God As Our Mother

It was a difficult journey for me to begin to view God acting not only as my heavenly Father, but also as a Mother. I had a cultural hurdle to overcome. The very idea of God acting as a Mother evoked memories of my college days when I knew of those in liberal seminaries whose commitment to Feminist Theology was well known. Having been reared in a solidly conservative tradition, it caused me to cringe to think about God in a maternal way. I had heard about those who used feminine pronouns when speaking of God and I didn’t like it.

My perception was that their insistence on referring to God using the feminine pronoun wasn’t because they wanted to communicate another way to understand intimacy with Him, but rather because they were promoting an egalitarian approach to theology which served their own political agenda. If my understanding of their reasons was correct, I still wouldn’t agree with what they did because of why they did it.

However, I have come to see that God indeed does relate to His children in maternal ways just as He does paternally. In the Bible God clearly presents Himself relating to His children in a motherly role.

Consider God’s words in Isaiah 66:12-13:

“And you shall be nursed, you shall be carried on the hip, and
fondled on the knees. As one whom his mother comforts, so
will I comfort you.”

God promises that when His children need comfort, He will pick us up and hold us on His hip like a mother tends to her restless baby. He will put us on his knees play with us, gently love us, and talk to us until we are comforted.

In another verse comparing Himself to a mother, God says:

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, and have no compassion
on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not
forget you” (Isaiah 49:14-15).

“Will a new mother abandon her nursing child?” God asks. “It’s unlikely, but even if she would, I would never do that to you.” It’s not uncommon for fathers to walk out on the babies. Mothers seldom do and God never will.

The main characteristic of a mother with which God identifies Himself is that of being a comforter.  His gentleness soothes the hurting Christian. The Psalmist understood the motherly aspect of God when he said, “Surely I have composed and quieted my soul like a weaned child rests against his mother” (Psalm 131:2).

When I was a small child, there was a particular practice my mother did which would have an immediate effect on me. Maybe it would be after I had been hurt and was crying. Perhaps it would be at times when she was simply expressing affection to me. There were probably many different situations in which it might happen, but the experience was almost transcendent for the little boy I remember. It caused me to feel at rest in a way that few things in life have ever done.

My mother would gently stroke my hair. It was that simple. I don’t remember what she said at those times. I can’t even clearly describe the surrounding circumstances at any of the times she did it. I just remember her doing it – stroking my hair gently. What does stand out in my mind is how I felt in those moments. I felt love from my mother. I felt safe, accepted, comforted. Regardless of the circumstances, I felt like everything was going to be okay.

Maybe that habit is an inherent trait that comes with motherhood. I’ve seen Melanie do the same with our children and even noticed our daughter doing it to my grandchildren. It is a simple maternal expression of love that speaks volumes to a child.

Dads don’t typically comfort their children in that same way and even when they do, it doesn’t have the same effect as the loving comfort of a mother. When my children were very small and would get hurt, they have ran past me crying many times in an urgent rush for their mother. I understood. I was a kid once too. Sometimes, only a mother will do.

You may find that your concept of God is strengthened in a way that brings a deeper sense of intimacy into your relationship with Him if you begin to think of the maternal aspects of His affections toward you. Perhaps you are completely comfortable with approaching Him as a Mother. Maybe, however, you find the idea of God acting as a Mother to be uncomfortable due to the traditions in which you were reared.

Spiritual growth often requires that we choose to rise above the traditions which have influenced our lives. At times in our journey of grace, it is necessary to embrace what the Bible teaches and what the Holy Spirit shows us even though it may be uncomfortable initially. I’m not trying to cause a doctrinal shift in your mind about God as He relates to gender. In fact, God is a Spirit, and therefore without gender.

What I am trying to do is encourage you to do is allow the Holy Spirit to broaden your understanding of God’s role in your life so that you will know the benefit of motherly love in your relationship to Him. Intimacy between a mother and child is a particular kind of experience unlike any other love relationship we will ever know. If you want to fully understand God’s love for you, it is important to know His fatherly and motherly qualities. It takes both to fully reveal who He is to us.