God, our Mother? A few years ago, a lady very dear to me shocked me. With great bravery, I now realize in retrospect, she made a confession in the midst of a group of whom many probably thought she was off her rocker. She told our small Bible study group that for personal reasons, she could never relate to God as Father, and had always related to God as her Mother.
In my utterly stunned condition, I could not bring myself to combat this heresy there and then, but carefully listened to a few others as they tried to guide her thinking back to the correct place, and then quickly moved the study back into the comfort zone.
Of course, now I realize that I am not the grand arbiter of what is and is not heresy, and how God can and cannot reveal herself. (Oops, did I just say herself?) Looking back, I wish I'd encouraged my friend instead of letting everyone else correct her, affirming the journey of discovery she was on instead of leaving her feeling like she'd just been slapped with a wet fish. Perhaps she remembers it differently, but it's played on my mind ever since.
Anyway, I want to take this opportunity to affirm her now in a way I couldn't bring myself to do back then. M, you're blessed to know God as Mother. Rejoice that she's chosen to reveal herself to you in that way. I think that revelation came to you as the result of many years resting in the shadow of her wing. God is so faithful, and as our divine Parent, there is no human analogy -- mother, father -- that could ever be exhausted in describing her unwavering loving stance towards us.
Dave
10:13:56 AM 
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