O army of God! Through the protection and help vouchsafed by the Blessed Beauty—may my life be a sacrifice
to His loved ones—ye must conduct yourselves in such a manner that ye may stand
out distinguished and brilliant as the sun among other souls. Should any one of
you enter a city, he should become a centre of attraction by reason of his
sincerity, his faithfulness and love, his honesty and fidelity, his
truthfulness and loving-kindness towards all the peoples of the world, so that
the people of that city may cry out and say: ‘This man is unquestionably a
Bahá’í, for his manners, his behaviour, his conduct, his morals, his nature,
and disposition reflect the attributes of the Bahá’ís.’ Not until ye attain
this station can ye be said to have been faithful to the Covenant and Testament
of God. For He hath, through irrefutable Texts, entered into a binding Covenant
with us all, requiring us to act in accordance with His sacred instructions and
counsels.
(‘Abdu’l-Baha, ‘Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’)
