7. How Birth & Motherhood Reflects the Gospel

In this episode I'm sharing how the profound experience of birth and motherhood reveals beautiful gospel truths that will transform how you see God's love for you.

From the moment you discover you're pregnant to the intense moments of labor and the sweet surrender of holding your newborn, every stage of this journey offers glimpses into God's heart and His sacrificial love. 

If you've ever wondered how your experience as a mother connects to your faith, or if you're looking for deeper meaning in the beautiful chaos of pregnancy and parenting—this episode will encourage your heart in ways you weren't expecting.

In this episode, I share: 

🤱 How the unconditional love you feel for your unborn baby reflects God's unmerited love for you 

⛪ Why Jesus chose birth language to describe salvation and what that means for mothers 

💔 How the pain and sacrifice of labor mirrors Christ's sacrifice on the cross 

👶 What your newborn's transformed heart teaches us about being born again spiritually 

✝️ How raising children reveals both our sin nature and God's unchanging love for us 

💕 Why your imperfect motherly love points to His perfect, eternal love

Scripture Shared: 

• John 3 - You must be born again
• 1 John 4:19 - We love because He first loved us
• Luke 22:42 - Garden of Gethsemane prayer
• Hebrews 12:2 - Joy set before Him
• John 16:21 - Woman in labor analogy
• Ephesians 2:8-9 - Saved by grace through faith
• Ezekiel 36:26 - New heart
• Romans 5:8 - Christ died for us while we were sinners

I close this episode by praying over you—that you would see yourself as God's beloved daughter and find fresh encouragement in how deeply, perfectly, and unconditionally He loves you through every season of motherhood.

Mentioned in this episode: 

✨ Christian Mama Birth Prep Library; Free birth prep tools, worship playlist & more 

💛 Work with Me 1:1 – Doula Support & Coaching: Explore birth support and childbirth education for your pregnancy and birth journey

If this episode encouraged you, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a friend who needs to hear this gospel truth. 

Let's keep choosing faith over fear, one birth story at a time. Go here for the full blog post, show notes, and all resources mentioned!

Transcript

Natalie Portman: 0:45

Hey there, mama. If you're listening to this, chances are you're either pregnant right now, maybe nervous about birth, or you're a mom who's been through labor and you're reflecting on that intense experience. Either way, I'm glad you're here. I wanted to start by giving you a little bit of background for today's episode. As I was preparing for my first birth, and especially after giving birth to my daughter, Ellie, I realized there was something profound about how birth and the gospel were intertwined. I. The way my heart changed after becoming a mom opened my eyes to the deep love God has for me in a way I had never known up to that point. It was like I could suddenly see and feel God's love in this tangible, visceral way through my experience as a mother. So I wanted to share some of these gospel parallels with you because I hope this episode blesses you with this same reality. I hope it causes you to gain a. Fresh sense of the Lord's love for you and also helps you reframe this season so that he receives glory through your journey of motherhood. I wanna talk to you today about how birth and all its intensity and pain and beauty actually gives us an incredible picture of the gospel. And here's the beautiful thing. Even Jesus himself acknowledged these parallels between salvation and birth. When he was talking to Nicodemus in John three, he says. You must be born again. Jesus chose birth language to describe what happens when we become Christians. He could have used any metaphor, but he chose birth. This process of moving from one realm to another of new life emerging through struggle and pain. It's incredible. So let's take a moment to explain what I mean by the gospel, because I want everyone listening to understand this reality, changing good news. So the gospel literally means good news and it's the best news you could ever hear. The situation we're all in is that God created us to be in perfect relationship with him, but because of our sins, our rebellion against God, our selfishness, our moral failures, we are separated from him, and the Bible tells us that. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We have all done things we know are wrong. We've been selfish. We all fail to love God and others the way we should, and the consequence of our sin is death, and that's not just physical death, but also spiritual separation from God forever. But the good news is that God loves us so much that he didn't leave us in that hopeless situation. He sent his son Jesus Christ to Earth where Jesus lived the perfect life that we couldn't live. He never sinned, never rebelled against God, and he always loved perfectly. But then, you know, Jesus willingly went to the cross and died in our place, taking the punishment that. Our sins deserved, and he became our substitute and death couldn't hold him there. So three days later, Jesus rose from the dead proving that he had conquered sin and death. And now because of what Jesus did, anyone who believes in him and that he did resurrect from the dead, conquering death and sin. Anyone who believes in him, who trusts that his death paid for their sins and his resurrection gives them new life, can be forgiven and have eternal life with God. It's not about being good enough or doing enough good works to earn God's favor. It's about recognizing that Jesus did everything necessary to reconcile us to God. So when we put our faith in Jesus, God sees us as righteous, not because of what we've done, but because of what Jesus has done for us. We become God's children adopted into His family forever. So this is the gospel that while we are way more flawed and sinful than we would ever dare imagine, we are simultaneously more loved and accepted in Christ than we could ever dare hope in Jesus. God's love for us is not based on our performance or merit. It's a love that is unearned and lavishly given. And the gospel isn't just a story of salvation. It's the full revelation of God's character, his justice, mercy, love, and they're all on display. And what I've discovered is that from the moment you conceive all the way through raising your children, this journey gives us tangible, visceral glimpses of this reality. So let's start from the beginning with pregnancy. I mean, from the moment you find out you are pregnant, you feel this love for your baby, and they haven't done anything. Actually, they have made your life harder in so many other ways. They are making you feel sick, you're exhausted, your body is changing. You can't drink alcohol. Maybe even you've given up coffee, you can't do certain activities. But despite All of that sacrifice and how they've made your life harder. You love this little person simply because they are your child, and this is how God loves us. He loves us simply because we are his beloved children. One John four 19 says, we love because he first loved us, that unconditional love you feel for your unborn baby. That is simply a glimpse of how God feels about you. And then think about as you prepare for pregnancy, setting up the nursery, reading books, getting your heart ready for this little person to change your life. You're waiting and anticipating with this mixture of excitement and nervousness. But God's plan of salvation was prepared before the foundation of the world. There were centuries of anticipation and preparation before Jesus came to earth and just like you're preparing a place for your baby, Jesus says. I go to prepare a place for you. As you get closer to your due date, you start thinking more and more about labor. Maybe you're excited, maybe you're nervous, maybe both. You know there will be pain and struggle, but also it has purpose meeting your baby. So this reminds me so much of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, where he prays, father, if you are willing, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done. Even Jesus in his flesh, he wanted to avoid the pain of the cross, but he knew what was ahead. He knew the joy of gaining his children through his sacrifice. And maybe you're thinking. I do not wanna go through the pain of labor and all the pain that comes from raising a child, and that's so normal. Even Jesus wrestled with that. But let Jesus' heart posture encourage you. He chose to embrace the pain because of the love and the joy that would come from it. So your willingness to go through labor to sacrifice your body and your comfort for your child reflects that same heart posture. Now let's talk about labor itself. The hardest part, if you've given birth before, whether that was vaginally or a cesarean birth, you know what I'm talking about. And listen, I'm not going to sugarcoat it. Birth is intense. It completely brings you to the end of yourself and your own strength. There are moments when you wonder how you're going to get through it. Both birth and the cross involve this intense suffering that leads to new life. Your labor isn't just something you have to endure to get through to the other side. It's redemptive. It's necessary for the miracle that's about to happen, just like the cross looked like defeat Jesus, hanging there dying, but it was actually the ultimate victory over death. Your most overwhelming moments in labor are actually ushering in new life. You endure that physical and emotional sacrifice because of your love for your child, love for someone you haven't even held yet. I mean, is that not incredible? You're willing to go through all of that pain for a baby? You've never looked in the eyes, someone who hasn't done anything for you. That is the same kind of love that drove Jesus to the cross. You persevere because you are about to meet your baby. And Jesus did the same thing in Hebrews 12, two. He says he endured the cross for the joy set before him. He persevered through unimaginable suffering because of his love for his children that he was gaining and that includes you. Here's something fascinating about labor. When it comes to delivery. You are doing all of the work. You are laboring, you are pushing, you are enduring. And what is your baby doing? They are completely passive. They're not doing anything to bring themselves into the world. It's through the mom's strength and endurance that the baby is delivered into life. This is such a powerful picture of our salvation. We are like that baby, completely passive in our own salvation. Ephesians two, eight through nine says, for by grace, you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God, not a result of works so that no one may boast. Just like you labor to bring your baby into the world. Jesus bore the weight of our sins on the cross and brought us into new life. With his death and resurrection, we don't earn our salvation. It is entirely his work on the cross, on our behalf. And isn't it interesting too that birth and the crucifixion involve the shedding of blood and water? These are symbols of life and cleansing and the cost of bringing forth new life. And for those of you who have had cesarean births, whether you know you had an unplanned or unplanned cesarean. You are on that operating table with your arms stretched out just like Jesus on the cross. There you are in a position of complete surrender arms open wide as blood and water flow and new life emerges. It's such a striking picture of the cross even in the operating room, God's design reflects this gospel truth. And then of course there's that moment, the moment when your baby is born and you hear their first cry. It's like Jesus, when he declares it is finished on the cross, the work is done, the struggle is over, and new life is finally here. Jesus Himself actually used this exact image in John 1621. He said, A woman in labor has sorrow, but when her child is born, she doesn't remember the anguish because of her joy, the gospel follows the same pattern. The sorrow of the cross becomes the joy of resurrection. And then this also blows my mind. It's a medical fact that when your baby is born, their heart literally changes. The ductus, arteriosis closes and blood flow redirects to their lungs. Their entire circulation system restructures so that they can function in this new environment outside of the womb. The old way of getting oxygen through the umbilical cord doesn't work anymore. They need this completely transformed heart to survive their new reality. That's exactly what happens when we're born again spiritually. God gives us a new heart, like it says in Ezekiel 36 26. We need transformed hearts to thrive in our new life in Christ. The old way of living doesn't work anymore. And then think about your newborn baby. They are completely dependent on you for everything. Food, warmth, protection, comfort, they literally could not survive without you. That is a picture of our complete dependence on Christ for our spiritual life. We are utterly dependent on him for everything we need. Birth transforms you into a mother forever. You can never go back to who you were before you held that baby. It's a permanent life changing identity In the same way, accepting the gospel transforms us into children of God forever. It's something that can never be undone. And then as you raise your children something else that reveals the gospel in a profound way, your sweet innocent baby starts to develop their own will. They start saying no. They throw tantrums. They are selfish and demanding, and you realize they did not learn this behavior from anyone. It just came naturally. This is such a clear picture of what the Bible calls our sin, nature. We are all born with hearts that are naturally turned towards ourselves rather than towards God and others. You don't have to teach a toddler to be selfish. That comes very naturally. You have to teach them to share, to be kind to think of others. But here's the beautiful thing. Even when your child is having their worst tantrums, even when they're being difficult or disobedient, your love for them doesn't change. You might not like their behavior. You still love them fiercely, and you would do anything for them. That's a shadow of how God loves us perfectly. Romans five eight tells us, but God demonstrates his love for us in this. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. So even at our worst, even when we're being rebellious or difficult, God's love for us doesn't waiver. As mothers, we would do anything for. Our children we're fierce and protective. We would even lay down our lives to protect them. This intense love reflects Christ's sacrificial love for us. But here's the key difference. While we might be willing to lay our lives down for our children, Christ actually did die for us. His love for us goes beyond what we as human mothers are capable of. His sacrifice wasn't theoretical. It actually happened. Now I wanna shift gears a little bit and talk directly to your heart as a mama, because here's the thing, the love you have for your children fierce and beautiful as it is. It is imperfect, and because it is a not perfect reflection of God's perfect love for you. You can still get a glimpse of God's deep, perfect love for you as his child. And that's actually incredibly comforting too when you think about it. I don't point this out to challenge you to be a better mom or to strive harder in your role, but The truth is we will always fall short of the perfection we desire in motherhood. We will lose our patience. We will make mistakes. We will wonder if what we're doing is right, but rather than feeling discouraged by that, I want you to be humbled and in awe of the love. The Lord has lavished on you. His love is perfect, where yours is flawed. His grace is sufficient where you lack, and his patience does not run out like yours does. So here's what I want you to take away from our time together today. If you are in Christ, you are his child. And being a mother gives you a unique opportunity to experience the heart of God and understand the gospel in a deeper, more intimate way. Take heart, mama God sees you. He knows you and he loves you with a love that surpasses anything you could ever offer your children. Your most intense moments of labor are not random pain just to endure. They are reflecting the very heart of the gospel, the lengths Jesus went to because of his love for you. When you look at your child, remember that you are God's beloved child too, and his love for you is perfect, constant and unchanging. So now I'd love to close our time together with a prayer lord Jesus, thank you so much for this precious mama listening today. Thank you for the profound way you've designed birth and motherhood to reflect your heart and your gospel. I pray that you would stir up her heart right now to give you glory for how deeply, how perfectly, how unconditionally you love her. Lord, whether she's facing an upcoming birth or reflecting on past birth experiences, I pray you would give her fresh perspective, help her see that her pain has purpose, that her sacrifice reflects yours, and that her love for her children is just a glimpse of your perfect love for her. When she's in labor, remind her that she's living out this beautiful picture of your sacrificial love. When she's exhausted and motherhood remind her that her imperfect love points to your perfect love, and when she feels like she's falling short, remind her that you see her. You know her and you love her with a love that never fails. Receive glory through her story. Lord Jesus, use her journey of motherhood to draw her closer to your heart and to help her understand the depths of your love in ways she's never known before. It's in Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Well, thank you so much for spending this time with me and I'm praying for you wherever you are in this journey.