“ And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman ( “Ish-shah” ) , because she was taken out of Man (“Ish” ) .....
..... And Adam called his wife's name Eve (“(C)havvah”); because she was the Mother of all living. “
- Genesis 2:23, 3:20
“And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto Him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked.
But He said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.”
- Luke 11:27,28
“While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.
But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?
And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.”
- Matthew 12:46-50
——————————————————————
BIBLICAL LIVING 101 - Relationships - Mother
——————————————————————
If God is the Father, and Christ is the Son, we as humans are trained and conditioned to look for the missing 3rd person - so where is mommy in this picture?
The Word says that “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. “ - Matt 1:18
Christ’s EARTHLY JOURNEY did begin with a human mother -Mary- but his Father ( speaking in human terms ) is plainly given to us - the Holy Ghost. This alone should put to bed and rest many cultic and heretical interpretations of scripture that makes God the Spirit, female in some way!
Those thoughts arise because the beginning of Our Lord’s HEAVENLY JOURNEY is NOT given to us other than we are told that He is the “Only Begotten” Son of the Father. How that happened in eternity past is not something that is relevant for us to know right now, and we are not sure we would even understand it if we did.Since God does not need to reproduce like we do, He/They, transcend any concept of physical gender.
In nature we are given examples/pictures of species that are hermaphroditic - that is - they do not need a mate to have offspring ( they can even be parthenogenetic ( virgin birth )... e.g. some species of shark ). This seems weird to us, but only because we know no other way! Even hermaphroditism carries within it the concept of two different genders, but when speaking of God, the very concept of gender is meaningless. He is speaking and showing us things in nature here...
Two things to grab hold of and take away:
1. All 3 Persons of the Trinity were, and are,perfect in their complete perfection and possession of ALL human attributes ( mental/spiritual ) before man was created. Christ took it to a whole other level when He emptied Himself, and then put on our fleshly form as well -so he could share our perceptions, griefs, joys, and the struggle for obedience!
2. ALL humans share the same fundamental mental/spiritual attributes across the human race AND human genders.
Apart from physical gender, every human being possesses the same fundamental mental capabilities to greater or lesser extents - in fact , all humans are exactly similar in morphology, biology, physiology, psychology....but vary greatly in the mix in any one particular individual - physically and mentally.
So as far as our minds go, there is no major difference between moms and dads except as related to gender, and yes, a different mix of hormones and mental wiring ( the whole Mars vs. Venus thing ).
Sometimes, the mix is so varied and broad that a person is mentally one gender and physically another ( wiring and biology ). This should not surprise us- as we see a wide variety of physically and mentally challenged humans in a variety of other domains. Emotional /gender identification can go out of whack just as easily as anything else when it comes our individual makeup.
The best way to deal with this is to understand that :
A. This is not the individuals fault they are this way. We don’t get to choose our country, culture, family, or our genetics before we take birth!
B. The gender stereotypes in which we put men and women are entirely human generated. God does not see a difference in us as spirits ( everyone has the same mental/spiritual capabilities) - even in the flesh married people are treated as ONE flesh!
The Word treats men and women equally ... and there are no “manly” or “womanly” jobs. Just things a person can choose to do.
In today’s day and age we have technology and biblical counseling to help those struggling with gender identity - all the Lord cares about is avoiding confusion by staying away from cross dressing ( stick to your birth gender ) and same sex physical relations ( again just a physical thing - you are actually -encouraged- to love all humans regardless of gender! ). Let’s be understanding of what these individuals are going through and not ostracize them.
Changing what we were born with is a power we have acquired fairly recently - and if that provides relief - ok, but accepting our individuality and transcending our handicap by throwing off the chains of stereotypes is a better and higher way! But we digress...
So why Do humans have to have Mom’s?
Adam gives us the answers.
Eves first name was Woman, because she was taken out of a man ( Ishshah was her original name ! From the Hebrew Word Ish meaning man ). The concept of Human predated the concept of gender! It’s why men and women are similar in so many ways and it’s why TOGETHER we reflect a complete picture of God, as ONE, NOT TWO, flesh.
As we have seen, God created woman to (a) give Adam relationship/companionship ( “It is not good for man to be alone” ), (b) to give him a helping hand ( “ I will make a help meet for him” ) (c) to encode the mystery of redemption in His Word (Adams prophecy) and finally (d) ... propagate the Human Race. ( “go forth and multiply” )
This is why Eve’s name changes after the Fall because she is the Mother of the Human Race. Don’t you think it’s interesting that Man fell -before- there were any children ? Did you ever stop to think about the timing? ( .... well worth contemplating why only 1 couple was given the obedience test !)
Events transpired such that, beginning from Adam and Eve (science ... through a study of mitochondrial DNA tells us) every single human being living on this planet today can trace their ancestry to a single human mother and father. Google Y-chromosome Adam or Mitochondrial Eve to know more.
The concept of Mother, like everything else, begins in Genesis. The “living” that Adam is referring to are the eternally alive human sons and daughters of God ( Eve was not the mother of animals, fish, or trees - they predated her - so living cannot be understood in a simplistic concept.) Christ’s words to the Pharisees echo here ... “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. “ - Matt 22:32
There is no Mother Earth motif here. There is no Gaia concept. There is no fertility cult craziness. Out of Eve will come all human sons and daughters of God ! Childbearing is how the race will propagate, and God has designed the process so we will have “incentive “ ? to do it ! Simple.
Now we can better understand our Lords responses in our opening texts from Luke and Matthew. These might seem a little uncaring or harsh at first read - certainly we don’t see these words on Hallmark cards on Mother’s Day!!! ?
Note carefully that the Father relationship is RESERVED for God Alone... but Christ extends His relationships of mother, brother, and sister to the ones that keep the commandments of God!
Christ does not shun from calling Mary blessed above all women.
“And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.” - Luke 1:28-30
Yes, she was highly favored, and had a unique role in history. So did Rahab, Tamar, Ruth, Bathsheba ( they are in Christ’s genealogy) but do we think Mary was more favored than them...? Here’s what her response was...
“And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; —-be it unto me according to thy word. —-And the angel departed from her. “ - Luke 1:38
Could she have said no? Yes of course, but God knows and lovingly crafted His handmaiden. He knew what she would say and do! Obey His Will!
And that’s the takeaway - every child and servant of God - is exactly that. They enjoy a relationship with Him that is a total combination of Son, daughter, brother, sister, mother, and friend!
A relationship where He cares for us like a hen does for its chicks, and where we dwell in the safety of the shadow of His wings by staying firmly obedient to His Will of Love!
All we said last week about Fatherhood/ parenting is still valid and we will not be repetitive here but ask you to check out that post if you are interested!
So how should we treat our earthly mothers? With honor and respect, love and compassion, knowing that they are fallen, imperfect human beings ( Eve was ). How should mothers treat their children ? As temporary custodians of a child of God knowing that they will be held to account for how they have discharged their responsibilities.
That relationship ( though beginning in biology ) is not one that is limited by it. Those that adopt/are adopted can and should experience the exact same relationship with their adoptive parents with no guilt attached to either parent or child.
There is nothing unique ( apart from pregnancy to birth - and yes pain...) about the relationship of a birth mother COMPARED TO an adoptive/foster mom - as far as being able to enjoy that relationship - in all its fullness for both child and mother. It’s our own hang ups that we have to overcome. We wish all birth mothers would nourish their own children as God desires, but Sin has messed this up too.
Being a mother goes beyond just giving birth - the long job of nurturing a child to coming of age is paralleled EXACTLY by the Spirits work of giving birth to us, feeding us, correcting us and teaching us to grow! .... those born in the house, and those adopted/redeemed by the blood of the Son!
Hallelujah!