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Motherly Love |
Dear Brethren,
Wouldn’t it be
nice if, in addition to Mother’s Day and Father’s day, we had a
national holiday set aside for every one of God's Ten
Commandments? I remember back at Pasadena, CA when we presented
each mother with a long-stemmed rose as they came to Sabbath
services. It was nice, and it was appropriate. Mother's Day is
a fine way to recognize mothers. It is a good reminder of how
we should each honor our mother each and every day of
the year.
The celebration of Mother's Day is founded on the Godly principle to
honor our mother. It is a fine way to recognize our
mothers. In 1914 President Wilson, established a national
Mother's Day emphasizing the role of women in
their families. Some ancient pagan cultures, such as the
ancient Greeks and Romans, did not honor mothers in a Godly
fashion. They wrongly paid tribute to various mothers as pagan
goddesses. Just for the record, that is not what we advocate at
all.
What we do advocate is: honoring our mother each and every day of the
year – and perhaps one national day of Mother’s Day will help
remind us all of our continuous obligation to honor
our mothers. Jesus honored his mother daily –
not just once a year. Can we distinguish the righteousness of
Jesus Christ from God-less paganism?
Where do good
mothers come from? When a little girl does not have a good
mother – it is very difficult for her to grow up to be a good
mother. It takes God’s direct intervention. When and how do
little girls become mothers? Not everyone has a good mother –
what do you do then?
Think of the best mother that you know – perhaps your own mother. She wasn't
born a mother. When did she
become a mother? I'm not talking about her giving birth – but
acquiring the attributes that define who and what a good mother
is? Becoming a good mother is not natural – it does not
automatically take place. Where then do good mothers come
from?
First, she was a little girl with all the fears, doubts, concerns and questions
that all little girls have. How does a
little girl in a ponytail or pigtails become a good mother, with
motherly love? When did she become soft and tender –
understanding and gracious? When did she learn patience and the
right words to say? When did she finally have all the right
answers to all the questions her children have?
When she began to grow and mature, and the demands upon her exceeded her
ability to perform to everyone's desires – how did she
eventually find balance in her life? When she got to high
school, boys became interesting and exciting. She dreamed,
“Maybe one boy would carry her away to the land of her dreams
and bring her love, security and take her away from all her
problems."
But, reality is not like that. Good mothers are not born – they are made of
love, honor, respect, and Godliness. Those mothers take on
special gifts and qualities. I'm talking about when did she
learn to worry when you were ill, or having a problem at
school. When did she realize that she was willing to die – so
that you could live? When did you become so much a part of her
– that without you, she would not be whole?
Good mothers know these things – but young girls do not – not yet.
When do mothers learn to do and say the right thing at the right
moment to solve every difficulty? That lesson is not learned on
the playground or at school – but from a Christian mother – and
if you are so blessed – a Godly grand-mother.
We live in a world where our children are being taught that marriage and
motherhood are undesirable. They are taught
that homosexuality and lesbianism are preferable "lifestyles."
Let’s follow the worldly way of thinking for a moment to see
what the final result would be. Let’s say the secularists win
the ideological battle, and all men become homosexuals and
all women become lesbians. The secularists would be delighted –
but for only one generation – for then, they and their kind
would simply die out – cease to exist as a population. Let me
spell it out for you – no children equals no future!
Common sense dictates that when men and women cease to marry and have
children – society ceases to exist. That is why good
marriages are the foundation of society. Social workers are
taught in college that a single parent can raise a child as well
as a family with a mother and a father. They
are not fooling anyone but themselves. And, by the way, women
who have children out of wedlock do not constitute a nuclear
family. There are approximately 14 million single-parent
households in the US. Single parents suffer from a higher rate
of poverty and poor health than married families, but the worst
consequence is the increased number of negative social,
behavioral and emotional traits in their children.
The term "nuclear family" refers to a household consisting of a father, a
mother with their children all in one household dwelling. God
instituted the nuclear family at creation when He said,
“Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and
shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh… So God
created man in His own image, in the image of God created He
him; male and female created He them. And God blessed
them, and God said unto them, be fruitful, and multiply.”
(Genesis 2:24, 1:27-28)
What does it mean to honor your mother? A Mother’s Day card, an
email, or a phone call once a year does not fulfill the
intent of the Biblical command of God to honor our mothers – far
from it. When giving the commandments, God tied the Commandment
to honor our mother to enjoying a long life. "Honour
thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the
land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." (Exodus 20:12)
The concept of honoring our mother is a very serious matter to
be pondered by those in God's Church today. For converted
brethren, the Biblical promise of a long life points to
our eternal life – or the forfeiture thereof. "Whoso
curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in
obscure darkness." (Proverbs 20:20) We are guilty of
cursing a parent when we conclude they are not worthy of honor
because of some past offense.
Men have always justified the breaking of God’s Commandments. When someone
reasons that he has an excuse not to honor a parent – he is
falling into that trap. It is a very serious offence in that it
is a salvational matter that causes the law of God to be of no
effect. "For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and
thy mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him
die the death.” (Matthew 15:4)
The social order of a nation unravels when family ties are broken. That is
why this command from God is foundational for society itself.
Jesus explained that it was not permissible to substitute good
works in lieu of God’s command. “ And honour not his father
or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the
commandment of God of none effect by your tradition."
(Matthew 15:6)
Honor must exist from one generation to another in order for Godly
fundamentals to flourish and maintain national stability.
Without Godly essentials, history shows that nations soon
degrade into lawless uncivilized barbarianism. Contrary-wise,
God’s way insures, “That your days may be multiplied, and the
days of your children, in the land which the Lord swore
unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the
earth.” (Deuteronomy 11:21)
If God’s way of life came to us naturally, He would not have had to give us His
Ten Commandments – including Honor your father and your
mother. Animals possess instincts that draw the parent to
its young, and the offspring to its parent for a short time of
development – but then, they go their own way. They do not
build an extended society for the good of the species.
Children, on the other hand, must be taught the right values of
family and Godliness, because those standards, morals and ethics
do not come naturally to them. Notice God’s clear instructions
to His people:
“Take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the
things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy
heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons,
and thy sons' sons.” (Deuteronomy 4:9) “You shall
teach [God's words] to your children, speaking of them when
thou sit in thine house, and when thou walk by the way, when
thou lie down, and when thou rise up.” (Deuteronomy 11:19)
God requires
that mothers should receive honor from each of her children
continually throughout the year. When we give honor to our
parents - we give honor to God. How so? Parents want
their children to do well – in the same way that God wants each
of us, the children of God, to do well. We cannot honor
God and, at the same time, not honor our parents
***
Sermon: "Motherly Love"
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