The Purpose Of God In Creating Man Hath

Sources: Gleanings From The Writings Of Baha'u'llah

The purpose of God in creating man hath been, and will ever be, to enable

him to know his Creator and to attain His Presence. To this most excellent

aim, this supreme objective, all the heavenly Books and the

divinely-revealed and weighty Scriptures unequivocally bear witness. Whoso

hath recognized the Day Spring of Divine guidance and entered His holy

court hath drawn nigh unto God and attained His Presence, a Presence which

is the real Paradise, and of which the loftiest mansions of heaven are but

a symbol. Such a man hath attained the knowledge of the station of Him Who

is "at the distance of two bows," Who standeth beyond the

Sadratu'l-Muntaha. Whoso hath failed to recognize Him will have condemned

himself to the misery of remoteness, a remoteness which is naught but

utter nothingness and the essence of the nethermost fire. Such will be his

fate, though to outward seeming he may occupy the earth's loftiest seats

and be established upon its most exalted throne.



He Who is the Day Spring of Truth is, no doubt, fully capable of rescuing

from such remoteness wayward souls and of causing them to draw nigh unto

His court and attain His Presence. "If God had pleased He had surely made

all men one people." His purpose, however, is to enable the pure in spirit

and the detached in heart to ascend, by virtue of their own innate powers,

unto the shores of the Most Great Ocean, that thereby they who seek the

Beauty of the All-Glorious may be distinguished and separated from the

wayward and perverse. Thus hath it been ordained by the all-glorious and

resplendent Pen....



That the Manifestations of Divine justice, the Day Springs of heavenly

grace, have when they appeared amongst men always been destitute of all

earthly dominion and shorn of the means of worldly ascendancy, should be

attributed to this same principle of separation and distinction which

animateth the Divine Purpose. Were the Eternal Essence to manifest all

that is latent within Him, were He to shine in the plentitude of His

glory, none would be found to question His power or repudiate His truth.

Nay, all created things would be so dazzled and thunderstruck by the

evidences of His light as to be reduced to utter nothingness. How, then,

can the godly be differentiated under such circumstances from the froward?



This principle hath operated in each of the previous Dispensations and

been abundantly demonstrated.... It is for this reason that, in every age,

when a new Manifestation hath appeared and a fresh revelation of God's

transcendent power was vouchsafed unto men, they that misbelieved in Him,

deluded by the appearance of the peerless and everlasting Beauty in the

garb of mortal men, have failed to recognize Him. They have erred from His

path and eschewed His company--the company of Him Who is the Symbol of

nearness to God. They have even arisen to decimate the ranks of the

faithful and to exterminate such as believed in Him.



Behold how in this Dispensation the worthless and foolish have fondly

imagined that by such instruments as massacre, plunder and banishment they

can extinguish the Lamp which the Hand of Divine power hath lit, or

eclipse the Day Star of everlasting splendor. How utterly unaware they

seem to be of the truth that such adversity is the oil that feedeth the

flame of this Lamp! Such is God's transforming power. He changeth

whatsoever He willeth; He verily hath power over all things....



Consider at all times the sovereignty exercised by the Ideal King, and

behold the evidences of His power and paramount influence. Sanctify your

ears from the idle talk of them that are the symbols of denial and the

exponents of violence and anger. The hour is approaching when ye will

witness the power of the one true God triumphing over all created things

and the signs of His sovereignty encompassing all creation. On that day ye

will discover how all else besides Him will have been forgotten and come

to be regarded as utter nothingness.



It should, however, be borne in mind that God and His Manifestation can,

under no circumstances, be dissociated from the loftiness and sublimity

which They inherently possess. Nay, loftiness and sublimity are themselves

the creations of His Word, if ye choose to see with My sight not with

yours.