WHEN I WAS A KID – I mean, a really little kid – my mother had to ride a bus to work every day. But first, she had to drop me off at the sitter’s, which means that I rode on the bus part of the way with her. It was always early in the morning. Ordinarily, the sun wasn’t even up, but we were! Standing at the corner across from our apartment building, we waited for the bus, and we did it every single day.
There was one day I will never forget. It was in winter. Snow was falling, and a thick layer of ice had already formed on the streets. Nevertheless, my mother bundled me up and took me with her for our daily routine of waiting for the bus. The coat I was wearing was no match for the piercing wind. I was shaking uncontrollably. I didn’t think about it at the time – because kids generally don’t – but my mother was probably just as cold as I was. And yet, you know what she did? She unbuttoned her coat, pulled me inside it, right up next to her, and she put her arms around me and held me close. I was still cold, but I felt safe.
What would childhood be like without our mothers? Some, of course, have had to find out. I talked with a man only this past week – he must have been in his eighties. He told me that his mother died when he was only five days old. He still grieves a life – what has turned out to be a long life – lived without a mother’s touch. My heart broke for him. It breaks for you, too, if you mother died when you were a child.
Most of us, thankfully, have memories of our mothers. They cooked for us, cheered us on, defended us, held us, sat up with us, and made us feel safe and important and capable. Today, we bless our mothers. Our mothers may be, hands down, the most influential people in our lives. In fact, we learn something about God from our mothers. As a mother never forgets her child, so our Father never forgets his children.
Sometimes, we think he does. In chapter 49 of Isaiah, the prophet tells us how God “has comforted his people” and how his compassion is unfailing. We see that in verse 13. But God’s comfort doesn’t always register with us. In the very next verse, verse 14, Isaiah writes, “But Zion said, ‘The LORD has forsaken me, my Lord has forgotten me.’” Zion, of course, refers to God’s people – to you and me – and we have to admit: there are times when we conclude that God has managed to forget us.
When you think about it, God could take offense at this, given all that he has done for us. It would be something like telling our mothers, who have sacrificed greatly for our sake – it would be like telling them that they didn’t really love us. Saying something like that is a good way to hurt your mother’s feelings – so don’t do it, right?
But God doesn’t get his feelings hurt. In fact, if what we read here in Isaiah 49 is any indication, God redoubles his effort to persuade us that he does love us – with a love greater than we could even begin to measure – and to assure us that we are never forgotten.
When discouragement besets us, encouragement blesses us, and the source of that encouragement is God. In fact, here in Isaiah, God gives us four word pictures to encourage us when we most need it.
The first word picture he uses is that of a mother’s arms, and it is found in verse 15. The Lord asks, “Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb?” We don’t even have to think about it, do we? Mothers don’t forget their children, and their compassion never fails.
There are, of course exceptions. We hear in the news about a woman somewhere on trial for taking the life of her children. Recently, I heard about a mother who introduced her daughter to drug abuse. Things like this happen, but they’re rare. As biblically instructed Christians, we may be saddened by such reports, but we are not surprised. We know that we live in a fallen world, a world where sin has its clutches on every one of us. But, generally speaking, mothers are not like that. Each case I have mentioned is the exception that proves the rule. A mother never forgets her child.
But look at what God says next. Even if she does, “I will not forget you.” As a mother never forgets her child, so our Father never forgets his children.
How could he? The next word picture takes us to the tattoo parlor, where God says, “See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands.” What an image! With God, your name is never out of mind, because he has it tattooed on his hands!
When God gave Moses instructions about how the people of ancient Israel were to worship him, he told him to “take two onyx stones, and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel, six of the names on the one stone, and the names of the remaining six on the other stone…. [And] you shall set the two stones on the shoulder pieces” of the garment that the high priest shall wear “as stones of remembrance.” And the high priest “shall bear their names before the Lord on his two shoulders” (Ex. 28:9ff.). Now, what does that tell us? It tells us – doesn’t it? – that God has always taken great care to assure us that, as a mother never forgets her child, so our Father never forgets his children.
There are two more word pictures here in Isaiah 49, and like the first two, they attest to the encouraging truth that, with God, we are never forgotten. One of these remaining word pictures is a construction site. God describes himself as a contractor who has secured builders with such skill that they “outdo your destroyers.” This is a picture of real life – don’t you think? – with all its hazards and threats to our well-being. There are destroyers all around. But says, “Your builders outdo your destroyers.”
It reminds of what the Apostle John says to us in his first letter about the threats we face in this life. He writes, “Little children, you are from God, and have conquered them.” Notice how he puts this in the past tense. What he is saying is: You have already conquered your destroyers! And then he tells us why: “for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). Your Savior, Jesus Christ, dwells within you, and he is greater than anything that comes against you. Again, you see. God has you in mind. As a mother never forgets her child, so our Father never forgets his children.
The final word picture in this passage is that of a wedding. Isaiah was writing to a people who had been in exile, dispersed across the face of the earth. But now They would all come home to safety. Israel would be like a bride, marrying her beloved, with all of her family in attendance. “Lift up your eyes all around,” God says to her, “and see; they all gather, they come to you. As I live, says the LORD, you shall put all of them on like an ornament, and like a bride you shall bind them on.” Isn’t that a beautiful portrayal of God’s heart for us, his people?
It is what compelled him to send his Son, Jesus Christ, to draw us to himself, just as my mother did with me on that cold dark morning while we were waiting for a bus we thought might never come. This world can be cold and dark and even scary. “But take courage,” Jesus said; “I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). And he overcame the world by opening himself up to the cold, penetrating wind, risking the cruel chill, as it were, to keep us, his children, warm. The arms of Jesus stretched out on the cross present us with a picture of God’s embrace – as clear a picture as I know. As a mother never forgets her child, so our Father never forgets his children.
This week, as severe thunderstorms and the threat of tornados hovered over the region, Jan and I watched the news for information about the weather. Time and time again, we heard Kevin Selle say, “If you’re in this or that area, go to your safe place now.” Thinking about that now makes me wonder: What is your safe place? When the storms of life threaten, where do you go? Of course, there is only one truly safe place. It is in the arms of God. That is why devout mothers pray for their children to come to know Jesus.
Today, we celebrate our mothers. And one reason is that they show us something about God. As a mother never forgets her child, so our Father never forgets his children.
This week, why not take the time to write a letter or even a brief note and thank your mother for never forgetting you, for always having you in mind. If your mother is no longer living, why not write the letter anyway? It will be a way to pay tribute to your mother as you express your gratitude for all that she did for you.
And, if you’re a mother who has lost a child, our hearts go out to you. That, too, is part of living in a fallen world – a world that is broken. Would you consider writing a brief letter to your child, promising never to forget her…or him, as the case might be? It may help you, and it will demonstrate what we all know about mothers: They never forget their children. Neither does God.
