The Motherhood of God

Oh yes, for many of us who are of a conservative breed of Christianity, we feel uneasy, when God is associated with feminine imagery. We are more at home with the idea of the Fatherhood of God; that God is male, a father, a king, a warrior, and so forth.

Actually, God is as much a mother as He is a father, He is as much female as he is male. God is not genderized. Both male and female are in His image ( Gen 1:27; 5:2). Although the Bible was written in patriarchal contexts, it doesn't reinforce the androcentric stereotypes that we are more familiar with and that tend to venerate human masculinity over femininity.

Bible writers, in their anthropomorphic portrayal of God, chose to distance themselves from the "woman" or "mother" imagery of God, to avoid being confused with the ancient goddess religions that deified nature. For example, in Greek mythology, Gaea was the great mother of all: the primal Greek Mother Goddess; acclaimed to be creator and giver of birth to the Earth and all the Universe.

So in an attempt to emphasize God’s transcendence over nature, and to differentiate between true divinity (Yahweh) and deified nature, ancient Bible authors, more frequently used male metaphors in their description of God. However, we still find some (and very significant) maternal or motherly metaphors, used to describe God in the Bible.

In Genesis 17:1, God is "Shaddai," the many breasted God because He is the Nourisher, the Strength-giver, and the Satisfier of His people. As a whining and unsatisfied baby is nourished from the mother's breast, so El Shaddai is a Nourisher and Satisfier to His own. The Psalmist prayed, "Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love" (90:14); just as He satisfies our desires with good things (103:5).

Various Old Testament passages portray God as a mother bird sheltering her children under her wings (e.g. Ps 91:4). The protective inclination of a mother is used to analogize God as a protector. A variation of this image paints God as a mother eagle, who, in training her children to be independent and to grow stronger, never leaves their side, so as to catch them from falling or crashing (Deut 32:10-11). He is depicted as the Mother-God always looking out for His own.

In Isaiah 49:15, God reassures His people as a suckling mother, who can never forget the "baby at her breast." In Isaiah 42:14, God likens Himself to a woman in childbirth, who passionately and fiercely comes to salvage His own. It is significant that Jesus used the maternal experience of childbearing in describing our salvation (born again) experience (John 3:3).

In Isaiah 66:9, He presents Himself as a compassionate and competent midwife, who assists in successful child delivery; signifying that with Him there are no abortive endeavors. In Isaiah 66:13, He is a mother who comforts her child. Similarly, in Hebrew 4:15-16, God in Christ is the High Priest who empathizes with us in our frailty. He feels us, connects with us, and soothes us, just like a mother does to a distressed child. This picture of a standby mother typifies the paraclete function of the Holy Spirit, who is also the Comforter.

These motherly attributes of God are rooted in His unconditional love, as expressed to us through Christ, just as mother's love is unconditional.

The maternal metaphors, as well as the masculine images of God in the Bible, do not replace God's reality or equate His totality, but they reveal and help us to appreciate some truths about Him and His disposition towards us.

As we commemorate Mother's Day, we can relate more meaningfully with God's unconditional love and care towards us through our loving mothers.