"God Loves You." How many times have we heard this from friends, strangers, preachers and others? When you hear those words do they mean anything to you? Or do you just hear them and think, "So, what else is new?" Or maybe you hear them and think that is just impossible because of whatever sin you are participating in at the moment.
God Loved Us So
God does love us, in Romans 5:8 Paul says he loves us so much that Christ died for us "while we were STILL sinners." God became flesh and died on a cross for us before we ever repented or believed. His perfect Son died for you and me. Truly this is love divine.
God Wants To Protect Us
He longs to love and protect us from the evil one, Satan.
"He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; " Psalm 91: 4
I always loved the imagery of God as a mother hen covering us with His feathers and giving us refuge under His wings. There is something so touching and so tender about this illustration of God's love.
Jesus uses the same imagery in Matthew 23:37,
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!"
The Metaphor Of The Hen
According to an article in the journal, Animals (1), a mother hen provides many important things for her chicks. Her maternal care influences the behavior of her chicks, she helps reduce fear and stress in her young when they feel threatened, she trains them how to find food that is nourishing and the mother hen's clucks help the unhatched baby recognize their mother when they are born.
The Bible tells us in Psalm 139:16 that God knew us before we were born; that his Holy Spirit influences our behavior (Galatians 5: 22-23); that we are nourished and provided for by Him (Matthew 4:4); that His sheep hear His voice and they know and follow Him (John 10:27); and that He keeps us from fear;
"I sought the Lord, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears." Psalm 34:4
Divine Love
Not surprising that the Lord picked the image of a hen to show how He loves us. When we realize, maybe for the first time, that in spite of our failings, He truly loves us, it is humbling and thrilling at the same time. We realize that our worth comes from Him. That He longs to cover us and protect us. We repent and seek His face and the love of His Holy Spirit fills us and trains us, guides and protects us, nourishes and feeds us and in all things, because of His love and forgiveness, we give Him the honor and the glory.
The Love of God is Greater Far
- Frederick Lehman
"Could we with ink the ocean fill, And were the skies of parchment made; Were every stalk on earth a quill, And every man a scribe by trade; To write the love of God above Would drain the ocean dry; Nor could the scroll contain the whole, Though stretched from sky to sky."
(1) Edgar J, Held S, Jones C, Troisi C. Influences of Maternal Care on Chicken Welfare. Animals. 2016; 6(1):2. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani6010002
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