How Much Are They Worth Series

¡§How Much Are They Worth¡¨

Recovering An Essential Truth ¡V part 3

We’ve come together this morning for 2 primary reasons. One, is to honor the Lord Jesus Christ with our worship. The other, is to honor our mothers. Both are lifetime tasks, neither of which can be confined to a one hour worship service.

I really struggled this week putting together a Mother’s day sermon (as I always do) - because I don’t imagine that anything has ever been said or ever will be said that is eloquent enough, or expressive enough to articulate the true value of a mother...

PRAYER¡K

One of my favorite columns by Erma Bombeck tells of God in the act of creating mothers. She says that on the day God created mothers He had already worked long overtime. And an angel said to Him, "Lord, you sure are spending a lot of time on this one."

The Lord turned & said, "Have you read the specs on this model? She is supposed to be completely washable, but not plastic. She is to have 180 moving parts, all of them replaceable. She is to have a kiss that will heal everything from a broken leg to a broken heart. She is to have a lap that will disappear whenever she stands up. She is to be able to function on black coffee & leftovers. And she is supposed to have six pairs of hands."

"Six pairs of hands," said the angel, "that¡¦s impossible." "It¡¦s not the six pairs of hands that bother me." said the Lord, "It¡¦s the three pairs of eyes. She is supposed to have one pair that sees through closed doors so that whenever she says, `What are you kids doing in there?¡¦ she already knows what they¡¦re doing in there."

"She has another pair in the back of her head to see all the things she is not supposed to see but must see. And then she has one pair right in front that can look at a child that just goofed & communicate love & understanding without saying a word."

"That¡¦s too much." said the angel, "You can¡¦t put that much in one model. Why don¡¦t you rest for a while & resume your creating tomorrow?"

"No, I can¡¦t," said the Lord. "I¡¦m close to creating someone very much like myself. I¡¦ve already come up with a model who can heal herself when she is sick - who can feed a family of six with one pound of hamburger - & who can persuade a nine year old to take a shower."

Then the angel looked at the model of motherhood a little more closely & said, "She¡¦s too soft." "Oh, but she is tough," said the Lord. "You¡¦d be surprised at how much this mother can do."

"Can she think?" asked the angel. "Not only can she think," said the Lord, "but she can reason & compromise & persuade."

Then the angel reached over & touched her cheek. "This one has a leak," he said. "I told you that you couldn¡¦t put that much in one model." "That¡¦s not a leak," said the Lord. "That¡¦s a tear."

"What¡¦s a tear for?" asked the angel. "Well it¡¦s for joy, for sadness, for sorrow, for disappointment, for pride." "You¡¦re a genius," said the angel. And the Lord said, "Oh, but I didn¡¦t put it there."

Yes, moms are pretty special people¡K and who better to talk about how special they are then their own children. 2 weeks ago we took a video camera around during second service and asked some of our kids to share some things about their moms¡K.

SHOW THE VIDEO

Listen to what some children wrote to their mothers for Mother¡¦s Day. Angie, 8 years old, wrote:

"Dear Mother, I¡¦m going to make dinner for you on Mother¡¦s Day. It¡¦s going to be a surprise. P.S. I hope you like pizza & popcorn."

Robert wrote: "I got you a turtle for Mother¡¦s Day. I hope you like the turtle better than the snake I got you last year."

Eileen wrote: "Dear Mother, I wish Mother¡¦s Day wasn¡¦t always on Sunday. It would be better if it were on Monday so we wouldn¡¦t have to go to school."

Little Diane wrote: "I hope you like the flowers I got you for Mother¡¦s Day. I picked them myself when Mr. Smith wasn¡¦t looking."

And how about this one from Carol? "Dear Mother, Here are two aspirins. Have a happy Mother¡¦s Day!"

Yes, moms are pretty amazing people ¡V they are teachers, disciplinarians, cooks, gardeners, nurses, doctors, psychologists, policeman, counselors, detectives, chauffeurs, coaches¡K

Years ago I came across and Illustration, that I never forgotten and it is actually what provided the spark for the message today¡K

A 12 year old boy came to his mom with a list ¡V you see, he had been doing some things around the house ¡V AND ¡V he was ready to get paid (¡¥mom, show me the money¡¦) ¡K His mom took the piece of paper and read the following: