Ties of Love

(The Second Blessing)

Genesis 1:28: “…and increase and fill the earth”

Adam and Eve should have joined in loving oneness as husband and wife and (then) raised children. This would have been the fulfillment of the second blessing.

When God’s second blessing is fulfilled, this family or community also becomes a good object partner, giving joy to God… When a man and woman love each other so much that they cannot live without each other, they can each go beyond their own life; each can sacrifice his or her own life for the sake of their beloved.

That place where God’s heart and the human heart are bonded in unity is the parent-child relationship, the root of the universe.

Parents represent heaven, while children, siblings, and husband and wife represent the earth.

The second blessing is that a perfected man and woman should become a true husband and wife, have children, and realize an ideal family, thus fulfilling their duty as true parents.

If you cast a net of love and pull it in with all your strength, the world will be pulled to you, and even God will be pulled to you. In the end, an ideal family is where we fish to catch the universe with love.

Love is a rope that binds the mother and father together into one. Steel chains rust over time and eventually break, but the rope of love lasts forever.

A family is a fortress or palace that holds the past, present and future worlds. In the family, the grandparents, representing the past, should be attended like God, with the absolute respect accorded a great king and queen. The parents are in the position of Adam and Eve; they are the present king and queen of the family and its center. The children are the kings and queens of days to come; they inherit the kingdom of the future. This is the concept of a royal family based on true love.

We cannot explain existence in this universe apart from the idea of partnership. The universe protects those who realize this idea. It protects them without fail. Thus, a man and woman strive to unite and live together as one, based on eternal love. The whole universe will protect them.                                                                                   - SMM

About the painting: The ropes symbolize the deep ties of love existing in the family.  We are the product of our ancestors, and as parents, we are responsible for the legacy we want to leave to our children. The colors of the families – earth tones (past), vivid colors (present), and blue (future) represent the three generations.