13. Not all people who are being regenerated reach this state. Some, indeed the majority nowadays, reach only the first. Some reach merely the second, others the third, fourth, or fifth. Seldom do any reach the sixth, and hardly anybody at all reaches the seventh.

In general, mothers in the Bible represent the Lord's church on earth. In some cases "mother" more specifically refers to the truth of the church, the true teachings the church has about the Lord and about life. This makes sense if you think about it. Mothers are the vehicles through which new people are created; the church (in a broad sense) is the vehicle through which new ideas about the Lord and new good actions are created. And just as a mother is filled with love -- for her children and husband -- so also is the church filled with love, both for its ideas and uses and also for the Lord.