Alba 5-14-2023
THERE IS ONE GOD, THE FATHER OF ALL
(What Every Mother Should Know About God)
Ephesians 5:6
Jim Blevins, a minister in Louisiana, told how on one Mother’s Day he was preaching in another state and during the Sunday School class he told about one of the two times that he sassed his mother.
He said that his mother is about 4 foot 11 inches tall and he was approaching 6 foot so he towered over her. She had told him to do something, and he told her she wasn’t big enough to make him, then stomped off.
She told his dad when he got home from work. His dad took him into the back bedroom and he sat on the bed. His father went through the tedious process of explaining the birth process. How a woman is never closer to death than during the final stage of birth. Of the pain; of the humiliation in the position a mother-to-be is in; and of the love she had for him to go through all that.
He said, “Of course I was in tears by the time he finished.” Then Blevins started to go on teaching the class but a lady in the audience asked him, "So you didn’t get a whipping?!"
And he answered, "Oh yes I did. Dad gave me the biggest whipping in my life, saying that it was to drive home that lecture he had just given."
Today we honor mothers. But isn't it great when fathers back up the mother. But it doesn't always happen. Too many mothers have had to do it all on their own.
It is estimated that a third (33%) of all our nation’s children do not live in a home with their biological father. This breaks down to 57.6% of black children, 31.2% of Hispanic children, and 20.7% of white children are living absent their biological fathers. According to 72.2 % of the U.S. population, fatherlessness is the most significant family or social problem facing America. (https://fathers.com/statistics-and-research/the-extent-of-fatherlessness/)
Every mother should know that when there is no father in the picture, Psalm 68:5 says that God will be there for that family. It says, “A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy habitation.”
What every mother should know about God is that He is concerned about their struggles, their cares, their joys and their sorrows. Ephesians 4:6 says that there is “one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” And He cares.
He is a Heavenly Father for all who come to Him for comfort and help. Every mother should know that God, who is above all, is able to see the needs His people have.
It is often said that mothers have eyes in the back of their heads and they see things that children think are hidden. I know that I didn't get away with much. It seemed that there was always awareness of my actions.
Our God, our Heavenly Father, is above all and knows all. There is a big word that describes God: omniscient. That simply means, there is nothing that escapes His notice.
Hebrews 4:13 tells us that “there is no creature (nothing in all creation) hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”
To some, it is a comfort knowing that God is watching over us. But to others, that is a scary thought to realize that all the things we do are not hidden from God's sight.
I remember once there was a boy about 12 or 13 years of age who walked by me in church. As I reached out to touch his shoulder as he was going by as a gesture of welcome, he shrunk back as if I was going to hit him.
It made me think that he was used to a slap or worse more than a friendly touch. It told me something about his home. His parents didn't come to church. We need mothers who let their Children know that there is a God above all who is watching and He cares.
In God's family there is no need to be afraid. The fear of death and hell was taken away by Jesus' sacrifice on the cross.
Romans 8:15 says, “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, 'Abba, Father.'”
The word adoption signifies being granted the full rights and privileges of sonship in a family to which one does not belong by nature. This is a good illustration of what it means to become a Christian. We don't deserve it, but God accepts us.
Once we enter into the family of God through obedient faith in Jesus Christ, there is no reason to be afraid any more. We enter into His love and care. One of the tragedies of some children who are in the foster care system is that this is not the case.
Too often there is no one in their life who is absolutely committed to them. Until they are either adopted or returned permanently to their parents, every connection is temporary, conditional, open to being dissolved.
But when a person comes to God through Jesus, that one is adopted into the heavenly family, to which he or she would have no rights of their own. But now included, can call God: Father.
When we realize the depth of this adoption, and all that it means, we can we cry out, “Abba! Father!” Abba is a familiar term, used much in the same way we would say “Papa” or “Daddy.” This is done in love, adoration, and worship.
Romans 8:16-17 “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”
Every mother should want their child to know God as their Heavenly Father. What greater blessing could one give to their children. And if they are not there yet, then that can be the prayer: that God will reveal Himself to them so that they too can know Him as their Father.
Because there is just one God. At least, only one true God! That is something that every mother should know. For that matter it is something that every person should know. Without that knowledge, mistakes about life will be made.
But sadly there are some things that are worshiped in place of God the Father as if they were gods. Revelation 9:20 speaks of “idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk.”
Isaiah makes fun of people who worship such things in Isaiah 44:9-17. This is from the New Living Translation. Isaiah says, “How foolish are those who manufacture idols. These prized objects are really worthless.
“The people who worship idols don’t know this, so they are all put to shame. 10 Who but a fool would make his own god—an idol that cannot help him one bit?
“11 All who worship idols will be disgraced along with all these craftsmen—mere humans—who claim they can make a god. They may all stand together, but they will stand in terror and shame.
“12 The blacksmith stands at his forge to make a sharp tool, pounding and shaping it with all his might. His work makes him hungry and weak. It makes him thirsty and faint.
“13 Then the wood-carver measures a block of wood and draws a pattern on it. He works with chisel and plane and carves it into a human figure. He gives it human beauty and puts it in a little shrine.
“14 He cuts down cedars; he selects the cypress and the oak; he plants the pine in the forest to be nourished by the rain. 15 Then he uses part of the wood to make a fire. With it he warms himself and bakes his bread.
“Then—yes, it’s true—he takes the rest of it and makes himself a god to worship! He makes an idol and bows down in front of it! 16 He burns part of the tree to roast his meat and to keep himself warm. He says, “Ah, that fire feels good. 17 Then he takes what’s left and makes his god: a carved idol! He falls down in front of it, worshiping and praying to it. “Rescue me!” he says. “You are my god!”
“8 Such stupidity and ignorance! Their eyes are closed, and they cannot see. Their minds are shut, and they cannot think.
19 The person who made the idol never stops to reflect, “Why, it’s just a block of wood! I burned half of it for heat and used it to bake my bread and roast my meat. How can the rest of it be a god? Should I bow down to worship a piece of wood?”
“20 The poor, deluded fool feeds on ashes. He trusts something that can’t help him at all. Yet he cannot bring himself to ask, 'Is this idol that I’m holding in my hand a lie?'”
We may look at ourselves and say that we are not as foolish as the people who set up an idol and bow down to worship it. That truly is foolish. But wait! Don't we have things that are made of “gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood”?
There are idols we surround ourselves with all the time. We know what they are. Too many things make demands on our attention. Too many things take the place of the most important things in life. Too many things receive reverence above God.
We have become too attached to the things of this world. And these things become an idol in our lives. It doesn't take much to distract us. And, besides things, there are addictions that hold people captive to things that keep them from serving God. Such things become an idol in themselves.
In Romans 1:22-25 the apostle Paul speaks about the tendency of people to look for something other than God to worship.
He wrote: “Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.
“Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”
The rest of Romans chapter one describes the kind of moral decline we are seeing even today in our country. It is a result of allowing the things of this world to be worshiped above the Lord God.
I am sure that as God looks down upon this world He wonders, will they ever think of me? When will they give me glory instead of constantly going their own way?
Our God is above all, through all and in all. He is our creator. Every mother should know (and every father, every son and every daughter needs to know) that there is just one God and Father who deserves our worship.
We need parents who understand this and teach it to their children. That was something expected of the Hebrew people.
Deuteronomy 6:4-7 says, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.”
When mothers and fathers do that, children will have a better understanding of the one true God who sent His Son into this world for our salvation. Jesus' death, burial and resurrection is our only hope to live eternally with a holy God in heaven.
This one God and Father who is above all, in all and through all cares for us in the same way a loving mother cares for her child. In Isaiah 49:15 the Lord asks, “Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you.”
William Ross Wallace wrote a poem saying that “the hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rocks the world.”
Mothers have a great privilege and responsibility, but they don't have to do it alone.
Whether there is a father in the home or not, there is a heavenly Father who cares and will work over, through and in anyone who commits their life to Him in obedient faith.
Because that is who God is. There is no other god than Him.
CLOSE:
There was excitement all through the orphanage, for a lady had come to take little Jane home with her. The lady was kind, but girl was sort of nervous about the thought of becoming the lady's child.
"Do you want to go with me and be my child?" the lady asked her in a gentle tone. The little girl said,” I don’t know,"
Then the kind lady said, "But I’m going to give you beautiful clothes and a lot of things, a room of your own with a beautiful bed and table and chairs."
After a moment’s silence, the little girl said anxiously: "But what do I have to do for all this?" The lady had tears in her eyes and said, "Only to love me, and be my child."
When the “One God” who is above all, through all and in all adopts us, He will protect us, and give us an inheritance in glory. All He asks in return is that we should love and honor Him, and be His children.
That should be every mother's prayer.
