We test the fire…
O SON OF BEING!
Busy not thyself with this world, for with fire We test the gold, and with gold We test Our servants.~ Baha’u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words #55
I recently used this quote in some devotions that I hosted focused on the topic of fire. In particular with this quote, we contemplated using fire to test the purity of gold and in turn using gold as a temptation to test the loyalty and honesty of servants. Upon further viewing of this passage I noticed something I missed the first time around though – the way that ‘We’ begins with a capital letter signifying that perhaps it is referring to God and and us alike. Could humanity be like the gold that God is referring to being tested by the fires of hard experiences in our lives, while also being the servants of God and tested by the trappings of materialism? Detachment is often associated with this quote and can be seen in the beginning words where we urged not to pay too much attention to the mundane things of this world, but to focus on the spiritual world.
Photo credit: Baha’i Media Bank: Award-winning fire dancer, Hogan Toomalatai, performing at the Baha’i jubilee festivities in Samoa.