“Woman of God ”
Today is a special day for special women – the mom’s. The rose that you each received this morning is just a token of our love and honor of you. After church this morning we men are going to serve you a wonderful meal that we have lovingly prepared. We will seat you at a fancy table with nice tableware and dishes and wait on you. We will serve you first and then we will dine on hamburgers and hot dogs on paper plates with plastic tableware. It’s just a simple way to show you that we value you and honor you. We also have a special gift for each one of you moms.
Someone may ask why we are honoring you – granted it’s Mother’s Day and we’re suppose to remember you and honor you today. But you are so important. You have such a tremendous influence on your family. What you do or don’t do has great consequence – and the problem is that motherhood doesn’t come with a set of directions. There is no learners permit; no owners manual. You pretty much have to wing it. You need much grace. If you have been very blessed you will learn, or have learned, a little about being a mother from your own mom. The problem is that all moms are in the same predicament. So your mom wasn’t the perfect example. She may have tried. She may even have been a Christian and a wonderful godly woman – but she still wasn’t perfect. So you did not receive all the knowledge you needed to be a perfect mom yourself.
Not only did you not have a set of directions - you also have the disadvantage of having a fallen nature. You know what that means. You are naturally selfish. You have to deal with that. Then there are the hormones and chemical imbalances and those certain times of the month that everything is out of whack. BOY! No wonder we are so messed up! Our moms had a lot to deal with, didn’t they!
This morning, maybe the best we can do is sympathize with you and let you know we understand maybe just a little bit. We forgive you for your failures and we honor you for your love and hard work and caring about us. But I want to share with you a couple of goals that a mom or grand mom can work on and maybe be more effective and grow in grace.
First of all, be a loving mom. It’s important to just love us dads. I think it was James Dobson who said that the best thing a mom can do for her child is to love their dad. I remember in my own growing years the love that my parents had for each other. I remember them lying on the couch together watching TV in each other’s embrace and the special words of affection and the little displays of love. I probably made some smart aleck remark about it at the time – but it did me good. It gives a child a sense of security to see that his parent love each other. It also gives him an example to emulate.
Then love your child. How we all need love. Many teens today will do just about anything to feel loved. If they haven’t learned about commitment and formed values from their parents they may hop from one sexual relationship to another looking for love. That goes for both men and women. But if they have received love at home it will stabilize them and give them a foundation for all their relationships in the future.
Most importantly, love God. When a baby is brought to me for dedication one of the things I tell the moms is that “the first glimpse your child has of God will be as he looks up into your gentle loving face as you hold them in your arms.”
One of the reasons we are born; one of the reasons that every person walks around on this sin polluted planet is to have an opportunity to come into a loving relationship with God. As much as you love your child – God loves them so much more. And He has entrusted them into your care to nurture them and feed them and teach them His ways. One of the most important things you can do as a mother is to teach your child to worship God. You do that, first of all, by worshipping God yourself. As you go to church and have your personal devotions and your family devotional time, your child will begin to understand how to worship God. He will see that God is good and worthy to be praised.
Some of my best childhood memories are of mom taking us to church every time the church doors were opened. I’m talking about Sunday school, Morning worship, Youth meetings, Evening service, Wednesday Bible Study meetings and if there was revival – it was church every night. We understood very early that mom valued church.
I remember coming home unexpectedly a time of two and catching mom having devotions and praying for me. I listened to hear if she prayed for me – and she did. I leaned that mom believed in prayer and believed in me. That does something to the soul of a kid. Later, when I began to search for spiritual answers in my life – those things came back to me.
Moms, teach your children to love God. Teach them how to worship. Also teach them early to love God’s house. Your child needs to know that they are not alone. The bible says,
“…one standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer; three is even better…” Eccl 4:12 (Living)
God has planned that we become a part of his family. There is protection in the family. There is strength in the family. There is fellowship in the family. There is love in the family. There is encouragement and inspiration in the family.
One of the tactics of the enemy is to get a soul off by himself where he is alone and vulnerable. All of us go through times of trial and temptation and spiritual attack. When we are a part of God’s family we have a support system to encourage and protect.
Sometimes I hear people say, “Oh, I don’t go to church. Those people are hypocrites.” Or “Old grandma so and so offended me.” Or “those people have just as many problems as me.”
It’s true that every church has many problems and is full of flawed people. But part of God’s purpose is to put us into an environment and a relationship with people that will help us grow into Christlikeness. I think part of God’s purpose for having us be a part of a church is so we will have an opportunity to forgive and be patient and choose kindness and gentleness when our flesh wants to be angry and harsh. The two greatest areas where we experience the most growth are home and the church. At home we commit unto “death do us part”. At church we commit publicly to support and serve in the church. Unless there is that commitment we will run when the going gets tough instead of staying and growing spiritually. We need to teach our kids that they are a part of God’s family. They belong. They have a support system. And like in any family, when a brother or sister falls – we help them up.
Moms, teach your children to love the Lord and how to worship Him. Teach them early to love God’s house and that they belong. Then teach them that God’s plan is to make them just like Jesus. The bible says,
“… And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him.”
2 Cor 3:18 (Living)
It will help your children to know that God has a wonderful plan for their lives and a part of that plan is that they become like Jesus. They begin to learn that truth at Sunday school as they learn spiritual songs and listen to Bible stories and are taught Sunday school lessons. But more importantly is when they learn that truth at home from you. You are to teach them to be honest and kind and loving and all the fruits of the Spirit. Of course, again, they will learn it best as you example the fruits in your own life. Make no mistake, there are always little eyes watching you, learning, imitating you. If they are to learn Christlikeness – it needs to be displayed in your life.
Another thing you need to teach your child is that they were created to serve God. They may be too young to decide on a life’s work – but they need to know, whether they become a fireman, policeman, nurse, doctor, pastor, businessman or anything else, that God wants to use their gifts and talents to bless others. They are to be His hands and His voice. Remember the little songs in Sunday school? “This Little Light of Mine” and “Be Careful Little Hands” and you can probably think of many more – but they are to learn that God has given them something special and they are to use their gifts for Him to build others up.
The bible says,
“Some of us have been given special ability as apostles; to others he has given the gift of being able to preach well; some have special ability in winning people to Christ, helping them to trust him as their Savior; still others have a gift for caring for God’s people as a shepherd does his sheep, leading and teaching them in the ways of God.” Eph 4:11 (Living)
The point is that every child needs to know that God has a special calling for them. If they learn that when they are still young it will probably be from you, mom. And if they learn to love the Lord early, and learn they are a part of God’s family, and that God wants them to become like Jesus and that God has a special purpose for their lives – it will save them so much pain and aimless living.
You have a tremendous job, moms. It’s an impossible job without God’s help. You can’t do it alone. There’s a book out about raising kids called, “It takes a village.” It’s a little bit off and I don’t recommend it – but it has the right thought. It doesn’t take a village but it does take a family. It takes the church family, as well as your family, but especially the family of God. Together maybe we can help you in the difficult job of raising your children and maybe we can all learn something in the process, too.
So, moms, we salute you. We honor you. May God give you grace as you live and work for Him.
