Introduction:
The highest calling and the greatest privilege on earth is that of
motherhood. There is truth in the adage, “The hand that rocks the cradle rules
the world.” A mother’s influence for good, through training, discipline and
prayer cannot be measured.
A mother’s prayers were behind the successes of Moses, Samuel,
Daniel, Timothy and other Bible heroes. Without question the prayers of Mary
ascended in behalf of her miracle Child, Jesus. I know that my mother’s prayers
arose often for me. I agree with
the statement attributed to President Abraham Lincoln, “All I am I owe to the
prayers of my mother.”
The history of honoring mothers reads something like this. In many
ancient cultures, honor was given to mothers on specific days. In England for
example, there was a holiday called “Mothering Sunday.” In America, according
to the website “mothers-day,” the giving of honor to mothers was begun about
150 years ago when Anna Jarvis, a homemaker who lived in Appalachia, organized
a day of awareness for those experiencing poor health conditions, a day which
she believed would be best advocated by mothers. It was called, “Mother’s Work
Day.”
I The first Mother
Just after sin entered the picture and our first parents heard the
solemn pronouncements of judgment as a result of their transgression, Adam,
rather than bemoaning the tragedy, did something. Here’s a question: what was
the
name of Adam’s
wife, up to this point? I know we speak of “Eve” at the tree of knowledge of good
and evil, but was her name at that point in time? No, she had been called,
“woman.” “Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a
woman, and He brought her to the man. And Adam said: ‘This is now bone of my
bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall
be called Woman, because she was taken out of man.’” Genesis 2:22, 23.
Adam, after naming all the animals and having been anesthetized for
the removal of a rib for the creation of his wife, gave her a name at that
time. Adam named her “woman.” But when sin entered, through the deception of
the serpent, through the woman
offering the fruit to Adam, God declared to them their sad fate, “in the sweat
of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it
you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” Genesis 3:19.
In face of the learning that the grave was their destination, it is interesting
to note that Adam did something. The next verse of the narrative reads, “And
Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because
she was the mother of all living.” Genesis 3:20. He had already
given her the name “woman;” he now gave her the name “Eve,” the mother of all
the living.
What’s the message here? With the prospect of death looming large,
and noting that transgression had taken place through the agency of the woman,
Adam might have named her, “mother of sin,” the “mother of the dead,” or the
“mother of the lost.” Instead, clinging to the promise of hope embedded in the
Lord’s conversation, he chose to name her “Eve,” which is translated the “mother of all living.”
Eve is the mother of us all. In a literal, physiological way, each
of us traces our roots back to her. We bear her likeness genetically, for she,
as given and sustained by God, is the source of the life that we enjoy today.
In one feature or another, to one
degree or another, we all share her characteristics. One day, by God’s grace,
we’ll have a chance to meet Eve. You can have fun in attempting to discover how
many links there are between you and her; how many “greats” there have to be
before “grandmother” to describe your relationship to her. By the way: there
will be no accusations, no recriminations in heaven when you meet her; only
boundless gratitude for God’s great mercy and
love.
II Why the Mothers are important in the Bible?
Mother’s love is
used in the Bible as an illustration of God’s love. I hope that you have or had
a mother who accurately portrayed godly love toward you. I know that I did. I am humbled when I think back of the
sacrifice, the devotion, the faithfulness and aspirations that my mother
exhibited toward me. Not always,
I’m sorry to say, were they appreciated. Many were given with no trumpets
sounding. I can think back on the homemade whole wheat bread that was made into
the sandwiches in my lunch, the humble but adequate home in which I was brought
up, in square footage smaller than my garage. I can recall the sturdy dresses
she made for herself, foregoing most store bought clothing, in order to save
money for her children to go to church school.
My mother was not “perfect,” but she did her best to reflect
godliness and affection. She’s laid
to rest now, and I confidently look forward to the great resurrection when by
God’s grace she will stand in her lot. Not all mothers live up to the ideal.
Some are downright poor examples of God’s love. We read, “Zion said, ’The LORD
has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me.’ Can a woman forget her nursing
child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb?
Surely they may
forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands. Your walls are
continually before me.” Isaiah 49:14-16.
We see a picture of mother’s love in the statement made by Jesus, “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 he wings, but you were not willing!” Matthew 23:37.
God enjoins the protection and honor of motherhood. Written into the
heart of the Ten Commandments, God’s rules for Christian living, first among
those which govern our relations with mankind, is a precept dedicated to the
appreciation of parenthood. “Honor your father and your mother,” God wrote with
His own finger in stone, “that your days may be long upon the land which the
LORD your God is giving you.” Exodus 20:12. Today on this Sabbath, we
especially give attention to the fourth (the Sabbath) and fifth commandments.
III How do you HONOR your Mother?
In giving honor to our mothers, we follow in the footsteps of our
Lord, Who came to teach us how to live. In all things which did not conflict
with His duty to His Father, he lived in compliance to His parents. We read,
following His boyhood trip to the temple, “Then He went down with them and came
to Nazareth, and was subject to
them.” Luke 2:51. That word, hypotasso,
in Greek, means to be in “obedience to, to be subordinate to.” It is used of
subjects being subordinate to rulers, devils being subject to the power of God,
of the creation being subject to Adam in the beginning. Using this same word,
James counsels us to “submit yourselves
to God.” James 4:7. Peter writes, “submit
yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to king
as supreme, or to governors.” I Peter 2:13. He continues, “Younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes,
all of you be submissive to one
another, and be clothed with humility.” I Peter 5:5.
Jesus, as our Example, was submissive to His earthly parents. “Though
He was a Son (of God), He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.”
Hebrews 5:8. It is amazing that He, Who gave life to all, including Mary, by
the ordinance of God received life from her. He Who rules the universe was
subject to His earthly mother.
Jesus honored His mother as He began His ministry, His first miracle
coming by her request as He changed the water into wine in Cana of Galilee.
Jesus honored His mother at the close of His ministry, bequeathing her
care into the hands of His disciple John. Question: did He know then that John
would be the last surviving disciple?
It is fitting and appropriate; it is a part of the Christian walk
that we honor and appreciate our mothers. This story is told: “A little boy
came up to his mother in the kitchen one evening while she was fixing supper,
and handed her a piece of paper that
he had been writing on. After his mom dried her hands on an apron, she read it,
and this is what it said:
For cutting the grass: $5.00 For cleaning up my room this
week: $1.00 For going to the store
for you: $.50 Baby-sitting my kid
brother while you went shopping: $.25 Taking
out the garbage: $1.00 For getting a
good report card:
$5.00 For cleaning up and raking the yard: $2.00 Total owed: $14.75 Well,
his mother looked at him standing there, and the boy could see the memories
flashing through her mind. She picked up the pen, turned over the paper he'd written on, and this is
what she wrote:
For the nine months I carried you while you were growing inside me:
No Charge For all the nights that
I've sat up with you, doctored and prayed for you:
No Charge
For all the trying times, and all the tears that you've caused
through the years: No Charge For
all the nights that were filled with dread, and for the worries I knew were
ahead: No Charge
For the toys, food, clothes, and even wiping your nose: No Charge
Son, when you add it up, the cost of my love is: No Charge. When the boy finished reading what
his mother had written, there were big tears in his eyes, and he looked
straight at his mother and said, ‘Mom, I sure do love you. And then he took the pen and in great big
letters he wrote: ‘PAID IN FULL.’”
We honor and express appreciation for our mothers, and are reminded
that they are but a reflection of the divine love which brought life and
redemption to us. Gifts we could never pay for; love we can never measure. We
thank God for our mothers and remember also that “Jerusalem above, which is
free, is the mother of us all.” Galatians 4:26.
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