Come with Me if You Want to Live!

The famous line in the film The Terminator: “Come with me if you want to live!” didn’t originate with the movie. It has been exclaimed since ancient times. 

That same call, spoken by many in many different ways, is as old as humanity. The prophets of God have issued it to us over and over again.

RELATED: Are the Prophets Related to Each Other?

Using other words, Noah proclaimed it to those who scoffed at his building of the Ark. Only his family survived the flood and started a new tribe. The story may be symbolic, but Noah’s appeal to be safe and come with him on the Ark also symbolizes God’s call to humankind to turn toward Him and be safe.

Krishna said “Faith in Krishna is the best and safest course.”

To follow him, Buddha promised, is to find enlightenment.

Zoroaster proclaimed “That which is good for all and anyone, for whomsoever, that is good for me …”

Moses put it a different way when he said “Have you forgotten God? Even so, He has not forgotten you.”

As recorded in Luke 9, Jesus Christ said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.”

Muhammad reportedly told his followers that “Loving humanity is second only to having faith in Allah as one of the best deeds in Islam.”

The Bab, the founder of the Babi Faith and the herald and predecessor of Baha’u’llah, said:

I am, I am the Promised One! I am the One Whose name you have for a thousand years invoked, at Whose mention you have risen, Whose advent you have longed to witness, and the hour of Whose Revelation you have prayed God to hasten. 

Baha’u’llah wrote:

If ye follow Me, ye shall behold that which ye were promised, and I will make you My companions in the dominion of My majesty and the intimates of My beauty in the heaven of My power forevermore.

In more recent times, think of these words from the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., “I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.”

RELATED: If We’re Spiritual Beings, Why Do We Live in a Physical World?

All of the messengers and prophets tell us that within us the universe is enfolded. Our bodies long to live in safety and security, but still we seek the truth and fight for it. Voices today are crying out for it. 

The truth is that the Creator, known by many names, has in his wisdom provided us with messengers, manifestations, and prophets who all urge us toward the light of justice, freedom, cooperation, and love so necessary for our collective survival. “Come with me if you want to live!” each one says.

We find ourselves in the 21^st century fighting for survival of our species in the midst of cataclysmic natural and man-made disasters, racism, and rampant injustice. The world is ablaze with disunity, just as it is ablaze with wildfires destroying millions of acres, towns, and lives.But the Baha’i teachings offer us hope, because once again the word of God has been revealed for humankind in this new age. Only the power and creative energy of those words can hope to douse the flames of disintegration. Baha’is believe the vast writings of the Baha’i Faith contain solutions to these problems, starting with the individual and moving collectively in ever-widening circles of unified action. These freely available texts, keys to unlocking the spiritual summons to “Come with me if you want to live!” can be found here.