Happy Mother's Day, Mom

Proverbs 31:10-31 Ephesians 5:25-6:3

Today we take time to honor over half of the species of the human race.

She has often been called the crown of creation, the very best of the

work of God's hands. All of us who are here today have come through the

marvelous body of a woman. All of us who are here today owe a debt to

our mothers, for how do you pay someone for the gift of your life. But

not only do we owe a debt to our mothers, we owe debts to many women

who have shaped our lives as our grandmothers, our great grandmothers,

our sisters, our aunts, our teachers, our counselors, our pastors, and

in a thousand other ways.



We say Happy Mothers Day not only to the mother's who gave us life at

the start, but for all the women who have imparted life into us again

and again, as we have journeyed through life and needed help from

somebody else. Thank you ladies for being there to give it. You know we

say, we are to become more like Jesus. Jesus said, "I have come that

you might have life and have it more abundantly." Well that means, when

we come to people, we too should come bringing life to them. Women when

you invest yourself in another person, by bringing them life, you're

acting as the mother God would have you be.



When you ask the question what a mother could use, depending on who you

ask you may get all kinds of things. Some would say she could use a new

washer and dryer, some a new car, some a nice ring, some a new

housecoat, some eyes in the back of her head, some a new set of kids,

some a box of bandaids, and some a vacation where nobody knows where

she is.



Go with me for a moment back in time and envision Jesus there on the

cross. We see the Son of God nailed to the cross in great suffering and

pain, dying for the sins of the world. But down at the foot of the

cross, there is a woman who sees her son being cruelly and unjustly

murdered.



How would it feel to be made to watch the slow deliberate execution of

your own child. First imagine your child being tied to the ground with

four stakes in the dirt and spread eagle. The executioner walks and

shoots a hole in one hand, and then walks over to the other hand and

does the same thing. Then he goes over to his left foot and shoots

another round, and then over to the right one and does the same thing.



You see the blood spilling out and you want to stop it but you can't.

And then they drop a heavy concrete block on your child's chest making

breathing more difficult with each breath.



The weight of the concrete block is leading to suffocation because

there's not enough energy in your child’s body to lift it for

breathing. You don't know whether your child will pass out from the

loss of blood or die of suffocation first. What feelings are going

through your mind?



Is your body shaking or trembling? Are you thinking this was not

suppose to happen? You are experiencing some of the same emotions that

was gripping Mary, the mother of Jesus as she watches the crucifixion.



This mother's heart is being ripped to shreds and her pain is beyond

comprehension. Jesus's love for his mother is so great, that he puts

aside all of his own agony and suffering for a minute to share in the

grief of his Mom. And at that moment, he was not thinking of descending

into hell to destroy death or to set free any captives. He was thinking

about the future of his mother, and what she was going to need. What it

was she could use. That's why he looked at the disciple John and told

him, "from now on John, I want you to take care of my mother as you

know I would have."



I wonder if the reason Jesus had called John in the first place was to

equip him to be able to take care of his mother once Jesus was gone.

You see when John first came to Jesus, he was called one of the sons of

thunder, but he became known as the disciple "whom Jesus loved" and was

later known as the beloved disciple. Jesus loved John a little extra,

because he wanted to put some extra love into John to be able to take

care of his mom when he was gone. From the day of the crucifixion on,

John became Mary's son, and Mary became his mom. You don't have to give

birth to become a mother. You just have to be willing to invest and to

receive back from others. Men there is a challenge here for us for the

older widows who have no family to step in and become a son and turn a

woman into a mother.



What could Mary use that day, the same thing all mothers could use and

that was somebody that was going to stand by her side in her moments of

grief and agony. She needed a shoulder to cry on. Being a mother is one

of the most challenging and daunting task in life.

Many times things do not turn out in life in the way we want them to.

Mary had great plans for Jesus' life just like many of you have great

plans for your own children. But sometimes the dreams and the plans we

may have are shattered by the realities of life and when it happens,

mothers need a shoulder to cry on.



In God's plan for motherhood, the mother's first shoulder to cry upon

should be that of her husband. Men, what kind of a shoulder or comfort

are we when our wives are in pain either physically or emotionally. Are

we cold and indifferent? Do we simply give the advice to shake it off

and get over it? Or do we remember that verse, "husbands love your

wives as Christ loved the church, who gave Himself up for her." This

"Mother’s Day," men could we make the commitment to be more gentle and

more embracing of our wives during their difficult moments even going

beyond what we may already be doing.



Today we find plenty of mothers in which there is no father in the

home, but that does not stop them from needing a shoulder to cry upon

at times. This is where we the body of Christ, needs to be the family

God has called us to be. You know it's easy to look at young mothers

today and complain of how their kids are out of control. But Christ

does not call us to complain, He calls us to invest. The older women

ought to invest themselves into the younger women to help them not only

understand the role of a mother, but also just to be there for them

when they need somebody to stand by their side.



Somebody who can just hold them and let them cry for a while. Somebody

who's not going to take advantage of them in their moments of weakness.

Every mother is going to need to cry at some point. The challenge is

for us to be there with support. Women that's why Sisters in the Lord

is an important part of our ministry. If you've got a good relationship

with an older woman to talk with, then there may not be the need to

just run and find any old kind of man to talk with and be used by. We

have God's word telling us to rejoice with those who rejoice and to cry

with those who cry.



Do you realize how many lonely people there are in the church who don't

have to be lonely. God has placed people in the church that you can be

a mother to, if you want to have your life enriched. God has placed

within you a great capacity to love, but you have to choose to unleash

it.



One of the things Jesus saw that Mary could use and that all mothers

can use is some help. We truly expect a lot out of mothers in their

many, many roles, but how often do we think about the help they need.

It is so easy to become so accustomed to their sacrifices that we stop

thinking of them as sacrifices on their part, and start to think of

them as our own entitlements.



Somehow we think that it is an ultimate honor and privilege for our

mothers or our wives to prepare a meal for us. They have sacrificed

their time and energy to make a meal for us, and do we honor them with

appreciation. Do we say, "oh great and wonderful woman, we do not

deserve the effort that has gone into making this meal and our behalf,

and we thank you for taking care of our daily nutritional needs."

Mothers could use this every once in a while.



Some mothers are more likely to hear—"oohh what is this? Or do we have

to eat this again." A good habit that your mother could use from you or

your wife can use is to simply say thank you Mom for the meal after

every meal she prepares. It only takes about three seconds, but it can

lift her spirits for a long time. Mothers could use some thank you's

not only for dinner, but for rides, for attending your events, for

washing, for picking up after you, for ironing, for listening and for

caring. When was the last time you said "thank you mom or thank you

sweetheart?" Every now and then Mom needs to hear, "I appreciate you

for all that you do."



Men when our kids leave the home, that might be a good time to realize

our wives may need even more help with the household work and chores.

Youth do you look for ways at home to try to help your mother out or

are you content with just being selfish and thinking about yourself.

One thing Mothers could use and I'm trying to work on it, is before you

leave a room, look around and see if there is something messed up that

you can help clean up, especially if you made the mess in the first

place. We all know how we like for somebody to do something nice for

us. Jesus told us, "do for others what you would like for them to do

for us." This is part of the command to be kind and tenderhearted to

one another.



When Jesus told John to take care of His mom, "John didn’t say, aw do I

have to, Are you going to make Peter and James also help out. I was

planning on doing something else."

Mothers could use a spirit of volunteers around the house. People who

will do what they're suppose to do without two things 1.) Without

having to be told and reminded again and again. You know what your

chore is. Just go do it. Turn off the TV and do it.



2) The second is without an attitude problem. John did not give Jesus

any back talk. He didn't role his eyes at Mary thinking of her as some

kind of burden in his life. He felt it an honor to be able to help his

new Mom. I don't care how old we get, we never should have an attitude

problem with our mothers. The first commandment with a promise attached

to it is to honor your father and your mother that your days may be

longer.



God keeps a pretty close record of how we treat our mothers. God wants

our respect for our mothers to be as high as possible. We may not think

they deserve it, but as a Christian, we do not always do things because

people deserve them, we do them because God's word commands it. Mothers

can use our respect.



When Jesus told his Mother Mary, from now on, John is to be your son,

Mary trusted Jesus to do the right thing. Mothers can use our trust.

Our mothers want the best for us, but they cannot be with us every

moment of the day. But can they trust that we will carry their presence

with us. Praise God for all of you young people who can be trusted. Are

you the kind of a young person your mother can trust to do the right

thing or have you chosen to be a cheater, a liar or a deceiver? You

have a choice. So often the choices you make will end back at your

mother's lap and they will either cause her great joy or a lot of grief.



When you take money out of your mother's purse do you realize you're

stealing the money she needs to feed you, to clothe you or to pay the

rent so that you're not sleeping in the streets. As adults when we take

money out of the accounts of our parents over which we have

guardianship, do we recognize that as a breaking of trust that God has

placed us in. The Bible says when we steal from our parents we are like

people who are destroyers of the things around them.



Can your mother trust you to treat your younger sisters with respect

and not look at them with their clothes off or touch them in the wrong

way? Can she trust you with her daughters or her sons? Can she trust

you with guys or with girls, or do you try to sneak guys or girls in

the home when she's gone believing you are doing the right thing. You

see when you do that, you're putting her future at risk.



Even as adults, when you go out and get involved sexually, you may say

its your business what you do, but often times mothers are paying a

price taking care of your children. Grandparents are supposed to be

grandparents, not parents unless they willingly choose to be parents.

If you're not ready to be a full time parent, then sex should not be a

part of your life because you're changing your mother's life. God's

plan for sex has always been for it to stay inside of a marriage. We

all live better when we follow God's simple command.



Can she trust you to be honest about where you are going, what you're

going to do when you get there, and who you actually are going to be

with. I'm amazed at how often teenagers will throw in their parents

face, "oh you don't trust me." While at the same time they are doing

things that they know they should not be doing. We know when we're

wrong. Sometimes we have to convince ourselves that wrong is right in

order to keep doing what we're doing.



It's something how we think we know it all and do not need to listen,

and yet the moment we get locked up in jail, usually the first person

we want to call with our phone call is our mother.

The person who was trusting us to do what was right. All of sudden we

become the innocent victim. We didn't know the car was stolen when we

got in it. Well did you try to find out before you got in? Would it

have truly mattered if you had known. Sometimes once you get running

with the wrong group, it's hard to back out.



Jesus could see that his mother could use a little understanding. There

on the cross, he was telling John, she needs a son willing to

understand her. You see, from the very beginning before she got

pregnant, Mary had been told by an angel that Jesus was going to be the

Son of God and that His reign was never going to end. But that day on

the cross, it looked like it was all over before it had truly began.

Mary began to doubt the promises she had been given.

John could understand where Mary was coming from, because he too along

with the other disciples had thought it would be impossible for Jesus

to die. Jesus didn't say, didn't I tell you both I was going to die.

Instead Jesus was understanding.



Our mothers could use a little more understanding. A willingness on our

part to see things from their point of view. It's easy to forget, that

mothers need some time alone just for themselves just like all the rest

of us do. As much as they love their children, they need a break from

their children's demands. Again as a church, we can offer to take their

kids for a night or a weekend just to let them be free.



Jesus could see that His mother could use some forgiveness. He had

tried to tell her that there was a greater call on His life than just

the role of her son. She of all people should have known His true

purpose, His true identity as the Son of God. But Mary for whatever

reason, made the mistake of forgetting the prophecies. She wanted him

down off of that cross and back into her arms. She made the mistake of

forgetting she needed a Savior.



All of our mothers are going to make mistakes. Sometimes we're going to

be telling the truth, but they're not going to believe us. They will

blame us for things we did not do or were not planning on doing. They

will make decisions that will hurt us. They will not always be there

for us. They will not encourage us the way they should. They will not

always be as loving and as pleasant as they could have been. They may

not have treated us the same as they did our other brothers and

sisters. They may have made our lives far more painful and difficult

than needed to be done. Let it go and take the higher road to life.



As Jesus recognized his own mother needed forgiveness and He graciously

gave it to her, let us likewise be willing to forgive our mothers for

the mistakes they made and are yet going to make. They cannot go back

and undue the harm done to us, anymore than we can go back and undo the

harm that we caused to others.



Let us not forget that we all have a sin problem that we need to deal

with and that it can only be handled by the death of Jesus Christ dying

on that cross. For all of us have messed up and come short of what God

requires of us. Do you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Are

you saved and sure of not only going to heaven, but walking with Jesus

in this life.



This Mother's Day can be a day of reconciliation, of healing, and of a

fresh new start if that's what we choose to make it. Don't forget the

challenges I've given to you today, to make a change in your own life,

in order that you might bring life into the life of someone else. Let's

all work to provide our mothers, our wives, our grandmothers and the

women around us with some of the things they can use.