The Mother of all Living

by Kurt Reinhardt 

The first woman is perhaps remembered most for taking and eating the fruit of the tree that God said not to eat. There is, however, much more to think about, and give thanks to God for, in the helper who was created out of a rib from Adam’s side while he slept.  He calls her “Woman” because she was taken out of man, but she is not called Eve until after God has promised that her Seed will crush the serpent’s head. Eve, as the first woman to be made fruitful by God, truly was the mother of every human being who would ever be born into this world.  Adam, however, only calls her Eve, which sounds like the Hebrew word for “life-giver” after God promises that the Saviour will come through her – a promise fulfilled through her virgin daughter Mary.  Eve gives life to us all, as the first fruitful woman of all fruitful women who come from her.  She gives life to us all as she is the one through whom the Living One will eventually be born to give life to the world through His defeat of sin, death and hell with His own bitter sufferings and death.  Through Eve we receive mortal life in this world, but we also receive the gift of eternal life through her, because she is the portal through whom Jesus is born.

This two-fold giving of life, that begins with the mother of all the living, by God’s rich grace, was meant to carry on through all motherhood from the moment Adam first called his wife Eve.  A mother not only gives her child life into the world through God’s creating power, she also brings them eternal life through God’s saving power by bringing them to Jesus.  This begins even as God knits her child together in her womb when she carries them to Church with her to hear God’s Word and be nourished with Christ’s body and blood.  It carries on as she bears that child in her arms to the font after they are born so that they can be baptized into Christ.  It continues as she takes them by the hand to be blessed by Jesus as He comes to be with His people as they gather in His name.  It goes on as she teaches and encourage them in their faith until they are prepared to commune on their own and be confirmed.  It carries on as she continues to bear them to Jesus in her heart when she communes, and as she prays for them, when they wander and get lost.  Finally, when she takes up her place in heaven, she continues to pray with all the saints for all God’s children on earth.

So like Eve, our mothers, by God’s rich grace and power, are used by Him not only to give us life in this world but also life in the world to come.  They truly are mothers of the living, as God’s Spirit gives us mortal life through them, and His Spirit uses them to lead us to the source of immortal life – Jesus the Living One.  Indeed, then, it is most fitting that we take time on Mother’s day to praise God for all that He has given us through Eve, Mary and all our mothers, and thank them for their faithful service to us in Christ.

Rev. Kurt Reinhardt has been serving Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kurtzville, Ontario since his ordination in 1999, making him the longest serving pastor in her 152-year history. He is a graduate of Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary in St. Catharines, is married with 4 children and 1 grandchild. He is also a gifted poet and hymn writer.  

Print this article