Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth [is] far above rubies. -Proverbs 31:10
"Here At Family Worship Center we are a a family." This is how Pastor Stan summarized his thoughts for this week. His point was that while today is Mother's Day, not every one has a mother nearby or even living to celebrate with. Not all mothers have their children here with them. We at Family Worship center are the mothers to the motherless and the fathers to the fatherless. We honor the mothers in our church even if they are not our mothers. This is what a family does. He mentioned that many see him and his wife as surrogate parents or grandparents, and this is true. Also I know kids who call each other cousin because their parents are so close they are family.
Pastor read us passages from Proverbs 31 and talked about what a virtuous woman is, but he also emphasized the powerful role mothers play in influencing the next generation. We read:
You [are] witnesses, and God [also], how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you who believe; as you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father [does] his own children, that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory. -1 Thessalonians 2:10-12
Here Paul talks about the steadfastness of the Disciples, and Pastor was comparing this to motherhood. One day in a life does not make someone a mother. It is the every day little things that proves a mother's worth. Motherhood is marked by a lifetime of loving and caring and serving, but most all, being there. He talked about the examples his daughters got by watching their mother come to church every Sunday, praying and trusting God. He also reminded us that we are to honor our mother because God tells us to in His word, not because she deserves it. This is important because some mothers weren't very good. Some mothers didn't set that Godly example and some mothers were not consistent and did not stick around. God does not leave it in our hands to decide if our mother should be honored. He simply tells us to do it.
It never fails to amaze me how God will command us to do things that seem to have no practical value, until we find out what we didn't know we didn't know. The Old Testament has many rituals and rites the Nation of Israel had to perform around food and cleanliness that made no sense to them but that they must obey. We now know that they lived longer with fewer diseases then all of their neighbors because these practices helped keep them germ free and their food safer. It is my observation that God wants us to honor all mothers for several reasons. For starters, He loves mothers and wants everyone to know about it. Also, my children will learn to honor their mother in part based on how they see me honoring my mother. Finally, by honoring my mother without regard to her imperfections, I model the love Christ showed when He willingly climbed onto that cross to die for me while I still hated Him.
For I, the LORD your God, [am] a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth [generations] of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. -Exodus 20: 5,6
If we rebel against God our children's children will rebel also. If we are faithful, generations will be blessed. The virtuous woman is steadfast, resolute in her love of God and consistent in her walk with Him and her caring for her family.
Her children rise up and call her blessed; Her husband [also], and he praises her: Proverbs 31:28
From day to day our children can be loving and selfish. Affectionate and mean, grateful and hurtful. Sometimes moment to moment. The steadfast mother knows it is not her job to befriend her children or gain their approval from moment to moment and by knowing this she will gain their praise the rest of her life. Maybe you are a single mom, maybe you know that your own decisions have created a situation that forces your children to grow up without a father or with a bad one. You might feel guilty because you think you are a lousy mother. It is possible that at the moment you read this you have been a lousy mother. None of that matters. What matters now is what you do from this moment on. Will you be the virtuous woman or the lazy woman, who dishonors her family. There is no special skill set here. Just a decision to live the rest of your life, starting right now, in the service of God and faithful to His house. By embracing your church family and seeking the counsel of faithful women, all mothers can be the virtuous woman.
It was once said that you don't go to war with the army you want you go to war with the army you have. Stop wishing you were someone else and realize that God gave you children because He knew you could be a great mother. It is up to you to simply go and be that woman He meant for you to be.
My wife often refers to me as a Momma's boy and she likes it. Her reasoning is that if I love my mother that much then I will always cherish and love her as well and our sons will grow up knowing they too should love and honor their mother. On behalf of everyone that has ever been born of woman, thank you to all the mothers out their.
God Bless.
Recommended Reading: Mathew 1 and Mathew 2
FWC Podcast
No comments:
Post a Comment