Article April 18, 1970 Issue

The Motherhood of God

BETTY G. McGRATH

At a time when so many young men are engaged in armed conflict, it is understandable that many mothers' hearts long for assurance that their sons are safe in God's care. And this blessed peace is attainable today.

The understanding that God is not only the Father of all but the Mother of all is a great comfort to the human mother. Although human thought in Christ Jesus' day was not yet advanced to the point where he could refer to God as Mother, Jesus proved by his life the perfect completeness of his divine Parent, Father-Mother God. His understanding of the motherhood of God and his loving expression of it are declared clearly in his cry: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!"^{Matt. 23:37;}

Centuries later, a diligent student of the Bible, Mrs. Eddy, grasped the significance of a divine Mother and shared her conclusions with the world in the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health. She writes, "In divine Science, we have not as much authority for considering God masculine, as we have for considering Him feminine, for Love imparts the clearest idea of Deity."^{Science and Health, p. 517;}