What is the source of creation? The love of God is the source of creation.

O SON OF MAN! Veiled in My immemorial being and in the ancient eternity of My essence, I knew My love for thee; therefore I created thee, have engraved on thee Mine image and revealed to thee My beauty. (The Hidden Words, Bahá’u’lláh)

Who did God create us to be?  We are created to glorify God. All of God’s creation has a purpose, including mankind.  God created man to know Him, worship Him and glorify Him.

…for I have created him for my glory (Isaiah 43:7)

How can we manifest His glory? Worship Him and love Him. When we know how great our God is and how amazing His Grace, we will praise Him, worship Him and humble ourselves before Him. Worship is the respect, humility and praise of God and thanksgiving of His eternal grace. Worship is faithfulness to His commandments. We glorify Him by worshiping Him and becoming His companion.

What is spirit? Spirit is the part of us which has the ability to learn about God and connect with Him. Even though our individual bodies are separate from each other, our spirit is connected. The spiritual creation from God is one. Buddha said our Buddha-nature is connected like one big ocean. Because the spirit is one, so we influence and affected each other. Because the spirit is one, so we are connected with God and can feel God’s love. God is Spirit. Spirit has force and power. It is the power of growth in plants. It is the power of growth and senses in animals. It is the power of growth, senses and consciousness (thinking, imagination, understanding, memory) in mankind. All things receive this power from God to live. It seems to be our own power, but it is actually from God. It is God’s grace. We are so close to God, “closer than our life vein”.  When we feel the spiritual force and rely on it to elevate ourselves, we will say God is living inside of us. This is the mystery of human spirit.

The soul of Adam

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.  (Genesis 2:7)

Adam not only had a physical body, but also a soul. A person’s body is visible, but the soul is invisible. Our thoughts, feelings and will are affected by our soul, which is the essence of our mind. When the mind produces thought, we distinguish things; when the mind produces feelings, we have emotion; when the mind produces free will we chose love or hate. Learning about how our mind works, we can remove the obstacles which limit our spiritual power. When we realize that emotions and greed or resentment are the reflection of an illusioned mind, then we can lead our mind to positive thinking. Putting away the illusion then we can see the perfection.  Put away fearful emotions then we can express affection.  Put aside self-interest then we can choose love to join our will to God’s will. When our soul and spirit come together, our mind, body and soul will unite. The spirit of life will enrich us.

O SON OF MAN! Veiled in My immemorial being and in the ancient eternity of My essence, I knew My love for thee; therefore I created thee, have engraved on thee Mine image and revealed to thee My beauty.  (The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh)

When we choose love, our soul and spirit become one. The spirit of life will enrich our soul.

Our Identity

God’s Sheep

        Be ye aware that the children of men are sheep of God and He their loving Shepherd, that He careth tenderly for all His sheep and maketh them to feed in His own green pastures of grace and giveth them to drink from the wellspring of life. Such is the way of the Lord. Such are His bestowals. Such, from among His teachings, is His precept of the oneness of mankind. (‘Abdu’l-Bahá)

God’s Lamp

O SON OF BEING! Thou art My lamp and My light is in thee.   (Bahá’u’lláh)

We, who are like God’s lamps then, should shine with the light of love, the light of knowledge, the light of truth, the light of a good character.

*Reflection:

(1) How do we shine with the light of knowledge? Exploring nature, creating a work of art, playing music, teaching prayers to children…

(2) How do we shine with the light of love? Helping a friend in difficulty, helping estranged friends get back together, smiling, speaking kindly, preferring others before ourselves…

(3) How do we shine with the light of good character? Being polite, being considerate, being joyful, being truthful…

God’s Dominion

O SON OF MAN! Thou art My dominion and My dominion perisheth not.  (Bahá’u’lláh)

This is like a country with a king. The king rules over his kingdom. We belong to God’s kingdom. The kingdom here is not a piece of land, it is the human heart, which is eternal. Bahá’u’lláh tells us: all that is in heaven and earth I have ordained for thee, except the human heart, which I have made the habitation of my beauty and glory…’ Earthly dominion does not last. Kingdoms rise and fall. But God’s dominion will never perish.

We are God’s dominion. Just as a king could have enemies who would try to take over his kingdom, our hearts may be attacked by desires and passions that are contrary to God’s will. If we want God to rule over our heart, we should avoid envy, jealousy, hypocrisy and greed entering our heart.

God’s Treasure

O YE SONS OF SPIRIT! Ye are My treasury, for in you I have treasured the pearls of My mysteries and the gems of My knowledge. (Bahá’u’lláh)

Think of all the powers God has given us : the power of love, the power of understanding, the power of intellect. These are some of the pearls of His mysteries. We cannot fully comprehend the powers and abilities that are within us, but we can see their results. For example, through the power of love, we can overcome hate, build friendships, cooperate and achieve unity.

Reflection:

What we can achieve with the power of imagination, the power to serve humanity, the ability to discover the laws of the universe, the power of speech, understanding, and memory?

Saplings

Ye are the saplings which the hand of Loving-kindness hath planted in the soil of mercy, and which the showers of bounty have made to flourish. (Bahá’u’lláh)

Saplings are baby trees. The purpose of a tree is to bear fruit. Bahá’u’lláh tell us: ‘ The fruits of the tree of man have ever been and are goodly deeds and a praiseworthy character.’ We are like young trees. The bounty of God is like the rain. Through the bounties of God we are able to grow, flourish and give forth the fruits of goodly deeds and praiseworthy character. We can attract the bounties of God by praying daily, reading the Word of God, Imploring God for the ability to serve humanity, teaching the Faith, etc…

We are God’s sheep, lamps shedding the light, God’s dominion, a treasury full of the pearls of God’s mysteries and a tree that bears the fruits of goodly deeds. If we forget who we are, then we forget God and His teachings. Bahá’u’lláh warns us against becoming careless of all the wonderful qualities God has given us. He says: ‘ O friends! Be not careless of the virtues with which ye have been endowed, neither be neglectful of your high destiny.’

O Friends! Be not careless of the virtues with which ye have been endowed, neither be neglectful of your high destiny. Suffer not your labours to be wasted through the vain imaginations which certain hearts have devised. Ye are the stars of the heaven of understanding, the breeze that stirreth at the break of day, the soft-flowing waters upon which must depend the very life of all men, the letters inscribed upon His sacred scroll. (Bahá’u’lláh)