“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God
He created him, male and female he created them” (Gen. 1:27).
“Them” means that the image of God is not fully captured only in a man – regardless of whether he is a Neanderthal Man or a Renaissance Man. Women also uniquely bear the image of God, but in ways that men do not – and cannot. Women are equal with men in the eyes of God and are stamped with God’s image as surely as a man is … only differently.
I read recently that the message of God’s unconditional love for women is powerful in evangelism among Muslim women in Iraq and Syria who have been systematically taught that Muhammad considered women to be deficient in mind and in spirit, that they don’t have the same ability as men to know right from wrong and are therefore always going to be inclined towards evil. No: ‘male and female He created them.’
Although woman is made from Adam’s rib, God uniquely fashioned her to be complementary to the man. “Ish and Isha”, rejoices Adam when he wakes up and sees her – “man” and “woman”. And then Adam gives this first woman a name. He doesn’t call her “Honey”, he calls her Eve, because she is “the mother of all the living.” That’s important. She is the mother of all the living because what a mother does supremely is give life.
Mothers give life. And mostly, the life they give is their own. They give their wombs for nine months. They give birth. They give eye contact all the while they are giving milk. They give touch. They give attention. They give concern. They give thought, and like Mary, they treasure all these thoughts inside of them.
They also remember stuff. Our firstborn, Stephen, got sick one night after supper when he was about three. My wife immediately remarked, “Oh I guess he’s allergic to spinach.” I said, “How do you know that’s the one item from this meal that made him sick?” She replied, “Don’t you remember last Fall, when he was not feeling well after supper that we had spinach that night too?!” No! I not only don’t remember the last time we had spinach, but I am incapable of storing that kind of information. But mothers can and mothers do!
Mothers give life. They not only give, they also give up. They give up sleep, they give up their own agendas, they give up their evenings and their weekends and their togetherness and their figures and their backs and their shoulders and their arms. They bend over and tie, snap, button, pin, zip, velcro and wrap their kids more times than there are grains of sand on the beach. Mothers REALLY give.
When you encounter a beautiful little child sitting in a stroller, serenely content and smiling up at you – do you have any idea how much time and energy it took to get him dressed and out the door, in the car, out of the car and strapped into his BOB so he could sit there like a prince in his chariot while his mother pushes him down the Greenway for a couple miles? Bares repeating – mothers REALLY give.
Bringing it full circle: all this giving that mothers do …is it not the very image of God in them? John 3:16. We all know this verse: God so loved the world that He …what? He “GAVE.” That’s the heart of God being revealed in woman, it’s the heart of a mother who is made in the image of God.
I won’t be at all surprised if there is a special honor for mothers around the throne of God; mothers and martyrs will probably have reserved seating up at the front, near the Lamb. Why is that? Because Jesus said, “The greatest among you will be the servant of all.” Greatness in Jesus’ kingdom is measured by how much you give and serve others. “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and give His life for many.”
So if this is your calling in life right now, don’t ever be embarrassed to tell anyone who asks you what you do. Look ‘em right in the eye and say, “For the time being, my days are strenuously and joyfully occupied with being a mother.”
Those days quickly pass and your children will leave for school, leave for college and leave to make a family of their own and there will be plenty of time for other pursuits. But there is no more important, demanding or rewarding job in the world than raising your children to go out into the world following Jesus.
In this sense, mothers give life to the world: who could possibly calculate the long-term ripple effect on a community of just two or three children that have been discipled well for 22 years?! Just imagine how many lives they will touch?
Mothers don’t just give birth, they give life. It’s not just about whether children have plenty of food, sleep, diaper changes and enough videos to get them through the car trip. It’s about giving them life. It is about teaching them the wonders of our world, the mysteries of life and the complexities of human relationships. It’s about molding and shaping their character. It’s about raising your children to leave you and go out into the world and bless the world (Gen. 12). Don’t ever say, “I just want my children to be happy.” That’s not all that you want. You and I want so much more for our children.
Making disciples was Jesus’ great commission for the Church. Mothers get that; they give themselves fully to doing that for as long as it takes. Mothers give life.
Honoring your mother is not only a special day in May, it’s the Law (Ex. 20:12)!
– Tom Oster
