Mother's Comfort

"But oftentimes when our falling and our wretchedness is shewed us, we are so sore adread, and so greatly ashamed of our self, that scarcely we find where we may hold us. But then willeth not our courteous Mother that we flee away, for Him were nothing lother. But He willeth then that we use the condition of a child: for when it is hurt, or adread, it runneth hastily to the mother for help, with all its might."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 61)

If a child falls down and gets hurt, the child naturally runs to its mother for comfort and care. If a child is afraid or anxious, the child naturally turns to its mother to feel safe and secure. And if a child makes a mistake, the child can open up and be honest with a good and loving mother, knowing that the mother will be understanding and helpful. So wouldn't Christ our perfect Mother always be gentle, understanding, caring, comforting and encouraging to us, no matter what our situation or need? Christ our Mother never wants us to shrink back in fear or shame because nothing could ever cause this perfect Mother to turn against us, be disappointed with us, or be angry with us.  This perfect Mother Christ wants to be the one we feel totally comfortable turning to, no matter what we have done, what we feel, or what we are going through. For Christ's arms are always open to hold us, Christ's love is always extending to us, Christ's encouragement is always there for us.

Our gentle and kind Mother Jesus has only good and uplifting things to say to us. Christ will always make us feel better, not worse. Christ will never shame us for being human or making mistakes, being tired or struggling with fear or anxiety. Christ knows what it is like to be human and live in this troubled world. Christ knows what it is like to be wounded and suffer. Christ has even known what it is like to feel the weight of sin, for though Christ never sinned, on the cross our dear Savior became sin for us and bore our sin away. So when we are troubled, angry, distraught, fearful, guilty of wrong, ashamed, anxious, lonely, or whatever we are facing or feeling, Christ wants us to use the condition of a child and do what children naturally do. Whenever they are troubled, they know they need help and run to their mother, quickly and without hesitation. There in our Mother Christ's arms we will find all the solace, comfort, encouragement, love and understanding that we could ever need. There we we will find peace and strength. There we will find acceptance and love. Enfolding in that warm embrace, we will know that all is well. We will be able to settle down, relax, be at peace and fall asleep, there in our Mother's arms, knowing all is well. Truly, we have the Best Mother in existence!

"Like a contented child who rests on its mother's lap, I'm your resting child and my soul is content in you."

Psalm 131:2 (TPT)

A Prayer: Thank You for being a wonderful Mother to me and always holding me in Your arms!

Never Perish

"Our heavenly Mother, Jesus, may not suffer us that are His children to perish: for He is All-mighty, All-wisdom, and All-love; and so is none but He,—blessed may He be!"

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 61)

A good earthly mother watches over her child and never lets any real harm come to the child, as much as it is within her power. But our heavenly Mother Jesus watches over us, the children, so perfectly that He never allows any real harm to come to us, even to the point of never allowing us to really perish. Our Mother Jesus has all the love, all the wisdom and all the power needed to keep us from any real or ultimate harm, and that is exactly what this wonderful Mother does. We have eternal life with our Trinity family. Nothing can touch that. Nothing can hinder or halt that relationship of love and union. Family is forever. We are always God's child. We are born of God and cannot go back and be unborn. We are a permanent member of the family and permanently loved and kept safe. Nothing can snatch us from the arms of our heavenly Mother. Nothing can ultimately hurt or defeat us. We are enjoying face to face union relationship with our Trinity family right now and forevermore. For eternal life is just this - to be known by God and to know God, to be loved by God and to love God, to belong, to have perfect relationship, to enjoy close connection, to to enjoy all the acceptance and joy and life that comes from being part of the family of God!

"Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face."

2 Corinthians 3:18 (MSG)

"You put him in charge of everything human So he might give real and eternal life to all in his care. And this is the real and eternal life: That they know you, The one and only true God, And Jesus Christ, whom you sent. I glorified you on earth By completing down to the last detail What you assigned me to do."

John 17:2-3 (MSG)

"And I give them eternal life, and they shall never lose it or perish throughout the ages. [To all eternity they shall never by any means be destroyed.] And no one is able to snatch them out of My hand."

John 10:28 (AMPC)

A Prayer: Just to know You, to be loved by You, to know I am accepted and belong in Your family circle, is real life to me!

A Strong and Marvelous Love

"And by the assay of this falling we shall have an high, marvellous knowing of love in God, without end. For strong and marvellous is that love which may not, nor will not, be broken for trespass."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 61)

It may be reasonable to believe God loves us when we are doing well and feel we are making good decisions. But when we are failing, struggling, making a mess of our life, it can be so difficult to believe God loves us. Yet it is right in the darkest night that the light of His love shines the brightest. When we are at our worst and feel we have nothing to offer God, have nothing in us that deserves His love, that is when His love is most powerful and meaningful. God loves us at our best and at our worst. But it is in the worst moments that we can have the deepest, strongest, most amazing experience of God's love because it is then that we can know with certainty that His love is unconditional. It is then that we can know that His love is not conditioned on our good behavior, strong faith, or success in life. If He loves us when we are down as low as can be, down in the gutter, with our life in ruins, then He will love us always, He will love us faithfully no matter what! 

We can imagine a mother or father loving a child, even when the child has failed so much that all seems ruined. We can imagine the mother or father coming and hugging the child and giving comfort, acceptance and love. Wouldn't God, our Perfect Parent, do this and infinitely more for us? Wouldn't God's love for His children be just as strong and infinitely more dependable? This is a love we can trust to be there for us forever. In fact, God has already demonstrated the strength and faithfulness of His love for us. For if God would show love towards those who murdered His own beloved Son (which was surely the worst thing humanity could do), then certainly He will show love to us no matter what we possibly do. If He takes us at our worst, He takes us always. He has proven His love for us and He will keep proving it in our lives again and again. He gives us a high and marvelous knowing of His love, showing us that the bond of love between us is so strong that no sin, shame, struggle or failure can break that bond. What an amazing love this is, stronger than anything. What a strong and marvelous love, almost beyond our comprehension! It is an unbreakable, unstoppable love. It is an always and forever, dependable love. It is the love God has for you and for me!

"Love puts up with anything and everything that comes along; it trusts, hopes, and endures no matter what."

1 Corinthians 13:7 (VOICE)

"I can always count on you - God, my dependable love."

Psalm 59:16 (MSG)

"But think about this: while we were wasting our lives in sin, God revealed His powerful love to us in a tangible display—the Anointed One died for us."

Romans 5:8 (VOICE)

A Prayer: I feel safe in Your love, because even at my worst, You take me, You accept me, You love me. 

Loved and Valued

"For we shall see verily in heaven, without end, that we have grievously sinned in this life, and notwithstanding this, we shall see that we were never hurt in His love, we were never the less of price in His sight."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 61)

No matter what a child does, the parent never stops loving the child; the parent's love is not diminished in any way. And no matter what a child does, the parent never stops valuing the child; the child's value is never diminished in the parent's eyes in any way. God our Perfect Parent acts the same way toward us, to an ever greater degree and with even more certainty. We can be sure that nothing we do will ever change God's love for us, cause God to love us less, or make Him stop loving us. And we can be sure that nothing we do will ever change the way God sees us or who we are in His eyes, cause us to lose value or cause Him to change His opinion of us. We are always God's precious, beloved children. This assessment has nothing to do with our behavior, our words, our feelings, our thoughts, our knowledge, our faith level, or anything else but just who He made us to be. We are God's precious and beloved children. God loves us and places infinite value on us. These are simply unchangeable, permanent facts of our existence with God!

"His loved ones are very precious to Him."

Psalm 116:15 (TLB)

"My love won't walk away from you."

Isaiah 54:10 (MSG)

A Prayer: Thank You for Your love for me that never changes. Thank You for seeing value in me always.

He Raises Us

"And when we fall, hastily He raiseth us by His lovely calling and gracious touching. And when we be thus strengthened by His sweet working, then we will with all our will choose Him, by His sweet grace.."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 61)

A little child who is learning to walk is not scolded or punished for falling down; instead, the parent is touched with compassion, rushes to the child, picks the child up and, with a hug and kiss, makes sure the child is ok and sends them on their way to try walking again. They do not need to say they are sorry or try to make up for their fall for the parent completely understands that mistakes are part of learning and doesn't see anything wrong in the child's heart. They don't have to try to get back in their parents' good graces, for they never left those good graces. When the child falls, the parent simply acts like a good parent, doing a parent's job: to pick up one's hurting child.

Our dear Savior Jesus parents us in the same way. When we fall, He is not scolding or punishing but rushing to us in compassion to lift us up on our feet again. We don't have to make anything up to Him. He is fine with us. He understands that mistakes happen. He is not grading or judging our performance at all. He is focused on loving us, focused on relationship. He is accepting us just as we are, mistakes and all. And He is telling us His acceptance and love will not change, no matter how we act or whether we improve in lovingkindness or not. He is simply seeing us in a positive light and giving us encouragement, loving us right where we are with no demand for change. And when we experience such grace in the midst of our failures, the love that is truly without condition and the security of knowing that He is committed to us no matter what, it is transforming. It raises us up. We find ourselves choosing His way, being more loving to ourselves and others, resting in faith. All along, His way has been grace, not law. Grace is what strengthens us, not law. Grace is what raises us up when we fall. When we see that, experience that from Him, it is life-changing. When you know that you are loved, accepted and safe no matter what you do, it transforms you: you find yourself relaxing, falling in love with God and wanting to love everyone around you. We fall, but grace keeps on raising us every time.

"I drew them to me with affection and love. I picked them up and held them to my cheek.."

Hosea 11:4 (GNT)

"When I said, 'My foot is slipping,' your unfailing love, Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy."

Psalm 94;18-19 (NIV)

A Prayer: Thank You for being there for me and picking me up when I fall.

New Creation Living

"And in our spiritual forthbringing He useth more tenderness of keeping, without any likeness: by as much as our soul is of more price in His sight. He kindleth our understanding, He directeth our ways, He easeth our conscience, He comforteth our soul, He lighteneth our heart, and giveth us, in part, knowing and believing in His blissful Godhead, with gracious mind in His sweet Manhood and His blessed Passion, with reverent marvelling in His high, overpassing Goodness; and maketh us to love all that He loveth, for His love, and to be well-pleased with Him and all His works."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 61)

Christ takes very special care with us in our spiritual rebirthing. Through the resurrection Christ births us into a new life, different from and far better than the life we experienced before, even better than the life Adam had before the fall. We are a new creation brought into a beautiful life with Christ. Christ is living His life in us, and this life is always full of joy, peace, victory and love. Christ works His nature, life and ways in and through us, causing us to walk in His ways. He is the one who give us wisdom and understanding, who guides us, who gives us reassurance that we are perfect and righteous in Him. He comforts and soothes us emotionally, giving us His peace that passes all understanding. He gives us both knowledge of and faith in God and understanding of His person and work. He encourages and uplifts us so that we are so happy we naturally want to be praising Him, for He overwhelms us with love and blessing, showing us how good He is. He brings us to love all He loves, brings us to a life of loving God, ourselves and others.  And He brings us to be totally satisfied with His work, both in salvation and in our daily lives, so that we rest in Him, knowing that nothing needs to be added to the finished and complete work of Christ. He brings us to live a life full of peace, love and good works, and even though we are doing things, it is Christ who lives through us and does the loving, does the working. The whole Christian life, the life of the new creation, is grace, for it is Christ who births it in us and brings it to growth and fruition in us. What a wonderful God we have and what a wonderful life with Him is this new creation life!

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

Ephesians 2:10 (ESV)

"And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes.."

Ezekiel 36:27 (ESV)

A Prayer: Thank You for living in me by grace, not law. Thank You for living in me!

Growing by Grace and Love

"The Kindly, loving Mother that witteth (understands) and knoweth the need of her child, she keepeth it full tenderly, as the nature and condition of Motherhood will. And as it waxeth (grows) in age, she changeth her working, but not her love."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 60)

Mothers care for their children's needs, matching their care to the child's situation, disposition and age. And even moreso, our Mother Christ takes care of all our needs. Christ knows us better than anyone else ever could, taking into account our disposition, situation and maturity. Christ gives us exactly what we need, not in small amounts but in abundance. Christ keeps us and helps us, nurtures us and encourages us, doing everything that needs to be done for our growth. For we grow by grace, through His nurturing care, and we grow by just knowing Him, experiencing His love. We don't have to feel like it is all up to us to learn, grow, understand or mature. Christ is in charge of all that and we grow by grace, by His working in and through us. 

Christ is a nurturing and kind mother. This Mother doesn't force or push us around by harsh demands, judging of behavior or punishment. This Mother fosters our growth by love, tenderness, gentleness, patience, kindness, goodness, and understanding. This Mother draws out the best in us by unconditionally loving us, supporting us even when we fail, and always strengthening and encouraging us, seeing the best in us and drawing it out by believing in us even when we can't believe in ourselves. This Mother is all about grace and love, not rules and punishment. This Mother is all about relationship, not performance. This mother maintains the tenderness and openness of a love relationship with us above all else. This Mother is all about love, for love is what makes her children truly bloom and flourish! Our Mother Christ is the most nurturing, tender, supportive, responsive, caring and gentle mother of all!

"But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever."

2 Peter 3:18 (KJV)

"It is good for the heart to be established and strengthened by grace."

Hebrew 13:9 (AMP)

A Prayer: Your grace - Your acceptance, kindness, goodness, support, and unconditional love nourish me!

Eternal Nourishing That Eternally Satisfies

"The Mother may lay the child tenderly to her breast, but our tender Mother, Jesus, He may homely lead us into His blessed breast, by His sweet open side, and shew therein part of the Godhead and the joys of Heaven, with spiritual sureness of endless bliss."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 60)

A mother lays her baby next to her and nurses her child, so that the baby gets life-giving milk and sustenance and is completely satisfied until its next feeding. But Christ gives us spiritual sustenance, His own life, so that we are satisfied to such a full extent that we hunger and thirst no more. He completely fills and satisfies. He provides all we need for life here and for all eternity. He nourishes and invigorates us with the God-life, life that knows no boundaries or limits, life with no end, life that is indefeatable and indestructible, life that always overcomes, always has abundance, always loves and gives, always is triumphant over every evil, fear or challenge. 

And while a mother lets her baby nurse very close to her but still externally to her, Christ brings all humanity into His own self, being one with our humanity and joining with us forever. We are so close we are IN. So we have continual nourishing and life, continual joys and blessings, continual communion and  presence. All that Christ is is given to us in this oneness, and we partake of His own nature, His own being, His own righteousness, His own relationship with the Father, His own heavenly life. Christ gives us the best nourishment, for He gives us Himself in oneness with us, with our humanity. We can relax and rest, not needing to strive, because we know that all we  need is already given to us in Him, and so we rest in completeness and union. Within Him we find continual communion with the Godhead, all the joys of heaven, and the assurance of endless bliss with Him!

"For in Him the whole fullness of Deity (the Godhead) continues to dwell in bodily form [giving complete expression of the divine nature]. And you are in Him, made full and having come to fullness of life [in Christ you too are filled with the Godhead—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—and reach full spiritual stature]."

Colossians 2:10 (AMPC)

"Let the agape-love of God romance you into his rest where you cease from striving and bask in completeness."

2 Timothy 2:22 (MIRROR)

"They will neither hunger nor thirst."

Isaiah 49:10 (NLT)

 

Christ Feeds Us

"He would not stint (cease) of working: wherefore then it behoveth (befits) Him to feed us; for the dearworthy love of Motherhood hath made Him debtor to us. The mother may give her child suck of her milk, but our precious Mother, Jesus, He may feed us with Himself, and doeth it, full courteously and full tenderly.."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 60)

We think sometimes that we owe God our service, yet Julian says that Christ owes us a debt of love and service. For a mother ought to take care of her child, meeting her child's every need, and a mother owes her child her attention and love and care. So Christ our Mother takes care of all of us and gives full attention, love and care to us, meeting our every need. We don't have to do anything to 'get' this kind service; it is simply what a mother ought to do and what a mother loves to do. So Christ loves taking care of us and does so without ceasing. We are always being taken care of by Christ our Mother. For Christ gives everything to us, pouring out in love for us. Earthly mothers give their babies their life-giving milk, but we get to partake of Christ's own life. We are fed and nourished by Christ. For Christ is our true food, full of love and acceptance, strength and grace, that sustains us and makes us thrive in heavenly life. We naturally want the pure milk of our Mother Christ, the love and kindness and life that tastes so wonderful to us and makes us grow. And Christ loves nourishing and feeding us. 

Christ brings us to rest from being nourished by heavenly life and love, like an infant falling asleep while nursing in the mother's arms. In fact, one of the most beautiful pictures of security, satisfaction and rest that we have is of a little baby nestled in its mother's arms, sleeping peacefully after drinking in mother's milk till its tummy is full. The baby is totally satiated and satisfied, is completely at rest and comfortable, is absolutely secure and peaceful in its mother's arms. And with Christ, that is where we are today. He satisfies us, makes us feel safe and comfortable, snuggles us close and brings us to such rest that we can sleep peacefully, knowing all is well!

"Like infants at the breast, drink deep of God’s pure kindness."

1 Peter 2:2 (MSG)

"The one who feeds on me will live because of me."

John 6:57 (NIV) 

A Prayer: Thank You for pouring out Your life to take care of me and nourish me. You are life to me and nothing and noone satisfies me like You!

He Thinks We Are Worth It

"He sustaineth us within Himself in love; and travailed, unto the full time that He would suffer the sharpest throes and the most grievous pains that ever were or ever shall be; and died at the last. And when He had finished, and so borne us to bliss, yet might not all this make full content to His marvellous love; and that sheweth He in these high overpassing words of love: If I might suffer more, I would suffer more."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 60)

If Christ gave birth to us through the resurrection, then the suffering of Christ on the cross can be seen as birth pangs as Christ labored to bring us forth into new life. When humanity fell into delusion and sin, God did not abandon these beloved created children. Instead, Christ kept us and sustained us within a womb of love, continually carrying humanity within until the time came for humanity's new birth. No matter how much pain a mother goes through to bring her child into the world, she forgets that pain when she sees her newborn child, and she says that all that pain was worth it, that she would have gone through even more pain just to have her precious child with her, alive and well. And in the same way Christ our Mother says that all the pain was worth it to bring us into new birth, alive and well. Christ was willing to do whatever was necessary, was willing to endure whatever suffering was needed, to bring us into the freedom, joy and fullness of resurrection life. Christ willingly endured all the suffering of the cross even to the point of death, looking forward to the joy that would come from it. And that joy is humanity, you and I! One look at us, the cherished and precious newborns cradled in those loving and everlasting arms, and Christ declares, "It was worth it! You are worth it, my dear darlings!" 

"A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world."

John 16:21 (NIV)

"Because his heart was focused on the joy of knowing that you would be his, he endured the agony of the cross and conquered its humiliation.."

Hebrews 12:2 (TPT)

A Prayer: Knowing You are joyful over me -  like a mother is joyful over her newborn - makes me know I am wanted, I am loved, and I am Your very own child!

Endless Life

"We know that all our mothers' bearing is [bearing of] us to pain and to dying: and what is this but that our Very Mother, Jesus, He—All-Love—beareth us to joy and to endless living?—blessed may He be!"

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 60)

Though our earthly mothers bear or birth us into a world of pain and sorrow and death, our dear Mother Christ bears or births us into a whole new world of endless life and joy. We are born anew through Christ's resurrection, brought into the realm of Christ's resurrection life, the life of the heavenly realms. We are raised up with Christ to the heavens and are hid and oned with His resurrected and reigning life. This life has already prevailed over every pain, sickness, sorrow and death of the earthly life. This life, Christ's own resurrection life, never has any bitterness, fear, anxiety or lack in it. Born from above in Christ, we are a new creation, newborns in a whole new world, and we are pure, perfect, sinless, beautiful and sweet. We are in eternal life, God's own life, and we can never go out of it, for how could we ever go backwards and be unborn? Birth is permanent! We are forever in life, in Christ's life, in resurrection life! It is the most beautiful, fulfilling, happy, peaceful life we could imagine. And it is a life of love, full of the tenderness and warmth of Christ, a life of being permanently embraced by the One who loves us most, safe from any harm alive forevermore, enjoying the love of the Trinity family continually!

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."

1 Peter 1:3 (NIV)

Thank You for bringing me into Your endless life through Your resurrection!

Our Humble Mother

"Our high God is sovereign Wisdom of all: in this low place He arrayed and dight (prepared) Him full ready in our poor flesh, Himself to do the service and the office of Motherhood in all things....This office none might, nor could, nor ever should do to the full, but He alone."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 60)

Our God who is high, exalted, mighty and over all chose to take the low place of humble human flesh to be our true Mother and give us new birth. This wonderful God was willing to take on this role of Mother to us, to do all that a mother is to do, becoming the humble caretaker of humanity. And noone could do it better. Noone could be a better Mother to us, noone could do the work of Motherhood more fully than our God made flesh! God does not consider the office of mothering humanity as "low" job, though, but instead as a high and infinitely important one. In fact it is God's great delight and honor to be our Mother, to love and hold us, and to do everything for our care. 

Our Mother God births us into new life and takes care of us in our newborn state, watching over us and meeting our needs around the clock, thinking only of us. Our Mother God meets all our needs right down to the most basic and lowly, giving all the time and effort and energy possible to help us thrive. And our Mother God loves us infinitely and would do anything for us, always protecting us, cradling us, singing over us, soothing us, calming us and tenderly caressing us.  It is lovely to see our God as a Mother. Earthly mothers naturally care for their child and love the child tenderly, not forgetting the child. Yet God is an infinitely more compassionate, caring, nurturing and attentive Mother than any earthly mother. We could not ask for a better Mother than God!

"But how could a loving mother forget her nursing child and not deeply love the one she bore? Even if there is a mother who forgets her child, I could never, no never, forget you."

Isaiah 49:15

A Prayer: You are the best Mother to me and I know You will care for my every need.