Today is Mother’s Day, a time to get away from the hustle and bustle of every day life to thank our moms for raising us, for loving us, for putting up with us. The “mother” of Mother’s Day is a woman named Anna Jarvis. Two years after the death of her mother, she convinced her church to have a special celebration remembering all mothers on the anniversary of her mother’s death, the second Sunday of May. Her drive to create a national observance reached fulfillment in 1914 with a presidential proclamation by Woodrow Wilson.
Anna Jarvis never became a mother. Over the years, she slowly became disgusted and embittered with Mother’s Day because of the commercialization of the holiday. Kind of sad isn’t it? But it goes to show that if we don’t keep the correct focus, something even as good as Mother’s Day can become sad and abused.
Well, today, to help us keep our focus, we are going to turn to God’s Word. We are going to look at an example of how God uses mothers as instruments of his grace. Today we are going to study the story of Ruth. Now technically the relationship is of Ruth with her mother-in-law Naomi, but really, as we are going to see, it becomes more of a mother/daughter relationship. So, I am going to summarize the story of Ruth for you. Then we will look at what we today can learn from these words as both mothers and children.
I. Synopsis of Ruth
The book of Ruth begins with the words: “In the days when the judges ruled...” These were the dark ages in the history of Israel. A time of disobedience and bloodshed, rebellion and punishment. We see in the book of Judges that at this time, “everyone did as he saw fit” in his own eyes. The Children of Israel fell into a terrible cycle of rebellion against God, God’s punishment, their repentance, and God’s deliverance. Only to fall later into the same rebellion.
It appears that the events of Ruth take place during a time of punishment. A severe famine has hit Judea. In the town of Bethlehem (which ironically means “House of Bread”) there was no food. So a man from Bethlehem named Elimelech did something drastic. He took his family and moved away from Israel, away from the promised land, under the guise of self-preservation.
They went to Moab, to the land of the descendants of Lot (Abraham’s nephew), a land where the true God was not worshiped. Even though Moab was a distant cousin of Israel, there was much distrust and hatred between the two. In fact, God in Psalm 108 calls Moab his washbasin.
But, we see in the book of Ruth that Elimelech took his wife Naomi and his two sickly sons Mahlon and Kilion (Mahlon literally means “sick” and Kilion means “puny”) and they went to the pagan country of Moab. Where Elimelech soon died. So much for his plan of self-preservation, huh?
The two sons married women from Moab, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. But soon the sickly sons of Naomi died like their father and Naomi was left with her two Moabite daughters-in-law. Not too long afterwards, word reached Moab that the famine in Judea had ended. So Naomi decided to return to her homeland and her daughters-in-law were set on following her. But Naomi told them to go back to their homes. You see according to the customs and laws of the day, another son or close male relative would have to marry these women to continue the family name of their dead husband, but Naomi points out to them that she wasn’t about to have any more children. Better that they go back to their families.
So, Orpah cried, hugged her mother-in-law and said good-bye, but Ruth just wouldn’t go. She clung to her mother-in-law. She would follow her. Take care of her. Live with her as her daughter. And when they got back to Bethlehem, Naomi (whose name means “pleasant”) told everyone to not call her that anymore, but rather Mara which means “bitter”, because God had made her suffer such bitter trials.
The rest of the book of Ruth tells of how Ruth came to be married to a man named Boaz. He was a rich relative of Naomi’s dead husband and God controlled the events of the story so that they would meet and fall in love. So, Boaz “redeemed” Ruth in the sense that he became that close relative that would claim her and continue the family line for her dead husband. In doing all of this, Ruth also provided for and obeyed her mother-in-law and acted in a God-pleasing way.
In the end we find out that Ruth and Boaz actually were the great-grandparents of King David and therefore ancestors of Jesus. The real point of the story of Ruth is how God works and guides the events of history to make them work out according to his plan of love for us. Ruth and Naomi had to go through many trials, but we see how God truly makes all things work out for the good of those who love him.
So that’s the story of Ruth and how God worked through both Naomi and Ruth to bring into the world our Savior from sin. But let’s now look at what we can learn from this story as mothers and children.
II. God works through mothers
First of all, to the mothers that are here today: Do you ever feel like people should call you “Mara” for all the difficulties and struggles in your life? Are you ever bitter or at least saddened by the “sacrifices” that you have made to be a mother? Do you ever wonder if it’s all worth it? If you would have been happier following your career instead of starting a family?
Well, I think I can safely say that after looking at the story of Ruth and Naomi, that yes, it is worth it. As mothers, God has given you two amazing blessings (well, really more than that, but today we are going to focus on two). The first of these blessings is the fact that you are saved. Yeah, I know, we hear that all the time. But think about it. Are you the perfect mom? Do you always act as God would have you? Do you always discipline in love, or sometimes is it because you are angry? Do you ever look at your life in discontent? Do you think that your life would have been better if you had followed your career instead of raising your children?
You need to be saved. You need that forgiveness which God offers through Jesus Christ. The good thing is that such forgiveness is yours. Jesus won it for us on the cross. It’s a blessing, the best Mother’s Day gift you’ll ever receive. God forgives you for not being the perfect mom. In fact in his eyes you are now the perfect mom because of what Jesus did. What a blessing!
The second blessing that God has given you is your children. The book of Proverbs is filled with verses telling us what a great blessing children are. And I think all the moms here would agree. It is a privilege to have children, and not an obstacle to your career or a cramp in your style. But children are also an opportunity to thank God for the salvation that he has given us. They are our responsibility to raise in God’s Word. That’s right, God works through mothers and fathers to create saved children of God.
We see a great example of that in Naomi. Ruth didn’t want to leave Naomi, not only because of her love for her mother-in-law, but also because she saw Naomi as her teacher of the truths of God’s Word. She told her, “your God will be my God.” Through the guidance and teaching of Naomi, Ruth had become a child of God. And that is your main responsibility as a parent. As we will see next week in Pastor Carlos’ sermon, God commands parents to raise their children up in the instruction of the Lord.
You know today we see both parents working long hours almost every day to provide for their children what they never had, to give their children a better life. But what’s the result? Families aren’t stronger but weaker. Children are spoiled and rebellious. The main responsibility of a parent is to give their children the foundation that they need in God’s Word so that they go to heaven. What good does it do if we give them a better life here, but are to busy to give them what they need to go to heaven?
Mothers you are God’s instruments through whom he creates saving faith in your children. Don’t ever take that responsibility lightly. As mothers you have been given many great blessings, but with those blessings come responsibilities. So thank God for the blessings by fulfilling your responsibilities.
III. But now let’s talk a little bit about us as children.
How did Ruth treat her mother-in-law? Out of love for God and for her mother-in-law she provided for her in her old age. She respected her. She obeyed her when Naomi gave her advice about Boaz.
You know, God has given us incredible blessings as children. He has given us the same blessing of salvation that he gave our mothers. Even though we think we know everything, even though we don’t show respect and appreciation as we should...we have forgiveness through Jesus and are perfect children of God in his eyes.
God also has given us the blessing of mothers who have dedicated a large portion of their lives to us. They gave birth to us. They changed our stinky diapers. They stayed up with us when we had a fever. They worried about us and guided us as we took steps into adulthood. They helped us overcome the errors of our youth. They showered us with love.
So how do we respond to these blessings? You know it’s so easy to say thanks and make breakfast in bed or send a card once a year. But we see that Ruth lived her thanksgiving and love for her mother-in-law. For her it was an every day thing.
You know, there once was a man who never showed his affection or appreciation for his wife. After 20 years of marriage, it finally hit him and he felt terrible. So he went out and bought some flowers and candy and showed up at the door of his home. When his wife came to the door he gave her the flowers and candy and told her that he loved her and appreciated all the things that she had done for him and for their family. She began to cry. She told him, “The car broke down today. The bank called to say that some of our checks have bounced. The children’s teacher called to say that they have been acting up. And then you show up here on the doorstep...drunk.”
How sincere does our thanks and appreciation seem when it’s just a card once a year? Let’s show our love, respect and appreciation to our mother’s every day. Let’s thank God often for the blessings that he gives us through our mothers. Because they truly are a blessing from him.
So this week, I encourage you to read the book of Ruth in it’s entirety (and don’t worry, it’s actually very short). In that story I want you to see how God works all things for our good. Also think about what you as mother’s can learn from Naomi about the blessings and responsibilities of being a mom. Let’s all of us learn from Ruth to appreciate, respect and obey our mother’s every day. For they truly are a blessing from God. Happy Mother’s Day. Amen.
