Great Themes of Life/The World is Our Country

THE WORLD

IS OUR COUNTRY

“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

“And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear

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as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

“And there shall be no more curse; but the throne of God and the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him; And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.”

—Rev. 21: 1-4, 10-11; 22: 1-5

NO ONE can fail to be appalled at the evil which is rampant in the world today; and we are referring to something more loathsome and more vicious than gambling, drinking, and prostitution. In sober fact, such evils as these, bad as they are, are eHects—results of evil, not the cause. They are not evil itself. For us to be so ready to pounce on these things, as though they were the greatest horrors in the world, is smug self-righteousness. “Let him who is

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without sin cast the first stone,” said Jesus.

The day is upon us when we shall be driven to put first things first; to recognize what is good and what is evil. And what are the first things? That is a question we put to ourselves. We do not put the question to each other, because not one of us knows the answer. Only God can answer that, and so we seek divine guidance from Holy Scriptures.

The first things, we learn, are to seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness; and to be obedient unto the commandments of God, and to fear God. Nothing is said about ourselves at all; nothing about treaties, economics, politics, sociology, international laws or unity of nations. Why? Because it would be useless talking about such things; they are secondary until, and unless, mankind first seeks to do the Will of God as revealed in all the Holy Scriptures. “I do the Will of Him that sent me,” explained Jesus. That was the secret of His power—complete devotion to God’s Cause.

Every man and woman on earth, of whatever country or race, longs for love and unity, peace and harmony, equity and justice. These things can’t be realized until all mankind owes a common allegiance to a Supreme Being to

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Whom all give love and obedience. In a human family there cannot be real love and unity unless there is first love and obedience to the parents.

Through all the Holy Scriptures runs a crimson thread of the ideal of one God uniting all nations into one nation. And the accomplishment of that ideal means the Kingdom of God being established on earth. That is the ideal for which Jesus, and all the Prophets before Him, worked and prayed. It is the supreme ideal to to which we are committed. In past ages it could not be accomplished, because primitive man had no concept of the vastness of the universe. Their Gods were local deities.

“Truly, I say,” says Bahá’u’lláh, “the fear of God hath ever been the perspicuous protection and solid fortress for the whole community of the world. It is the greatest means for the protection of mankind, and the chief cause for the preservation of humanity.” Therefore, if we would obey the Will of God and do His bidding, we are obliged to turn from our old ways and to seek the unity of all religions into one religion. And in the birth of Bahá’u’lláh we see the wisdom of God unfolding.

Could Congregationalists suddenly become

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Roman Catholics? Could the Church of England agree to lose its identity in the Salvation Army? Could the Methodists embrace the Serbian Orthodox Church? No!

For many years we have been hearing talk of church union and it is as far off today as it ever was. Why? Because it is dealing with effects and neglecting the cause; because man wants to assert his will according to his own reasoning and knowledge, rather than be obedient to, and fear, God. If all these various sects of Christianity can’t unite, even though they profess to be in agreement about Jesus, how do you think we could ever get a Muslim to embrace Judaism, or a Christian to become a Hindu? We can’t do it, and what is more, it is not desirable that we should. For the worship of God releases in men their spiritual qualities so that they can become organically unified beings under one Godhead, rather than diversified beings under a primitive concept of God as a partisan spirit.

For too long has the tribal concept of God as being exclusively our God conditioned our faith and worship. In times of distress we see that exclusiveness broken down by public worship, as though the larger congregation of

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people could impose its will on God, instead of which, we should humbly beseech God to reveal to us His Will, and to teach us how to submit our wills to His. It is for this reason that God sent to earth His new, human Manifestation. If we know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more God would know how to give good gifts to us!

In Bahá’u’lláh the Jew can find the Burning Bush of Messianic Return; the Christian can find enshrined in this Blessed Person the Beloved Lord Jesus returned, even as He foretold His own Return; while the Muslim will find in Bahá’u’lláh the Great Announcement which he has awaited. The glorious fact of this mystery of God, is that we suddenly find ourselves in a oneness, as distinct from a unity of diversified parts. There is no need to feel that we gave in to each other nor that together we gave in to a third party, for God in His loving, gracious, understanding wisdom has supplied the means by which we can be united, for in this new human body, we can behold the Face of Our Ancient God, hear His Voice, and be led by Him out of darkness into light. Oneness of religion is the first requirement of a realization that this earth is one country.

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Another great need is knowledge. “Knowledge is one of the greatest benefits of God,” says Bahá’u’lláh. In the Baha’ 1 dispensation, to acquire knowledge IS encumbent upon all. God is the source of all knowledge. His knowledge is pre- -existent; through Him the standald of knowledge is planted in the world, and through knowledge His banner of unity will he unfurled and will wave over all nations. To study the arts and sciences is good, but only so far as the knowledge gained is used in such a way as to elevate the station of man. All children everywhere must be given equal opportunities for the acquisition of knowledge, so that they can more fittingly serve God and mankind. And faith in God and true knowledge can not be obtained except through believing in all that has proceeded from God.

Indeed, the real treasury of man is his knowledge. Knowledge is the means of honor, prosperity, joy, gladness, happiness and exultation. God looks upon this earth as one planet; men and women, boys and girls everywhere are the citizens of this one earth and to all of them must be pointed out the avenues leading to learning, knowledge and wisdom. Then Why do we remain silent when Africa, America and Australia

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still indulge in racial discrimination? We raise our hands in holy horror when we read of Africa refusing equal education to its black races, and American colleges and universities upholding a color bar, but we are as bad in Australia. Our Aborigines are practically barred even from naturalization, yet we grant it to a stranger coming here from Europe.

Let us be honest for once, and see things as they really are: Can we deny that this earth is one planet? Can we deny that we believe there is only one God who created all creatures? Can we deny that our particular Christ made it very clear that the Father in heaven is the Father of mankind, and did He not command us to go forth as sheep in one fold? Then how can we justify our attitude?

Diflerences of race and nationality are no more than accidents Of birth—like some people’s religion. Color is merely pigmentation of the skin. Beneath the skin beats a heart like yours and mine, and within that breast is a deep love for parent, mate or child; there is a smoldering patriotism and love of country; there is an anxiety for clothing, food and shelter, and what is more, there is a passionate hungering for a God of power and love, justice and equity. Peo [Page 61]THE WORLD IS OUR COUNTRY 61

ple of the earth do not want zealous souls challenging their hereditary beliefs by telling them they should be Baptists, or Seventh-Day Adventists; neither are they interested in becoming Christian or Muslim—they want God! They want a just God who will rule the earth With equity and wisdom; a God of compassion and love; a God whose Kingdom reigns on earth, having all things equal in His sight, not a God Who has been carefully dissected and shown to them as different specimens in different bottles!

Let us not run away with the idea that there is any virtue in being white, rather let us remember that every Manifestation from God has come from a dark-skinned race! On the other hand, white people do have gifts differing from those of the dark people, and these gifts are part of God’s over-all plan.

On the ship going from Bombay to London a Bombay lawyer said to me: “We can gain by learning some of the methods of the western people, such as their industry, their practical ways of getting things done—we’re too dreamy. But, of course,” he added, “you Westerners would benefit if you adopted a little of our spirituality, our philosophy, our willingness to

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make time for meditation. Each can profit from the other!”

God’s law demands oneness in all rights and opporttmities. It does not require uniformity, because we are not all alike, and you can’t pour a gallon of anything into a pint measure. If we are wise, however, we will look around for eight pint measures!

In the realm of economics recall for a moment the unequal distribution of the earth’s products. We talk of the law of supply and demand. That is another of our insincerities. We have never allowed a true law of supply and demand to operate. What we do is restrict supply and create an artificial demand. There are people who even decry the right of the dark race to enjoy similar amenities to the white race. Is there any reason in God’s Name why they should not? We cannot be sincere in our repetition of the Lord’s Prayer: “Thy Kingdom on earth, as it is in heaven,” when by every means at our disposal—legislative, educational, and national, we try to stop it. But, thanks be to the F ather in heaven, we cannot stop it!

We are living in days which are, in religious history, comparable to the time of St. Paul, in that we are spreading God's new Mes [Page 63]THE WORLD IS OUR COUNTRY 63

sage during the first century after the ascent of the Manifestation. In the birth, life and teachings of Bahá’u’lláh we have Jesus returned in the glory of the Father and calling on all mankind everywhere to turn unto Him and to find unity, love and peace; equity and justice.

He tells us that the best beloved of all things in God’s sight is justice. Again He calls us to the wider loyalty where rather than glorying in this, that he loves his country, a man will glory in this, that he loves his kind. “The divine springtime is come,” He announces to us, “Bestir thyself, and magnify, before the entire creation, the name of God, and celebrate His praise, in such wise that all created things may be regenerated and made new.” “Speak,” He says, “and hold not thy peace. Arise before the earth, and arm thyself with the power of this Most Great Name, and be not of those who tarry. This is the Day Whereon the unseen world crieth out: ‘Great is thy blessedness, O earth, for thou hast been made the footstool of thy God, and been chosen as the seat of His Mighty Throne.’ ”

The only hope for the world today lies in God’s guidance as revealed in His latest message to us! True religious unity is the first re [Page 64]64 GREAT THEMES OF LIFE

quirement for a unified, happy, peaceful world, for religion is that which most deeply touches the heart of man.

Bahá’u’lláh tells us that God has said: “The fundamental purpose animating the Faith of God and His Religion is to safeguard the interests and promote the unity of the human race, and to foster the spirit of love and fellowship amongst men. Religion is a manifest light and a strong fortress for the protection and tranquility of the people of the world. For the fear of God commands people to do that which is just and forbids them that which is evil. The religion of God and the Creed of God hath been revealed . . . for the sake of union and harmony among the people of the world; make it not a means of disagreement and discord.”

So we are commanded by God to develop spiritually to that state, wherein we can unite in one religion, and from that become conscious that the world is one country, and we are all fellow-creatures of the one Creator. However, spiritual evolution differs from physical evolution in that it is a conscious process. Spiritual evolution demands a conscious effort. Jesus stressed the moral effort that it requires when He said: “Seek,” “Strive,” “Labor on,” “Be ye

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doers of the Word and not hearers only.” God must be sought. “If thou shalt seek the Lord thy God,” said Moses, “thou shalt find Him if thou seek Him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.”

May God quicken our perception of the world’s need today, and perceiving, may we arise and call the name of His ManifestationBlessed.