Few things in life seem to offer the perfect blend of being equally challenging and equally rewarding as motherhood. When the Lord gives a woman the opportunity to be a mother, she often experiences a lot of excitement and happiness, but she also experiences a lot of fear and exhaustion.
Motherhood brings with it many happy tears as well as sleepless nights. It's filled with moments when you instinctively know exactly what to do, and other moments when you have no idea what to do. It's a job that will simultaneously exhaust you and keep you wide awake at night.
Life on this earth wouldn't be very pleasant without mothers. In some ways, they operate like the conscience of a culture. They nurture, guide, bless, and hug. And when their time on earth is finished, we who are left spend the rest of our lives missing them.
If you're a mother, I'd like to show you a few things from Scripture that I hope will encourage your heart. From time-to-time, we all need a pep-talk, and I hope these Scriptures will supply you with that today.
I. Your compassionate heart demonstrates the heart of Jesus. (Luke 13:34-35)
““O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’” ”
A large portion of Luke's gospel records events and conversations that took place during the final week of Jesus' earthly ministry. This portion of Scripture is one such passage. In it, Jesus laments over the fact that the inhabitants of Jerusalem were rejecting Him. The very people He came to rescue and save were dismissing His gift of salvation because they wanted political solutions more than they wanted eternal life.
By the way, that wasn't an issue unique to their era of history. I'll let you in on a little secret. The primary criticism I receive on my preaching is that I don't spend enough time speaking about the political narratives of our day that are being churned out by the news cycle. Guess what? I'm going to keep preaching the Scripture and pointing people to Jesus because our hearts will never find what they truly need from a politician or a news outlet.
And as those who lived during the era of Christ's earthly ministry continued to place their hope in politics, Jesus grieved over their lost and confused condition. When He describes what He came to do for them, and how He desired to protect them, He describes His mission in very compassionate terms. It's the kind of compassion that we often see demonstrated by mothers.
Jesus said He wanted to gather the people of Jerusalem like a hen gathers her brood under her wings. A hen keeps her babies warm. She watches over them, protects them, nurtures them, and keeps them close to her heart.
That's what Jesus wanted to do for the people of Jerusalem, and that's a series of actions mothers put on display every single day. And moms, I don't know if you realize it, but the compassion you show to your children can serve as a very powerful reminder of the compassionate heart of Christ.
II. The work you're doing is hard, but it will bear fruit. (John 15:16-17)
““You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.” ”
When you have a sense of "calling" or "mission," the tasks you're asked to accomplish come easier than the things you're forced to do that don't seem to be tied to a greater purpose.
In this passage, as Jesus was speaking to His disciples, He gave them some clarity regarding their calling. He made it clear to them that they were specifically chosen by Him for the task He was entrusting to them. As He loved them, He was calling them to love one another, to do work that would bear lasting fruit, and to come to God the Father, in the name of Jesus, and ask Him for the help they would need.
If you're a mother, have you ever viewed your responsibilities with the sense of calling the original disciples of Christ possessed? They were called to go out into the world and make disciples of Christ. In our day, where does discipleship most frequently take place? Much of it takes place in the home, and there are countless examples of mothers throughout history who understood their role as a calling to invest in the discipleship of their children.
Will your children make your task easy? No. Will some of them mature faster than others? Yes. Will some of your children break your heart in the midst of the process of growing up? I think that's highly likely. But with the perspective of time, the day is going to come when you will be able to look back and declare that it was all worth it. The seeds of the gospel that you planted in the lives of your children will one day bear fruit, and the fruit that is produced will remain for all eternity. The work you're doing has that much value.
III. Don't give up even if you're feeling exhausted. (Gal. 6:8-9)
““For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.””
Last week, I had the blessing to visit with several friends who have been part of my life since I was in single digits. I have learned that there are very few people outside of your family who will remain in your life for that length of time, so when that happens, it's very special.
We spent a few hours together, and during our conversation, one of my friends mentioned that his 80-year-old mother will often leave gifts for them hanging on their mailbox. Sometimes it's fruit. Sometimes it's something else she's picked up at a store that she thinks they'll enjoy. He said he's grateful for her kindness, and to this day she remains one of the most energetic people he knows.
Do you feel energetic? There are many tasks in this world that can sap our energy, but without a doubt, the tasks that also require us to serve other people can often be the most exhausting. Mothering being a prime example. But don't give up, even if you're feeling exhausted.
In the book of Galatians, Paul gives wise counsel to the church as to what it looks like to become spiritually strong from our core, instead of just giving off the appearance of being outwardly religious. He reminds us that what we sow into our lives will eventually come out of our lives. If we sow sin, we'll reap destruction. If we live to please the Spirit, we'll reap the righteousness He supplies.
Paul also reminds us not to grow weary as we're engaged in the good work the Lord has entrusted to us to do. We're told that it will eventually have its effect. A harvest will come from it as the Spirit of God does His work.
I'd like to encourage you to keep this in mind as you serve and minister to the children the Lord has placed under your care and influence. If you're relying on your own energy, wisdom, and strength to carry you through, you will eventually burn out. But if you're relying on the help the Lord offers, the wisdom that He blesses you with, and the strength He supplies through His Spirit, the day will come when you will see a harvest of righteousness.
The days may seem long. The trials may seem painful. The sacrifices you make might seem like they're being responded to with a lack of appreciation or even outright defiance, but stay hopeful. Don't grow weary. Your faith is being given the opportunity to grow as you serve your children in the name of Jesus.
IV. If we want to follow Christ's example, we should honor and care for you. (John 19:25-27)
“but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.”
If you knew you were about to die, what would you be thinking about? Would you be thinking about yourself or others? It's hard to say because we haven't endured that kind of experience yet, but I think the example Jesus gives us is instructive.
When Christ came to this earth and took on flesh, He was entrusted to Joseph and Mary who were called to care for Him during the years of His childhood. After Jesus was miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit and Mary gave birth to Him, Joseph and Mary had additional children through natural means. Two of their sons, James and Jude, wrote books that are part of the New Testament, but at the time of Christ's crucifixion, they didn't have faith in Jesus. They came to believe in Him after His resurrection.
By the way, I think their faith in Jesus is an amazing assurance that points to who He really is. If two men who grew up with Him as His brothers were eventually willing to believe that He was God in the flesh, that's a pretty strong testimony.
It's believed that Joseph passed away sometime before Christ's public ministry began, so caring for Mary would have been a responsibility Jesus as her oldest son would have taken on. But now as He was being crucified, that responsibility needed to be passed on to someone else. As He was dying, Jesus looked at the Apostle John and told him to take responsibility for Mary's care, and Jesus encouraged Mary to think of John like a son from that point on.
I don't know why Jesus didn't ask James or Jude to do this, but I have a few guesses. It's possible that He didn't ask them to care for Mary because, as of yet, they were still unbelievers and somewhat immature. But it's also possible that Mary's care was entrusted to John for a different reason.
James and Jude were both martyred after they came to faith in Jesus and started leading in the church. John lived for several decades after them and was the only apostle who wasn't martyred. In His foreknowledge, it wouldn't surprise me to see this as an example of Jesus suggesting a long-term solution that would benefit Mary for a sufficient length of time, while also giving James and Jude the liberty they needed to focus on the ministry work that was about to be entrusted to them.
And when I think about the example of Jesus, I see something we can definitely learn from. The Lord doesn't just tell us to honor our mothers, He demonstrated what it looks like to do it well. If we value the lordship of Jesus and want to follow His example, I think it would be right for us to give extra thought to how we choose to honor and care for our mothers.
If your mother is living, honor and care for her. If she has passed away, continue to honor her memory by passing on to others the things she taught you, and living out the kind of life that would be an answer to the many prayers she once prayed on your behalf.
Mothers are one of God's greatest blessings to this world, and there are many of us who can testify to how He has used their lives, their care, and their wise instruction to point us directly to Him.
© John Stange, 2022
