AS A HEN GATHERS HER BROOD
Jenna Worsham
Today’s Scripture: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” Matthew 23:37, ESV
Theme: Jesus cared for lost people, longing to care for and mother them. Mothering is honorable and includes gathering, protecting, and directing children.
HENS AND THEIR BROODS
Though I don’t have chickens, many of my friends do! Urban farming is popular and it’s no wonder with the price of eggs! While I don’t have a coop here at home, I do have a front row seat to a lake full of geese and their goslings. Tis the season for proud parent geese to lead their broods from lake shore to island, between buoys and boat docks. When stormy weather hits or when it is cold outside, geese do gather their young under protective wings. The goslings are so willing to be gathered. It’s warm, it’s dry, it’s safe. What would happen to them if they were unwilling to be gathered?
“GIVE ME CHILDREN OR I SHALL DIE”
As a person with a specific title or experience, we might see ourselves as superior to those without that experience. It is the reason that Rachel, a beloved wife, was jealous of her sister. “When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister. She said to Jacob, ‘Give me children, or I shall die!’” (Genesis 30:1, ESV). Now, there are all kinds of messed up things about this situation, but the one I’d like to consider is that Rachel believes she has no worth if she isn’t a mother. Jesus did not feel that way, even though He also had no biological children.
TRIAL BY FIRE
Those who are biological or adopted parents understand the intense loyalty and love that develops between a parent and child. We have no idea what we are getting into or how hard it will be. This is often a catalyst for growth in us. We learn to become less selfish when we provide for our children physically, spiritually, and emotionally. We understand God and His nature better as we ask Him to give us the wisdom and patience we do not have (and never tried to develop). Loyalty, love, devotion, and dedication can elicit beneficial growth in us if we allow God to lead us to self-sacrifice. I know this to be true because Jesus possessed every good quality a parent might develop. He would be a better parent to our children than we are.
JESUS HAD A PARENT’S HEART
While He didn’t have His own children, Jesus loved children and was not too busy to tend to them. “But Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven’” (Matthew 19:14, ESV). Not once do we read about His regret at not being a parent. Rather, Jesus focuses on caring for all people the way a parent would – He even refers to us as His children.
The “children” of Jerusalem are the ones that kill prophets and stone messengers. Yet in today’s Scripture, we see that Jesus loves the city and wishes He could protect and shelter it in His care. Like a mother willing to sacrifice herself for her young, Jesus has a heart for His “children.” When we develop that same protective, self-sacrificing quality (not unique to mothers), we become like our loving God. The qualities that we associate with ideal motherhood are really characteristics of a perfect God. Patience, protection, devotion, and self-sacrifice are often developed through facing difficulties associated with caring for and raising children. Mothering is honorable and includes gathering, protecting, and directing children. Jesus also reminds us that motherhood is not the only path to holiness.
Make It Personal: What does Jesus teach us about caring for and nurturing people? How can we think about mothering differently – and learn lessons from motherhood, whether we physically bear children or not?
Pray: Dear God, Thank You for allowing me the opportunity to grow and develop character like the good mothers I know. Help me to encourage and respect others, no matter their title or station. Thank You for the opportunity to become more like Jesus day by day. Thank You for the beauty, loyalty, and love I get to experience in this life. You are so generous to me. Thank You for my own mother and the way that she has blessed me. I pray today for those who have lost parents or children. You comfort the afflicted and sorrowful. Please help me to love like You do. In Jesus’ Name, amen.
Read: Mark 10:14; Matthew 23:37-39
Weekly Memory Verse: “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” Ephesians 6:2-3, ESV