lessons from a Bahá’í friend

For the last 2 years I have led a small group Bible study for college women at my alma mater. The group is tightly knit, chatty, intellectually curious, and motivated to grow spiritually. Four of the girls are Christians. One of them is Bahá’í. This combination has produced rich discussion, in-depth study, real-world applications, and many moments of shared laughter and experience. Yesterday was another perfect example.

After some fun catching up on the events of the week, we turned to our study. We have been going through the "I Am" statements of Jesus this semester, and our text for the afternoon was John 14:1-14. Immediately upon opening to the passage, one of the girls remarked, "Oh, this is a controversial one." I nodded, and we proceeded to read the Scripture. When we were done, my Bahá’í friend N. asked, "So what exactly is controversial about that?" I pointed out v.6, in which Jesus states, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." What fascinated me was that, in the context of the passage, these words by Jesus did not stand out as controversial or an exclusive claim to N. To her, they seemed to be less about defining who is saved and how and more about living in a way that will lead one toward God. It was a learning experience for me to hear how someone outside the Christian tradition interprets those words.

N. also shared during our time together that March 2-19th is an annual fast (sunrise to sunset) in the Bahá’í tradition and that she has kept that discipline every year since she was 15. I was quite impressed and I told her so. Listening to her talk about the blessing she receives from this time of intentional withholding of physical nourishment from herself made me desire more of that kind of spiritual discipline in my own life.

N. is a radiant, deep, loving, thoughtful, joyful, and disciplined person of faith. She may not share all of my Christian beliefs, but I certainly feel blessed to know and learn from her.