Celebrating Mother¡¦s Day With Honor
Eph.6:2,3 (NLT)
. 2 ¡§Honor your father and mother.¡¨ This is the first of the Ten Commandments that ends with a promise. 3 And this is the promise: If you honor your father and mother, ¡§you will live a long life, full of blessing.¡¨
How many know origins of Mom¡¦s day? Where did we get this idea from? Who thought of it?
Who is the Smart person who got us all spending money - making florists, card companies very happy,
Where did we get this thought of get up early, making breakfast and giving mom a day off?
Whoever thought of it sure did not think about the male pop¡¦n, we got NBA and NHL playoffs???
The prize goes to Anna Jarvis, was the eighth child born into a family with 11 kids. Born and raised in Grafton, West VA. Every year in May we remember something she did. What did she do?
Anna was at her mom¡¦s bedside on the nite she died in May 1905. And it was 2 years later, Anna convinced her church Andrews Methodist Church in Grafton, where her mother and herself taught Sun Sch. for years to hold a special Mother¡¦s day service in honor of mothers on the anniversary of her own mother¡¦s death. That Sunday morning - Anna gave a white carnation - her mom¡¦s favorite flower to every mother who attended. The response: 407 children and their mothers came.
You want to draw a crowd to church, come out with an original idea in the style of Anna such as a ¡§Mother¡¦s day¡¨ service?
This was such a success, that an idea was born in Anna¡¦s heart - she sought to honor all mothers.
In Philadelphia she organized a Mother¡¦s Day Committee, with such big shots as food manufacturer Henry J. Heinz, dept. store founder John Wanamaker, and the editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
In 1910, West VA became the 1st state to recognize a formal Mom¡¦s day.
State after state, from east to west, followed that lead. May 10, 1913 US House of Representatives passed a resolution officially recognizing Mom¡¦s day. All this because Anna Jarvis wanted to honor her mother.
But sad thing is after the day¡¦s over, there is not much honor. Today, we read of celebrities revealing how parents abused them. There are adults - blaming problems of addiction to substances on their parents. TV sitcoms portray them as complete prudes whose life mission is to destroy life as you know it. They are out of touch folks, who live in denial and are at best incompetent. See out in Surrey, BC, recently how moms and dads who resists the homosexual agenda in schools labeled as living in another century, from another planet.
Do mom and dads receives honor these days?
Let¡¦s look at Bible who should receive honor? Read Eph. passage. Celebrities?
What does it mean to honor?
Honor Webster¡¦s Dict. Def¡¦n is ¡§high public esteem; fame; glory; to earn a position of honor.¡¨
Original context of where Eph.6:3,2 comes from Exodus 20:3-17 i.e. the 10 commandments.
I.e. this is something which is very close to God¡¦s heart.
Honor in original Hebrew ¡§heavy¡¨ ¡§weight.¡¨ Literally, ¡§to lay it on them¡¨ - today take it to mean flattery
But to honor in God¡¦s word meant ¡§I weigh you down with respect and prestige. I place upon you great worth and value.¡¨
Note 1st four commandments - dealt with relationship with God. Most commentators teach the next 6 as commandments re: relationship with people. But the Jews teach it as relationship with God. Why? Because parents represent God to us when we are young. At early age, foremost relationship is with mom and dad.
Not just a hey how you¡¦re doing , or a see ya later, go hang out with friends, Heavy, weighty relationship
I love it when my kids lay a heavy on me, spontaneous joy in them that comes with a kiss, hug,
jump up and down, run up asking a kiss, hug, don¡¦t mind all four lie on top, wrestle to ground, maybe mom¡¦s won¡¦t appreciate that esp. with Sunday dress on and hair all made up.
Faith in God according to the Bible becomes intensely practical, comes down now to relationship, not just rules with parents.
Look carefully at passage, does it say honor parents who are perfect, good Christians, spiritually mature, who don¡¦t make major mistakes, who don¡¦t let you down?
No, God commands clear honor regardless of performance, behavior or dysfunction!
Why? It requires faith to believe that somehow God can use imperfect people like our parents to help shape us into people He wants us to be. If we want to experience more spiritual growth, we¡¦ve got to pay heed in honoring mom and dad. Maybe parents don¡¦t deserve honor, yet there is no ifs and buts about it, honor them, it¡¦s in the OT and the NT, can¡¦t say that it does not apply because it just OT stuff.
Honor does not mean to excuse them of their sin, or trivialize pain they have caused you, but it does challenge us to see the truth of Gospel that our faith rests on.
What ¡¥s truth of Gospel? Even when we did not deserve to be saved, deserved damnation, we were paid the highest honor of God becoming like one of us, suffered like us and died on the cross like a common criminal and He did all that to forgive us and He said ¡§I love you¡¨
Point to make: Honoring your mom and dad is a good barometer of how much you have grown in faith.
Wanna check how you have grown spiritually? Check how heavy your relationship is with mom and dad!
On a scale of 1 to ten, how much honor is there?
To really honor mom and dad especially sinful imperfect ones - drives us on our knees more, depend on God more because we begin to feel the pain of disappointment and the rage of being letdown. What should I honor them, they have abused me, they have not been there for me, they have forfeited any honor that is due to them. But if we do move towards them in love, with Christ as our only backup, i.e. letting Him be our Rock, we will know in a richer way what it means to trust God with our pain, unfulfilled longings for unconditional love and acceptance that only God can give. As Smalley and Trent has said: ¡§Rejecting our parents is robbing from ourselves.¡¨
Ya got to know this is serious stuff with God.
How important is this to God? Check out Ex.21:15, 17 and Deut.21:18-21
Death penalty - catch your attention? God views this as absolutely crucial stuff to begin to reflect His love for sinners in a broken world.
If ya wanna experience blessing from God, absolutely critical to honor mom and dad. And especially today lay a heavy one on Mom!
Check out the Bible, full of illustrations of sons and daughters who honored or dishonored parents and those who do honor, you¡¦ll note that they received much blessing.
„h Ham dishonored father Noah, by taking delight in catching him naked and drunken condition
mocking him to his brothers. But Shem and Japheth honored father by covering his nakedness
Result: Ham¡¦s descendants became Canaanites and were cursed to become servants to his brothers.
Descendants of Shem and Japheth became entire nations that prospered and were blessed by God.
„h Esther, who honored her surrogate father Mordecai, ended up becoming queen, which resulted in the saving of the Jews.
„h Lot¡¦s daughters dishonored by deceiving their father - getting him drunk, seducing him and becoming pregnant by him. The children of these two daughters became two nations which were deadly enemies of Israel.
„h Moses honored his father-in law, Jethro, by taking his advice to delegate decisions. Result: people got answers to their disputes and problems.
„h Jesus, the Son honored God the Father, obeying Him even to death on cross, result: anyone who believe in Him, have sins forgiven and he is exalted with the name above all names that every knee will bow and confess Jesus is Lord!
Honor your mom and dad, not only when it¡¦s mom or dad¡¦s day, ok?
Honoring mom and dad, is for all, for everyone of us have moms and dads.
There is no exception clause, that says once pass certain age don¡¦t bother honoring.
Honoring parents takes faith
perhaps you have felt life sucked out of you by parents, under their emotional control, had enuff
Remember honoring does not mean endorse their bad behavior and sin
It is not a denial of what parents have done wrong.
It is not mean to ignore pain, emotional or physical.
Rather honoring parents your mom and dad means, Dennis Rainey points out could include these things:
1. choosing to place great value on your relationship with them
2. taking the initiative to improve your relationship
3. obeying them until you¡¦ve established yourself as an adult
4. recognizing what they¡¦ve done right in your life
5. recognizing the sacrifices they have made for you
6. praising them for the legacy they are passing on to you
7. seeing them through the eyes of Christ, with understanding and compassion
8. forgiving them as Christ has forgiven you
You say give some more examples, I need help me to honor, not very creative
Smalley and Trent (p.43-44) in The Gift of Honor got several responses from parents of various ages who were asked ¡§What could My Children do to honor me?¡¨ Here is a sample¡K
1. On a day other than Mother or Father¡¦s Day, it would mean so much to get a card or letter from our children letting us know they¡¦re thinking of us.
2. The greatest present I ever received from my son was a cassette tape that looked back on several specific things I had done for him in the past.
3. Even though it¡¦s difficult for me to do, my daughter always makes a point of hugging me when we get together.
4. As a single mom, when my (school-age) children do chores without being asked, or additional chores, I feel honored.
5. It honors me to see my children reaching out to help others who have been less fortunate than they.
6. I feel flattered and honored when my daughter asks my advice on struggles and needs in her life.
7. We appreciate the way our children tell us the truth, even when it means disagreeing with us or expressing an opinion different from ours.
8. We know our children are praying for us every day and that honors us.
9. When I see my daughter seeking after God, I can¡¦t think of anything that brings me more honor.
10. When my children were in their teen years, they came to us to talk about ¡§taboo¡¨ areas like drinking, sex and drugs.
11. Watching the way my son treats his wife and children, and hearing him say he learned it from us, is something that is more valuable than any present he could give me.
Honoring your parents is an attitude accompanied by actions that says to your parents:
¡§You are worthy. You have value. You are the person God sovereignly placed in my life. You may have failed me, hurt me, and disappointed me at times, but I am taking off my judicial robe and releasing you from the courtroom of my mind. I choose to look at you with compassion - as people with needs, concerns and scars of your own.¡¨
Will you? If you do according to God¡¦s word, you¡¦re gonna be blessed ¡§And this is the promise: If you honor your father and mother, ¡§you will live a long life, full of blessing.¡¨
Anna Jarvis, from her desire to honor her mother, she attracted 407 children and their mothers to church.
407 children and their mothers got to hear the gospel because of one lady decided to honor her mother
Legacy of attracting to church on mom¡¦s day continues today even in 1999, many mothers are being blessed today because of Anna¡¦s desire to honor her mom.
Can u just think of what will happen if all Christians start honoring our moms and dads, what other blessings they will be .
Wanna see this church be a blessing, this church grow, this church go well, got a job to do
honor parents, start today with mom, esp. if she has not known love of Christ yet. Give her a tribute! Salute her! Submit to her out of delight for the Lord who loves you and gave His life for you, as Eph 5:21 noted: Submit to one another (parents) out of reverence for Christ.
I think it honors Jesus a whole lot when we honor parents.
