strive that your actions day by day may be beautiful prayers.
Turn towards God, and seek always to do that which is right and noble.
Enrich the poor, raise the fallen, comfort the sorrowful, bring healing to
the sick, reassure the fearful, rescue the oppressed, bring hope to the
hopeless, shelter the destitute!

This is the work of a true Baha'i, and this is what is expected of him. If
we strive to do all this, then are we true Baha'is, but if we neglect it,
we are not followers of the Light, and we have no right to the name.

God, who sees all hearts, knows how far our lives are the fulfilment of
our words.

THE TRUE MEANING OF BAPTISM BY WATER AND FIRE

November 9th

In the Gospel according to St John, Christ has said: 'Except a man be born
of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.'(8)
The priests have interpreted this into meaning that baptism is necessary
for salvation. In another Gospel it is said: 'He shall baptize you with
the Holy Ghost and with fire'.(9)

Thus the water of baptism and the fire are one! It cannot mean that the
'water' spoken of is physical water, for it is the direct opposite of
'fire', and one destroys the other. When in the Gospels, Christ speaks of
'water', He means that which causes life, for without water no worldly
creature can live--mineral, vegetable, animal and man, one and all, depend
upon water for their very being. Yes, the latest scientific discoveries
prove to us that even mineral has some form of life, and that it also
needs water for its existence.

Water is the cause of life, and when Christ speaks of water, He is
symbolizing that which is the cause of Everlasting Life.

This life-giving water of which He speaks is like unto fire, for it is
none other than the Love of God, and this love means life to our souls.

By the fire of the Love of God the veil is burnt which separates us from
the Heavenly Realities, and with clear vision we are enabled to struggle
onward and upward, ever progressing in the paths of virtue and holiness,
and becoming the means of light to the world.

There is nothing greater or more blessed than the Love of God! It gives
healing to the sick, balm to the wounded, joy and consolation to the whole
world, and through it alone can man attain Life Everlasting. The essence
of all religions is the Love of God, and it is the foundation of all the
sacred teachings.

It was the Love of God that led Abraham, Isaac, and Ja