Yeshua

Is it, then, possible to be saved from the trials of God? No, verily. There is a great wisdom therein of which no one is aware save the wise and knowing. Were it not for tests, genuine gold could not be distinguished from the counterfeit. Were it not for tests, the courageous could not be known from the coward. Were it not for tests, the people of faithfulness could not be known from those of selfishness. Were it not for tests, the intellects and faculties of the scholars in the great colleges would not be developed. Were it not for tests, the sparkling gems could not be known from worthless pebbles. Were it not for tests, the fisherman could not be distinguished from Annas and Caiaphas who were amid glory (worldly dignity).

Were it not for tests the face of Mary, the Magdalene, would not glisten with the light of firmness and certainty unto all the horizons. These are some of the mysteries of tests which we have unfolded unto thee that thou mayest become cognizant of the mysteries of God in every cycle. Verily, I pray God to illumine the faces as pure gold in the fire of tests - (Abdu'l-Baha, Star of the West, vol. 8, no. 19, pp. 238-39.)

I really loved this. Very inspiring and wonderfully written!

We often bemoan our "lot" in life, like the biblical Job but we are promised that there is a divine plan for our life. Our sufferings exist to produce in us endurance and to determine the "wheat from the chaff", those strong in faith from those weak in faith.

And notice the mention of Mary Magdalene as an ideal example - AGAIN...I've found about 40 something references to Mary MAGDALENE by Abdu'l-Baha - so that's another one to add to the list LOL

tonyfish58

Yes it always hard to see them a s a bounty

Trials A Gift From God

Thou hast written concerning the tests that have come upon thee. To the sincere ones, tests are as a gift from God, the Exalted, for a heroic person hasteneth, with the utmost joy and gladness, to the tests of a violent battlefield, but the coward is afraid and trembles and utters moaning and lamentation. Likewise, an expert student prepareth and memorizeth his lessons and exercises with the utmost effort, and in the day of examination he appeareth with infinite joy before the master. Likewise, the pure gold shineth radiantly in the fire of test. Consequently, it is made clear that for holy souls, trials are as the gift of God, the Exalted; but for weak souls they are an unexpected calamity. This test is just as thou hast written: it removeth the rust of egotism from the mirror of the heart until the Sun of Truth may shine therein. For, no veil is greater than egotism and no matter how thin that covering may be, yet it will finally veil man entirely and prevent him from receiving a portion from the eternal bounty. Bahá'í World Faith - Chapter 8

'Abdu'l-Bahá on Suffering and Tests
Does the soul progress more through sorrow or through the joy in this world?"

`Abdu'l-Bahá:

"The mind and spirit of man advance when he is tried by suffering. The more the ground is ploughed the better the seed will grow, the better the harvest will be. Just as the plough furrows the earth deeply, purifying it of weeds and thistles, so suffering and tribulation free man from the petty affairs of this worldly life until he arrives at a state of complete detachment. His attitude in this world will be that of divine happiness. Man is, so to speak, unripe: the heat of the fire of suffering will mature him. Look back to the times past and you will find that the greatest men have suffered most."
"He who through suffering has attained development, should he fear happiness?"

`Abdu'l-Bahá:

"Through suffering he will attain to an eternal happiness which nothing can take from him. The apostles of Christ suffered: they attained eternal happiness."

"Then it is impossible to attain happiness without suffering?"

`Abdu'l-Bahá:

"To attain eternal happiness one must suffer. He who has reached the state of self-sacrifice has true joy. Temporal joy will vanish."

Paris Talks: Addresses given by `Abdu'l-Bahá in Paris in 1911-1912, 11th ed. (London: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1979), pp. 178-79.

Cheers Tony

Yeshua

Pain is never permanent.
St. Theresa of Avila

....the endurance of darkness is preparation for great light.
St. John of the Cross

As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being. Carl Gustav Jung

Yeshua

"...Grief and sorrow do not come to us by chance, they are sent to us by the Divine Mercy for our own perfecting.
When a man is happy he may forget his God; but when grief comes and sorrows overwhelm him, then will he remember his Father Who is in Heaven, and Who is able to deliver him from his humiliations..."

~ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá