MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER
RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
(Revised: 2014)
NOTE: This message contains a number of illustrations and ideas gleaned from many sources that I no longer remember. But my thanks to all those who have enriched my sermon preparation!)
ILL. An elementary teacher was teaching her children about magnets & how they work. She showed them that by moving the magnet close to metal objects, it would pull them & even be powerful enough to pick them up.
After she had finished the lesson, she decided to see how well they had learned about magnets. So she said, "I have a question for you. My name begins with ‘M' & has 6 letters & I pick things up. Who am I?"
To her surprise, more than half of them answered, "Mother," rather than "magnet." Is that what a mother is? Is she someone who "picks things up?"
ILL. A 16 year old daughter came into the kitchen on Mother's Day & found her mother doing the dishes. Horrified, she said, "Mom, you shouldn't have to do dishes on Mother's Day!"
Touched by her daughter's thoughtfulness, the mother started to hand her the dishcloth, when the daughter added, "Why don't you wait until tomorrow?"
Mothers pick things up. Mothers do dishes.
ILL. Dennis the Menace was talking to Margaret & said, "I don't know what to get my mom for Mother's Day." So Margaret began making suggestions. Maybe for a change he could surprise his mom & clean up his room.
Maybe he could eat all of his vegetables. Maybe he could wash his hands before meals without having to be told. Maybe he could go to bed when his mother told him to without arguing about it.
Dennis thought about those suggestions for a moment. Then, with a scowl on his face said, "No, I mean something practical."
A. A survey a few years ago revealed that since 1970, 30% fewer people are getting married, & 50% more people are getting divorces. There are more & more homes with single parents, & more & more single people. One in 8 in the U.S. will never marry at all.
We ask, "Why? What has contributed to such changes in our lifetime?"
ILL. Following WW 2 our soldiers came marching home & married the girls who had been waiting for them. They moved into little tract homes & started having children. They cooked barbeques in the backyard. They went on family vacations. They did all the traditional family things.
But as some of you may remember, in the early 1950's Hugh Hefner came out with the first issue of Playboy magazine. In it he announced that "Man is a sexual being, & he should not feel inhibited or guilty about his sexual desires."
Gradually, almost frighteningly, things started to change. Hefner said that marriage was "passe," & that we shouldn't be bound by a marriage relationship any longer. We must be free to express ourselves sexually.
ILL. Closely on the heels of Playboy philosophy came the Women's Movement. Gloria Steinheim, Betty Friedan & others retaliated by saying, "You are not bunnies. You are not playthings. You are intelligent human beings. If you have the opportunity, you can compete with the best that men have to offer."
"But don't be bound by marriage. You don't want a bunch of kids hanging onto your skirt. So don't get married. Compete in the work place & prove your worth without the encumbrances of husband or children."
B. Playboy Philosophy, Women's Movement - & the result has been that fewer & fewer people are wanting children. The whole atmosphere in our world has changed. We are materialistic. Many are now more concerned about things than about families.
Our culture tells us that if we aren't tied up in marriage, if we don't have to buy clothes & school books for kids, then we can have it all. And our modern culture has reached out to grab it.
Our times have changed. Who is a mother today? What is a family today? What are the relationships shared between parents & children?
The sermons that I used to preach 30 years ago on Mother's Day just don't fit very well today. So the only thing I can do is suggest to you some things that describe what I think motherhood is, & what the home ought to be.
C. In 2 Timothy 1:5 7 are words that arouse our curiosity. Listen as I read what Paul wrote to the young preacher, Timothy.
"I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois & & in your mother Eunice &, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.
“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love & of self discipline."
We don't know anything about their husbands. But we do know that Paul was greatly impressed by Timothy's mother & grandmother. They had carefully planted the seeds of faith in the heart of their son & grandson.
Because of that, Paul could write, "I know that you are a man of sincere faith."
I wonder what life was like in the home of Lois & Eunice & Timothy? What kind of influences were brought to bear on this young man whom Paul described as a "man of sincere faith," who became Paul's "son in the faith," one who could with great power preach the Word of God?
PROP. There were at least 3 things about his mother that influenced Timothy. There were probably a lot more than that, but I only have time for three.
I. A MOTHER IS SENSITIVE
A. #1 would be a mother who was sensitive. Mothers ought to be sensitive. Mothers ought to listen carefully to their children, & be aware of the things going on in their hearts & lives & minds.
Mothers need to be able to respond to them, not just as a disciplinarian who blows the whistle, but as a sensitive, loving, concerned partner with God in the development of precious lives.
ILL. John Brand tells of a student who was studying to be a plastic surgeon. He had the gift of a delicate touch which is required by such a profession. But one summer he spent his time working on a ship, pulling on ropes, lifting anchors, & hoisting sails.
At the end of the summer he was proud of his new, macho image. He had substantial muscles, & there were calluses on his hands. But when he returned to school he discovered that his hands were so callused that he had lost his sensitive touch.
B. I wonder if that is what has happened in many homes? Many insensitive parents no longer care to hear what their children are saying, & are no longer sensitive to their needs.
ILL. Do you remember what it was like when you fell in love for the first time? How ridiculous you were? Totally out of touch with reality? And how you got upset if mom or dad said anything to you about it?
Do you remember the pressure of wanting to be accepted? The peer pressures that came when kids wanted you to do things that you knew you shouldn't do? Do you remember the feelings of rejection?
It seems like mothers ought to be sensitive. Somehow they ought to know what's going on inside the heart & mind & emotions of a child.
SUM. I think maybe Eunice knew, & somehow was able to walk hand in hand with Timothy through the events of adolescence. Somehow she was able to develop an understanding that can only come through a sensitivity to him & his needs.
II. A MOTHER IS UNSELFISH
A. I think also there must have been an unselfish concern for Timothy. Somehow selfishness & real motherhood just don't go together, do they?
ILL. Some grandparents were taking their grandson to the park to feed the ducks. They noticed one old mother duck waddling along with ducklings under her wings. When they threw bread crumbs out on the water she lifted her wings, & to their amazement, they saw at least 20 little ducklings.
The ducklings quickly jumped into the water & went after the bread crumbs. But one interesting thing they noticed was that the mother duck did not eat until all of the little ducklings had eaten everything they wanted.
Somehow, the mother duck knew enough to understand that mothers are never to be selfish. You can't wear the badge of real motherhood & be selfish. The two simply do not go together.
ILL. Two boys were arguing over the last cookie in the cookie jar. They each had a hold on the jar & were pulling for dear life when mother intervened & took the cookie jar away. She said, "I'll settle your argument for you. I'll just eat the last cookie myself."
The two boys stood there for a moment. Finally, the youngest one looked up, & with a smile said, "No you won't. Mommies don't eat the last cookie."
B. Yet, in our "me" generation, when we are so concerned about ourselves, & less concerned about anyone else, it is easy to become callused. It is easy to become insensitive. It is easy to become self centered & forget who we are & what God has called us to do.
ILL. I love the story of the little girl who climbed up on her mother's lap & they started playing a little game like mothers & daughters do. She said, "Mommy, I love you." Mommy said, "I love you too, honey."
She said, "I love your nose, Mommy." Mommy said, "I love your nose, too." "I love your chin, Mommy." "I love your chin, too." she said. "I love your cheek, Mommy." "I love your cheek, too." she said.
Finally the little girl said, "Mommy, show me your heart." Mommy said, "You get right up here & look into my eyes just as deep as you can, & you will see my heart."
The little girl got up on her mommy's lap & looked right into her eyes & stared for the longest time. Finally, she said, "I've looked as deep as I can, & the only thing I see is me."
CONCL. The heart of a real mother is unselfish. She can't be anything else but unselfish. That's just the way it is.
III. A MOTHER'S CHARACTER
A. A third influence that must have been in the home of Timothy is character. We live in a time when character has been judged unimportant. There seems to be no place for those who are honest, those who are truthful, those who keep their promises.
Yet, when you look at Timothy, this man of sincere faith, you get the feeling that he was someone you could trust, a man of his word, who would keep his promises. If he told you he was going to do something, he would do it.
He must have learned that from Eunice. Somewhere along the way she must have told him it was wrong to tell a lie. Someplace along the way she must have told him if he was going to be a Christian he must live a life in keeping with the way Christ would want him to live it, honest, a man of integrity.
B. Do you ever wonder if the Lord of Lords tested our children about the things they learned at home from their parents, that they would pass the test?
Do you wonder if they have developed sensitivity because of the role models they have had in the home? Are they sensitive because they saw that example every day?
Do you wonder if they are unselfish because they saw that every day as they were growing up? Do they keep their word because they were taught to do that in the home?
C. Paul wrote to Timothy & said, "God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love & of self discipline." (2 Timothy 1:7)
Not only has God given us the power, the confidence to live in the world in which He has placed us, He has also given us a spirit of love. Love can't be selfish. It just doesn't work that way.
We become unselfish because we learned it at home, because Mom & Dad reinforced it & we had before us a constant example of what it meant to be unselfish.
He has given us a spirit of self discipline which means we don't always do the things we want to do. Someplace along the way we were taught that this is right & this is wrong. And we do the things that are right, even though sometimes we may want to do the things that are wrong.
CONCL. I think that is what Mother's Day is all about. I don't think it has changed a whole lot. I think the requirements for the badge of motherhood are pretty much the same as they have always been.
ILL. Someone wrote: “If mothers could put all of their mothering experience on their resume, it would be a mile long.”
I watched my Mom fill out an application.
I looked at the line that asks about past professions.
I thought to myself, that space is too small
To write down what she's been, to cover it all.
She was a nurse when I fell and scraped my knee.
She was a maid when I didn't wipe my feet.
She was a designer when my clothes didn't match.
She was a tailor when my pants needed a patch.
She was a teacher when I asked a question.
She was a priest when I had a confession.
She was a psychiatrist when I came home crying.
She was a preacher when I got caught lying.
She was a singer when she sung me to sleep.
She was a lifeguard when she said the water's too deep.
There are many more, yet the best one to me,
She was a best friend and mine forever she'll be.
Marian N. Kehrley
Our environment may have changed, but a mother’s role has not. A real mother's love is the closest thing to God's love that we'll ever see. And that's what I have tried to describe.
"Timothy, you are a man of sincere faith, & that seed was planted there by your grandmother & your mother."
Oh, may God grant us such mothers & grand-mothers today who would plant the same seeds in the hearts & lives of their children.
INVITATION
