Mother’s Day – Jesus’ Point of View

Jesus told him:
You can be sure that anyone who gives up home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or land for me and for the good news will be rewarded. In this world they will be given a hundred times as many houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and pieces of land, though they will also be mistreated. And in the world to come, they will have eternal life. But many who are now first will be last, and many who are now last will be first.          Mark 10:29-31 (CEV)

This Sunday is Mother’s Day. Most preachers play it safe (in my opinion) and use Proverbs 31 as their Scripture for their sermon. I have to admit when I hear the passage read, I know what’s coming next and I usually tune out and instead think of past Mother’s Days and the interesting gifts and lunches I have had!

So I gave the gospels a fairly thorough search to see what the gospel writers recorded about mothers. Jesus’ mother, Mary, and John the Baptist’s mom, Elizabeth are certainly the only ones mentioned by name. Their lives were not easy. Both of their sons were executed for speaking God’s truth to government and church leaders who didn’t want to hear it. The glory of all of their lives was of the eternal variety, not the immediate world success.

Which brings up a question in my mind: What do I pray for in my own children’s lives? What kind of seeds have I sowed in their lives? What harvest will God see in their lives?

Jesus does not change His message when He speaks of family. Jesus came with a ministry of servanthood. The Son of God came to serve and taught us, His disciples, to do the same. Glory comes to those who:

• pray in a prayer closet, not where others notice (Matthew 6)
• carry a cross (pain, struggle, & more) and follow Jesus to Calvary (Matthew 10)
• wash the feet of friends and betrayers (John 13)
• love God and His mission for me more than my mother, father, siblings, even my children (Mark 10)

I hope you will take time to read those four chapters this weekend. They aren’t the “feel good” chapters except as I read those chapters and consider the difficulty of what Jesus is saying, I also know He has walked what He has taught! Jesus will show me the way and the Holy Spirit will give me the wisdom and strength to follow Christ’s steps.

A mother’s life is a life of sacrifice. It is making decisions for what is best for your child/children over what is easier, more expedient, even more comfortable for yourself. (Those of you who are dads – stay tune for the June 13^th devotion.)

Luke 2:51 says Mary treasured things in her heart that she saw and heard in her son. I suspect most of us have “Kodak moments” or snapshots which we treasure in our hearts. As each child grows and leaves home, snapshot moments are treasures we recall. For those of us who have had a child die, those memories are the bridge which keeps our child close until the day comes when we join them in heaven.

Let us rejoice on this Mother’s Day for the mother who taught us about Jesus and how to follow Him. Let us rejoice for the children who remind us to love Jesus with our whole hearts and follow Him with complete trust.

You & Me Against the World written by Paul Williams & sung by Helen Reddy