The Mother-Heart of God
A
while ago my grandson asked: If we [boys] are made in God’s image, why are
there girls? Why, indeed!
“Then God said,
“Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish
of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth,
and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”” (Genesis 1:26, NIV84)
Keep reading:
“So God created
man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27,
NIV84)
Together
we give the most accurate picture of what our Heavenly Father is like. We need
men and we need women.
“Adam named his
wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.” (Genesis 3:20, NIV84)
For
some reason Mother’s Day has gotten a bad rap. There are movements out there
that suggest we remove this day of celebration from our calendars because it
evokes so much pain for so many people. How can we respond to this? Mothers are
created by God and should be celebrated. But for many, Mother’s Day = pain.
In
our society we are afraid of pain. We avoid it as much as possible. We want
release from pain. We self-medicate to numb our pain. We push it aside and want
it gone! Opiate overdoses have never been higher. Many addictions arise out of
running from or masking pain. Here is a link for you to see how devasting the
drug overdose crises is in our country.
Pain
can be our friend. Pain lets us know something is not right. Without pain there
would be no joy. Pain is a teacher. So, what can we learn from the pain we
experience on Mother’s Day?
All
of us have had a mother. Some of you have a wonderful relationship with your
mother, some have a broken relationship with a dysfunctional mother. Some of
you have mothers who have died. Maybe you are unable to have children, or
perhaps you have lost a child, or you are estranged from your children. Mother’s
Day is a day of grief that you brace yourself for every year.
I’ve
heard people say, “I just can’t go to church on Mother’s Day. It is too
painful.” That makes me very sad. However, kyboshing Mother’s Day will not
bring the necessary healing. If we remove everything that evokes pain in our
lives before too long, we would be left with nothing. And we would become
shallow, hollow people.
I
don’t believe that God brings evil into our lives. But he can redeem anything
we bring to him. Bad things happen because we live in a world that is sin sick.
People make unwise choices. We make unwise choices. The consequences of these
choices impact those around us. It is not God’s fault when we hurt someone else
and it is not God’s fault when someone else hurts us.
How
can we help bring healing and restoration to those around us who are hurting? What
are we doing that brings so much pain to ‘motherhood’? How can we help? What
needs to change in the way we celebrate this amazing creation of God?
My
hope is that talking about the ‘mother-heart of God’ will be a step toward
healing for my readers.
To “mother”
someone according to Google:
1) To bring up with care and
affection. To look after kindly and protectively
Thesaurus.com
gave me some creative words to flesh out what it means to ‘mother’ someone. I
found a beautiful correlation between these qualities and the character of God.
In the Sacred Text we find many different names for God, each one reflecting a specific
facet of his character. I have linked together a few words from Thesauras.com
with a few names for God as described in “GOD: Knowing Him By His Names” – by
Bill Bright.
To care for, to nurse, to heal: Jehovah Rapha – I AM the LORD Who
Heals:
“But he was pierced for our rebellion,
crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we
could be healed.” (Isaiah 53:5, NLT)
“He heals the brokenhearted and bandages
their wounds.” (Psalm 147:3, NLT)
Have
you ever kissed away a hurt or put a bandage on a scrape? Or maybe you are very
good at listening in quiet compassion when someone is hurting.
Give birth
to or make something new:
Jehovah – M’Kaddesh, I am the LORD who
Sanctifies:
“And I will give
you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your
stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.” (Ezekiel 36:26, NLT)
“This means that
anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a
new life has begun!” (2
Corinthians 5:17, NLT)
Obviously
when we give birth to a baby this is a new thing. What are some other ways in
which we make something new? Refinish furniture, make-overs, restoring old
vehicles.
When
we were in seminary we lived on a very tight budget. Christmas was coming and
the tradition was for girls to have a new outfit for the Christmas program. We
could not afford to buy the girls new dresses, so I scrounged in my closet and
found two dresses I no longer wore. I cut them down and sewed a new dress for
each of the girls. I even had enough to make them each a cute little hat. I
found worn out pants that provided contrasting fabric for the collars and cuffs
and trim on the hats. The girls wore their ‘new’ dresses with pride.
Though
I did not make something from nothing I made something new from something old
and worn out. That’s what God does with our hearts. If we bring them to him, he
will make them new. He’ll mend them. If they’re brittle, he’ll make them
pliable.
To keep an
eye on/tend to/fuss over:
Jehovah – Rohi, I AM the LORD your
Shepherd:
“The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I
need…He guides me along right paths...You prepare a feast for me...” (Psalm 23:1, 3b, 5a,b NLT)
“Then Jesus said,
“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give
you rest.”” (Matthew
11:28, NLT)
Whenever
we go to my mother-in-law’s house, she fusses over us. She makes sure we have
enough food, and we have the comfortable chairs, etc. She does whatever is in
her power to make sure we feel loved and cared for. Have you ever thought of
Jesus as someone who fusses over you? The above verses sound like fussing to
me, making sure he has every detail covered. For whom have you been a shepherd?
Who has been like a shepherd to you?
Treasure/watch
over/nurture: Jehovah Shammah – I AM the LORD Who is There
“The Lord says, “I will guide you along the
best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.” (Psalm 32:8, NLT)
“Teach these new
disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am
with you always, even to the end of the age.”” (Matthew 28:20,
NLT)
“…For we are the
temple of the living God. As God said: “I will live in them and walk among them.
I will be their God, and they will be my people.” (2 Corinthians
6:16, NLT)
“You will show me
the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of
living with you forever.”
(Psalm 16:11, NLT)
Many
tributes to mothers say, “You have always been there for me. You were my #1 cheerleader.”
Some people cannot buy cards like that and may never receive one. I do not want
to diminish that sort of pain in any way. It is real and it is deep.
From
the definitions of mothering and the various names for God we have looked at
I’m sure each of us can think of at least one person in our lives who has been
that ‘mother’ to us who may or may not be our biological mom. Or perhaps you
have been that person who has mothered those around you. Mother’s Day can be
about so much more than just celebrating those who have given birth to a child.
While
I believe we need to celebrate motherhood we also need to celebrate mothering
as a demonstration of the fruit of the Spirit, the character of God lived out
in God’s people.
We
have a Redeemer who can take any situation we find ourselves in and make it
beautiful. We have a Parent who loves us perfectly. If you are struggling with
this day, I invite you to ask Jesus to show you his heart for you today, to
show you how he has been mothering you.
Jesus says:
“For whoever does
the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.””(Matthew 12:50, NIV84)
Each
one of us is called to be a mother to those around us. To love God. Love one
another. Love our enemies. To love. This is the mother-heart of God.
Happy
Mother’s Day, may it be the best one yet!
This
blog has been adapted from my Mother’s Day sermon. If you wish to hear the
entire talk please check out https://bethel3hills.ca/sermons/73914/
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