Children Were Never Afraid of Him

During Christmas week of 1912 in London, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá went to a Christmas party for the poor, and He was so kind to the children that some of them thought He was Father Christmas and sang a song in His praise! Children always loved Him, and though they were not used to seeing a visitor from the East in a white turban and long Persian coat, they were never afraid of Him.

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One day at East Sheen, the three small children of Mr. and Mrs. Jenner clambered on to His knee, clung round His neck, and remained as quiet as mice while He spoke, stroking the hair of the little ones and saying: "Blessed are the children, of whom His Holiness Christ said: 'Of such are the Kingdom of Heaven.' Children have no worldly ambitions. Their hearts are pure.

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We must become like children, crowning our heads with the crown of severance (from all material things of the earth); purifying our hearts, that we may see God in His Great Manifestations, and obey the laws brought to us by those, His Messengers."

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When He first came to England and stayed in a village not far from London, the village children followed Him in the street, and He gave them shillings and sixpences from the pockets of His long coat. At Esslingen in Germany, when the children presented Him with flowers, He gave them boxes of chocolates and sweets.

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*Sources: H. M. Balyuzi, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: The Centre of the Covenant, pp. 351 and 382–3; Lady Blomfield, The Chosen Highway, "‘Abdu’l-Bahá in London"; Annamarie Honnold, Vignettes from the Life of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, pp. 73–4.*

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