In reply to thy letter, I am obliged to be brief: Praise
thou God that thou hast succeeded in becoming a teacher of young Bahá'ís, young
trees of the Abha Paradise, and at the same time art able to benefit the other
children as well. According to the explicit divine Text, teaching the children
is indispensable and obligatory. It followeth that teachers are servants of the
Lord God, since they have arisen to perform this task, which is the same as
worship. You must therefore offer praise with every breath, for you are educating
your spiritual children. The spiritual father is greater than the physical one,
for the latter bestoweth but this world's life, whereas the former endoweth his
child with life everlasting. This is why, in the Law of God, teachers are
listed among the heirs.
(‘Abdu’l-Baha, from a Tablet, The Compilation of
Compilations, vol. I, Baha’i Education)
