|
Our foremost purpose in life is discovering and expressing our spiritual potential. That is the only way we can attain true contentment and fulfillment. Everything we do must serve that purpose. (1:23) Only the Word of God can transform the heart and inspire everlasting love, peace, and happiness. 'Our faith can make us larger than our losses, greater than our griefs, stronger than our struggles, and more powerful than our problems.' (1:24) About once in a thousand years God sends a new Messenger or Redeemer to teach us new knowledge measured to our capacity. The City of God has been renewed in the past and will continue to be renewed in the future. (1:25) The Baha'i Faith is the glorious Gift of God for this day. It is the blueprint for building the City of God, a world of peace and prosperity. It is Heaven's design for creating love, hope, and happiness on this divided and depressed planet. Our job is to build the City based on the blueprint. (1:26) Baha'is believe that, 'It's better to light a small candle than to curse the darkness.' They are all over this planet lighting little candles. At last the light of the new knowledge will transform our planet into a vast garden of blooming lights. Thousands of Baha'is have left their countries and settled where they can make a difference. They devote their lives to helping the disadvantaged and the poor. Their efforts range from raising chickens to forming women's literacy classes; from conducting health and hygiene seminars to establishing preschools for village children. (1:27) A pastor lost patience with his inactive church members. To encourage action, he read this verse from the Bible, 'They brought to Jesus all sick people with diverse diseases' (Matthew 4:24). He then proceeded to interpret the verse. He said, 'Sometimes you go to a doctor, he checks you, and gives you the right remedy for a quick recovery. But when you have 'Diverse Disease,' only the Lord can cure you. Dear friends, we have seen an epidemic spread of 'Diverse Disease' among our people. Some dive for the door as soon as the sermon is over. Some dive under the blanket to rest when they should be up celebrating the Lord's Day. Others dive for the TV set or into their car for a cruise. Others dive into a big bag of excuses for being too busy to take on the work of the Lord. Still others dive into a flurry of fault-finding when they should be looking at their own faults. Yes, dear friends, doctors may cure you of any disease except 'Diverse Disease.' That, only the Lord can do.' (1:28) The pastor was right, there is a sickness that only God can cure: that is a 'diseased soul,' one out of touch with its Creator. The Baha'i Faith has come to restore the spiritual health of humanity. (1:29) Today, many Christians acknowledge the urgent need for a paradigm shift in our thinking from provincial to planetary, from religiosity to spirituality, the need for a fresh outpouring of the spirit that transforms and expands our vision. As Matthew Fox wrote in The Coming of Cosmic Christ, 'It is time to move from the quest for the historical Christ to the quest for Cosmic Christ...This Cosmic Christ will... effect a change of heart, a change of culture, a change of ways...'By their fruits will you know them,' Jesus advised. A true awakening to the Cosmic Christ will effect genuine result.'2 He then asks, 'Is it possible that our entire civilization is depressed because we lack the Cosmic Christ perspective?' 3 Even some secular scientists acknowledge the need for a new spiritual power. Paul Ehrlich of Stanford University declared, 'Scientific analysis points, curiously, toward the need for a quasi-religious transformation of contemporary cultures.'4 (1:30) President Roosevelt had a perfect vision not only of what America needs but of what the world needs: (1:31) No greater thing could come to our land today than a revival of the spirit of religion...a revival that would sweep through the homes of the nation...to their reassertion of their belief in God. I doubt if there is any problem, social, political or economic, that would not melt away before the fire of such a spiritual awakening.5 (1:32) The Baha'i Faith has come to set ablaze 'the fire of spiritual awakening' in every land, and to create a Kingdom that has been the hope of humanity since the dawn of history. It is the divine Plan for the fulfillment of this prayer and prophecy: (1:33) Our Father in heaven! Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Christ (Matt. 6:9-10) (1:34) References: |