The Mothering of God
The shops are full of Mother's Day gifts where I live. I don't ever remember having a Mother's Day in the country I come from. But the word mother alone means a lot to anybody from the East.
My mother's loving left me with a desire to go and find people I could nurture and love in the same way. She made it all look so easy, as if it were the most treasured prize in the world to love in the way she did.
When I was introduced to God as our Mother, I could understand what real love is. The unconditional love that my mother gave was so pure - and to think that God must be infinitely more so is just the sweetest realization.
As I look at the Mother's Day cards and cakes today, I know how she did it, my loving mother. She reflected God, who is divine Love, and who was the source of her love. And, of course, God can never wear out. The gift and nature of Love is that it goes on for eternity. God will always be with me, even if my mother is not physically present. In Isaiah we read, "As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem" (66:13).
Here is a biblically derived description from "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (the textbook of Christian Science), written by Mary Baker Eddy: "Mother. God; divine and eternal Principle; Life, Truth, and Love" (Pg. 592). The nature of God, as Love, is perhaps best perceived as Mother. For a mother is intuitively tuned in to her child's need and cares with such tender love. That care is exactly what we can expect to find in our lives; as we know ourselves to be God's children, we do feel the presence of God's mothering qualities.
There is nothing we need that we cannot have through reflection of God, of divine Love. Our part is to trust God's care and love for us.
A true mother never neglects a child's need. But so many times in human experience a child may insistently ask for what a mother knows is not good, and she will rightly refuse it. Similarly, when a cherished desire is not fulfilled, when we can't see why a prayer isn't answered, it is often only with hindsight that we realize we were not seeing the whole of God's good, infinite plan.
Completeness is the nature of God, and of Her caring as a loving Mother. The law of God is the law of Love, which you and I can understand through the Science of Christianity. It governs, rules, nurtures, shields, cares for, and feeds us, in every step of life. Our part, once again, is to trust.
Where the mothering of God is - and God fills all space - there can be no room for you or me to feel anxious, to worry, or to have thoughts of fear. We are not living alone. We can never be without divine care and guidance. We, as the very reflection, the image, of Love, can expect the very best from God - more than any loving human mother could ever provide.
People feel burdened when they think that they are responsible for making good things happen. That's when discouragement sets in. But they can correct this by turning to God in prayer and feeling His powerful love right where they are.
The mothering of God will take you through every stage of life. It is seen in the example of Jesus Christ. Before his healing ministry, Jesus spent 30 years receiving the spirit of Love in his consciousness. The Bible shows that he was full of gentleness, tenderness, kindness, compassion, peace, courage, and patience. He was graced with good through knowing God.
Step by step, we, too, are nurtured as we know God. Whether we're men or women, we can express Her love by expressing motherly qualities such as joy, gratitude, generosity, constancy, happiness, tolerance, affection. With such qualities active in our consciousness, the gentle and tender mothering of divine Love must be concretely manifested in our daily lives.
For whosoever
shall do the will of God,
the same is my
brother, and my sister,
and mother.
Mark 3:35
