MOTHER…what does it mean to you?

One of my favorite preachers was G. Campbell Morgan. I love reading his commentaries and sermons. Pastor Morgan had four sons. Once, when the whole family was together, someone asked, which one of the Morgans was the greatest preacher? This answer came from one of the sons: “Mother!”

I have watched my wife over the last 4 decades raise our family, and it has left me in Awe! I state that honestly, with no exaggeration. No, she does not walk on water, and this is not some greeting card. As I approach this “Mother’s Day” I have pondered on what I have witnessed. I do not know if my children and I will ever be able to fully comprehend the care the mother of our family has bestowed on us. God has given all of us a great gift when our Mother loves Him and then reflects that love to us! These are the qualities that I have encountered and been encouraged to emulate:

Model

Nothing speaks quite as loud as a life that is surrendered and passed on! Paul points out that Timothy was also blessed with this.

2 Timothy 1:5 I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you.

The treasure that is shared with children from mothers will last a lifetime and guide them throughout their life if they will let it!

Proverbs 1:8–9 My child, listen when your father corrects you. Don’t neglect your mother’s instruction. ⁹ What you learn from them will crown you with grace and be a chain of honor around your neck.

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Scripture emphasizes how a “model” impacts!

1 Corinthians 7:16 Don’t you wives realize that your husbands might be saved because of you?

1 Peter 3:1 In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives

Godly mothers are far more impactful than higher education and degrees.

Others oriented:

I am constantly convicted on how “other oriented” the mother of my children was. She reminds me of the woman in Proverbs:

Prov 31:15-18 She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household and plan the day’s work for her servant girls. ¹⁶ She goes to inspect a field and buys it; with her earnings she plants a vineyard. ¹⁷ She is energetic and strong, a hard worker. ¹⁸ She makes sure her dealings are profitable; her lamp burns late into the night.

The energy a mother gives out is amazing! It is interesting that a mother does not need “big boy toys” the way many of us men seem to feel we need. Their focus is on others, not themselves.

God even uses the example of their commitment when trying to communicate His love for His people. He points out His love goes beyond theirs, but notice He picks mother’s love as the human ultimate!

Isaiah 49:15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child And have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you.

Tenacious

There are many foolish things people can do in this world, but when you choose to attack a child of a godly mother, prepare for a war! I watched my wife walk that fine line of not shaming the Lord, while making it clear that she will protect her children. Jesus shared how He felt, using that mother instinct:

Matthew 23:37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem…How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings”  

No chicken hawk is welcome to a hen’s chicks, she will place herself in danger if need be! There are myriads of stories that show the sacrificial love of a mother. Her tenacity does not waiver, no matter the circumstances.

Heritage:

This is one of God’s mysteries! God chooses and blesses a woman to have a child, and there is a spiritual connection that nothing can deter! It exists even in mothers that have abandoned their children. A drive for the child to connect and be close; how much MORE when the mother loves God and desires that relationship!

Psalm 127:3 Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward.

Psalm 22:9 Yet You are He who brought me forth from the womb; You made me trust when upon my mother’s breasts.

Psalm 139:13 For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb.

Edifier

To edify means to “build up.” I watched as my wife poured her life into our children, proactively looking for ways to build them up and encourage them. Again from Proverbs 31

Prov 31:25 She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future. ²⁶ When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness. ²⁷ She carefully watches everything in her household and suffers nothing from laziness. ²⁸ Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her

Refuge

A godly mother is always a “safe place.” No matter the storms outside, when a child returns to mom, they sense it and enjoy the “Harbor” in the storm.

Isaiah 66:13  “As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you”

1 Thessalonians 2:7 But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children.

Don’t let this Mother’s Day pass without letting your mother, or the mother of your children, know how much you appreciate her.

For me, I must let the mother of my children know what the husband in Proverbs stated:

“There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all!”