HOW A GOOD MOTHER LOST HER SON
Text: Luke 2:41-52
Intro:
I am using this event in the life of Jesus as a means of illustrating a point. Even a good mother can lose her children. No one can doubt Mary was a good mother, hand chosen by God to be the Mother of His Son. Many might say, “How can parents lose their children?” It happens all the time. That is not to say they are bad parents, there are other circumstances that come into play.
Today, I am going to draw a comparison between this incident and losing a child spiritually, or losing them to the world. That too happens all the time, and it is not always because they have a bad mother.
Now, it is true that Mother’s are quick to blame their self. And, it might also be true that there are some things that could have been done differently, but it does not mean they are bad, or that they were not concerned, nor that they did not have the right intentions. Perhaps carelessness plays a part, but, who among us is not careless about things from time to time. The reason Mary lost her son was because she was human. In most cases, the same holds true for Mothers of wayward children. Let us consider…
I. THEY TOOK IT FOR GRANTED THAT HE WAS THERE. V. 44
Why wouldn’t they. Jesus had never done anything like this before. I am sure that He was not the type of lad they had to keep an eye on every second. He knew they had to return home, surely, they assumed, He was somewhere in the camp. But He was not.
A. Some take things for granted in the raising us their children.
If there is anything we can learn from this story is that you cannot take anything for granted.
1. Don’t take it for granted that your child is not going to love God just because you love God
There are some good, God fearing parents who have raised some real rascals.
They never intended for their children to turn out that way, but they did.
There is more to raising God fearing children that telling them how to life, it takes a lot of effort.
Pr 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
Training involves
Repetition. Doing the same thing over and over and over, and never stopping until it is drilled into them. Example –the way you train a pet
Restraint Example, tie up the young tree to ‘train’ it to grow straight
Representative—Having the right example to follow
2. Don’t take if for granted that your child is not is going to do right just because you have raised them “in church”
Church is right, church is good, church will help, but the church along cannot do the job. We have your children, at the most 3hours a week. You have them the other 285 hours.
3. Don’t take if for granted that your child is not capable of doing anything wrong just because you have never seen that side of them before.
Ro 3:10 “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:”
That includes your kid.
II. THEY LOOKED FOR HELP IN THE WRONG PLACES V. 44B
1. They looked among their friends and family. Thinking many He was with them, but He was not there.
Perhaps they felt this was the most logical place to look for help but, when they saw He was not among them, they did the right thing and they back tracked.
2. Many good Christian parents make the same mistake.
When they see they are losing their children they begin looking for help in the world.
They take them to this program and that program, the seek out advise from the secular world, they start reading books written by the experts, etc…
Ps 1:1 “Blessed [is] the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, ….”
Ills: Dr. Spock wrote a book on child rearing and later, before his death apologized for doing so. He realized his advise was all wrong and it did not work. It went contrary to the Word of God.
The Bible is the greatest book ever written on Child Rearing.
The world says: “Let your children make up their own minds”
God’s Word says: De 6:5-9 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. 9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
The world says: “You have to trust your children”
God’s Word says: Ps 14:2-3 The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, [and] seek God. 3 They are all gone aside, they are [all] together become filthy: [there is] none that doeth good, no, not one.
The world says: “Don’t whip your kids, it will damage them for life”
God’s Word says Pr 13:24 “He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.”
My friend, God knows more about rearing children than anyone in the world…
Which brings me to my final point.
THEY FOUND WHAT THEY WERE LOOKING FOR IN THE HOUSE OF GOD V.46
Jesus was there taking care of His Father’s business.
Of course, your child, my child, is not the Son of God. Our children are children of the flesh, and they are no going to be doing the Father’s business until the Holy Spirit gets in their temple.
It is important that we keep them exposed to things of God, it is important that we keep them in the house of God.
Beyond that, we need to remember that the house of God is where we find the altar.
When you see you are losing you child. Keep them on the altar.
Many a son has been protected because of a praying Mother.
Many have been rescued because of praying Mothers.
Notice some things about Mary.
She made the necessary sacrifice to find her boy.
The had already gone a whole day’s journey for Jerusalem, yet she returned.
If you have left the church, you need to return. It does not matter how far you have gone, it is easy to go back, especially if your child is at stake.
She did not give up V.46
Parents, don’t give up. Keep them before God, day and night, year after year if necessary, till God gets tired of hearing about it.
Remember the parable in Lu 18
Lu 18:1-7 And he spake a parable unto them [to this end], that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; 2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: 3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. 4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; 5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. 6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. 7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
She sorrowed until she found Him V.48
A Godly Mother will sorrow over the spiritual condition of a wayward child. And, it is that sorrow that will move the heart of God.
