William Arkle - The divine Father and Mother (the human family as an analogue for our relationship with God)

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The Father and Mother

Explanation by William Arkle :

Describing, in the most simple way, the profoundly attentive love that is constantly expressed towards each of God's children.

In this case we see the little human on earth, standing alone and unafraid before his inner realisation of this beautiful attitude of God. He feels the nature of love to be both as a mother and a father towards him, and that such love is not concerned with any difference in size between his nature and the much more mature nature of God.

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The Parents

Explanation by William Arkle


Depicting our Divine Father and Mother in an ethereal form and yet close to the earth, where they are looking upon a human father and mother on the banks of the river.

The children of the human parents are seen playing among the rocks beyond them. The purpose of the painting is to express the attitude of parental love that comes to us from our God, and also to describe the fact that our own children bear to us the same relationship which we bear to our Divine Parents.

This is of particular interest when we realise that all the relationships of love and responsibility we experience in bringing up our children on earth are a small scale replica of the problems and difficulties and joys that our God has in bringing us to life.

Such an important part of this life we are being given is the reality and strength of our own individual duality, which can only be given us if God leaves us with real freedom in which we can make real mistakes. And so we discover the same understanding in our earthly family situation. We know we have got to let go of the guidance and discipline we exercise over our children as they grow to an age when they must take their reality upon themselves.

The experience of being both a child and a parent on earth is thus one of the most profound forms of teaching which the Creator has arranged for us to experience, and we will find within those experiences the answer to most of the great enigmas of life.

From: http://www.billarkle.co.uk/greatgift/pictureseq/fset003.html 

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Note: To add a further layer to the analogy between the mortal family and the divine family, my understanding is that the models used for the Father and Mother, and The Parents were William Arkle's own son and daughter.
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