To put our “greatest effort in the way of unity and love”

Soon will the star of this unity shine forth and flood all the horizons with its light and perfect connection and real oneness be obtained in all the regions of the earth. But the speedy realization of these hopes is dependent upon this: That the beloved of God in the West shall arise in unison with perfect strength, girding the loins of endeavor in service and putting forth their greatest effort in the way of unity and love. They must not rest a moment nor take a breath of ease. Nay, rather, night and day must they be striving, working and serving! And with perfect severance, spirituality and the best intent and effort must they hasten to promulgate the Divine Teaching, and above all they must act according to the precepts and exhortations of His Holiness Baha’u’llah, for in this cycle of Baha’u’llah verbal confessions and acknowledgments, literal faith and certainty and external relations are of no avail. Nay, rather, the beloved of God and the maid-servants of the Merciful must manifest such attributes and ethical conduct as to embody and personify the teachings of Baha’u’llah. They must promulgate the law of the Kingdom with deeds and not words. Thus may they become the quintessence of being, the signs of the Kingdom of God, standards of the Supreme Concourse. May ye be salutary water for the thirsty, an evidence of guidance for the seeker, protection and support for the helpless, a shelter and home for the wanderers, the treasury of the Kingdom for the poor; the source of hope and happiness for the disappointed; the remedy of the heart and soul for the ailing. May you manifest the utmost of kindness to the human race; to weep with him who mourneth and to laugh with him who rejoiceth; sympathizing with the helpless; in communion with the wanderer; a friend to the friend and foe. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a Tablet, 'Star of the West', vol. 1, no. 4, May 17, 1910)