God our 'Mother'

Isaiah 49 : 8 - 15

Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child in her womb? Even so, I will never forget you.

This is one of the most tender images the Lord gives of himself in the OT. It connects immediately with me, for I never felt assured of my own mother's love (perhaps I would say, due to various family dynamics, although she surely loved me, I did not experience that love - in human life, these things do happen, and it would be wrong to attach blame to one or the other) And yet, what value would God's Word be if it did not speak into the unique situations of people? So this verse is tucked into Isaiah's message to the Hebrew nation...that despite their pain and confusion in exile, God cares tenderly for them. This message also touches the universal pain of human life in a fallen world. Sometimes, when we just cannot understand why pain and trials continue, we may just cry out: "The Lord has forsaken me..the Lord has forgotten me". Isn't that the cry of every human heart when we face seemingly insurmountable pain?

But "Not so". The Lord's answer is always compassionate: "Though she may forget, I will not forget you!!" His promise remains firm: He will never leave us or forsake us. In the dark, surely it seems he has left us alone.........

But.....there is always a but.....the darkness is not the last word for our God. The darkness of the tomb was not the last word for Jesus.

Lent may be a time for us to deepen our experience of God's personal love for us. We are reminded that God is our "Mother". He has tender love for us, a love that is at the same time total, fierce and all consuming. A powerful and transforming force in our lives.