Bahá’u’lláh’s stupendous task on this earthly plane had, moreover,
at the time of His passing, been brought to its final consummation. His
mission, far from being in any way inconclusive, had, in every respect, been
carried through to a full end. The Message with which He had been entrusted had
been disclosed to the gaze of all mankind. The summons He had been commissioned
to issue to its leaders and rulers had been fearlessly voiced. The fundamentals
of the doctrine destined to recreate its life, heal its sicknesses and redeem
it from bondage and degradation had been impregnably established. The tide of
calamity that was to purge and fortify the sinews of His Faith had swept on
with unstemmed fury. The blood which was to fertilize the soil out of which the
institutions of His World Order were destined to spring had been profusely
shed. Above all the Covenant that was to perpetuate the influence of that
Faith, insure its integrity, safeguard it from schism,
and stimulate its world-wide expansion, had been fixed on an inviolable basis.
His Cause, precious beyond the dreams and hopes of men;
enshrining within its shell that pearl of great price to which the world, since
its foundation, had been looking forward; confronted with colossal tasks of
unimaginable complexity and urgency, was beyond a peradventure in safe keeping.
His own beloved Son, the apple of His eye, His vicegerent on earth, the
Executive of His authority, the Pivot of His Covenant, the Shepherd of His
flock, the Exemplar of His faith, the Image of His perfections, the Mystery of
His Revelation, the Interpreter of His mind, the Architect of His World Order,
the Ensign of His Most Great Peace, the Focal Point of His unerring guidance—in
a word, the occupant of an office without peer or equal in the entire field of
religious history—stood guard over it, alert, fearless and determined to
enlarge its limits, blazon abroad its fame, champion its interests and
consummate its purpose. (Shoghi Effendi, ‘God Passes By’)
