Recently, I had an amusing conversation with a friend. Discussing the forthcoming Mothers' Day service and some of the recent controversy surrounding William Young's portrayal of God as a woman in his hit novel, 'The Shack', we began to wonder how it would sound if some well-known lyrics were changed to reflect this strange and unfamiliar idea. Suffice to say, the results were amusing (think 'Father God I Wonder', 'Good, Good Father,' and a few others thrown in)!
It sounds so funny because we're so used to reflecting on God as Father - rightly because that's what He is! But any brief look into Old Testament descriptions of God's characteristics, reveals some clear, motherly features too - logically if you think about it because he created man AND woman in His image!
Of course, whenever we try to generalise about any particular role, it is hard to avoid stereotyping - what may be true of one Mother may actually be true of another Father, depending on their personality and giftings - but there are, I think you would agree, some things that are generally more characteristic of Mums than they are of Dads.
Like all good writers, I decided to conduct some research, close to home, by asking the best authority I know on this topic - my two sons! I would like to say I got something sensible and insightful out of them, but in their mind, Mummy's skills extend to 'cooking nice dinners' and Daddy's to 'being very slightly more fun than Mummy,' (the qualifying description added only to spare my feelings, I suspect)!
Casting my own mind back, as I pondered the topic, a couple of memories played in my head that illustrated, for me, the difference between the roles. Mothers can be good at anticipating the needs of their brood and planning ahead. I, for instance, will have clothes sorted out, ironed and laid out, the night before an early start, for a stress-free morning. I will never forget one occasion when, after a hectic weekend, my kind husband allowed me to go on ahead to the early prayer meeting, arriving later with the boys, one of whom was wearing his crumpled jumper inside out and back to front!
Mothers like to keep things calm and orderly, foreseeing dire consequences if things unravel - like keeping quiet, calm and peace in the run up to bed time. Imagine my horror when my dear husband decided to 'hurry' the boys to bed one night by shooting them with foam bullets from a toy Nerf gun - and wondered why they wouldn't settle!
Mums and Dads are different and have different value and beauty in God's world. God's motherly qualities are as vital to us as His Fatherly ones. In the Old Testament, Isaiah tells us that He "gently leads those that have young," and that He comforts people "as one whom his mother comforts." Zephaniah sees Him "quieting us with his love," and Matthew, in the New Testament, writes of God "gathering (us), like a hen with chicks."
Mothers' Day is always a tricky one; you may have never had a mother, or had one once, but no longer. You may have longed to be a Mother, or been one once, but lost what you held so dear. On Mothers' Day, and every day, God (the ultimate Father AND Mother), can fill all those gaps and heal all those hurts. He can take the joys and delights and the tears and pain, draw you close and comfort you, calm you and lead you forward with His tender, Motherly love.
It sounds so funny because we're so used to reflecting on God as Father - rightly because that's what He is! But any brief look into Old Testament descriptions of God's characteristics, reveals some clear, motherly features too - logically if you think about it because he created man AND woman in His image!
Of course, whenever we try to generalise about any particular role, it is hard to avoid stereotyping - what may be true of one Mother may actually be true of another Father, depending on their personality and giftings - but there are, I think you would agree, some things that are generally more characteristic of Mums than they are of Dads.
Like all good writers, I decided to conduct some research, close to home, by asking the best authority I know on this topic - my two sons! I would like to say I got something sensible and insightful out of them, but in their mind, Mummy's skills extend to 'cooking nice dinners' and Daddy's to 'being very slightly more fun than Mummy,' (the qualifying description added only to spare my feelings, I suspect)!
Casting my own mind back, as I pondered the topic, a couple of memories played in my head that illustrated, for me, the difference between the roles. Mothers can be good at anticipating the needs of their brood and planning ahead. I, for instance, will have clothes sorted out, ironed and laid out, the night before an early start, for a stress-free morning. I will never forget one occasion when, after a hectic weekend, my kind husband allowed me to go on ahead to the early prayer meeting, arriving later with the boys, one of whom was wearing his crumpled jumper inside out and back to front!
Mothers like to keep things calm and orderly, foreseeing dire consequences if things unravel - like keeping quiet, calm and peace in the run up to bed time. Imagine my horror when my dear husband decided to 'hurry' the boys to bed one night by shooting them with foam bullets from a toy Nerf gun - and wondered why they wouldn't settle!
Mums and Dads are different and have different value and beauty in God's world. God's motherly qualities are as vital to us as His Fatherly ones. In the Old Testament, Isaiah tells us that He "gently leads those that have young," and that He comforts people "as one whom his mother comforts." Zephaniah sees Him "quieting us with his love," and Matthew, in the New Testament, writes of God "gathering (us), like a hen with chicks."
Mothers' Day is always a tricky one; you may have never had a mother, or had one once, but no longer. You may have longed to be a Mother, or been one once, but lost what you held so dear. On Mothers' Day, and every day, God (the ultimate Father AND Mother), can fill all those gaps and heal all those hurts. He can take the joys and delights and the tears and pain, draw you close and comfort you, calm you and lead you forward with His tender, Motherly love.
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