Today is a special day for we are celebrating the day made for mothers. And I am privilege to speak to all of us about my mother which I believe every one can relate. What can we say about our mothers? We have lots of things we can say about them base on our own experience with them. Also, this is the 2nd Sunday of the month of May as we are having a monthly theme (know God, know light). I was asking myself how do they arrive to have a theme like that? And eventually I was reminded of the season we are having in our country which is summer. And during summer, sunlight is prominent where we can enjoy beach, summer vacation etc. But somehow I was also reminded that this month we are also celebrating this special event for our mothers who are called “ilaw ng tahanan” or light of our home.
We can ask ourselves, how come they where called like that and not our fathers? Well simply because the trainings of our child comes from the mother especially when they are still babies. Since the father’s responsibility is to work, most of the time he is out leaving the children to their mother. Proverbs 22:6 “Start the children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”
This means the training of these children should be done first with their mothers, so that their teachings and values would guide these children as they grow old. By providing light to them serves as guides that they will not turn away from it.
Today allow me to exhort a message that will explain why our mothers are called to be the light of our home. Consequently, Jesus said in John 8:12 “I Am the light of the world, whoever follows Me, will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life”. Jesus is the light of this darkened world, and somehow a mother can be a light to her own family. Let’s find out why they are called to be like that:
Our mother is the light of our home because she:
1. Shows her Influence in us. – 2 Timothy 1:5, 3:14
The first reason why mothers are called light of the home is because of their influence. If there is one particular attributes or attitudes we can get from our parents its probably our mother. Since our father is always away and gone for work to support his own family, the responsibility to take care of the children is with our mother. And the most powerful way of teaching us her ways is in her influence in us.
Here we can see in the life of Timothy where Paul saw in him a resemblance of his own mother which originated from her grandmother. 2 Timothy 1:5 “I am 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. Timothy got his sincere faith from his own grandmother and mother.
Mothers are great influencer to her children. I remember my youngest child when she was still young when she tries to do everything her mommy does eg (make-up, outfit, fashion and even the way she talks). She is just like her mother because of her influence to her. No wonder why children are very close to their mother than their father because of influence.
Mothers do influence their sons and daughters! One of life’s greatest blessings is to have a godly mother. And, thus, one of the greatest gifts you can give your children is to be a godly mother. We salute every mothers who were able to influence their children to have great faith to God and later on have a personal relationship with Him. That is why mothers are called light because anything that can be showed to their children comes from the transparency of her influence to her own children
However, many would like to have a children but have a hard time being a mother, why? Because many would choose careers before family because of financial difficulty of a family and because of that the influence to her own children can come to a different person in the home like grandparents, aunties, uncles etc. There is no problem on this but the influence of a mother to a child is something special that creates a bond to her children.
Illustration: I remember how hard it is for my wife to leave a career in order to take care of my eldest son. It’s so hard for a career woman to just leave whatever she started and just give it up like that for family. But she can do this because of the 2nd reason of being the light of our home.
2. Shares Love – 2 Samuel 21:8-14 with emphasis on v10
If there is one thing that a mother can influence her child that is to share her love to them. One method of sharing a motherly love is about sacrifice. Many mothers are willing to give everything to her family even to the point of sacrificing her own happiness, satisfaction, comfort and even dreams for the sake of establishing her own family. Many career women that I know who suffered from low self esteem because they stopped working in order to take care of the family and depend only on the father to do the work. This is not easy for a career and professional mother to accept unless she was over-powered by her love for her family.
In 2 Samuel 21, we read a story about a mother named Rizpah. Now Rizpah was not a very nice woman for she is a Gibeonites which is an enemy of Israel that time. She had 2 illegitimate sons by King Saul. Later, when David ascended to the throne, he had these 2 sons killed because they had participated in a conspiracy… that resulted in the deaths of many people. David ordered their bodies should be hung on a public gallows. That is when Rizpah comes back into the story again. She goes to the execution site… and begins a sad and lonely vigil beside the bodies of her 2 sons.
V10 “Rizpah daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it out for herself on a rock. From the beginning of the harvest till the rain poured down from the heavens on the bodies, she did not let the birds touch them by day or the wild animals by night.”
We are told in this very hideous scene… that she drove away the vultures by day and the jackals by night. She didn’t want scavengers to eat the bodies of her sons. When David heard what this mother did…he was moved to compassion. He went to Gibeon and had the bodies given a decent burial. Rizpah's vigil speaks to the persistent love of all mothers.
How many of our mothers are just like Rizpah? Who were there taking care of us during the saddest, lowest part of our lives. If there are many people we’ve known who has left us during these times, but not our mother. She will always be there ready to share her love and affection to us. Even when they are old, she’s still there ready to take care, ready to unite us when we have sibling fights, that our mother.
3. Speaks Acceptance – John 19:25-27
Motherhood is a responsibility and not just a status that completes the womanhood of a woman. It doesn’t mean that if you don’t have a child born out from within us we cannot be a mother. Since this is about responsibility anybody can be a mother even if you are a man or unmarried person so long as we accepted it. You see, being a mother is not that easy especially to a child like a “special” child.
Illustration: I just watched the testimony of a comediene actress named Tuesday Vargas and she has a special child. Whenever her child has an attack, she learned to be tough even to the point that people misinterpret her actions towards her child. She cried a lot not because whe can’t accept it but because she lets herself be hurt by her child whenever her child bites her during an attack. It’s terrible to accept and to see your child is in pain but you still need to accept it.
I have noticed something when I’ve been at a hospital. Waiting rooms wear out fathers a whole lot quicker than mothers. Fathers become impatient and go in and out, but mothers stick it out. A mother's love simply cannot be denied by accepting within their hearts what is going on with her family. It’s very difficult to accept having responsibility such as being mother to a child who is in pain or dying.
On John 19:25-27, we can see here that Mary was with John (one of Jesus’ disciple) ay the foot of the cross. A dramatic scene unfolded when Jesus transferred the role of Mary being a mother to John. Both needed to have accepted these new roles as Jesus would not be able to continue to be a son in the flesh to Mary but allowed John to carry that responsibility instead.
Your role as mother was not only through good times but as well as bad times with the family. And being a light of our home, somehow the atmosphere inside the house is different if the mother is there. I don’t mean that the father is not that important inside our home but the more gives impact is nome other than our mother.
Illustration: My children especially my eldest would always call us and ask the whereabouts of their mother before they go home to school. Somehow they feel that wherever their mother will be, home is there.
I accepted that fact without any complaints because me too have the same sentiments when I was a child, it seems that the light of our home would give us acceptance to any of our personality inside a home because she first accepted us into her own heart.
4. Simplifies Work – Proverbs 31:10-30
Aside from being the most influencial, having sacrificial love and unconditional acceptance, our mother could be a super woman in terms of her work. Not only doing household chores but even to any repairs inside the house, our mother can do it and infact she can simplify it. From taking care of the kids and her baby, doing laundry, ironing of clothes to simple carpentry and interior designing, name it she can do it!
Illustration: How many mothers do we have today that she works like that yet for her it’s already part of her daily routine? Now can we think just for a moment how do we remember our mothers in terms of work? Can you recall these lines from our mother?
• Huwag mong mahawak-hawakan yan kasi kanina pa kita inuutusan pero ayaw mong kumilos kaya ako na lang ang gagawa nyan! (Don’t ever touch that since I instructed you to do it but won’t do it so I will be the one doing it.)
• Kailan ba ako pwedeng hindi sumigaw para lang marinig nyo ang mga utos ko? (When can I stop shouting so you can just hear what I am commanding you?)
And so on…but look at Proverbs 31:10-31
10 A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.
12 She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.
13 She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up while it is still night; she provides food for her family and portions for her female servants.
16 She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.”
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
31 Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.
In everything that she can do, v31 says let us give honor to all the works that she has done for us.
Conclusion
V30 of Proverbs 31 says “charm is deceptive” “beauty is fleeting”, in tagalog ang kagandahan ay mapanlinlang at panandalian lang, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised (subalit ang babaeng may takot sa Dyos ay kapuri-puri).
Today, there is no problem for mothers to look and maintain her beauty because most of the time they don’t have enough time for themselves anymore. But the most remarkable, “remembable” figure of a mother is woman who fears God. By then her light that only comes from God will never go out (v18) but rather it will continue to shine everyone within her home!
We salute you our dearest mother because you continue to:
Show your I-nfluence
Share your L-ove
Speak your A-cceptance
Simplify your W-ork
Truly you are the “ILAW” or the light of our home.
