Mother’s are a special blessing from the Lord and together with the father (also a special blessing), make up the backbone of the family. God is all about family because that’s why He’s been so patient and long-suffering for 6000 years, as He’s been building HIS eternal family!
Genesis 3:20 says, “The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.” “Eve” means life or living; “mother” is the Hebrew ’em. God chose the mother, the woman, to be the one through whom He would bring forth LIFE. But God does not reserve motherhood for only those who are biological moms. The Prophet and Judge Deborah was called a “mother to Israel” (Judges 5:7) because she provided Wisdom and Guidance, encouraging the Israelites to follow God. In that sense, any woman can be a type of mother to those around them, encouraging, nurturing, and training others to live Godly lives.
In our broken world today, mothers come in many shapes and forms, including step-moms, adoptive mothers, Grandmothers, mother-in-laws, motherly mentors, etc. In-fact, it is often true that these selfless individuals take on the role of motherhood without even receiving a thank you or any recognition at all for their sacrifice. Because of the rise of drugs and sin in our society, these selfless individuals come in to take the place of the drugged out biological mom, offering caring, nurturing, guidance, wisdom, and love to an otherwise orphaned or discarded child. This is amazing LOVE!
One of the ten commandments is for mankind to “honor our mother and father” so that we may live a long life on the earth. Moms and dads are so important to God. They are responsible for teaching, training, and guiding their children so that they live Godly lives, seek Jesus Christ, and pass the blessings onto the next generation. Think of how awesome the world would be if we all lived by these principals.
Proverbs 1:8-9: Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. 9 They are a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck.
Proverbs 23:22 Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.
Jesus Himself had a very special relationship with His earthly mother Mary. Mary was a strong woman, impregnated by the Holy Spirit without “knowing” a man. This had to be very difficult because NOBODY believed her story! Even Joseph, her fiance, considered “putting her away” because he thought that she had cheated on him! But thankfully an Angel of the Lord showed up and told Joseph that Mary’s story was TRUE! However, it is not hard to imagine how the townsfolk felt. In those days, a woman could be stoned to death for cheating on a fiance or spouse.
Mary began her motherhood days in a difficult way, with a difficult birth in a manger, not in a Hospital or even in a comfortable bed. There were no mid-wives present to help her with her birth, so she and Joseph were pretty much on their own. Then, it is believed that something must have happened to Joseph because by the time Jesus began His ministry, Joseph is not mentioned. So Mary probably suffered early widowhood which is very difficult, especially in those days. Finally, Mary watched her beloved Son, the Son of GOD, beaten, scourged, spit upon, humiliated, and eventually nailed to a cross to DIE! Mary did not leave his side. This is the constant, steadfast, faithful love of a mother. While dying on the Cross, Jesus made special arrangements for His beloved mother because He loved her so much.
John 19: 25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman,here is your son,” 27 and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.
Jesus made sure that John would take care of His mother after His death. He made special provisions for her, and John lovingly complied. This is why motherhood can come in many forms, not just biological. At this point, Mary became John’s “mom”, and John became Mary’s “son”, so that John would look out for, care for, and provide for Mary all the days of her life. Family, moms, dads, children, are about LOVE.
The story of Ruth is a very touching story in the Bible of the love between a daughter-in-law and a mother-in-law. Ruth was a Moabite who had married a man from Judah. After Ruth’s husband died, she vowed to remain with her mother-in-law Naomi and take care of her. Ruth traveled with Naomi to Judah, a land that was not her own. Because of her love and devotion to her mother-in-law, she left her own people, the Moabites, and traveled to the land of Judah. Ruth determined in her heart to make Naomi’s God YHWH her own God. Because of her kindness to Naomi, Ruth was blessed richly when she later re-married to Boaz, her “kinsman redeemer”, also a “type” of Christ. Actually, it was her mother-in-law Naomi who gave Ruth a successful “dating tip” (so to speak), enabling Ruth to meet Boaz so that they could eventually marry. As a result of their marriage and family, Ruth became the Great Grandmother of King David and ultimately is in the lineage of Jesus!
Our Father is building a family. He is creating a family, and we are His Children. God is our Father…He is our Dad. God has ADOPTED us into His Family! In-fact, the Hebrew word for Dad is ABBA, which is the informal “dad” not the more formal “father”. God’s family structure contains a father, a mother, and children. This is the family unit that God created; however, we saw above that Jesus made provision for His mother because He was murdered by His own creation. God often raises up individuals to fill in the gaps when sin, sickness or death “steal” a mother (or father) from the family. These individuals fulfill the role of mother (or father) and are a special blessing from God, one that is much needed in this broken world. It has been stated that the FAMILY is the back-bone of society. When the family unit crumbles, then society crumbles. Sadly, we see this today as some people shun the traditional family unit in favor of a pseudo-family unit with two moms and no dads, or two dads and no moms or a single parent family by choice. Sometimes there are single parent families not by choice but through divorce, desertion, death, or some other unavoidable circumstance. This creates confusion and sorrow for the children, difficulties for the parent(s) and is not the intention of God. However, we see God working even in these broken situations, raising up Grandmas and Grandpas and others to fill in the gap for the missing parent(s). What mankind breaks, God restores.
Romans 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. 23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as children, the redemption of our body.
On this Mother’s Day, let us all remember our own mothers, or mother “figures”, those special women in our lives who blessed us with wisdom, with guidance, with teaching. Those women who nurtured, cared for, and guided us through our youth and through our lives. Let us remember the moms who have passed on into Glory and those who are still with us. Let us rejoice because God gave us the GIFT of mothers, fathers, and FAMILY! Let us also REJOICE because God is building HIS family, and if we BELIEVE in His Son JESUS, then we are ADOPTED into HIS FAMILY, into HIS KINGDOM, and we will enjoy eternal love, peace, joy FOREVER!
2 Timothy 1:5: I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.
Guiding Light Mom – Poem 💖
Mom, from the time I was really young,
I realized I had someone…you,
who always cared,
who always protected me,
who was always there for me no matter what.You taught me right from wrong,
and pushed me to do the right thing,
even when it was hard to do.
You took care of me when I was sick,
and your love helped make me well.You had rules, and I learned that when I obeyed them,
my life was simpler, better, richer.
You were and are
the guiding light of my life.
My heart is filled with love for you,
my teacher, my friend, my mother.
