Why God Revealed Himself As Father And Not Mother

In the previous two posts I wrestled with what our Lord Jesus meant by telling us to pray to our Father who is in heaven or in the heavens. That still leaves us with the question of why we pray to our Father and not to our Father/Mother who is in heaven. A couple years ago, while visiting a small Lutheran congregation here in Texas (not Missouri Synod), I heard the pastor lead the congregation in just such a prayer to our Father / Mother ! Needless to say, I abruptly stopped praying with him at that moment.

In a search of the Internet for help in explaining why some of us Lutherans (certainly not all), Roman Catholics, many Evangelicals and the Orthodox churches all agree that God is our Father and not our Mother, I came across a very good article  by Mark Brumley, editor of Ignatius Press's Modern Apologetics Library and the Managing Editor of The Catholic Faith Magazine. I encourage you to read it carefully and prayerfully: WHY GOD IS FATHER AND NOT MOTHER

In the article he corrects

• false claims behind the idea that in calling God Father Jesus was in fact "historically conditioned."
• that we can only speak of God in metaphors, understood as convenient, imaginative ways to describe our experience of God, rather than God Himself. 
• that Christ's teaching and practice compel us to accept inclusive or gender-neutral language for God, even though Christ Himself never explicitly called for it. 

 He goes on to tell us

• why the Bible uses masculine language to begin with
• what the difference is between metaphor and analogy
• what the difference is between fatherhood and motherhood
• why this difference is crucial for the Fatherhood of God
• what is the distinction between God's transcendence and His immanence
• how the doctrine of the Trinity reminds us that God is the Father

His final section deals with why we rejoice to call God our Father, as Jesus taught us. I quote from his article at length. His use of the Biblical word grace is questionable. As a Lutheran I would have to rewrite it, but his point about the Father willing that all be saved is important. Read the entire article yourself and draw your own conclusions.

 Fatherhood of God by Divine Adoption and Regeneration in Christ

We come now to God and humanity. Is God the Father of all mankind? In a sense He is, because He created us and, as we have seen, to create is like fathering a child. Yet God also made rocks, trees and the Crab Nebula. How is He Father of man but not also Father of them? Granted, humans are spiritual, as well as material, beings, which means they are rational beings—capable of knowing and choosing. In this, they more closely resemble God than the rest of visible creation. Nevertheless, human beings, as such, do not share God’s own life, as children share the life of their fathers. Thus, we are not by nature "children of God" in that sense, but mere creatures. And, as a result of sin, we are fallen creatures at that.

Yet Jesus tells His followers to address God as Father (Mt 6:9-13). He says the Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask (Lk 11:13) and that the Spirit of their Father will speak through them in times of persecution (Mt 10:20). He tells His disciples to be merciful as their heavenly Father is merciful (Lk 6:36). He speaks of being "born from above" through baptism and the Holy Spirit (Jn 3:5). On Easter Sunday, He directs Mary Magdalen to tell the other disciples, "I am going to my Father and your Father . . ." (Jn 20:17).

Elsewhere in the New Testament, God is also depicted as Father to Christians. Through Jesus Christ we are more than mere creatures to God; by faith in Him we become the children of God (1 Jn 5:1), sharing in Jesus’ own Divine Sonship, albeit in a created way (Rom 8:29). God is our Father because He is Jesus’ Father (Jn 1:12). What God is for Jesus by nature, He is for us by grace, Divine Adoption (Rom 8:14-17; Gal 4:4-7; Eph 1:5-6), and regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit (Tit 3:5-7).

Behind this language of Divine Adoption and regeneration is the idea that God is our Father because He is the "source" or "origin" of our new life in Christ. He has saved us through Christ and sanctified us in the Spirit. This is clearly more than a metaphor; the analogy with earthly fatherhood is obvious. God is not merely like a father for Christ’s followers; He is really their Father. In fact, God’s Fatherhood is the paradigm of fatherhood. This is why Paul writes in Eph 3:14-15, "For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named . . ." (RNAB). It is not that God the Father is earthly fatherhood writ large; rather, earthly fatherhood is the faint copy of Divine Fatherhood. This is why Jesus says, "Call no man on earth father. For you have but one Father in heaven" (Mt 23:9). In other words, no earthly father should be seen as possessing the fullness of patriarchal authority; that belongs to God the Father. All earthly fatherhood is derivative from Him.

Thus, God is not Father of those who have not received the grace of justification and redemption in the same way as those who have. Yet they remain potentially His children, since the Father wills the salvation of all (1 Tim 2:4) and makes sufficient grace necessary for salvation available to all. God desires that all men become children of the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit, hence the universal mission of the Church (Mt 28:19-20; Mk 16:15; Acts 1:8). We can speak, then, in general terms of God as the Father of all men, inasmuch as He created all men to be His children by grace and makes available to them the means of salvation.

My Mom's Influence

My mother had a very strong influence upon my decision to become a pastor. I've sometimes wondered if I even made a conscious decision. It was like I always knew that was my calling. You see, from the time I was a tiny child, I remember her telling me that she prayed the Hannah prayer:

And she vowed a vow and said, "O LORD of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head." - 1Sam 1:11 ESV

G van den Eeckhout -Hannah  presenting Samuel

My Mom's firstborn died in childbirth. I was her second born and her pelvic region was damaged in giving birth. The doctors told her she could never bear another. In thanks for her only son she promised to dedicate his life to the LORD. So, as I said, she and my Dad did everything they could to direct my life toward the vocation I've known all my life. And for this I have ever been thankful.

There are many Biblical studies about motherhood on the Internet. Here's a sampling:

Mothers in the Bible - 8 Blessed Mothers in the Bible Who Served God Well
These mothers lived in an age when women were often treated as second class citizens, yet God appreciated their true worth, just as he does today. Motherhood is one of life's highest callings. Learn how these eight mothers in the Bible put their hope in the God of the Impossible, and how he proved that such hope is always well-placed.

• Includes studies of  Eve, Sarah, Rebekah, Jochebed (Moses' mother), Hannah, Bathsheba, Elizabeth and Jesus' mother Mary.

11 Bible verses about Motherhood

• Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her - Proverbs 31:28 ESV
• And so train the young women to love their husbands and children, To be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. - Titus 2:4-5 ESV
• Discipline your son, for there is hope; do not set your heart on putting him to death. - Proverbs 19:18 ESV
• For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. - Jeremiah 29:11 ESV 
• When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. - John 19:26-27 ESV 
• Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him - Proverbs 13:24 ESV
• Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old. Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding. The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him. Let your father and mother be glad; let her who bore you rejoice. - Proverbs 23:22-25 - ESV
• O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. - Psalm 139:1-24  ESV 
• Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children. - Genesis 32:11 ESV

The Majesty of Motherhood - Motherhood is undoubtedly one of the most complex and exacting callings in life. A poll among women revealed overwhelming agreement that raising children properly requires as much intelligence and drive as holding a top position in business or government. And that task falls mainly on mother’s shoulders for the first six years of the child’s life. Even after that, her contacts with the children will of necessity be more frequent and prolonged than dad’s. While dad is the leader in the house, mother sets the tone. The hours her children spend in her presence will have a lasting influence on their lives. They will become largely what she makes them. She faces the noble challenge of molding their young lives for eternity. Motherhood is one of life’s highest honors, and one of its heaviest responsibilities.

The Challenging Vocation Of Motherhood

Yesterday I was deeply moved by our pastor's sermon about motherhood. The basis for his sermon was words spoken by our Lord Jesus as he told his disciples what was about to happen to him. His words are recorded in John 16. Our pastor focused particularly on the part about women giving birth.

Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, "Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, 'A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me'? Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. 

When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 

So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. - Jhn 16:19-22 ESV

Pastor pointed out that the family is under attack and that motherhood in particular is less and less seen as a vocation, a calling in our culture. Women are told they should find something more significant to do with their lives other than merely raising children.

Out in the narthex after the Service one group in the congregation was taking orders for corsages for mothers. We're planning to celebrate Mother's Day in a couple weeks. But is that enough? Should we not be doing more than having a once a year worship service? Do we really believe in motherhood ? Are we prepared to go out of our way to support those women who are moms?

What exactly is motherhood? How do you define it? This is a very difficult question in today's culture. For many women it is not at all a simple question. They also have vocations as writers, artists, teachers, lawyers, business execs or engineers. How does one balance two vocations? And what about the vocation of wife? Or what if you are a single mom? The answers to these and related questions are always going to be specific to the individual.

And the answers will be different depending on the children to whom you are a mom. Being a mom to a mentally challenged child is different from being a mother to a gifted child. And raising one child is different from raising five. And it gets more complex if a woman and her husband are not on the same page when it comes to the how of raising kids. What if your husband has no interest in spiritual matters, for instance? Or what if his vocation as a soldier or a businessman takes him away from the home for months at a time?

Kate Harris writes about motherhood as a vocation. She says, "As I think about what it means to faithfully pursue my work as a mom, I hope myself and others can commit to this larger vision of our role as “culture shapers” who can hold our own beside PhDs and playwrights, lest we be tempted to think our daily occupation as nose-wipers and shuttle drivers is anything less than a grand enterprise."

I'd like some input from some of you my readers this week as I pursue this question. Let me hear from you.