“Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name …”

This is a commonly quoted line from scripture, one you have probably heard many times throughout your life. It is the beginning of the Lord’s Prayer. I remember memorizing this passage when I was a child. It brought me comfort and a sense of stability about God’s role in my life and the world.

Through the years, I have drawn strength from the image of God as Father. He is my protector, my provider. He stands as my shield when I feel vulnerable and attacked. He keeps a roof over my head and provides me with manna from heaven. He leads me beside the still water and restores my soul.

God’s love is more than one image

What many people may not realize is that God uses the image of a mother’s love to help us understand how great and deep God’s love is for us.

God is a spiritual being, so he does not have a gender; he is not a man or a woman.  And since he is a transcendent being, our human language cannot fully capture his essence.  God draws on human experiences to reveal himself in ways that allow us to glimpse his nature and character.

A mother’s love reflected in scripture

In the Bible, God has chosen to use both fatherly and motherly images to help us understand his love for us.  We find illustrations of God comforting his children, such as God lifting infants to his cheek or bending down to feed them, and God gathering his children under his wings like a mama hen gathers her chicks.

With the Lord having blessed me with three children and having served for 25 years in full-time ministry, I have had many opportunities to watch young mothers model these attributes of God with their babies. It is precious.

The book of Isaiah even uses childbirth metaphors to describe some of God’s attributes.

Isaiah 42:14 says,

“For a long time I [God] have kept silent, I have been quiet and held myself back. But now, like a woman in childbirth, I cry out, I gasp and pant.”

And Isaiah 49:15 says,

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has born? Though she may forget, I [God] will not forget you!”

We can describe God using feminine terms, not because God is a woman, but because feminine and maternal traits say something true about God. The same can be said of masculine and paternal images for God.

God as an Ezer

One of my favorite descriptions of God is as an Ezer. The Hebrew word Ezer means a helper, rescuer, or strong aid, someone who comes to the rescue when people call for help. When Israel cried out to God in the Old Testament, he was their Ezer, their protector and rescuer.

Ezer is also the word God uses to describe Eve in Genesis. She is created as Adam’s Ezer, his suitable helper and strong aid.

Reflecting on God’s care

As we honor and celebrate mothers this month, whether you are a man or a woman, I encourage you to reflect on how God ministers to you as a mother.

• How is God at work cultivating your life and tending to you?
• How do you see God nurturing your soul?
• How does God scoop you up, hold you close, and feed you?
• Where do you need God to come to your aid?

May you feel God’s presence this Mother’s Day!