Parents' love is perpendicular to ours. Love only crosses the shortest distance. So, since the perpendicular line where we can meet God is far from us, the line from parents loving us must be parallel to it. If this goes wrong, everything breaks up.

Yes, even the universe cannot obstruct parents' love. That is why the same thing can be said of the way of a dutiful son and the way of a dutiful retainer. A dutiful retainer also walks toward a line paralleling the perpendicular, although the position is different. Do you understand? (186-36)

When you see the relationship of a man and a woman as horizontal, the relationship of a parent and child is vertical, on the vertical line. So that is why in Far-Eastern thought they say the parent-child relationship never changes. That relationship is forever; but the object relationship with your mother can change. It changes according to the vertical; if the vertical becomes east-west, this relationship with your mother becomes south-north.

However, the essential perpendicular never changes. Since the parent-child relationship is the one and only, this relationship is an obligation of the heavenly principle. Not one being in the universe will deny this. They will affirm and admit it. There will be a natural affirmation. That is why children must obey their parents' words.

Even if the mother or father was a murderer and burglar, they would never say to their children, "You, be a murderer or a burglar when you grow up." Even if the parents are Mafia, they will say to their children, "You must not become a Mafia." They will try to isolate their children from bad people. Recently I was in prison. Even evil parents would not say to their children. "You must become a bad person like me". So we say to our children, "Do not be such and such a person like me." Now, all this... Did God create Eve first when He created the universe? A simple question.

When we see from this viewpoint, if God is a father, He must first create a son as the vertical standard. Only when the vertical standard is created can the horizontal standard be decided. First the vertical standard and then the horizontal. This, in other words, we can call women. So you might say, "Why did God create men first? That is unfair." But that is wrong. The perpendicular concept must come first. That is where God invested His creative ideas and His ideal purpose.

If so, what is the standard of the origin when God created the universe? That was love.

That is why human beings yearn for the love of their parents from the time they are born and also why the parents yearn for the love of their children. They cannot leave love. If they do, then pain comes.

That is why when we are young we follow our fathers and mothers wherever they go. We serve God the most when we are children. God seems to be our parents. The greatest teacher seems to be our parents. We feel happiness from them. Why? Because it is centered on love. When we leave love, there will be a breakdown.

What is parents' love? That becomes the root in the perpendicular relationship. That is why the above and below relationship is always the perpendicular relationship. It is not curled up, but is in a straight line. If it is curled up, a third standard exists which is not from natural power. If there is a third power, it curls up.