come from God, but you don’t see the truth that God provides for all of mankind by means of all things, that He leads all of mankind by means of His rule of all things, then you will never be able to bear witness for God. Now you understand all of this, right? What’s My purpose in saying all of this? It’s so that you don’t take this lightly, so that you don’t believe that these topics I’ve spoken about are irrelevant to your own personal entry into life, and so that you don’t take these topics as just a type of knowledge or doctrine. If you listen to this with that kind of attitude, you won’t gain a single thing. You will lose this great opportunity to know God. So you understand now?
What is My goal in talking about all of these things? My goal is to have people know God, to have people understand God’s practical actions. Once you understand God and you know His actions, only then do you have the opportunity or the possibility to know Him. If, for example, you want to understand a person, how would you understand them? Would it be through looking at their outward appearance? Would it be through looking at what they wear, how they dress up? Would it be through looking at how they walk? Would it be through looking at the scope of their knowledge? It certainly wouldn’t be. So how do you understand a person? You make a judgment through a person’s thoughts, through their speech and behavior, through what they express and what they reveal. This is how you know a person, how you understand a person. Likewise, if you want to know God, if you want to understand His practical side, His true side, you must know Him through His actions and through every single practical thing that He does. This is the best way, and it is the only way. So do you understand now? God manifests His actions among all things and among all things He rules over and has hold of the laws of all things. It is utterly necessary for people to understand and know God.
2. God Balances the Relationships Between All Things to Give Mankind a Stable Environment for Survival
We just talked about how God rules over the laws of all things as well as how He provides for and nurtures all of mankind through His laws for all beings and within those laws. This is one aspect. Next, we’re going to talk about another aspect, which is one way that God has control of everything. This is how, after creating all things, He balanced the relationships between them. This is also quite a large topic for you. Balancing the relationships between all things—is this something that people can accomplish? Humans themselves cannot. People are only able to destroy. They cannot balance relationships between all things; they don’t have such great authority or power. Only God Himself has the kind of power to do this kind of thing. God’s purpose in doing this kind of thing—what is it for? Just the same, it is closely related to mankind’s survival. Every single thing that God wants to do is necessary—there is nothing that He may or may not do. In order for Him to safeguard the survival of mankind and give people a favorable environment for survival, there are some indispensable, some important things that He must do to safeguard their survival.
From the literal meaning of the phrase “God balances all things,” it’s a very broad topic; it first provides you with a concept so you know that balancing all things is precisely His mastery over all things. What does the word “balance” mean? First, “balance” refers to not allowing something to be out of balance. Everyone knows about scales. When using scales to weigh something, you put it on one side of the scale and put weights on the other side. The final amount of the weights determines the weight of that thing—that’s called balancing. In order to balance it, the weight of the two sides must be the same. God created many things among all things—He created things that are fixed, things that move, things that are living, and things that are breathing, as well as those that don’t breathe. He created a great number of things—is it easy for all these things to achieve a relationship of interdependence, of mutual support and restriction, of interconnectedness? There certainly is a principle within all of this. Even though it’s very complicated, it’s not difficult for God. However, for people, it’s very difficult to research. It seems like a very simple word—balance. However, if people researched it, if people needed to create balance, then those brilliant academics would all be working on it—human biologists, astronomers, physicists, chemists and even historians. What would the ultimate outcome of that research be? Its outcome would be nothing. This is because God’s creation of all things is too incredible and mankind will never unlock its secrets. When God created all beings, He established principles between them, established different ways of survival for mutual restraint, complementarity, and sustenance. These various methods are very intricate; they are not simple or unidirectional. When people use their minds, their knowledge, and the phenomena they’ve seen to confirm or research the principles behind God’s control over all things, these things are extremely difficult to discover. It’s also very difficult to discover or gain any outcome. It can be said that it’s very difficult for people to get results. It’s very difficult to maintain balance by relying on human minds and knowledge to govern all beings created by God. Since people don’t know the principles of survival of all beings, they don’t know how to safeguard this type of balance. So, if people were to manage and govern all beings, they would be very likely to destroy this balance. As soon as it was destroyed, their environments for survival would be destroyed, and when that happened, it would be followed by a crisis for their survival. It would bring about a disaster. When humanity is living amidst disaster, what would lie in front of them? It would be an outcome that is difficult to guess, difficult to predict. This is just the kind of danger currently faced by the world.
Then how does God balance the relationships between all things? First, there are some places in the world that are covered with ice and snow year-round, while in some places, all four seasons are like spring. You’ll never see a patch of ice or a snowflake. There’s no winter—it’s always just like spring. This is one way—it’s from the perspective of the larger climate. The second type is when people see mountains full of lush vegetation, where all kinds of plants are covering the ground; there are swaths of forest and when walking among them you can’t even see the sun. In other mountains grass doesn’t even grow—there is layer upon layer of barren, wild mountains. Looking from the outside, they are both mountains of dirt stacked up. One group of mountains is full of lush vegetation, and the other is devoid even of grass. This is the second kind. In the third kind, you might see endless grasslands, a field of waving green. Or you might see a desert as far as the eye can see; you don’t see any living thing, much less any source of water, just the whistling of the wind along the sand. In the fourth kind, one place is covered by the sea, which is made up of vast areas of water, while in another place you are hard-pressed to find any springwater. In the fifth kind, in one land drizzling rain is frequent and it is foggy and humid, while in another land fiercely sunny days are very common and you won’t see a single drop of rain. In the sixth, one kind of place is a plateau where the air is thin and it’s difficult to breathe, and in another kind of place there are swamps and lowlands, which serve as habitats for various types of migratory birds. These are different types of climates, or the climates or environments that correspond to different geographical environments. That is to say, God balances mankind’s basic environments for survival from the aspects of the larger environment, from the climate to the geographical environment, from the different components of the soil to the amount of the water sources in order to achieve a balance in the air, temperature and humidity of the environments that people survive in. With these contrasts of different geographical environments, people will have stable air and the temperature and humidity in different seasons will be stable. This allows people to continue to live in that kind of environment for survival as always. This is speaking from the perspective of the larger environment. First, the larger environment must be balanced. This is done through the utilization of different geographical locations and methods as well as transitions between different climates for mutual restraint in order to achieve the balance that God wants and that mankind requires. This is from the perspective of the larger environment.
Looking at the details, such as vegetation, how is it possible to have that achieve balance? That is, how can vegetation be allowed to continue to survive within a balanced environment for survival? It is by managing the lifespan, growth rates, and reproduction rates of various types of plants to safeguard their environment for survival. Take the tiny grass as an example—there are spring shoots, summer blooms, and autumn fruit. The fruit falls to the ground and that grass dies. The next year, the seed from the fruit sprouts and continues according to the same laws. The lifespan of the grass is very short—it’s alive from the spring to the fall, then it dies. Every seed falls to the ground, grows roots and sprouts, blooms and produces fruit—this process only occurs over the spring, summer, and fall, and all kinds of trees also have their own lifespan and different periods for sprouting and fruiting. Some trees die after just 30 to 50 years—they have a lifespan of 30 to 50 years, but their fruit falls to the ground, which then grows roots and sprouts, flowers and bears fruit, and lives for another 30 to 50 years. This is its rate of recurrence. An old tree dies and a young tree grows—this is why you always see trees growing in the forest. But they also have their proper cycle and process of birth and death. Some trees can live for over a thousand years, and some can even live for three thousand years. They are that type of plant. No matter what type of plant it is or how long its lifespan is, generally speaking, God manages its balance based on how long it lives, its ability to reproduce, its speed of reproduction as well as its amount and rate of reproduction. This allows them, from the grass to the trees, to be able to continue to thrive, to grow within a balanced ecological environment. So when you look at a forest on earth, no matter if it is trees or grass, it is continuously reproducing and growing according to its own laws. It doesn’t need mankind’s help; it doesn’t need any additional work from mankind. Only because they have this kind of balance are they able to maintain their own environment for survival. Only because they have a suitable environment for survival can these forests, these grasslands continue to survive on earth. Their existence nurtures generation after generation of people as well as generation after generation of all sorts of living things with habitats in the forests and the grasslands—birds and beasts, insects, and all kinds of microorganisms.
God also controls the balance of all kinds of animals. How is this balance controlled? It’s similar to plants—He manages their balance and determines their numbers based on their ability to reproduce, their quantity and rate of reproduction and the roles they play among the animals. For example, lions eat zebras, so if the number of lions exceeded the number of zebras, what would the fate of the zebras be? They would become extinct. And if the quantity of reproduction of zebras was far less than that of lions, what would their fate be? They would also become extinct. So, the number of zebras must be far greater than the number of lions. This is because zebras don’t only exist for themselves; they also exist for the lions. You could also say that every zebra is one part of the zebras, but it is also the food in a lion’s mouth. Lions’ speed of reproduction can never outstrip that of the zebras, so their numbers can never be greater than the zebras’ numbers. Only in this way can the lions’ food source be guaranteed. Even though lions are natural enemies of zebras, people frequently see them leisurely resting within the same area. Zebras will never be reduced in number or go extinct because the lions hunt and eat them, and lions will never increase their numbers because of their status as “king.” This balance is something that God established long ago. That is, God established laws of balance between all animals so that they can achieve balance, and this is something that mankind is able to see. Are lions the only natural enemies of zebras? Crocodiles also eat zebras. Have you ever seen a crocodile eat a zebra? The sight of a crocodile eating a zebra is also brutal. Zebras seem to be a really helpless type of animal. They don’t have the ferocity of lions, and when facing one, this formidable enemy, they can only run. They cannot even resist. When they cannot outrun the lion, they can only allow themselves to be eaten by it. This can be seen frequently in the animal world. What is your impression when you see this kind of thing? Do you feel sorry for the zebra? Do you detest the lion? The zebras look so beautiful! But the lions, they are always eyeing them greedily. And foolishly, the zebras don’t run far. They see the lion there waiting for them, just casually waiting in the shade of a tree. Who knows when it will eat them. Do they know this in their hearts? They do, but they still won’t leave that piece of land. This is a marvelous thing. This marvelous thing contains God’s predestination, His rule. You feel sorry for that zebra but you are unable to save it, and you feel that lion is detestable but you cannot get rid of it. The zebra is food that God has prepared for the lion, but no matter how the lions eat them, the zebras will not be wiped out. The number of offspring that lions produce is really small, and they reproduce very slowly, so they cannot outnumber zebras. No matter how much they eat, their numbers will not be greater than those of the zebras. This is a type of balance.
What is God’s goal in maintaining this kind of balance? This has to do with people’s environments for survival as well as mankind’s survival. If zebras, or any similar prey of a lion—deer or other animals—reproduce too slowly and the number of lions sharply increases, what kind of danger would human beings face? Firstly, the chickens, ducks, geese, and dogs raised by people would become prey for the lions. This is because they live outside, so they would be the lions’ first prey. Are those things enough for the lions to eat? Some households have two pigs. If a lion came down from the mountains and ate them, would it just leave after it was done? It would think: “There’s nothing to eat on the mountains, I’ll just stay here. This family has pigs—there will be a few humans now that I’ve eaten them. There’s nothing for the next meal—isn’t it all prepared? The people are just sitting inside—they can’t stay in there forever!” As soon as the people come out, it will eat them with one snap of its jaws. People have no ability to resist. Wouldn’t this be a tragic thing? Lions eating zebras is a normal phenomenon, but if a lion ate people, it would be a tragedy. This tragedy isn’t something predestined by God, it’s not within His rule, much less what He has brought for mankind. Rather, it is what people have brought upon themselves. So as God sees it, the balance between all things is crucial for the survival of mankind. Whether they are plants or animals, they cannot lose their proper balance. Plants, animals, mountains, and lakes have prepared for mankind a normal ecological environment. Only when people have this kind of ecological environment—a balanced one—is their survival secure. If the ability to reproduce of a tree or grass was not very good or its speed of reproduction was very slow, what would the soil do? Would the soil lose its moisture? If the soil lost its moisture, would it be a problem? If the soil lost its vegetation and its moisture, it would erode very quickly, and sand would form in its place. The soil would no longer be healthy and it would become sandy, and when the soil deteriorates, people’s environment for survival is also destroyed. Along with this destruction would come disasters. Without this kind of ecological balance, without this type of ecological environment, people would frequently suffer from disasters due to these imbalances between all things. For example, an environmental imbalance leading to an increase in the number of frogs in a certain place—their ecological environment is destroyed, they all gather together, their numbers sharply increase and people even see frogs crossing the streets in cities, and large numbers of frogs on the roads. If large numbers of frogs occupied people’s environment for survival, what would that be called? A disaster. Why would it be called a disaster? These small animals that are beneficial for mankind are useful for people when they remain in a place that is suitable for them; they maintain the balance of people’s environment for survival. As soon as they become a disaster, they will impact the orderliness of people’s lives. All the things and all the elements that frogs bring along with them can influence people’s quality of life. Even their physical organs can be attacked—this is one of the kinds of disasters.
Another type of disaster, which is something that humans have experienced frequently—is the appearance of great numbers of locusts. Isn’t this a disaster? This is a frightening disaster. It doesn’t matter how capable humans are—people can make airplanes, cannons, and atomic bombs—but when the locusts encroach on mankind, what solution do they have? Can they use cannons on them? Can they shoot them with machine guns? They can’t. Then can they spray a pesticide to drive them out? That’s not easy either. So, why would those tiny little locusts come? To eat grains. Wherever locusts go the crops are completely obliterated. They specifically eat crops and grains. Wherever they pass through, any grains are just gone! Under a locust invasion, in the blink of an eye, the food that farmers rely upon—a year’s worth of grains—could be entirely consumed by the locusts. And what is the arrival of locusts for humans? It’s not only an irritation—it’s a disaster.
Locusts are a type of disaster, so what about mice? If mice reproduce too quickly and there aren’t any owls or hawks to eat them, they will multiply very rapidly, faster than you can imagine. And if mice spread unchecked, can humans lead good lives? They can’t. So what is that humans would face? (A pestilence.) Just a pestilence? Mice will eat anything! They’ll even gnaw on wood. If there are two mice in one house, everyone in the entire household will be irritated. Sometimes they steal oil and eat it, sometimes they eat the grains and chew on clothing—this is the trouble that mice bring to people. They’re just tiny little mice, but people have no way of dealing with them. They’re even bullied by them. Sometimes they’ll climb up onto the dish rack—can those dishes still be used? The dishes can’t be used, disinfecting them doesn’t work and even if you do disinfect them you won’t feel at ease, so you just throw them out. And the things that they don’t eat they just chew to shreds and turn them into a complete mess. They chew on clothing, shoes, wood, furniture—they chew on everything. There’s no need to even speak of a whole group of mice—just a pair of mice is enough to cause a disruption. If they were to become a disaster, the consequences are unthinkable.
So, if tiny little ants became a disaster, what would it be like? The damage they would do to mankind could not be ignored. Ants chewing on wood to the point that a house collapses is not a strange thing. Their strength cannot be overlooked. So, if termites or termite eggs are discovered inside of a wooden house, in the United States, this is a major event. You have to find a professional company with technical staff who have professional means of killing them. If you don’t kill them, that house will be difficult to sell and it will be a huge problem. Did you hear about the colony of ants that ate a horse? There was a colony of ants swarming all over a large horse, and all that was left of the horse was a skeleton. Is that frightening or what? And when the horse rider saw that, where did he escape to? There was a lake nearby, so he ran toward the lake and swam to the other side. He survived that way. But after he had seen that, for the rest of his life he was unable to forget how those tiny little ants unexpectedly had such strength. They had nearly eaten him. If he hadn’t had a horse, the ants surely would have first eaten him, and because there was water between them, the ants weren’t able to make a bridge in time to go eat him. If the water hadn’t been there both the horse and the person would have been eaten together. The strength of the ants can’t be overlooked.
And if different kinds of birds turned into a disaster it would also be a frightening thing. That is, no matter what kinds of animals or living things they are, as soon as they lose their balance, they will grow, reproduce, and live within an abnormal scope, an irregular scope. That would bring unimaginable consequences to mankind. That would not only impact people’s survival and lives, but it would also bring disaster to mankind, even to the point of people suffering complete annihilation, suffering the fate of extinction.
When God created all things, He used all sorts of methods and ways to balance them, to balance the living conditions for the mountains and lakes, to balance the living conditions for the plants and all kinds of animals, birds, insects—His goal was to allow all kinds of living beings to live and multiply within the laws that He had established. All beings cannot go outside of these laws and they cannot be broken. Only within this type of basic environment can humans safely survive and multiply, generation after generation. If any living creature goes beyond the quantity or scope established by God, or if it exceeds the growth rate, frequency, or number under His rule, mankind’s environment for survival would suffer varying degrees of destruction. And at the same time, mankind’s survival would be threatened. If one type of living creature is too great in number, it will rob people of their food, destroy people’s water sources, and ruin their homelands. That way, mankind’s reproduction or state of survival would be immediately impacted. For example, water is very important for all things. If there are too many animals—if the numbers of mice, ants, locusts, and frogs are too great and they need to drink water—when there is an excessive number of animals, the amount of water they drink will also increase. As the amount of water they drink increases, within this fixed scope of sources of drinking water and aqueous areas, people’s drinking water and water sources will be reduced, and they will lack water. If people’s drinking water is destroyed, contaminated, or is decimated because all kinds of animals have increased in number, under that kind of harsh environment for survival, mankind’s survival will be seriously threatened. If there are one type or several types of living beings that exceed their appropriate number, the air, temperature, humidity, and even the content of air within mankind’s space for survival will be poisoned and destroyed to varying degrees. Similarly, under these circumstances, humans’ survival and fate will still be subject to the threat of that type of environment. So, if people lose these balances, the air that they breathe will be ruined, the water that they drink will be contaminated, and the temperatures that they require will also change, be impacted to different degrees. If that happens, mankind’s native environments for survival will be subject to enormous impacts and challenges. Under this type of circumstance where humans’ basic environments for survival have been destroyed, what would mankind’s fate and prospects be? It’s a very serious problem!
Because God knows what all things are to mankind, the role of every type of thing that He created, what kind of impact it has on people, and how great of a benefit it brings to mankind—in God’s heart there is a plan for all of this and He manages every single aspect of all things that He created, so for humans, every single thing that He does is very important—it is all necessary. So whether you see some ecological phenomena among all things, or some natural laws among all things, you will no longer be doubtful of the necessity of every single thing that was created by God. You will no longer use ignorant words to make arbitrary judgments on God’s arrangements of all things and His various ways of providing for mankind. You also will not make arbitrary conclusions on God’s laws for all things that He created. Isn’t this the case?
What is all of this that we’ve just talked about? Think about it. God has His own intention in every single thing that He does. Even though humans cannot see that intention, it is always very much related to mankind’s survival. It is inseparably related to it—it is indispensable. This is because God has never done anything that is futile. For every single thing that He does, His plan is within its theories and principles, which contain His wisdom. The goal behind that plan and intention is for the protection of mankind, to help mankind avert disaster, encroachment by any living thing, and any kind of harm to humans by all things. So from God’s actions that we’ve seen from this topic that we are discussing, could we say that God provides for mankind in another way? Could we say that God is feeding and shepherding mankind in this way? You could definitely say that. Now you should understand, is there a strong relationship between this topic and the title of our fellowship, “God Is the Source of Life for All Things”? (Yes.) There is a strong relationship, and this topic is one aspect of that. Before talking about these topics, people only had some vague imagination of God, God Himself and His actions—they did not have a true understanding of these things. However, when people are told about His actions and the things He has done, they can understand and comprehend the principles of what God does and they can gain clarity on it, right? (Yes.) Even though in God’s heart, His theories, principles, and rules are very complicated when He does anything, when He created all things, and when He rules over all things, if one single thing is taken to share with you in fellowship, won’t you be able to understand in your hearts that these are God’s actions, and are very concrete? (Yes.) Then how is your current understanding of God different from before? It is different in its essence. What you understood before was too hollow, too vague, and what you understand now contains a great deal of concrete evidence to hold up to God’s actions, to compare to what God has and is. So, all that I have said is great material for your understanding of God.
2014年2月9日
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