Most May’s I spend quite a bit of time thinking, reading, and praying about mothers. This coming Lord’s Day we will have a message on Mother’s Day about a mother from the Bible. The times have changed, and leftist education has indoctrinated our society with anti-biblical ideas. We pastors haven’t done our jobs in fighting the good fight for biblical values such as motherhood. A huge number of women of our culture have chosen to forgo even having children because they think being a mother is a lesser calling than being a CEO. Just for the record, it is a higher calling, and the Bible celebrates motherhood in the wonderful stories within it. I think regret will ultimately sink in when these ladies are older and all they have in their old age is a couple of cats. But there is a group of women that have children and then basically leave those children to fend for themselves. It is called “absentee mothers.” The damage done to these kids is lifelong. No guidance, emotional stress, and fractured lives are frequent effects of absentee mothers. Let me share some quotes from kids with mothers like this. These are only a few from www.onlycaptions.com.

  • “My mother always told me, ‘If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.’ Well, Mom, I’m not saying anything at all.”
  • “When it comes to being a parent, my mother was a no-show. And that’s why I’m the youngest of four.”
  • “I always wondered why my mother was never home when I was a kid. Then I realized she was at the grocery store getting cigarettes.”
  • “My mother is like a ghost. She’s never around, but she still manages to scare the crap out of me.”
  • “When my therapist asked me about my relationship with my mother, I told her it was more like a long-distance one.”
  • “My mother’s approach to parenting was simple: Just don’t mess them up too much.”
  • “When people ask me about my mother, I just say ‘Who?'” (https://onlycaptions.com/276-absent-mother-quotes-expressing-the-pain-of-a-motherless-child/)

When I think about the hurt to the child in the micro and to the society in macro, we as Bible believers must speak out against absentee mothers. (I’ll deal with absentee fathers next month). A mother is of utmost importance. My whole life quotes about motherhood ring in my ears. “The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.” “Mother’s love is next to God’s love.” “God could not be everywhere, so he created mothers.” There is no substitute for mothers being in the lives of their children.

Today, I want to stir your imagination about Mary the mother of Jesus. Little statements and descriptions in the Bible can do just that, stir our thinking. First, remember the saying in Luke 2:19 that “Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.” All her life she was around her Son, she was always there. Matthew 12:47, “Then one said unto him, Behold thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.” No matter what Jesus was doing, His mother was there. John 2:1-11 tells us of the first miracle that Jesus performed. Mary the mother of the Lord Jesus tells the servants, “Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.” She was there. All during the life of Jesus she has been near Him and has seen Him grow. Notice John 2:1b, “…and the mother of Jesus was there.” He is now a grown man; His ministry is about to commence, and she is there. John 19:25, Jesus is hanging on the cross and Mary His mother was there. Acts 1 tells us about the early church meeting in the upper room. It is a prayer meeting and Mary is there continuing the faithfulness to her Son’s church. She was there.

Mothers, there is no substitute for you being involved in the lives of your children. Being involved means giving them time. It means giving them direction. It means letting them see you make a big deal about the Bible, prayer, the Christian life, and the church. All of these along with many other things go into the cake mix of raising children. Susanna Wesley had nineteen children. Some of her children died in childbirth and in their early lives during those hard times, but she raised her children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. She would often say, “I will not have a godless child.” She sought to give each of her children their own personal time apart from their formal education which she oversaw. Is it any wonder that she had two famous boys. John Wesley, founder of the Methodist, and Charles who wrote many hymns that are still in print today. I pray the mothers of our congregation and those that will read this blog will commit to be mothers who are there. There is no greater calling.

Pastor Tom