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I would like to dedicate this article to Tim Keller. Through his many teachings, particularly in ‘God Our Father,’ he truly helped me to see these truths more clearly in Scripture.
The Love that Changes Everything
Becoming a mother has been the most difficult, exhausting, and absolutely wonderful experience of my life. It has tested my limits in every possible way: physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually. No book, podcast, or person could have prepared me for the experience of motherhood. It is unfathomable if you have not undergone the experience yourself. The love that washes over you and even viscerally hurts in the deepest part of your soul can be overwhelming at times. It feels so deeply personal and powerful that you almost feel like the only person on the planet that could ever feel such emotion. You wonder if anyone has ever felt this much love before. Even so, this is motherhood. It is a love that women throughout generations have experienced and cherished, and no other love quite compares.
A Mother’s Heart in Scripture
Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.
The overwhelming and all-encompassing nature of a mother’s love is aptly demonstrated in the account of King Solomon and the two women who had a dispute over the one living baby (1 Kings 3). Solomon had the wisdom to draw out that heart-wrenching love from the true mother. This brave woman risked her own life by saying she was the liar to save the life of her baby. In verse 26, the NIV describes it as the mother being ‘deeply stirred over her son,’ and the ESV says that ‘her heart yearned for her son.’ This is the same Hebrew expression used in Psalm 103, translated as ‘compassion’ in both the NIV and ESV, “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame, he remembers that we are dust.”
The same expression is used in Isaiah 49:15 where Scripture says: “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.”
Our Lord even compares his care for the lost in Jerusalem to a mother hen who wants to gather her chicks under her wings and protect them (Matthew 23:37).
With the help of these scriptures, we see on display this visceral, overwhelming love that propels mothers to sacrifice themselves for their children. It provides us with a tiny glimpse into the unconditional parental love of our heavenly Father. He has compassion on us, “for he remembers we are dust.” He is eternal and needs nothing. In contrast, we are temporary, fragile, breaking apart, and needy. He remembers this and his fatherly heart goes out to us in compassion.
Sharing in the Father’s Love
God created us and sustains us every second of every day of our lives.
Mothers are gifted with cute, exasperating, and completely helpless beings that need a sacrificial caretaker every moment of every day and night. Without the mother (or another nurturer) feeding, changing, clothing, cuddling, and soothing a child would simply not survive. This mother-child relationship is a powerful analogy of our own vital dependence on our Father. God created us and sustains us every second of every day of our lives. He cares for us even yonder when we cross over into eternity. As we see in Isaiah 49:15, women can fail as mothers but God never fails as our Father because of his perfection. He sent his only begotten Son who willingly offered his life as a sacrifice in order to bring God’s children into the Father’s embrace. With the sealing of the Spirit, we know he will never let us go.
Thus, experiencing a mother’s love is a sharing in the Father’s unconditional, unwavering love for his own children. When we suffer deeply as our children experience pain or are roaming from the path of righteousness, we are sharing in the Father’s heart for his children. Understanding this has helped me comprehend God’s fatherly love and care for me in a whole new and profound way. I can truly rest in the knowledge that he loves me and all of his children, just as I love my own children (although God’s love is of course more infinite, perfect, selfless, and unconditional). His love does not diminish when I fail in my walk. Rather, his heart goes out to me in loving care and faithful discipline.
Rest in His Love
As a mother, I am both a recipient and giver of that unconditional love that I model for my children.
As I’m changing numerous diapers, gently soothing, or lovingly disciplining my children, I remember that this is the kind of selfless, ever-giving affection that the Father has for us. I, as a mother, am both a recipient and giver of that unconditional love that I model for my children. Mothering is a gift and a ministry. It is a vocation and a calling, graciously given by the Father. Every time we feed the children God has given us—physically, psychologically and spiritually—we are worshipping and honoring him. Let us then remind ourselves of the Father’s unending, steadfast love towards us as his own beloved children. As we truly rest in his love we can live out our mission as mothers, with his love flowing through us to our own beloved little ones.
