2. Recovering the Dignity of Sons and Daughters of God

World Scripture

The Rock, his work is perfect; for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and right is he. They have dealt corruptly with him, they are no longer his children because of their blemish; they are a perverse and crooked generation. Do you thus requite the Lord, you foolish and senseless people? Is not he your Father, who created you, who made you and established you?
Deuteronomy 32.4-6

Sons have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me.
Isaiah 1.2

We are all as the Buddha’s sons. The Buddha has always declared that we are his sons. But because of the three sufferings, in the midst of births-and-deaths we have borne all kinds of torments, being deluded and ignorant and enjoying our attachment to trifles. Today the World-honored One has caused us to ponder over and remove the dirt of all diverting discussions of inferior things. In these we have hitherto been diligent to make progress and have got, as it were, a day’s pay for our effort to reach Nirvana. Obtaining this, we greatly rejoiced and were contented… but still we did not perceive that we are really Buddha’s sons.
Lotus Sutra 4 (Buddhism)

For since in prayer we call God our Father, it is our duty always to deport and demean ourselves as godly children, that He may not receive shame, but honor and praise from us.
Martin Luther, The Large Catechism (Christianity)

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

The original relationship between God and human beings is that of eternal Parent and child. Restoration, therefore, means recovering that relationship.
(316:236, February 13, 2000)

Since God is the King of faith, He seeks a prince of faith, and since He is the King of love, He looks for a prince of love.
(Way of God’s Will 2.2)

In relating to God, we should follow the way of children of filial piety. God is serious about the world situation. Is there someone who, with even greater seriousness, is desperate to experience God’s heart, and who forgets himself and spends sleepless nights in the struggle to become God’s child? This is what the question comes down to.
(62:35, September 10, 1972)

God is your Father and you are your Father’s daughters. How much God has longed to embrace His daughters in His bosom? For that reason, you should become God’s filial daughters… If each of you becomes a filial daughter, all your family members will follow suit. By the same token, the entire nation, world and cosmos will unite with you. You will become God’s number one victorious daughter, a saint to the world, a holy daughter to the cosmos. That is how you become a mistress in the realm of the royal family.
(293:208, May 26, 1998)

Mayest we become Thy simple and pure children who can penetrate to Thy heart of longing and love which desires to embrace us… Father! Although we called Thee “Father,” our voice did not flow out of a sincere mind and heart springing forth from our flesh and bones. There was never a time when we could rush to Thee and cling to Thee out of such an emotion.
(20:199, June 9, 1968)

Only after climbing over hills of sorrow, hills of suffering and hills of resentment… can we hold on to Thy heart and say: “Father, Thy sorrow is my sorrow, thy suffering is my suffering, and Thy troubles are my troubles. Please entrust all Thy suffering to me, while Thou dost dwell in joy.”
(4:294, September 14, 1958)