INTRO.- ILL.- A little boy forgot his lines in a Sunday school presentation. His mother was in the front row to prompt him. She gestured and formed the words silently with her lips, but it did not help. Her son’s memory was blank. Finally, she leaned forward and whispered the cue, "I am the light of the world." The child beamed and with great feeling and a loud clear voice said, "My mother is the light of the world."
A good mother, a good Christian mother is a light in this world. She sheds a lot of light in this world. And on her family as well.
She could most certainly be considered as a light to her family and others if she indeed lived by the light of Christ. I can’t think of anything better than a mother could be to her family than a Christian! When mothers choose Christ as their savior they choose the best, and Christ can make them the best.
ILL.- Thankful For Old-Fashioned Mother
She was just an old-fashioned mother,
She did not pretend to be “smart.”
To care for her home and her dear ones
Was the wish that was first in her heart.
We were raised by the old-fashioned rules,
so sparsely employed today.
And when we so richly deserved it,
We were spanked in the old-fashioned way.
“A good name is far better,” she’d say
“Than all of the wealth of the nation,
And truth is best any day.”
She believed in the old-fashioned Bible,
She trusted in old-fashioned prayer;
She told us that Jesus would hear us
If we’d speak any time, anywhere.
Thank God for an old-fashioned mother,
For the Bible and old-fashioned prayer;
For the old-fashioned faith that is looking
For our Lord to appear in the air.
I Cor. 13:13 “And now abideth faith, hope and love, but the greatest of these is love.” Not only are these the greatest virtues but they could also be the greatest virtues of a mother!
PROP.- All these apply to a mother.
1- A mother’s faith
2- A mother’s hope
3- A mother’s love
I. A MOTHER’S FAITH
ILL.- I love the story about Dr./preacher G. Campbell Morgan who had 4 sons and they were all preachers. Someone once came into the room when all the family was there. They thought they would see what Howard, one of the sons, was made of so they asked him this question: "Howard, who is the greatest preacher in your family?"
Howard had a great admiration for his father and he looked straight across at him and then without a moments hesitation he answered, "Mother."
All mothers do a certain amount of preaching. Amen? Haven’t you been preached to by your mother at some time in life? Some mothers are always preaching to their kids about something: about going to church, raising the grandkids, doing this or that, etc. PREACH ON, MOTHERS!
II Timothy 1:5 “I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.”
I am reminded of your sincere faith which lived in your mother Eunice and now lives in you. TIMOTHY GOT SOMETHING GOOD FROM HIS MOTHER! He apparently got some of his faith in Christ from his mother. Should that surprise us? If a mother’s faith in Christ is important to her she is bound to pass it on to her children.
ILL.- I don’t remember my mother ever talking to me about Jesus when I was kid but I wish she had. I do remember that she took us to Sunday School and church. She also encouraged us to go to the Sunday night youth meetings.
All I know is I am so thankful for having been raised in a church that believed in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Savior of the world.
I also remember mother’s example of being baptized. I am glad that I still have picture memory implanted in my mind, because obedience to Christ in baptism is an important matter.
All moms and dads need to give their children that godly example of obedience. IF WE DON’T HOW WE CAN EXPECT OUR CHILDREN TO OBEY CHRIST?
Psalm 22:10 “From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God.”
Psalm 71:6 “From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother’s womb. I will ever praise you.”
ILL.- Four ministers were discussing the merits of the various translations of the Bible. One liked the King James Version best because of its simple, beautiful English. Another liked the New Century Version best because of its modern language. The third preacher liked the Living Bible even better since it is paraphrased.
The fourth minister was silent. When asked to express his opinion, he replied, “I like my mother’s translation best.”
The other ministers said, “We didn’t know that your mother translated the Bible!” “Yes,” he replied, “Mother translated the Bible into everyday life, and it was the most convincing translation I ever saw.”
Thank God for mothers who live the faith of Christ in their lives and give that example to their children.
II. A MOTHER’S HOPE
A mother’s hope is primarily for her children. And she always hopes for the best for her children.
What do mothers hope for their children? That they become decent, God-fearing, Christ-living, educated, honest, hard working, find a good mate, and raise a good family!
ILL.- My mother always hoped I would turn out as good as my twin sister! FAT CHANCE OF THAT HAPPENING! My sister was good in academics. She graduated in the top ten of our class. I graduated. She could play the flute. I couldn’t play anything. My sister never got into trouble. I stayed in trouble. I don’t think my sister has ever done anything wrong in life. NEVER MIND. But here I am!
I will say that whenever mother lived in the nursing home in Joplin, MO, I would send her casette tapes of my sermons. And I was told that mother would sit and listen intently and laugh as well at my funny stories. I guess some of my mother’s hopes came true for her children, including me.
All of her children believe in and try to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. And you can’t get much better than that!
All mothers hope for good to come to their children and for them to be good children.
Proverbs 29:15 “The rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother.”
A child left himself disgraces. Without some kind of discipline in the home a child will get into all kinds of trouble and disgrace his mother.
A mother hopes that her child or children will turn out well in life and never become a disgrace in life, to her or anyone else.
Proverbs 23:25 “May your father and mother be glad; may she who gave you birth rejoice!”
Mothers rejoice in their children when their hopes come true for their children.
III. A MOTHER’S LOVE
ILL.- Pearl S. Buck was an award-winning American writer who wrote “The Good Earth” and spent the majority of her life in China. From 1914 to 1933, she served as a Presbyterian missionary. She said: “Some mothers are kissing mothers and some are scolding mothers, but it is love just the same, and most mothers kiss and scold together.”
Proverbs 13:24 “He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him.”
Love and scolding do go together. If a mother loves her children she will scold or discipline them.
ILL.- Honoré de Balzac [on-uh-rey duh] (was a French novelist and playwright.) said: “The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness.” A MOTHER’S FORGIVENESS - how great it is.
I believe that a mother is quick to forgive. And probably quicker than daddy. Maybe not in every case but in many.
ILL.- Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, was reminded one day of a vicious deed that someone had done to her years before. But she acted as if she had never even heard of the incident. "Don’t you remember it?" her friend asked. "No," came Barton’s reply, "I distinctly remember forgetting it."
That’s a mother’s love! (although Barton was never a mother) But a mother is quick to forgive her children and forget their wrongdoing...a trait we all need to imitate.
ILL.- Washington Irving (American author - He was best known for his short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle") said, “The love of a mother is never exhausted. It never changes--it never tires--it endures through all; in good repute, in bad repute, in the face of the world’s condemnation, a mother’s love still lives on.” Amen!
He also said: “A father may turn his back on his child, brothers and sisters may become inveterate enemies, husbands may desert their wives, wives their husbands. But a mother’s love endures through all.” Amen!
CONCLUSION----------------
A Mother Is Born by Regina Phillips
My first child, a daughter, was born on July 27, 2000, and I found I was completely unprepared. I thought I was ready for her birth. I had read my books and articles on childbirth and baby care; I had bought everything on my shopping checklist. The nursery was ready for use, and my husband and I were anxiously awaiting her arrival. I was prepared for wakeful nights, endless diapers, sore nipples, crying (both hers and mine), and the feeling that I can’t get anything done. I was prepared for sitz baths and hemorrhoids.
What I wasn’t prepared for was the way the entire world looked different to me the minute she was born. I wasn’t prepared for the fact that the sheer weight of my love for her would reduce me to tears on a daily basis. I didn’t know that I wouldn’t be able to get through my first lullaby to her because I wouldn’t be able to sing through my tears. I didn’t know that the world would suddenly become unbelievably beautiful and yet infinitely scarier. I didn’t know that it would seem like a new place had been created inside of me, just to hold this incredible love.
I had no idea what it would feel like when the nurse wheeled my daughter in to me saying, “She’s looking for you,” and the way the image of her deep-blue eyes looking right at me would be seared in my heart forever. I didn’t know that I could love someone so much it literally hurts, that a trip to Wal-Mart would make me feel like a protective mother bear guarding her cub, or that my first trip to the grocery store without her would break my heart.
I didn’t know that she would forever change the way my husband and I look at each other, or that the process of giving birth to her and breast-feeding her would give me a whole new respect for my body. No one told me that I would no longer be able to watch the evening news because every story about child abuse would make me think of my daughter’s face.
Why didn’t anyone warn me about these things? I am overwhelmed by it all. Will I ever be able to leave her and think of anything but her, or see a crust in her eye or spot on her skin that doesn’t make me nervous? Will I ever be able to show her and express to her just how deep and all-encompassing my love for her is? Will I ever be able to be the mother I so desperately want her to have?
I have heard it said, and I now know that it is true, that when a woman gives birth to her first child, there are two births. The first is the birth of the child. The second is the birth of the mother. Perhaps that is the birth that is impossible to prepare for.
- 2000 from Chicken Soup for the Mother and Daughter Soul.
