Mother’s day should always be very special. After all, mothers have been around a long time. Eve, the first mother, was called the mother of all living. Mothers never go out of style; as long as there is life there will be mothers! Preachers, on Mother’s Day, you should make a fuss over them. The Bible does (Proverbs 31)! Set your regular sermon series aside and fuss over the mothers! You had one, too, you know.
In one church I pastored, Mother’s Day always brought the largest attendance of the year, even larger than Christmas and Easter. Children and grandchildren, even many who were spiritually wayward, would always honor their mother and grandmother on Mother’s Day by coming to church with them. It was a great opportunity to preach the Gospel and the importance of walking with Christ. That same church always provided carnations for everyone present, white ones if your mother was still living and red ones if they had passed away. It was always a very special day of the year and we always tried to make it that way.
It is still my conviction that mothers of all ages should be fussed over on Mother’s Day. Older mothers need to know that they are appreciated (Proverbs 23:22b) and younger mothers need to be encouraged (Proverbs 31:28-29). Husbands and fathers also need to be reminded that the “wives of their youth” are very special and must be treated as such (Proverbs 5:18). Reared in a non-Christian home, though a loving home, I did not have much exposure as to how mothers ought to be honored. After becoming a Christian, and especially a Christian husband, I learned much through observation on emphasis in the local church on wives and mothers, as well as through the many messages I had to prepare on such special occasions. Reaching back in time just a little bit, here is a story that I always enjoyed sharing about mothers:
A mother appears to be a normal human being. She has all the physical features that all people have – two eyes, two hands, two arms, two feet – all connected to one body. Now, that is what you see if you just look at the exterior of a mother. If you were ever a child, you will know that she has at least three sets of eyes – two in front, two in back, so that she can see all those things she must see but that are hidden from her, and one on each side of her head so she can protect the cookie jar, no matter where she stands in the kitchen. All are capable of seeing through wood and plaster so she can tell what is going on behind closed doors.
She has bionic ears. She can hear a dirty word whispered a block away. She can hear a complaint that is only thought when unpleasant tasks are assigned to her kids. With her many arms and hands she can prepare a meal, find a Dad’s shirt, change a diaper, run the vacuum and spank two kids, all at the same time! With strong, fast legs, she can move about the house like a speeding bullet. She patrols the streets, stops a fight in the backyard, catches a tennis ball before it is flushed down the toilet, prevents a child from falling out of a tree, and moves all the toys out of the driveway before Dad gets home – all at the same time.
Her endless supply of energy can only be a God-given attribute. She is first to rise in the morning, has breakfast ready for the “brood” as they get up, gets each children ready for school, is both a barber and a beautician, fashion consultant, chairman, budget director, purchasing agent, paramedic, mechanic, veterinarian, interpreter, travel agent, interior decorator, and is the last to bed at night. With a tender kiss, she can heal everything from a cut finger to a broken heart. With her kiss, she can convince a balding fifty-year old man that he is just as handsome as he ever was! Her ability to love is exceeded only by God’s love itself. Her love grows with her children and it is impossible to tell the success or failure of her children by her love.
There are no depths to which a child can fall that will diminish here love and no heights of success a child can achieve that will increase it. Her love is protective, tender, consistent, understand, forgiving, unchanging, unselfish, giving, contagious, comfortable, everlasting. The nearest thing we can see in this world to God’s love is a mother’s love.
Mother’s Day is a special opportunity to give tribute where tribute is due, even as Jesus, while on the cross, was sure to care for His mother by committing her into the care of the Apostle John. Our dear mothers need to be encouraged that their labor is not in vain, even as Abraham Lincoln said, “No man is poor who has had a godly mother.” Someone else said, “You never get over being a child, as long as you have a mother to go to.” If you still have a living mother, again smother her with love. If your mother is gone, I am sure that you think of her often. I know my sweet wife, Ann, and I sure do. Don’t forget our mothers!
