Title: The Marks of a Mother
Bible Book: Selected Passages
Author: Donnie L. Martin
Subject: Mother's Day; Children, Rearing; Family; Fathers
Objective:
Introduction
The term “mother” is indicative of one who is more than merely a parent. In fact, “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.”1 That is because it takes a special kind of woman to be what the Bible defines as a mother.
The biblical word translated “mother” is the Hebrew word “AME” (pronounced “ah- may”), and means, “the bond of the family.”2 “The word also signifies a force that strengthens and holds things together.”3 Though I do not wish to diminish the importance of the father’s role in the family, I think we must confess that mom is really the glue that holds the family together. We acknowledge that fact far too seldom.
It is without question that mothers are a special gift from God. We would do well to recognize that reality. Some of our most famous American leaders recognized the value of their mothers.
For instance, George Washington said, “My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her.”4
William McKinley said of his mother, “By the blessings of heaven I mean to live and die, please God, in the faith of my mother.”5
Likewise, former president Reagan said, “From my mother I learned the value of prayer, how to have dreams and believe I could make them come true.”6
President George W. Bush, had the following to say about motherhood: “Mothers are central to the success of the American family. Their love, dedication, and wisdom touch countless lives every day in every community throughout our land. And their love and guidance of children help to develop healthy and spiritually sound families.”
President John Quincy Adams once said, “All that I am my mother made me.” President Abraham Lincoln believed,
“All that I am or hope to be I owe to my angel mother. I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.” These statements are just as true for the millions of Americans who credit their mothers for helping to successfully shape their lives.7
As we celebrate the gift of mothers today, I want to point out some of the qualities that make them so special. Let us examine them together.
Mothers are special because of…
I. The Warmth Bestowed Upon Their Children
1 Cor. 13:4 “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.”
A. A Mother’s Love Protects Her Child
1 Kings 3:23 “Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living. 24And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king.
25 And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.26 Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it.27 Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof.”
Unless a mother is highly abnormal, she has a natural, God-given love for her children. That love often moves her to do some heroic things in order to protect them.
About 6:00 A.M. on a Wednesday morning James Lawson of Running Springs, California (in the San Bernardino mountains) left home to apply for a job. About an hour later his thirty-six-year-old wife, Patsy left for her fifth grade teaching job down the mountain in Riverside, accompanied by her two children, five-year-old Susan and two-year-old Gerald, to be dropped off at the babysitter’s.
Unfortunately, they never got that far. Eight and a half hours later, the man found his wife and daughter dead in their wrecked car, upside down in a cold mountain stream. His two-year-old son was just barely alive in the forty-eight degree water.
In that death, the character of a mother was revealed in a most dramatic and heart-rending way. For when the father scrambled down the cliff to what he was sure were the cries of his dying wife, he found her locked in death, holding her little boy’s head just above water in the submerged car. For eight and a half hours Patsy Lawson had held her beloved toddler afloat and had finally died, her body almost frozen in death in that position of self-giving love, holding her baby up to breathe. She died that another might live. That’s the essence of a mother’s love.8
B. A Mother’s Love Provides for Her Child
Prov. 31:14 “She is like the merchants’ ships; she bringeth her food from afar. 15 She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens. 27 She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.”
Someone has said, “A mother is a person who, seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.”9
Funny thing about moms: They may do without, but their kids will not, if they can help it. Moms will often go until they cannot go anymore. When that happens, the rest of the family seems to be helpless.
A fifteen-year-old boy came bounding into the house and found his mom in bed. He asked if she were sick or something. He was truly concerned. Mom replied that, as a matter of fact, she didn’t feel too well. The son replied, “Well, don’t worry a bit about dinner. I’ll be happy to carry you down to the stove.10
C. A Mother’s Love Pities Her Child
Matt. 15:22 “And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.25Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.”
A mama knows her children. She knows their strengths and their weaknesses. When their children have a problem, if they can fix it, they will, even if it means doing it themselves. Ilion Jones once said:
I ask you, who was greater, Thomas A. Edison or his mother? When he was a young lad his teacher sent him home with a note which said, “Your child is dumb. We can’t do anything for him.” Mrs. Edison wrote back, “You do not understand my boy. I will teach him myself.” And she did, with results that are well known.11
II. Their Wanting the Best for their Children
Matt. 20:20 “Then came to him the mother of Zebedee’s children with her sons, worshipping him (Jesus), and desiring a certain thing of him.21 And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom.”
A mom’s concern is for her child. She wants what is best for them. Sometimes they may take it a little too far, but you have to give them credit for good intentions. It is kind of like this mom:
A mother was concerned about her only son going off to college. She wrote the following letter to the college president:
“Dear Sir: My son has been accepted for admission to your college and soon he will be leaving me. I am writing to ask that you give your personal attention to the selection of his roommate. I want to be sure that his roommate is not the kind of person who uses foul language, or tells off- color jokes, smokes, drinks, or chases after girls.
I hope you will understand why I am appealing to you directly. You see, this is the first time my son will be away from home, except for his three years in the Marine Corps.”12
III. Their Worship Before their Children
Prov. 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
1 Tim. 1:5 “When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.”
2 Tim. 3:14 “But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”
Timothy learned about salvation and living for God from his godly mother and grandmother. Mom, do not neglect your children’s spiritual training. Your influence is greater than you imagine. Sir Winston Churchill once said, “If we want to change our nation, begin by enlisting the mothers.”13
The following true story illustrates how loudly a Christian mother’s life speaks to her children:
When Robert Ingersoll, the notorious skeptic, was in his heyday, two college students went to hear him lecture. As they walked down the street after the lecture, one said to the other, “Well, I guess he knocked the props out from under Christianity, didn’t he?” The other said, “No, I don’t think he did. Ingersoll did not explain my mother’s life, and until he can explain my mother’s life I will stand by my mother’s God.”14
Mom, what is your life teaching your children? Be careful; they are watching you.
THE ONE WHO FOLLOWS ME
A careful mother I ought to be, A little one is following me.
I do not dare to go astray,
For fear she’ll go the selfsame way.
I cannot once escape her eyes,
Whatever she sees me do, she tries.
Like me she says she’s going to be, That little one who follows me.
She thinks that I am good and fine, Believes in every word of mine.
The base in me she must not see, That little one who follows me.
I must remember as I go
Through summer’s sun and winter’s snow
I am building for the years to be That little one who follows me.15
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1 “The Mother Inside,” by Judah Thomas, SermonCentral.com.
2 James Strong, S.T.D., LL.D, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, (McLean, VA: MacDonald Publishing Company, n.d.), #517 of the Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary, p. 13).
3“A Mother’s Strength: Her Love,” by Z. Rinaldi III, SermonCentral.com.
4 George Washington.
5 William McKinley.
6 Ronald Reagan
7 George W. Bush.
8 James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1988), p. 375).
9 Judah Thomas, “The Mother Inside,” SermonCentral.com.
10 Taken from a sermon entitled, “The Mother Inside,” by Judah Thomas
11 Morning Glory, January 8, 1994.
12 James S. Hewett. Illustrations Unlimited, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1988), p. 376.
13 Winston Churchill.
14 James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1988), p. 381.
15 Rev. Claude Wisdom White, Sr., “A Little Fellow Follows Me,” adapted.
