… in this
cycle of Bahá'u'lláh verbal confessions and acknowledgements, literal faith and
certainty and external relations are of no avail. Nay, rather, the beloved of
God and the maid-servants of the Merciful must manifest such attributes and
ethical conduct as to embody and personify the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh. They
must promulgate the law of the Kingdom with deeds and not words. Thus may they
become the quintessence of being, the signs of the Kingdom of God, standards of
the Supreme Concourse. May ye be salutary water for the thirsty, an evidence of
guidance for the seeker, protection and support for the helpless, a shelter and
home for the wanderers, the treasury of the Kingdom for the poor; the source of
hope and happiness for the disappointed; the remedy of the heart and soul for
the ailing. May you manifest the utmost of kindness to the human race; to weep
with him who mourneth and to laugh with him who rejoiceth; sympathizing with
the helpless; in communion with the wanderer; a friend to the friend and
foe.
(‘Abdu'l-Baha, Star of the West, vol. 1, no. 4, May 17, 1910)
