God As Mother (March 2012)

Last month we looked into how our view of God, as our heavenly Father, can be tainted by our earthly fathers. This understanding could fill us with warmth, anger, or passive indifference. The same applies to feminine descriptors of God in the Bible, which we will focus on this month. I warn you in advance, this will be longer than previous articles because of the need to walk tenderly in some areas (as will be explained later).

Tender Subject

Before we begin, I want to make a few things clear:

1. I consider the term "feminist" to be just as divisive and confrontational as "chauvinist," and believe that such name-calling is counterproductive to being heard. So, when using them, it is in their societal framework. And when referring to men or women, male or female traits, or feminine and masculine ideals, I will delineate them as such, without the societal baggage.
2. I am not arguing that we should start to refer to God as a 'She' or that God's classifications are to be split equally between masculine and feminine descriptors. What I am saying is that God is not made in our image (male and female) but we are made - male and female - in God's image (Numbers 23:18-20, 1 Samuel 15:28-30, Hosea 11:8-10). 
3. I differ from some Christians by holding that Paul's statement in 1 Corinthians 11:7 ("A man... is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man.") is more tradition and culture than God's truth, namely because of Genesis 1:27.
4. This post is not about putting women in their place OR giving them a privileged status as some have aimed to do in recent decades. I aim to show women (as I did men last month) rightly. I acknowledge that my words may not be received in this spirit, because I am a man, but I aim to be fair.

Tender Subjects

The same God who is described in scripture as our protector, shield, fortress, strong rock and a mighty warrior is also described with decidedly maternal, feminine images, sometimes in the space of a few sentences (as with the first two examples). Let's look at a few below: 

Deuteronomy 32:18 -  "You deserted the Rock, who fathered you; you forgot the God who gave you birth." 

Isaiah 42:13-14 - "The LORD will march out like a champion, like a warrior he will stir up his zeal; with a shout he will raise the battle cry and will triumph over his enemies.  'For a long time I have kept silent, I have been quiet and held myself back. But now, like a woman in childbirth, I cry out, I gasp and pant.'" 

Isaiah 49:15 - "'Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!'"

Isaiah 66:13 - "As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you."

Matthew 23:37, Luke 13:34 - “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing."

There is no doubt that these images are tender, if not matronly. Who but a woman can give birth or comfort like a mother can? As much as I'd like to be able to do that, sometimes my son just needs his mommy. There are aspects of a mother, characteristics of a woman, that men cannot understand. And God has given us examples like these - by no means an exhaustive list - to show that both men AND women are made in His image. It's by this understanding, and for this reason, that my use of the masculine pronoun for God is neither an admission of a belief that God looks like a man nor a subjugation of women beneath men in stature, worth, or value in the sight of people or God.

With that said, Christians cannot deny that the strong-handed, forced demand for submission (which is not a biblical idea in the least) by our predecessors in the faith has left scars in the feminine mind. Where healing can come, the memory is hard to ignore. Letty M. Russell, a scholar that deals with feminist interpretations of the Bible, writes: "Frequently, women with strong religious backgrounds have the most difficulty in accepting that the violence against them is wrong. They believe what they have been taught, that resistance to this injustice is unbiblical and unchristian. Christian women are supposed to be meek, and claiming rights for oneself is committing the sin of pride." (pg 99). The wrong/injustice that Russell speaks of isn't men referring to God as "He," but men using scripture to keep women in a servant's position while they ignore the same scriptures that call them to sacrifice and tenderly care for women. Why wouldn't women object to their classification as more tender human beings, when chauvinists so poorly acknowledge this key to their unique reflection of God's tenderness, and instead allow the lie that they are weaker and more inferior versions of men? Men often do not understand this distinction because they miss the heart of the matter (see "Pharisees) and  supplant godly leadership beneath the grab for power and importance.

It is my desire in this post (and the previous post on men) to avoid pandering to either of the sexes. To better serve God, we must - insofar as it depends on us - refuse to do a disservice to each other by being passive in our submission or overbearing in our teaching. Interpreting scripture from a "feminist" or "chauvinist" perspective will leave us right where the fall put us: divided and contentious.

God's Tenderness Reflected in Women

Men are not the clear reflections of God while women are lesser reflections of God or reflections of men. When women practice tenderness, protection, provision, and being a peaceful place of rest, they also reflect aspects of God's nature that they are uniquely suited for. When you hear these things applied to women in scripture - and metaphorically attributed to God - what does this make you think of your own mother (or other women you know)? Is it inspiring and hopeful to you, or does it fill you with anger and a sense of loss? We would do well to know that such understandings can be more attributed to our experiences with others here on earth than on God's portrayal of Himself in scripture.

If you are a woman suffering at the hands of a man (or the memories of one) it's important for you to know that God is suffering with you and only His Word can free you from the prison built by another. Your worth and value to God, and in Christ, comes from God alone, not from another's use of His Word to keep you in chains. God desires that you would have your mind transformed by Him so your life is a clearer and clearer reflection of His nature.

Sadly, often we cannot understand the depth of God's compassion toward, and love for us because of how women have portrayed themselves. Instead of leading their families as Christlike women, they have adopted the feminist world's manner of manipulation and self-sufficiency, the very characteristics of the chauvinists they once sought to oppose. Yes, just like men, women are called of God to lead their families well and so reflect (though imperfectly) the God whose image they are made in. Women must ask themselves (along with men) what they, ultimately, want to accomplish. Are you pursuing godly influence under the authority of scripture, or worldly domination in light of past (or present) suffering? Are you choosing to love and respect the men in your life or submit them to you little by little through bitterness and posturing? Does your family respect and honor you or mainly fear your mood swings? Listen to what scripture's holiness codes have to say to wives:

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything... However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Ephesians 5:21-24, 33

Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

Colossians 3:18

Your pursuit of holiness as women - like that of men - is just that: a pursuit, a journey. As you lead those you love, you must guard against the bitterness and self-righteousness that attacks us all, the desire to rule, and the temptation to only listen to those messages that tell you how wonderful and perfect you are.* As followers of Christ, you must always temper these messages with the stronger messages that call you out of self-righteousness and self-love to the refining place of God's continuing work in you. If your families have lost heart, if your relationships there seem mere shells of what they once were, it's time to recenter on the Source of life and follow the Christ by whose name you are called.

It's time to grow up and seek God for the direction and strength to be who you were created to be. Earn your Mother's Day this year. Change your ways to align with Christ, and let the Holy Spirit change your heart for your spouse, children, and everyone else in your life.

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* In our couple time, my wife and I are going through our gender specific Resolution books (from the creators of the movie Courageous) and Rebeca's seems more encouraging while the men's book is hard-hitting against our faults. There is a place for this, to be sure, but it seems to this man that the trend in today's culture is to brow-beat men for their failures in the past - as well as the failures of past men - without giving godly instruction for how to move ahead in a positive direction. Rebeca said that sometimes the party line for women, on the other hand, is one of continued support and affirmation as they are forced to deal with the immaturity and incompetence of the men in their lives. If Christian men and women are to thrive in their relationship with Jesus and with each other, we need to abandon this pendulum of who is better and who needs the most work and pursue the personal work we all need through Jesus and in the power of the Holy Spirit. And we should serve as the active and purposed body of Christ in offering encouragement when needed, and rebuke and training when needed. Above all, we all must approach our work in this regard with humility and repentant hearts.

God As Father (February 2012)

How did you do last month? Did you think about what your lifestyle was saying, or not saying, about God? For myself, I know sometimes I was showing people that God is ridiculously loving and other times that God is inconsistent and moody. Oh, and unforgiving. Man, that social experiment was sobering!

Father, Dad, Good & Bad

This month we'll look at how we, as men, portray God to the watching world. Listen to the way Jesus tells us to pray:

'Our father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name.'

Jesus tells us to think of God as a father, THE Father - what does that mean to you?* When you think of your own father, what kinds of emotions are kindled? Love? Joy? Admiration? Hope? Anger? Fear? Hatred? Indifference? It's possible that your experience with your earthly father has left you with a bitter spike wedged between you and any concept of God as your heavenly father. You may not even be ready to admit to yourself that your distrust, or rejection, of God is based primarily on the way you see your earthly father. What you may not know is God is aware of that, He is suffering with you, and will continue to speak through His word, and through others, to you about who He really is. I would ask you, especially, to stick in till the end of this post and struggle with what you find.

Often times our earthly fathers have fallen horribly short of representing the God who made them to reflect His image, and His character. Though imperfectly, men were made to be examples of the God who is our protector, our shield, our loving provider, and our peaceful place of rest. I believe this is one of the reasons Jesus chose to describe God here as Father. He says something about what God's name signifies that is worthy of looking at here. The word 'hallowed' means "holy, consecrated (set apart), sacred, revered," and we should recognize that God alone is worthy of this kind of reverence.

But men, especially, are to consider their worth as God's created leaders of the family, and what their performance (or lack thereof) portrays about God (even if inadvertently). Are we pursuing holiness, or just holes-in-one? Are we set-apart keepers of God's desire for fathers, considering our duties to be sacred, or are we gathering in packs of bitter and selfish men who whine and moan about their wives and children when they're not there? Does you family revere and respect you or mainly just tolerate you, or try to stay out of your way? Listen to what scripture's holiness codes have to say to fathers:

"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word... So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church... Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord."

Ephesians 5:25-26, 28-29, 6:4

"Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them... Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so that they will not lose heart."

Colossians 3:19, 21

Our pursuit of holiness as fathers, or men in general, is just that - a pursuit. A journey. A work we begin and never finish in this life. Leading our families should be sacrificial, not domineering or oppressive, if we are to be like Christ. Our leadership should uphold the need for our sanctification, time in the word, and unity within the body of Christ through baptism and fellowship. We are to feed and care for our relationships with our wives and kids and so fulfill the call of Christ on our situation. There is a place for discipline of your kids but the goal should always be their instruction in life and in the Lord. If our families have lost heart, if our relationships there seem mere shells of what they once were, it's time to recenter on the Source of life and follow the Christ by whose name we are called.

It's time to grow up and seek God for the direction and strength to be who you were created to be. Earn your Father's Day this year. Change your ways to align with Christ, and let the Holy Spirit change your heart for your spouse, children, and everyone else in your life. I know this has been a heavy read, so take a moment to watch the below video by Church On The Move, even leave me a comment and join the discussion below, and then get back to work!






And don't worry women, we'll be talking about you next month.

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* For those of you who want to think deeper, I say "think" because Jesus paints numerous pictures of God for us to understand God's qualities. For our time on earth we see God imperfectly, as dimly through a mirror, and only when we see God face to face will we see God as God truly is. I think many will be surprised that God is not a man, as we think of and know men to be now and throughout history, even a perfect man. The perfect God-man of the Trinity is Jesus the Christ, but God is Other, as the Spirit is also Other. Neither God the Father nor God the Holy Spirit are ghosts though, so we use words we can understand to try to wrap our minds around the mystery that is God. How else could we explain that God is One in three distinct persons? If this is hard for you to grasp, don't worry about it! Theologians who have studied it throughout history have disagreed and tried to explain the glorious nature of God, and no one has it figured out - so don't hang your faith or salvation on whether or not you figure it out! We would all do well to study as we want to and develop opinions as we want to, but not make those opinions something on which another's salvation, or faith, hangs.

Status Pain

Actually a website: visit for an idea of my concern here.

This post has been a long-time coming, but something I think about at least every day. When I scan the Facebook wall to see what "friends" are up to, I see many statuses that are a little confusing to me. They seem to be the equivalent of e-mail spam, personal contact's version of fishing for compliments, and can be at least as damaging or manipulative as either. Very little of the words on this post will be from me, so let's get to the status updates in question and I'll have some closing thoughts/questions at the very end: 

1. I personally believe in Jesus Christ. One Facebooker has challenged all believers to put this on their wall. The bible says, if you deny Me in front of your peers, I will deny you in front of My Father. This is a simple test. If you are not afraid to show it, re-post this. I proudly did! (: 
2. Like this status if I've ever made you smile(: repost and see how many likes you get(:
3. What if I died tomorrow -- would you miss me here?  
4. Single or not put this as your status & see what you get Inbox only!!!..

1. ♥ = I want a relationship
2. :) = I kinda like you
3. :p = I'm shy.... but your cute
4. XD = I want your number
5. :D = you mean everything 
6. </3 = I regret leaving
5. Ugh, I feel so ugly today! (posted alongside new profile pic, looking good) 
6. Truth is...
   
7. Repost if you're ending 2011 single. If someone wants to change that they'll send you a ♥.

Disappointment Waiting To Happen

I'll stop here because it's getting depressing to wonder about the emotional health of so many people I know. What are the unintended consequences of posts like these, of turning to "social media" while losing the ability (skill?) to socially engage others in person and build up meaningful relationships? Have we been sold the illusion of cyber-friendship? What if you don't re-post the first (are you denying Jesus?); what if no one likes, responds, re-posts, or affirms your internet-appeal for affirmation? What does that do to your self-worth?

How Do You See God? (January 2012)

Last year we talked about sin and how we will all, ultimately, see God as God is and be without excuse. This year we'll discover definitively who God is... just kidding. That would be hard! Not only that, but knowing God completely is impossible. Even through Jesus, we're only scratching the surface of the enormity of who God is - and yet God has chosen to reveal Himself to us through Jesus and enables us to get to know Him through the Holy Spirit. *

This year we're going to talk about how, as Christians, the way we treat others says volumes about us and what we believe about God. To start out, I want you to take a moment to think about the ways you might talk about God or describe God to someone who has never heard of God. What would you say?


....

Did anything come to mind? What are some of the descriptions you would use of God?

Long-haired, white-haired, blond-haired, dark-haired?
Non-existent, Figment of our imagination, Lie?
Concept of self, Concept of Greater Good?
Robe, Suit, Sandals, Glowing Orb?
Man, Woman, Both, Neither?
Involved, Disconnected?
Caring, Uncaring?
Strong, Weak?
Old, Young?
You, Me?
Us?

Often times, the things we've heard before shape the way we see God - good, bad, or indifferent. And sadly, many Christians are responsible for the ways their friends, family members, or coworkers see God. For example, if someone claims to know God but is hateful or indifferent to others, they will inevitably see that this must be what God is like if one of God's followers is like that. Don't we look like those we follow? Isn't that the point? How many people do you know who would say, "I can't stand this person. But you know what? I want to be just like them!" No - that would be absurd!

This year we will examine how what we are like as Christians tells others what God is like as God. This month, think about what you are telling others in your daily life. Are you showing them God, or just yourself?

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* Video was removed due to copyright complaint by Focus on the Family.