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Glory be to Thee, O God, for Thy manifestation of love to mankind! Baha'u'llah, Baha'i Prayers (UK), p. 60 (142:2) The advent of God's manifestation of love to the world, in the form of a human being - a miracle which God has ordained to occur from age to age - is the most vital yet most mysterious phenomenon in creation. At such times the worlds of God and of man make their closest approach. Those who attain the presence of the Promised One, if they are spiritually awake, obtain a glimpse of the realm of God, and "drink of the honey of reunion with Him" . Although God's love is omnipresent, whether or not the Promised One be here on earth, yet when He is with us in physical form, it is a special time, a time of which it can truly be said that we behold " God with us" (142:3) His authority is divine, and His judgment irrevocable. He tests us, discerning our inmost motives, searching the condition of our hearts - and He rewards us according to His celestial wisdom. His every word and action are of God, and they proceed for the education of His children (142:4) Unlike any earthly leader, the influence of the Manifestation of God increases uninterruptedly after His departure from the earth. Like a divine magnet, He attracts humanity to Him. Indeed, it is He who summons and calls us to do His work on earth: to shape our future according to His vision, to produce the history He desires. The age is His to command, and through the army of His followers, He conquers the forces of opposition (142:5) The Meaning of the life of a Manifestation of God cannot be contained in a book, but rather is contained in the response of humanity; it consists, furthermore, in the influence that a Manifestation of God exerts during the centuries and millennia after His Coming. It is contained in the efflorescence of the collective life of the children of men as they strive to carry out His will and, in consequence of their striving, bring upon themselves the blessings promised them by their Creator. It is contained, moreover, in the hearts of those who love Him (142:6) The meaning of His life is contained also in the destruction of patterns of thought, of behavior, and of so-called civilization, which run counter to His will, and which stubbornly and naively, clinging to the sand, attempt to withstand the force of His Revelation which, like a tidal wave, sweeps them away
(142:7)
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