If you’ve been blessed with a good mother, you know that she is your first true friend. No one will defend you like she will. A good mother will never stop believing in you. She will never let bullies have their way with you. Anyone who harms you immediately becomes her mortal enemy. Her love is fierce and relentless. There is nothing you can do to make a good mother stop loving you, believing in you, and sticking up for you.
My mother has stood up for me since the day that I was born. My father has, too, but Dad was always more of a realist. I remember him saying to my mom, “You’re spoiling that boy.” And Mom would shoot back, “But he deserves it; he’s the best little boy!”
Then Dad would say, “I’m telling you, you’re making that boy soft.” And Mom would respond with something like, “He’s not soft; he’s just a sweet boy.”
Mom still calls me her Sweet Boy. I’m 43 years old.
Of course there are some blind spots when it comes to a mother’s love. Anytime you love someone like a mother does, you’re liable to get hurt. You will be taken advantage of; you will be taken for granted. But if you ever have the chance to witness a mother’s love – or if you ever grow to love someone the way a good mother does – you will experience something truly special. You will catch a glimpse of God’s affections for you.
We should never make the mistake of sentimentalizing or trivializing God’s love. It’s not the stuff of fairy tales. God’s love is gritty, tireless, and tough.
As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you.
– Isaiah 66:13
When you’re in trouble or under attack, God’s love is ferocious and protective. When others mean to harm you, God’s love burns hot with anger.
I will attack them like a mother bear, robbed of her cubs.
– Hosea 13:8
The Bible even suggests the closest thing to God’s love on Earth is a mother’s love.
Can a woman forget her nursing child…even if [some mothers] forget…I will never forget you.
– Isaiah 49:15
Jesus also revealed the maternal side of God’s heart as he prepared to ride into Jerusalem, where he knew he would be arrested and crucified. As he looked down at the city from the Mount of Olives, Jesus cried as he said,
Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem! …How often have I desired to gather you under my wings as a mother hen gathers her brood.
– Matthew 23:37
Time and again, the Bible compares God’s affections toward His people to a loving mother’s affections for her children. A mother’s love can’t be canceled by your sins and mistakes, and neither can God’s love. A mother’s heart always chooses to see the best in her babies, and so does God’s heart. A mother will always stand up for you, defend you, and protect you. And so will God.
I’m not sure we really grasp it. I don’t think we’ve fully internalized how loved we are by God. Some days it seems like we’re all living like we still have something to prove. We work and dress and shop and compete like we have something to prove.
God loves you like a mother, so you need not live like a motherless child in search of validation.
God’s love – like the love of a good mother – offers security, so you need not feel insecure about anything.
This Mothers’ Day weekend, I hope you’ll let the relentless love of God spoil you like only a mother’s love can.
