When our kids were younger, they somewhere got the idea that serving your mother breakfast in bed on Mothers Day was the most wonderful thing you could do.  I, however, am just not a breakfast in bed person.  When I wake up, I get up.

          But there was one year when they apparently decided I really did need to be served breakfast in bed.  Most of the time, especially on a Sunday morning, I was the first person up.  But that year, I must have been very tired.

          I remember lying in bed, hearing them in the kitchen.  I decided to just go back to sleep and let them do whatever they were doing in the kitchen.  Joel got out of bed to see what they were up to, and I dozed off.

          The next thing I remember was seeing them coming into my room.  Emily was about five at the time, and she was carrying a tray.  Lisa and Jeff were teenagers, and they were coming behind her.  They were all smiling proudly as they called out, “Happy Mothers Day!” 

          On the tray was breakfast, with a huge glass of orange juice.  I remember thinking to myself, “How in the world will I ever drink that much orange juice?”  My kids know that I like orange juice for breakfast, and I guess the way kids think is:  If she likes orange juice, then the way to make her happy is to find the biggest glass in the cupboard and fill it to the rim with orange juice.

          As I watched my sweet kids, proudly bringing breakfast, Emily came over to the bed and started to set the tray on the bed.  It was one of those moments when you feel you are seeing life in slow motion.  As she lowered the tray towards me, that huge glass of orange juice gently slid across the tray and dumped all over me and the bed.  I was soaked with orange juice.  It was then I remembered why I don’t like breakfast in bed!

          Mothers Day, in my opinion, is a wonderful day for mothers whose children have grown up and who like to honor their moms.  But for moms who are still in the trenches, sometimes Mothers Day is a trial.

          One way the Bible honors mothers is by using mother as a way of describing God.

          God is always just a bit beyond our comprehension.  That’s why we have lots of different adjectives to describe God.  He is holy, powerful, loving, compassionate, wise—this list is long.  In addition to the adjectives are the metaphors or word pictures the Bible uses to help us understand God.  For example, the Bible says God is our rock and our fortress.  Isaiah uses the metaphor of a mother to help us understand God. 

          In Isaiah, God is not just a mother, but a mother with tattoos!  Not long ago, I met a man who has two children, and he has their names tattooed on his arms—one on each arm.  I’m not all that crazy about tattoos, but I bet it makes those kids feel good to see their names tattooed on their dad’s arms.

          Did you know that God has your name tattooed on his hand?  That’s what Isaiah says!  Isaiah says that God will always remember you, just like a mother remembers her baby.  But not only that, God has your name tattooed on his hand.  Listen to what he says in Isaiah 49.

¹³ Shout for joy, O heavens;
       rejoice, O earth;
       burst into song, O mountains!
       For the LORD comforts his people
       and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.

 ¹⁴ But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me,
       the Lord has forgotten me."

And then, in the next verses, the LORD answers:

 ¹⁵ "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
       and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
       Though she may forget,
       I will not forget you!

 ¹⁶ See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands…”

          If you are ever tempted to think that God has forgotten you, this is the passage that reminds you that as a mother can never forget her child, so God can never forget you.  Not only does God never forget you; God has the compassion of a mother for you.  In fact, even if a mother can forget her child, God will never forget you.

          God has engraved your name on his hands.  I compare this to tattooing, but actually, engraving means cutting your name into his flesh.  That’s where your name is!  Cut into the flesh of God’s palm.

          Hold out your hand, for just a minute.  Now, with the other hand, trace in your palm the letters of your name.  Your name is engraved in the palm of God’s hand.

          While your hand is there, remember that there is something else in God’s palm.  Imagine for a moment that you are Thomas, the disciple who was not sure Jesus had really risen from the dead.  Thomas said, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.”(John 20:25).  The nail marks are there in Jesus’ hands because of his love for you—because your name is engraved in the palm of his hand.

          I’m glad Isaiah used the metaphor of a mother to describe God’s love for us, because all of us have seen the love that mothers have for their children.  It’s true that we also know of terrible circumstances that interfere with the natural love mothers feel for their babies, but we know that the normal thing is for mothers to love their children.

          This morning, I want to read for you a children’s book about a mother and her love for her child.  As I read it, remember that this is just a story.  It’s not a true story, but the love the story portrays is most certainly true.  I’m going to call it a modern day parable, because I think it very beautifully captures the truth about the relentless mother-love of God.

          I have no idea whether or not the author ever even thought of God’s love when he wrote this book.  But whether it was on purpose or not, his lovely story about the love of a parent is a beautiful image of God’s love for his children.

          The book is called “Love You Forever,” and it’s written by Robert Munsch.

“A mother held her new baby and

very slowly rocked him back and forth,

back and forth, back and forth.

And while she held him, she sang,

          I’ll love you forever,

          I’ll like you for always,

          As long as I’m living

          My baby you’ll be….”[1]

          Through all the days of her life, that mother loved her child.  That’s just exactly the way God is.  God loves us when we’re driving him crazy and we belong in a zoo.  And God still loves us when we are old and sick.  He loves us like a mother and he loves us like a father.  His love is relentless.  He loves us so much that he has engraved our names in the palm of his hand.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, you love us way more than we can ever imagine.  You have written our names on the palm of your hand, and you will never, ever forget us.  You are the mother who never forgets us.  You are the father who will always be there for us.  Lord, remind us often of your love for us.  Reassure us, deep down in our hearts, that we are indeed engraved on the palm of your hand.   Amen.