My motivation for entering into the state of marriage, as well as taking unto myself a wife and eventually children, is the direct result of the spiritual influence of Abonim, that Father Moon had upon my life, as a result of the fifty-state, fifty-two-city, We Will Stand 2001 national tour–during which Abonim spoke about the importance of rebuilding the family, restoring the community, renewing the nation and the world. And one particular aspect of Father’s teaching was the importance of blood lineage.
Even though he spoke about life, love and lineage, he often asked us on the tour, in every city, “Which one of the three of them is most important: life, love or lineage?” A lot of people said “love.” Father would always strongly indicate blood lineage is very important because blood lineage is vertical. Love and life are horizontal. As a result of constantly hearing him teach about the importance of blood lineage, and passing on our life and our legacy to our children and our children’s children, it became very much apparent to me that the only way for me to go was to become a married man and to allow that blood lineage to be passed on to other generations …
I feel renewed; I feel whole. I am no longer a half-man. As Abonim said, “Any man unmarried is a half-man; any woman unmarried is a halfwoman.” So now, we are whole; we are one. I feel that what we have done is so right. I’m feeling renewed. We are now rededicated and recommitted to do the work that is required of us to hasten the day when the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven, will be manifest right here on earth.
From Today’s World, May 2001, p. 11.