The Family God Creates
THE FAMILY GOD CREATES
5/8/28
The other day on the trail, I passed a pond in a nearby ravine. Suddenly, ducklings appeared out of nowhere, scattering and then racing across the water toward their mother. She quacked loudly at my presence as they cut quick, panicked V-shapes to reach her. It was a simple moment, but a picture of protection, instinct, and, at the same time, belonging.
This coming Sunday is Mother’s Day, and this picture stuck in my mind as a perfect picture of not only motherhood but also of God Himself. It’s a day to honor the different women who have shaped our lives. For some, that’s a biological mother; for others, it’s a spiritual mother, a mentor, or someone who helped guide us in faith. We may be able to celebrate with them, or we may be honoring their memory. Some of us are celebrating our own children, while others are celebrating children we’ve helped raise and pour into. However it looks, it’s a day to celebrate.
But as a pastor, I know Mother’s Day can also be a difficult day. For some, memories of our mother are not easy. Some may not have had the relationship they’d hoped for, and others have never known their mother at all. Some have experienced the pain of not being able to have children. Others carry the unimaginable weight of losing a child. These are real experiences, and they make this day complex.
And it’s in the middle of that complexity that we’re reminded of something deeper: God is forming a family.
Jesus pointed to those who followed Him and said, “These are my brothers and sisters.” He wasn’t building something defined only by biology, but by belonging. He didn’t come to build something defined only by a kingdom; He came to create a family. And the Apostle Paul tells us that God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family through Jesus Christ.
Even though God reveals Himself to us as Father, Scripture also shows us the depth and tenderness of His love in ways that reflect a mother’s heart. In Isaiah, God says, “Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even though she might forget, I will never forget you.” (Isaiah 49:15). Or in a prayer of Moses, God is seen as one who gives birth, and he asks God, “Was it I who conceived all this people? or was it I who gave them birth…?” (Numbers 11:12). And Jesus describes Himself as a mother hen lamenting to gather her children under His wings in the midst of pain and confusion (Matt. 23:37). God’s love is not distant, rather it is nurturing, attentive, and fiercely committed.
So Mother’s Day isn’t just about the families we come from, it’s also about the family God is creating.
Whether women have raised children, felt the ache of wanting to have them, poured into others spiritually, or have gone through the almost impossible task of trying to live after losing them, they are all part of that family. These women reflect the heart of a God who sees, who nurtures, and who never forgets His children.
And because that’s who God is, it shapes what we do.
So my hope on that day is that your children, biological, adoptive, or spiritual, rise up and call you blessed! May we support one another, pray for one another, and worship together as one family.
To all women, mothers in every sense: Happy Mother’s Day!
Pastor Jesse Holt
5/8/28
The other day on the trail, I passed a pond in a nearby ravine. Suddenly, ducklings appeared out of nowhere, scattering and then racing across the water toward their mother. She quacked loudly at my presence as they cut quick, panicked V-shapes to reach her. It was a simple moment, but a picture of protection, instinct, and, at the same time, belonging.
This coming Sunday is Mother’s Day, and this picture stuck in my mind as a perfect picture of not only motherhood but also of God Himself. It’s a day to honor the different women who have shaped our lives. For some, that’s a biological mother; for others, it’s a spiritual mother, a mentor, or someone who helped guide us in faith. We may be able to celebrate with them, or we may be honoring their memory. Some of us are celebrating our own children, while others are celebrating children we’ve helped raise and pour into. However it looks, it’s a day to celebrate.
But as a pastor, I know Mother’s Day can also be a difficult day. For some, memories of our mother are not easy. Some may not have had the relationship they’d hoped for, and others have never known their mother at all. Some have experienced the pain of not being able to have children. Others carry the unimaginable weight of losing a child. These are real experiences, and they make this day complex.
And it’s in the middle of that complexity that we’re reminded of something deeper: God is forming a family.
Jesus pointed to those who followed Him and said, “These are my brothers and sisters.” He wasn’t building something defined only by biology, but by belonging. He didn’t come to build something defined only by a kingdom; He came to create a family. And the Apostle Paul tells us that God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family through Jesus Christ.
Even though God reveals Himself to us as Father, Scripture also shows us the depth and tenderness of His love in ways that reflect a mother’s heart. In Isaiah, God says, “Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even though she might forget, I will never forget you.” (Isaiah 49:15). Or in a prayer of Moses, God is seen as one who gives birth, and he asks God, “Was it I who conceived all this people? or was it I who gave them birth…?” (Numbers 11:12). And Jesus describes Himself as a mother hen lamenting to gather her children under His wings in the midst of pain and confusion (Matt. 23:37). God’s love is not distant, rather it is nurturing, attentive, and fiercely committed.
So Mother’s Day isn’t just about the families we come from, it’s also about the family God is creating.
Whether women have raised children, felt the ache of wanting to have them, poured into others spiritually, or have gone through the almost impossible task of trying to live after losing them, they are all part of that family. These women reflect the heart of a God who sees, who nurtures, and who never forgets His children.
And because that’s who God is, it shapes what we do.
So my hope on that day is that your children, biological, adoptive, or spiritual, rise up and call you blessed! May we support one another, pray for one another, and worship together as one family.
To all women, mothers in every sense: Happy Mother’s Day!
Pastor Jesse Holt
Recent
Archive
2026
Categories
no categories
No Comments