God the Parent does not have the slightest interest in judging or punishing us. When God speaks of "distinguishing between good and evil" in the Ofudesaki, it is clear from the context that it has nothing to do with judgment or punishment.

God the Parent is God in Truth, God of Origin, who created us human beings. We are God's children without exception. God protects and guides us with parental love, desiring single-heartedly to save us. God never punishes, troubles, or judges us. God, as our Parent, always nurtures us with warm and loving care.

God's workings are manifested to us according to the way we use our mind. There are times when we are faced with physical problems, a series of trying events, or some other difficulties. At times like these, we must remember well that they are not God's punishment for our thoughts or actions and that God never becomes angry with us. God the Parent teaches us that any difficulty that confronts us is the "guidance," "road sign," "care," or "admonition" of the Parent, who only knows love for all children and who is only interested in guiding all of us toward the Joyous Life.

In the Ofudesaki, God the Parent speaks of "regret" and "anger." We would be gravely mistaken, however, if we took them as being the same as our feelings of regret or anger, which arise as dusts of our mind.

The loving care of God the Parent is expressed in verses 20 through 33 in Part V, which may be summarized as follows:

Disorders appearing in your body are all expressions of My guidance, My admonition for your mistaken use of the mind, or, in some cases, My anger. You should each ponder over your own Case. Why do you think I am talking about this? I love you so much that I cannot help teaching you in this manner. Whatever admonition I may give you, whatever angry words I may utter to I you, do not ever get depressed. Be sure to remember that I am only trying to save you. Parents admonish their children using severe words because they are concerned about their children's welfare. Ponder from the perspective of these parents' love. Truly I am concerned about all of you and I amdoing everything I can to save you.

God the Parent loves us and so desires to save us single-heartedly that God gives us instruction and guidance in every possible way. Nevertheless, because of our inability to understand the Parent's love, we become worried about things that are shown to us and sink into our self-centered imagination in pursuit of our selfish interests. The difficulty in making us understand the parental heart perhaps frustrates God the Parent. It seems that God explains this using the word "regret" and refers to the most intense regret as "anger."

Let us ponder over God the Parent's intention in teaching us as follows:

To Tsukihi, all of you in the world are My children. Though My thoughts for you are filled with love,

No one is aware of it, and the ponderings of each of you are only of dust.

Please think of the regret of God over such minds. Indeed, nothing more can be said, even should I so desire.

Ofudesaki XVII:68-70

(The above is a translation--first published in the July 1995 issue of TENRIKYO--of an article excerpted from Omichi-no-kotoba by Yoshikazu Fukaya, published by Doyusha Publishing Company.)