Children, Cookies, and Motherly Love

Can we ever be without motherly love? No, we can never be separated from God. And God is our Mother. We are spiritual, the sons and daughters of God.

God is omnipresent, and the love of God is ever with us. God is infinite, so His love for us is unending. God's mothering is universal. It surrounds us gently, every day.

It's helpful to think about what Christ Jesus taught, according to the Bible, regarding the universal family of God. Once when Jesus was busy teaching, his mother and brothers wanted to talk to him (see Matthew 12:46-50). Jesus said, "Whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother." And Jesus showed through his actions that the qualities of a mother, such as gentleness, kindness, and tenderness, are spiritual qualities-that is, they show forth the nature of God. They are expressed by anyone, male or female, who listens to and obeys God's will. Motherly love has its source in God. Because true motherly qualities are of God, they are unlimited.

Through studying the Bible, Mary Baker Eddy, the woman who founded this newspaper, understood this. She shared this spiritual description of mother in the textbook of Christian Science: "God; divine and eternal Principle; Life, Truth, and Love" (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 592). What a freeing idea to know that God is our divine Mother! We cannot ever be apart from God or fail to feel the love that has its source in Him. This love also includes the qualities of a good father, such as strength, courage, and fairness.

A year ago the mother of three children in our neighborhood lost her life in an accident. It's natural to feel compassion when you hear of a family that has lost a loved one. But there is a fundamental truth I have learned in studying Christian Science, a truth that brings comfort: God's love is shown by all who do His will, and because of this we can help others to feel mothered. They cannot actually be alone or lacking love. The universal love of our Father and Mother embraces everyone.

The people in our neighborhood are of many religious backgrounds-Christian, Jewish, and Muslim among them. Yet there is a unity that links us all together. This unity is the love of God. There is the most beautiful expression of love for each other, and I have seen this love shown in the neighbors' tender care of this particular family. People have baked homemade cookies many times for the children, driven the boys to soccer games, and taken their grandmother to the grocery store and on other errands (she doesn't drive). They have cooked meals and given hugs. These actions, I see, express the universal Love that is God. They are examples of God's love being lived in our daily lives.

Well, each of us, including you and me, has the ability to express the mothering-and fathering-qualities that bless others. Every time we share a smile, do a kind deed, say a comforting word to another, practice patience, and express tenderness in our lives, we are expressing the love of God.

The book of Deuteronomy says: "As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: so the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him" (32:11, 12). Love embraces all of us! We only have to look to God to find Love, our true Mother.

----

The Lord hath appeared

of old unto me, saying,

Yea, I have loved thee

with an everlasting love:

therefore with lovingkindness

have I drawn thee.

Jeremiah 31:3

You can find other articles about the love of God in a weekly magazine, the Christian Science Sentinel.