Check back each Monday for a short devotional with Chaplain Art Pace to help you start the week off well.
As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
Isaiah 66:13
Israel is suffering through their captivity at the hands of the fierce Babylonians. But God does not abandon them. He sends his prophet Isaiah to offer them words of wisdom and comfort.
As his book concludes, God offers to Israel strong words of hope. To help them understand how much he loves them, and the depth of comfort he offers to them, he draws on a singular powerful image that they will readily understand: the love of a mother for her children.
There is something about a mother’s love that transcends age and time. I heard a lecture by a Veteran who was part of the WWII Normandy invasion. He said that to this day what haunts him the most is not the memory of all the carnage, but the memory of the sounds of dying soldiers on the beach crying out for their mothers. With their last breaths, they were calling for the one earthly person who knew best how to comfort them.
Not everyone has had a positive role model for their mother, yet motherhood still remains a venerable institution worthy of our celebration. And as we recognize the depth of love our mothers had and have for us, Isaiah reminds us that God loves us even more.
What does it mean to you that the Lord offers to comfort you as a mother comforts a child? What are your plans to honor the woman who served as a mother in your life?
