One can learn from God the Father no more about what it means to be a human father than one can learn about what it means to be a human mother; inversely, one can learn from God the Mother no more about what it means to be a human mother than on can learn about what it means to be a human father. Whether we use masculine or feminine metaphors for God, God models our common humanity, not our gender specificity.
Miroslav Volf
Exclusion & Embrace
While this makes sense, I'm inclined to disagree with it in some way. Knowing God as Father has definitely affected how I behave as father. I'd be interested to hear what other people think.
2 comments:
I like this quote, but I'm also a pretty major fan of Volf. For me, this doesn't rule out that we build our relationship with God based upon our own relational needs. It simply means, for me, that God transcends these gender specific assignments.
Thanks for your comment, Richard. Yes, I understand that God transcends gender, nevertheless being seen as having Father - or Mother - qualities seems to me to give us ordinary fathers/mothers a great stepping-off point when it comes to bringing up our own children.
There are certainly a number of places where the prophets in particular speak of the way in which God fathers his people and those things have been helpful for me. I guess most especially in the sense of keeping on loving when you're rebuffed or ignored or seen as out of date. Anyway, must have done something right, as all my five kids still enjoy my company! :)
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