Thoughts on God & Mother's Day

In May we celebrate Mother’s Day and express our love and appreciation to our mothers. The Bible teaches that God loves each of us with a type of love known as “agape” love. Agape is a Greek word which means love that is unconditional and unchanging. No matter what we do, God’s love for us remains. For many who have not experienced God’s love, the closest experience of agape love comes from our mothers. Did you know that God’s agape love and the love of a mother have much in common? The Bible actually uses motherly references in describing God numerous times. Here are some examples:
• Genesis 1:27 “So God created human beings in His own image. In the image of God He created them; male and female He created them” (NLT). If God created us male and female in His image, then the image of God contains both male and female aspects to it. This would include motherhood.
• Isaiah 42:14 “He will say, ‘I have long been silent; yes, I have restrained Myself. But now, like a woman in labor, I will cry and groan and pant’” (NLT). God groans over us just like a mother in labor.
• Isaiah 66:13 “I will comfort you there like a mother comforting her child” (CEV). God thinks of a mother comforting a child when He reaches out to comfort us during our times of need.
• Matthew 23:37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets and stone the messengers God has sent you! How many times I wanted to put my arms around all your people, just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would not let me!” (GNB) God longs to gather us under His wing like a mother hen gathers her chicks. What a beautiful image of God’s love for us!

Female images of God in the Bible can get some people kind of squirmy. They think it is messing with theology. They ask, “God is male isn’t He?” The truth the Bible teaches is clearly “no”! God is not male. He is spirit and as a spirit, he has no physical characteristics including gender. God has chosen to reveal Himself to humanity as “Father” but this is merely metaphor. Metaphor is, “An actuality meant to convey a truth that can’t be interpreted literally.” In other words, God is “like” a father in real ways but this doesn’t mean he literally is a father in the same sense that our earthly fathers are. Now, some churches today have gone to praying to “Mother God” but I think this goes too far. We should honor God’s choice of metaphor as our “Father” to reveal Himself to us and continue to refer to Him in male terms.
Now things are a bit different with Jesus. Jesus became incarnate in human flesh as a Jewish man. Jesus possesses a fully human nature and a fully divine nature - all in one person. The human nature of Jesus is male. Jesus retains His glorified male human body for eternity so it is a theological mistake to think of Jesus as anything other than male.
But there is nothing wrong with thinking of God in a motherly sense especially since in our culture the expression of love that most closely matches God’s love for us is often from our mothers. This Mother’s Day, as you reflect on your mother, as you express appreciation to her for all she’s done for you, I challenge you to think of God. Think of how a mother ideally loves their child and holds him/her in her arms. This is a good way to think about how God loves each of us. God longs to love us in a similar motherly way.
And Happy Mother’s Day to all of you moms. May the way you show love to your children reflect the mother-like love of God!