The One true God, exalted be His glory, hath wished nothing for Himself. The allegiance of mankind profiteth Him not, neither doth its perversity harm Him. The Bird of the Realm of Utterance voiceth continually this call: ‘All things have I willed for thee, and thee, too, for thine own sake.’ — Baha’u’llah, “Tablet of Maqṣúd,” in Tablets of Baha’u’llah Revealed After the Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 162. When I first read this passage — around 35 years ago, in 1978, as I recall — it amazed me. So thunderstruck I started to feel lightheaded, I realized that I had begun to breathe rapidly, without noticing it, probably because this statement so emotionally moved me. Why, you may ask? Raised a devout Christian, I remained so until I became a Baha’i a little over 40 years ago, on Dec. 15, 1972. What struck me about this passage? Well, I had been religiously brought up with a completely different conception of God. Forgive my being so blunt: I understood God, from my Christian perspective, as an authoritarian figure. Nothing wrong with that, of course. In my limited understanding, God also seemed (although I would never admit this) quite demanding. One of the things He required was total subservience. Nothing wrong with that, either. Yet I was also taught that I had to continually praise God, day and night, more or less at the expense of myself. What mattered was God (and Jesus, of course, who was also considered as God). I didn’t matter. Well, maybe a little, in the grand scheme of things. But not really. - See more at: bahaiteachings.org/from-frightened-to-enlightened#sthash.AZ4q5P3o.dpuf
Posted on: Sat, 10 Aug 2013 01:31:26 +0000
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