Since Almighty God revealed to people the outcomes of Peter and Paul, many have had such a thought in their hearts: “I must take Peter’s path and never take Paul’s.” And they believe that they can step onto Peter’s path as long as they are willing in their hearts. Therefore, many of them take the good aspect of their practices as the sign of their having stepped onto Peter’s path. For example, some people think that they have stepped onto Peter’s path because they have followed Almighty God and gained some knowledge of themselves. Some think that they have stepped onto Peter’s path because they have been able to put some truths into practice. Some think that they have stepped onto Peter’s path because outwardly they have had some good behavior and often call upon God in imitation of Peter’s prayers. Some think that they have stepped onto Peter’s path because they read God’s word all day long and can communicate a little knowledge of it and know themselves in light of it. Still others think that they have had love for God and have stepped onto Peter’s path because they shed tears whenever God’s love is talked about. And even others think that as long as they do their utmost to eat and drink God’s word at home and do not go outside to work and run roads, they are walking Peter’s path. However, up to today, the actual manifestations of Peter’s pursuing the truth and the life cannot be seen in us at all. What we live out is still our old self and our natural constitution. Then, how can we say that the path we are taking is Peter’s path? Actually, truly stepping onto Peter’s path is not as simple and easy as we have imagined and thought.

The path we are taking is not really Peter’s path mainly because our viewpoint of pursuing is different from Peter’s. What Peter pursued were the truth and the life, the transformation of his nature, and the fulfillment of his duty as a created being. His pursuit was for satisfying God and living out a meaningful life. However, what we pursue are position, reputation, money, ease and comfort, the peace of the flesh, and the harmony of the family. Our pursuit is for avoiding disasters and escaping God’s punishment, for having a pleasant destination, and for living more comfortably in the flesh. For example, when God’s family commits to us a bigger work, we are not very willing to accept it for fear that we will have no chance to go home and enjoy fleshly happiness, or we will find an excuse to refuse it for fear that it will break up our families. When illnesses come upon us, instead of seeking God’s intention in them, we are full of complaints and think that they should not befall us as we are expending ourselves for God. Thus we live in a state of being negative and complaining and do not want to continue our pursuit. When we lose position in God’s family, we become distracted, negative, and weak, feeling that without position, we will have no way to pursue and that it is pointless to believe in God. When we see that the world situation is very chaotic and the day of God is near, we step up our effort to equip ourselves with the truth and are willing to expend ourselves for God. But when we know that it takes us quite a long time to gain the transformation of our nature and that we still need to undergo many sufferings, we begin to leave ourselves a way out and do not want to expend ourselves for God at all costs. When God’s judgment and chastisement come upon us or when we are exposed in the circumstances arranged by God, we consider it hopeless for us to be saved and be made perfect and thus fall into a negative state, write ourselves off as hopeless and act recklessly. When doing the work, we often do it for the sake of doing it and do not pursue to enter in. We pay no attention to examining ourselves and knowing ourselves, pay no attention to practicing the truth, and do not pursue the transformation of our nature. In performing our duties, we pay no attention to seeking God’s intention or seeking the principles of doing things; instead, we often do things according to our own will and preferences, or do things in order to receive favorable comments and praises from others and to occupy a place in others’ hearts rather than to satisfy God. In reading God’s word, our purpose is not to understand the truth in it, nor to gain the knowledge of ourselves and the knowledge of God from it, but to equip ourselves with some letters and doctrines to communicate them to others and show ourselves off. All such manifestations have sufficiently shown that our original viewpoint of pursuing has still not changed. What we are pursuing are still things outside the truth such as the fleshly ease and comfort, position and reputation. Because our original viewpoint of pursuing has not been corrected and we do not possess the same viewpoint of pursuing as Peter’s, a prerequisite to taking Peter’s path, the path we are taking now is still our previous old path and not the path of pursuing the truth and being made perfect that Peter took. God’s word tells us: “While Peter believed in God, he pursued to satisfy God in everything and obey everything from God. He accepted chastisement and judgment, and he also accepted refining, tribulation, and the shortage in his life. And he did not have any complaints. None of those things could change his love for God. …” “While Peter pursued life, in trials he paid attention to knowing himself, paid attention to having his nature transformed, and spared no effort to pursue to know God. Finally, he had such a feeling: ‘Since man lives, he should pursue to know God. To know God is the most crucial. If I fail to know God, I will not close my eyes and die content. After I know God, even if God asks me to die, I will feel it is the most gratifying thing, I will have no complaint at all, and I will be content with my whole life.’ Peter had this knowledge and could reach this point, and this was not that which he could gain at the beginning of his believing in God. He had to experience many trials. Only after he experienced to the extent that he had fully known himself did he feel the preciousness of knowing God. So, the path he took was the path of life and the path to being made perfect. This is the most obvious part in his specific practices. What path are you taking now? If you are unable to pursue life, pursue to know yourselves, and pursue to know God like Peter, then it is still not Peter’s path.”