In my last blog I compared pastors to mothers, and gave mothers the nod because ultimately their influence in the family is much more impactful than a pastor’s.
Today, I want to explain how God compares himself to mothers. However, that doesn’t make him our mother.
God uses feminine metaphors, analogies and figures of speech for himself over 20 times. For example, he calls himself “the God who gave you birth” (Deuteronomy 32:18) and reminds Job that “the sea burst forth from the womb” of God (Job 38:8). He often refers to his care for us like eaglets or chickens in the shelter of their mother’s wings, and urges us to “crave pure spiritual milk” (1 Peter 2:2).
Jesus teaches that “God is spirit” (John 4:24 ). God is not created as biological and therefore not a biological male. However, that doesn’t make God feminine or our mother.
Keep in mind that God did take on biological maleness when be become flesh, in the humanity of Jesus Christ conceived and born as a human. And as God revealed his saving nature in Jesus, then later through the coming of the Holy Spirit, the female scriptural imagery significantly decreased.
Even where female metaphors for God appear in the Bible, what is absent altogether are any names or titles or even pronouns for God that are feminine.
Instead, God gives us names and titles to call him like Husband, Father and Lord.
This is not to prefer one gender over the other, but simply to clarify the true identity of our Savior God. No gender confusion here. God knows who he is, and wants the world to know exactly who he is.
Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for presenting yourself to our world in clear expressions that draw us to you and your love. Keep us from trying to define you, and rather build up our faith to let you tell us who you are. Amen.
Further Meditation
Go ahead and search around in your online Bible for names and titles for God that are masculine, or metaphors that are feminine. I’d love to hear about what you find!