God uses us to feed each other. Sometimes bodies. Sometimes souls.
I savor Lauren Winner’s words, in her book Wearing God, Her observations and exegesis offer up an abundance of new understanding of God’s character. This image, in particular, lingers:
“When I think about the hard work of labor, I realize that my unreflective assumption is somehow that redemption is easy for God. Because God is all powerful, I somehow imagine redemption being a snap of the fingers. But Isaiah’s image tells us how hard the laboring woman is working to bring forth redemption, a kind of hard work that many of us are unaccustomed to in our technological, twenty first century world.”
My jaw drops as I read this. How have I glossed over this image through the numerous times I have read through Isaiah? Why is this image not emphasized more often? God taking on such a human posture leaves me speechless. Awed. It reminds me that birth pains are always going on behind the scenes. God is always working on our behalf to bring forth life. The laboring mother is present and entering the painful transition with us.
Scripture bears witness to the breadth of God’s persona yet earthly narratives greatly shape how we perceive them. We can only expand our understanding when we “feast” with others on the same quest. Coming to the table, sharing our God shaped lives and the ways scripture speaks into them. That requires sharing the ways we connect with God through our personal narrative and the bigger one being written.
Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see— how good God is. Blessed are you who run to him. Psalm 34:18
What is your newest image of God?
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What a lovely post, Stephanie. I am dropping in as your neighbour on fiveminutefriday. My post has a table too but it is a billiard table, supporting the interaction of balls as they roll around trying to hit the pocket!
Thank you! I’ll come over to your table 🙂
I had never pictured God and the act of redemption like this before. Like you, I always figured it was a snap for Him. But “birth pains are always going on behind the scenes”. This conjures up such a touching picture of God in my mind. Great insights, thanks for sharing.