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Main Index
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You may have gone astray, but you remain the son. Even the one who has become absolutely corrupt is still the son. Even the one who has sinned, who has gone far away and has forgotten his Father, still remains the son -- because there is no way to renounce your son-ship. Once a son, forever a son. And when you say'Father', God is not a concept; it becomes a relationship. It is not a word, it throbs with life. Now it has a heart. Once you say'Father', suddenly you feel that the whole existence has a deep compassion for you, just like a father. You can sin and you can ask to be forgiven -- that's the beauty of Jesus.
In India we have missed that. In India we have been very calculating and very philosophical. We say,'If you have sinned, if you have done bad KARMAS, then you have to do good karmas to cancel them.' Because the God is more or less a philosophical concept; He is just. Whatsoever you have done, in the same coins you will be repaid; whatsoever you have sown, you will have to cut and reap.
God is just, ultimate justice. But when Jesus says,'Father', God is more compassion and love than justice. Remember, if God is compassion, sometimes He can forgive. If He is simply just, He cannot forgive; you cannot ask for his mercy. And Jesus says that man is so ignorant, and man has committed so many sins, that if man has to cancel them by doing good deeds, it is almost impossible. Unless God's grace descends, man cannot be saved. When Jesus says'Father' he means all these things.
The simple word 'father' implies much. It is a relationship, a love relationship. You can ask to be forgiven and He will have to forgive you. In fact, he is not a stranger. You need not be shy; you can confess, you can depend, and you can trust that He loves you. And His love is greater than your sin, His compassion greater than your mistakes, than your errors. He is greater than your ignorance; His light is more than your darkness. When Jesus says'Father', he creates a possibility for prayer. If God is just a bare concept, then how can you pray to a bare concept? You cannot pray to the absolute, you cannot pray to the BRAHMAN, because prayer will be absurd. You can pray
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