Wuxin Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province
Something we have always discussed in previous communions is the paths walked by Peter and Paul. It is said that Peter paid attention to knowing himself and God, and was someone God approved, while Paul only paid attention to his work, reputation and status, and was someone God despised. I have always been afraid of walking Paul’s path, which is why I normally often read God’s words about Peter’s experiences to see how he came to know God. After living like this for a while, I felt I had become more obedient than before, my desire for reputation and status had dimmed, and that I had gotten to know myself a little. At this time, I believed that even though I was not completely on Peter’s path, it could be said that I had touched the edge of it, and at least it meant I was not heading down Paul’s path. However, I would be shamed by the revelations of God’s word.
One morning, when I was practicing spiritual devotions, I saw the following words of God: “Peter’s work was the performance of the duty of a creature of God. He did not work in the role of an apostle, but during the course of his pursuit of a love of God. The course of Paul’s work also contained his personal pursuit…. There were no personal experiences in his work—it was all for its own sake, and not carried out amid the pursuit of change. Everything in his work was a transaction, it contained none of the duty or submission of a creature of God. During the course of his work, there occurred no change in Paul’s old disposition. His work was merely of service to others, and was incapable of bringing about changes in his disposition. … Peter was different: He was someone who had undergone pruning, and had undergone dealing and refinement. The aim and motivation of the work of Peter were fundamentally different to those of Paul. Although Peter did not do a large amount of work, his disposition underwent many changes, and what he sought was the truth, and real change. His work was not carried out simply for the sake of the work itself” (“Success or Failure Depends on the Path That Man Walks” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).
