The woman stood with her back to her husband as he spoke gently and softly touched her shoulder. “Perhaps it is for the best”, he said. She quickly turned round to face him. As she did he so he was completely taken aback by the fire in her eyes – “I want this baby!” Her tone was emphatic almost bordering on anger. The moment caught him off guard – he didn’t know what to say.
In actual fact it was only a matter of weeks before that they had discovered that were expecting their first baby – but the medical prognosis was not good. The doctor had told them she would probably not see out the full term of her pregnancy and even if she did the child would be severely disabled and consequently a burden to others for the rest of its natural life. But none of that seemed to matter to her. Would it not be better if she miscarried – avoiding months of pain and anguish and then perhaps years of being bound by a severely disabled child? The reality was she knew little about the child forming in her womb. She had never seen it and had no apparent relationship with it. How could he account for her behaviour? [1]
The truth is that this expectant mother was displaying an emotion that was a pure reflection of the God in whose image she had been created. [2] There are four words for “womb” in Hebrew, all of which relate to it as being the control centre of emotion as well as a bodily organ. One of these Hebrew words is “Racham” which is expressive of deep love and is the word translated “compassion” in our Bibles. Significantly this is the word that is most often used to describe the feelings of God towards his children! As we will discover the womb of God is not only a place that incubates spiritual life – but is also the seat of his compassion, pity, and tender mercy. It was just this emotion that this woman felt towards the child in her womb. She longed to have her baby, irrespective of the fact that it may cause her distress, pain and years of constant attention. Her inexplicable emotion flowed from a heart of deep love and compassion for her child. This is a pure picture of the maternal heart of God.
The womb is where life is incubated, where it is nurtured and protected and from where a baby will eventually emerge to new life in a totally different environment. Yet, the bond that is formed between a mother and her child is one that can never be broken.[3] This is the reason why many who deny this unique bonding will eventually do anything to restore the relationship! This physical, natural law is a clear picture of the relationship that exists between God and his children and is why we can never be complete without him as the continuing centre and source of our lives.
God, as Father of all creation, gives us physical life forming us within the womb.[4] He also gives spiritual life to those conceived as a result of the love relationship that exists in the trinity. Such are truly “born of God” having been nurtured and brought to spiritual life in the very womb of God – the womb of which a mother’s natural womb is a reflection. Although God is not addresses in feminine terms in the Bible, for in reality he is neither male nor female but spirit, there are many indications that he is the source of all true femininity and consequently pure motherhood.
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[1] This example is based on a true story. The baby did survive to become a completely healthy child.
[2] Women and men are both created in the image of God. We will fail miserably in trying to understand the heart of God if we restrict his expression, as some do, to the masculine. God is neither male nor female – but expressions of pure femininity or pure masculinity are reflections of His image and being. We need a balanced understanding of both the masculine and the feminine to understand God. Anything that will diminish the importance of pure femininity as a reflection of the being, nature and heart of God is demonic. Many Jewish and Christian theologians argue that the term “Adam” as used in Biblical and Talmudic writings denotes both male and female. In other words when God first created Adam – the first being created in the image of God, he was perfectly masculine and perfectly feminine. Therefor in the absence of either man or woman there is no complete image of God!
[3] God himself states – “Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for a child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you!” – Isaiah 49:15 – NLT
[4] There are many proofs of this in the Bible, such as God’s statement to Jeremiah – “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.” (Jeremiah 1:5 – NLT)
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