INTRODUCTION:
(1) Today, all over the world, people are celebrating Mother’s Day. If it is not today, almost everywhere, there is a day like it somewhere in the calendar. A youth pastors list on the internet surveyed its international readers about Mother’s Day to discover if it existed and when it was celebrated if it does exist in other countries. Here is a summary of what was found.
Wow, this series has really brought out the intercontinental nature of this lil’ humor list! Here’s an update on what countries are celebrating Mother’s Day [and the name(s) of the folks who informed me]:
~ "In the Netherlands we also celebrate Mother’s Day this Sunday." [Jacco, Tom, Jan]
~ "Mother’s Day is celebrated also here in Finland now Sunday 12th of May." [Marika]
~ "Mothers day is also celebrated in Germany, and as far as I know in most European countries this Sunday." [Johannes, Corrie]
~ "I’m pretty sure that most of Latin America celebrates Mother’s day this Sunday. At least in here in Brazil it is for sure." [Daniel, Renato]
~ "Last Sunday, May 5th, Mother’s Day was celebrated in Spain." [Steve]
~ "Mothers day is also celebrated in South Africa on Sunday 12th." [Lew, Deb, Francois]
~ "Hello, I just wanted to let you know that Mexico’s Mother’s Day is this Friday the 10th of May." [Zayra]
~ "Here in Uruguay (South America- South Cone) we are going to celebrate Mom’s Day next Sunday, too." [Jorge]
~ "You can add Ecuador to the list because it is celebrated this Sunday here too." [Allen]
~ "It’s also celebrated in Europe, like in Austria where I am from." [Claudia]
~ "We celebrate Mother’s Day this Sunday too in Singapore!" [Sally]
~ "We also celebrate Mother’s Day here in the Philippines and in our church at Asbury United Methodist we give tributes to our dear mothers." [Beth]
~ "In Costa Rica Mother’s Day is celebrated in the middle of August." [Vicki, Ron]
~ "In Slovakia, we celebrate Mother’s Day this Sunday as well!" [Kelly ’n Linda]
~ "We celebrate Mother’s Day on Dec 22 in Indonesia." [Ira]
~ "Mother’s day is also celebrated here in Malaysia." [Scott]
~ "Mother’s day is celebrated on this sunday in Japan too!" [Ayasn]
And this jewel from WAY down under:
~ "If I’m not mistaken, we celebrate Mother’s Day in Antarctica this Sunday also, of course no mothers are stupid enough to come and live down here. Gifts such as sno-cones, ice makers, ice-scrapers, and ice cream are the usual, however, the gift that gives year round down here is the ice sculpture (those things just don’t melt, we must have at least 20 of them lying around the igloo). Any form of warm covering is also much appreciated. Thanks Moms for all you’ve done and continue to do!!!" [James, Gatesville, Antarctica (Texas)]
(2) The same communication supplies this insightful question: If mother always knows best, what happens when two mothers disagree? – Mikey’s Thot for the Day. Today’s text, suggests that knowing who is the real mother may be helpful in the scenario where two mothers disagree.
There used to be an old game show on TV called, “To Tell the Truth.” The game involved three contestants appearing before a panel of celebrities and all three would claim to be the same person. Only one was in fact the real contestant. The panel would interrogate them and try to guess which of the three was indeed who he claimed to be. After time had elapsed, the show’s host would ask if the real contestant “would please stand up.” After a series of false starts from each of the contestants, the real one would finally identify himself.
(3) In one of the defining moments of the reign of Solomon, the wise king had to identify the real mother in a very tricky dispute over a living child. He got the real mother to identify herself by forcing her to take a stand. When she stood up for her child, she showed herself to be the true mother. In threatening moments that endanger her child, the love of a mother will search for the wisdom of justice.
PROPOSITION: WHEN THE CHIPS ARE DOWN, REAL MOTHERS STAND UP.
Here are Three morals about true-to-life motherhood.
I. Mothers do not have to be PERFECT (1 Kings 3:16-20).
A. Real mothers are not perfect partially because they are not prepared to be mothers. Women in the best of circumstances are not prepared for motherhood when they find themselves in it. When my wife, Debbie, and I began to think about starting our family 21 years ago, we went through some soul-searching. There were natural questions about our readiness to be parents. Looking back on it, we were not “ready” and I doubt if anyone ever really is. The fact is, however, we have a family now – with five children. God does it that way. He gives us the wherewithal to accomplish what we are not qualified to do. Real mothers do not have to be perfect. They do, however, have to stand up when the chips are down. If we must be fully experienced for whatever we may encounter, we will never be ready for anything requiring responsible interaction. One can study all there is to study about being a mother, and the truth will remain that she is not ready until she is in the process. To borrow another metaphor from a wise children’s church coordinator, “We cannot learn to swim if we will not get into the water.”
B. Real mothers are not perfect because they may have made poor choices. This is usually the result of serving self and seeking pleasure. In this life, none of us can escape the influence of our sin nature in all things.
C. Real mothers are not perfect because they experience changes with childbearing. Physically, they adapt their bodies. Emotionally, they extend their love. Socially, they alter their activities and commitments. Intellectually, they expand their understanding of children. Spiritually, they realize a greater need for God’s help.
D. Real mothers are not perfect because they usually start out young. The commonest fallacy among women is that simply having children makes one a mother-which is as absurd as believing that having a piano makes one a musician. Sydney J. Harris (1917-1986) The most important occupation on earth for a woman is to be a real mother to her children. It does not have much glory to it; there is a lot of grit and grime. But there is no greater place of ministry, position, or power than that of a mother. Phil Whisenhunt -Edythe Draper, Draper’s Book of Quotations for the Christian World (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1992). Entries 7854-7857.
II. Mothers get to KNOW their children (1 Kings 3:21-23).
A. The true mother in this account examined her child in the morning. When she sensed something was wrong, the mother looked closely at the child. Through her grief she looked and discovered it was not hers. In moments when things are wrong concerning her child, a mother ought to look at her child. This mother did what mothers have done for centuries in time of uncertainty or heartache. She looked at the child closely at the first opportunity. The examination in the daylight revealed that the child was not hers.
B. The true mother in this account had examined her child before. This is why she was able to detect that the dead one was not hers. From the earliest moments after birth, it is not unusual for a mother to start looking at her child. This mother obviously took early interest in her boy because neither of the two in the household were very old and only three days separated their ages. As similar as newborns may appear, they are different. The mother knew her real son well enough because she had examined him before.
C. The real mother in this account would continue to examine her child. A mother is a mother all of her life. It is not a temporary condition. This mother was going to get to keep her son because she knew him well enough to detect a fraud. Experience tells us that mothers examine their children even as the children grow older and grow up. They desire to know and often prevail in noticing when something is wrong with their child. Having seen the benefit of examining her child, it is unlikely that this mother would examine him less in the future. The content of her scrutiny would change as he aged but her concern for him would not. She would suspect when he was sick. She would detect when he was afraid. She would inspect when he seemed confused. She would connect when he was not telling the truth. She would expect him to be home on time. She would influence her child by knowing him and teaching him.
D. THINGS ONLY A MOM CAN TEACH
My Mother taught me about ANTICIPATION: "Just wait until your father gets home."
My Mother taught me about RECEIVING: "You are going to get it when we get home!"
My Mother taught me to MEET A CHALLENGE: "What were you thinking? Answer me when I talk to you...Don’t talk back to me!"
My Mother taught me LOGIC: "Because I said so, that’s why." & "If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you’re not going to the store with me."
My Mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE: "If you don’t stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way."
My Mother taught me to THINK AHEAD: "If you don’t pass your spelling test, you’ll never get a good job."
My Mother taught me ESP: "Put your sweater on; don’t you think I know when you’re cold?" Sweater: a garment worn by a child when a mother feels chilly.
My Mother taught me how to BECOME AN ADULT: "If you don’t eat your vegetables, you’ll never grow up."
My Mother taught me about GENETICS: "You’re just like your father."
My Mother taught me about my ROOTS: "Do you think you were born in a barn?"
My Mother taught me about WISDOM OF AGE: "When you get to be my age, you will understand."
My Mother taught me about JUSTICE: "One day you’ll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you. Then you’ll see what it’s like."
My mother taught me RELIGION: "You better pray that will come out of the carpet."
My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL: "If you don’t straighten up, I’m going to knock you into the middle of next week!"
My mother taught me FORESIGHT: "Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you’re in an accident."
My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS: "Shut your mouth and eat your supper!"
My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM: "Will you *look* at the dirt on the back of your neck!"
My mother taught me about STAMINA: "You’ll sit there until all that spinach is finished."
My mother taught me about WEATHER: "It looks as if a tornado swept through your room."
My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY: "If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a million times: Don’t Exaggerate!!!"
My mother taught me THE CIRCLE OF LIFE: "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."
My mother taught me about ENVY: "There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don’t have wonderful parents like you do!"
III. Mothers CONSIDER their children before they THINK of themselves (1 Kings 3:24-28).
A. They do not put their desires ahead of their children’s needs. These two mothers had desires. The one who laid on her child considered her desires more important than her son’s needs and lost her child when she served her interests first. The one who began to awaken to the realities of motherhood reasoned that her desires were less important than caring for the child. Had the woman who laid on her son taken the time to stand and put her child in a safe place, she would not have laid on him. Had she been alert enough to get up instead of laying on him, he would have lived. Mothers who stand up, give up, for the good of their children, many things: selfish interests, personal ambitions, luxury comforts, and sinful desires.
B. They defend the defenseless. Children are defenseless. Real mothers stand up to defend their children because the children cannot defend themselves. Rearing the child is more important than bearing the child. Keeping the child whole and safe is more important than merely keeping the child. If the mother who lost her child had put as much energy into protecting her defenseless child as she did into stealing the defenseless child of another, the outcome would have been different. When the real mother in this instance was threatened with losing her child, she fought to keep him. When it appeared that her choice was reduced to giving the child up or seeing him altogether destroyed, she thought of the child first and her own desires second. She stood up when the chips were down. She embraced the sacrifice for the good of her boy.
C. They need God’s boundaries. There are normal factors that God has in place to help mothers. Mothers are close to His heart and motherhood is an institution that He highly prizes. Even imperfect, disadvantaged, “low esteem” mothers can have God’s help. On the other hand, even skilled, diligent, upper-class mothers require God’s help. All real mothers – mothers who will stand up when the chips are down – need the boundaries that God provides for their benefit. These boundaries help a mother understand what is the best thing to do. They provide help for “coloring inside the lines” and improving the picture of their motherhood. What are those boundaries or helpful confines of operation?
1. God provides the boundary of family. Mankind is social and needs the influences of a community. Outside of fellowship with God and the bonds of marriage, the family is the most basic unit of community. Family has acceptable limits and expectations for its members. Mothers need this boundary and the order of God calls for it to be in place. A woman preparing for motherhood is really building on the family from which she came and is accepting the burden of the family she will create.
2. God provides the boundary of fatherhood. A child needs a father as well as a mother. If a woman is unmarried or widowed, God Himself is the Father that will help shape the child. Excluding the godly influence of a man is to subject your child to lawlessness. There are things a mother is better suited for but there are also things a father is better suited for. A real mother stands up and accepts this for the benefit of her children.
3. God provides the boundary of church. The local church is another level of community. A strong, healthy church influence is vital to rearing children. It helps a mother reinforce what she teaches. It also teaches her. Involvement in the life of a church is part of her relationship with God. Within the local church a mother learns to read and respect God’s word, to pray, to articulate the gospel message, and to serve the Lord by serving His people. Lack of family and fatherhood can partially be overcome within the boundaries of a local church.
4. God provides the boundary of morality. Right and wrong are loosely defined in too many homes. Society, culture, and the world contain elements that work against standards of right and wrong by accepting deviations. The boundaries God gives in morality are the standard that helps a mother choose to do the right thing and impart this ability to her children.
5. God provides the boundary of compassion. There is nothing like the love of a mother except the love of God. A mother who stands up is a mother who cares for her child. When the child is hurt, she has compassion. This boundary requires a mother to think of her children before thinking of herself. It gets the mother out of bed when the child is crying in the night. It urges her to sacrifice when the child has a need in the face of limited resources.
CONCLUSION:
(1) Real mothers need the help of Jesus. What they want for their kids may not be what God wants. The mother of James and John wanted her boys to be on either side of Jesus in His kingdom. She did not know what she was asking (cf. Matthew 20:20-23 with Hebrews 1:1-4). Mary wanted Jesus to help the couple who ran out of wine at the marriage of Cana (John 2:1-11). Moses’ mother, Jochebed, wanted life for her son enough to give him up to Pharaoh’s daughter (Exodus 2:1-4). Hannah wanted Samuel badly enough to promise him to the Lord for his entire life (1 Samuel 1:24-28).
(2) One of our children saw a picture of Solomon consoling the two women arguing about whose baby it was. After hearing her child tell the story about it, the mother asked, "Now what do you suppose the real mother told the king?" The child said, "That she wanted the bigger half?" -- Glen V. Wheeler, 1010 Illustrations, Poems and Quotes, (Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Publishing, 1967), p. 189. Mothering is tough enough when things go well but there is never a time when a mother does not need the help of Jesus. Earthly wisdom will choose the bigger half. Motherly compassion finds it soulmate in the wisdom of God who helps a mother stand up when the chips are down. There were no witnesses to the incident involving these two mothers and their children. Much of motherhood is private. There were however numerous witnesses to the mother who stood up. Real mothers want their own babies. They stand up when the chips are down.
