God Needs Mothers

I suspect that some of you are not “mothers” in the traditional sense of the word. But to borrow from the 13th Century mystic Meister Eckhart, "We are all meant to be mother’s of God for God is always needing to be born.”  And so I invite you all to put on your best mom jeans and climb into your minivan...and get to work!

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Theotokos (Θεοτόκος) God-bearer; often attributed to Mary, the Mother of Jesus. In AD 431, the Council of Ephesus decreed that Mary is the Theotokos because her son Jesus is both God and man: one divine person with two natures (divine and human) intimately and hypostatically united. A bunch of theological stuff that tells me Mary must have been someone very special to be chosen to carry this precious cargo to life, and to nurture him until his death. 

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While the bible predominately focuses on the stories of men, it does record a whole bunch of heroic and very important women too, especially mothers. Here are a handful that stand out to me:
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• Eve – the mother of all humanity. She births Cain and Abel and suffers intense grief when Cain murders his brother. Eve teaches us that birthing children will be painful on so many levels.
• Sarah – Abraham’s wife, who was originally barren, but who in her old age, conceived and delivered a son, Isaac, making Abraham the father of the Jewish nation. Sarah reminds us of the power of God’s covenant promise. 
• Jochebed – the mother of Moses. God used her child to free the Hebrew people from their 400 years of slavery, and takes them to the Promised Land. Jochebed teaches us that motherhood and freedom are worth taking the risk.
• Bathsheba – the object of King David’s lust. A son is born out of that sinful union, but God is so displeased, that the child is struck dead. Their next son however is Solomon, who became Israel’s greatest king. Through this blemished woman, David’s bloodline begets the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ.
• Mary – the blessed mother of all. She, like Eve, is the mother of life. A new life, and a new creation, will come through her Son. Unwed and barely old enough to have children, she is the most honored mother in the Bible. Her purity is highly favored by God, who entrusts her to carry and care for the Savior of the World. Mary is the example of righteous, self-giving love.

I should mentioned that these women are not perfect. But they are used by God to accomplish God’s purposes, in spite of their flaws. They learned to be faithful, to trust God, to walk with God, even through the darkest of times. These mothers broke the rules and defied all expectations. Through them, God turned the world upside down.

​God needs more mothers like them; more mothers like you and me.