Grace

Due to humanity’s fallen and degraded condition, it is difficult if not impossible for people to attain the goal and purpose of life unaided. In fact, help is available; God’s grace is sufficient support on the journey of faith. The scriptures often emphasize the priority of divine grace; it is present prior to even a glimmer of faith, prompting faith in people who would otherwise be lost and unable to escape their miserable existence.

We have selected passages that describe God as the savior of sinful people. Grace is entirely God’s initiative, given regardless of a person’s attitude or merit. Furthermore, God’s grace far overshadows the merit gained by good works; indeed, nothing can come of a person’s good works or austerities endured for the purpose of salvation, in the absence of divine grace.

The section ends with the two parables of the Prodigal Son, one from the New Testament and one from the Lotus Sutra. The teachings of these two stories differ in some respects, yet the theme of divine compassion for errant humanity shines through both. The Buddhist parable’s depiction of the father as searching desperately for his son and then patiently working to recover him whole over many years is a fitting description of God’s toil through human history to save fallen humanity, according to the teachings of Father Moon.