Sometimes you see the flaws in something only when you’re not a part of it.
Mother’s Day is like that for me.

I’m not a mother, but I love celebrating them.
I take issue, however, with the definition of “mother”.

Motherhood is more than biology.
According to Jesus, it’s a spiritual distinction.

Someone said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You.” But Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold My mother and My brothers! “For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.” - Matthew 12:47-50

Relationships within the kingdom are not a matter of flesh and blood. Doing the will of the Father is what bonds and unites us as a family. This is a big statement. I wonder if we get it…

In the final moments of Jesus’ earthly life, pinned to a cross and suffering unbearably, Jesus revisited this concept of family - and specifically motherhood - once more.

When Jesus then saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He *said to His mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then He *said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” From that hour the disciple took her into his own household. - John 19:26-27

Jesus redefines what it means to be a mother. That moment, Mary becomes a mother to a man she did not carry nor birth nor raise nor nurture. Mary became a mother to a man who was bound to her by faith. John and Mary did not share a genetic profile or a common last name or even a history; they shared a FAITH. And that is what changes their relationship.

I was in my house on Mother’s Day morning, not expecting a card nor text nor any kind of acknowledgment that I have been a mother when the Spirit of God spoke this revelation to me. I heard His voice. I felt His eyes on me.

Jesus calls me a “mother”.
I couldn’t love Him more.