Trinity Baptist Church

 

 

I had the meanest mother in the whole world. While other kids ate candy for breakfast, I had to have cereal, eggs or toast. When others had cokes and candy for lunch, I had to eat a sandwich. As you can

guess, my supper was different than the other kids' also.

 

But at least, I wasn't alone in my sufferings. My sister and two brothers had the same mean mother as I did.

 

My mother insisted upon knowing where we were at all times.   You'd think we were on a chain gang. She had to know who our friends were and where we were going. She insisted if we said we'd be gone an hour, that we be gone one hour or less--not one hour and one minute.

 

I am nearly ashamed to admit it, but she actually struck us. Not once, but each time we had a mind of our own and did as we pleased. That poor belt was used more on our seats than it was to hold up Daddy's pants. Can you imagine someone actually hitting a child just because he disobeyed? Now you can begin to see how mean she really was.

 

We had to wear clean clothes and take a bath. The other kids always wore their clothes for days. We reached the height of insults because she made our clothes herself, just to save money. Why, oh why, did we have to have a mother who made us feel different from our friends?

The worst is yet to come. We had to be in bed by nine each night and up at eight the next morning. We couldn't sleep till noon like our friends. So while they slept-my mother actually had the nerve to break the child-labor law. She made us work. 

 

We had to wash dishes, make beds, learn to cook and all sorts of cruel things. I believe she laid awake at night thinking up mean things to do to us.

 

She always insisted upon us telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, even if it killed us- and it nearly did.

 

By the time we were teen-agers, she was much wiser, and our life became even more unbearable. None of this tooting the horn of a car for us to come running. She embarrassed us to no end by making our dates and friends come to the door to get us. 

 

If I spent the night with a friend, can you imagine she checked on me to see if I were really there. I never had the chance to elope to Mexico. That is if I'd had a boyfriend to elope with. I forgot to mention, while my friends were dating at the mature age of 12 and 13, my old fashioned mother refused to let me date until the age of 15 and 16. Fifteen, that is, if you dated only to go to a school function. And that was maybe twice a year.

 

Through the years, things didn't improve a bit. We could not lie in bed, "sick" like our friends did, and miss school. If our friends had a toe ache, a hang nail or serious ailment, they could stay home from school. Our marks in school had to be up to par.  

 

 

Our friends' report cards had beautiful colors on them, black for passing, red for failing. My mother being as different as she was, would settle for nothing less than ugly black marks.

 

As the years rolled by, first one and then the other of us was put to shame. We were graduated from high school.   With our mother behind us, talking, hitting and demanding respect, none of us was allowed the pleasure of being a drop-out.

 

My mother was a complete failure as a mother. Out of four children, a couple of us attained some higher education. None of us have ever been arrested, divorced or beaten his mate.   Each of my brothers served his time in the service of this country. 

 

And whom do we have to blame for the terrible way we turned out? You're right, our mean mother. Look at the things we missed. We never got to march in a protest parade, nor to take part in a riot, burn draft cards, and a million and one other things that our friends did.

 

She forced us to grow up into God-fearing, educated, honest adults.

 

Using this as a background, I am trying to raise my three children. I stand a little taller and I am filled with pride when my children call me mean.

 

Because, you see, I thank God, He gave me the meanest mother in the whole world.

 

What constitutes a good mother?

 

 

I thought for illustration’s sake, I would use Mary, the mother of Jesus. And if you will allow me over the next few moments, I want to present a collage of her life. 

 

I say collage, rather than a snapshot or a portrait because a snapshot freezes in time a momentary incident. A portrait is intended to be a studied and thoughtful interpretation that captures the essence of the subject. A collage is neither. A collage is an assortment of pictures of different sizes and shapes gathered from all sorts of places and times and stuck together in a single frame. 

 

It occurs to me that a Mother's Day sermon almost has to be a collage. A single snap shot can leave the false impression only women with little children are mothers. Or that when the hair turns gray or the nest is empty, motherhood is over. Nothing could be further from the truth. 

 

On a day when we honor all mothers, we do well to remind ourselves that motherhood comes in all ages and circumstances of life. Motherhood is not a temporary condition. An eighty something great-grand mother quietly knitting in a rocking chair is no less a mother than the twenty something with a toddler clinging to each ankle. Motherhood is for life. 

 

A lot of attention is given to the “new mother”. A new stage of life may start then, but any mother can tell you --motherhood doesn't end there. 

 

Motherhood remains in every season of life. A child is no less your child when he is sixty than when he was six. Motherhood is for life!

 

The Scriptures present an interesting collage of motherhood in Mary the mother of Jesus. The Bible offers only slight evidence about her personality and life experiences. But what it does present is intriguing. 

 

She is first seen as a young maiden startled by the news of an angel telling her that she was to give birth to the Savior. During the pregnancy, probably to avoid a scandal, she is sent away to live with a cousin. 

 

Next she is a courageous and strong young mother giving birth in a stable. A week later, she dedicates the child to the Lord just as the Law commanded. Later she flees to Egypt with Joseph and her infant son for safety. Eventually, she returns to Israel and sets up a home with her young family in Nazareth. The story grows silent for a while, but it doesn't end.  

 

Twelve years later, Mary is searching frantically for her almost teenage son who has disappeared in a strange city while on a family vacation. 

 

Eighteen years later she appears again at a wedding. Just like a mother, she turns to her adult son to solve a problem at a friend's wedding. 

 

On another occasion, Jesus is given a message that his mother is looking for him. We are left with the impression that she had come, just like a mother, to persuade him to slow down a bit. You can almost hear her asking Jesus if he is sure he is eating right and getting enough rest. A mother would do that! 

 

Mary was there at the cross watching her son die. 

 

The Gospels don't mention her at the tomb, but it's hard not to imagine her there, unable to rest until her son has a proper burial. Mary is there with the other believers after the resurrection and in the Upper Room at Pentecost when Jesus' mission was launched into the whole world.

 

I ask you, when was Mary a mother? Was she more of a mother at his birth or at the crucifixion, in the temple when Jesus was 12 or in the Upper Room at Pentecost? We know the answer. She was always a mother. Age and the circumstances of life may change a lot of things, but a mother remains a mother. Motherhood is for life!

 

Of course, we would be less than honest if we didn't acknowledge that sometimes moms get a bit tired and frazzled. One mother was asked, "If you had it to do all over again would you have children?" Her answer that all mothers have felt from time to time: "Yes, but not the same ones!"

 

A similar sentiment was expressed in the following chain letter received by the parent of a teenager:

 

Dear Parent, This is not a normal chain letter! At the bottom of this letter you will find a list of eight names and addresses. Please send your teen-ager to the person at the top of this list. Then add your name to the bottom of this list and send the letter out to seven others.

 

In approximately two weeks you will receive 1024 teen-agers at your home. Simply choose the one that you like.

 

 

WARNING! One parent broke this chain and got back his own teen-ager.

 

We have all felt sympathy with Mark Twain who voiced this philosophy of child rearing: "When a child turns thirteen, stick him in a barrel, nail the lid on top, and feed him through a knot hole. When he turns sixteen . . . plug up the knot hole." 

 

But even that temptation passes. Teenage children grow into adults. The challenges and the rewards of motherhood continue. A son or daughter is still her child when they leave for college or the army or their first apartment or stand at the marriage altar to begin a new family. Every mother, just like Mary, worries about whether her grownup kids are taking care of themselves, eating right and getting enough sleep. Motherhood is for life. 

 

It continues into the gray haired years. All the grown children may worry about Grandma and try to find ways to take care of her. But don't kid yourself, even then she is still carrying, worrying, and trying to find ways to care for her young. Sadly, some mothers, like Mary must stand at the graveside of their own young. No one knows grief darker than that! Motherhood is for life.

 

So what are the key ingredients of successful mothering? What do we find in Mary in these different snapshots of her life?

 

 

Luke 1: 26

 

 

This scene tells us about the character of Mary who was destined to be the mother of the Lord Jesus

Christ. 

 

"And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was

sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth,

to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her and said, Hail thou that are highly favored. The Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women."  

 

The angel Gabriel, on this significant day was given a very significant assignment. He was sent to a very special person. Living in that little outcast town of

Nazareth there was a special young girl whose name was Mary. 

 

Verse 27 tells us that young Mary was a virgin girl. That means she was sexually pure. It means that she had never had sexual relationships before marriage. She was a virgin. 

 

The angel told Mary that she had been chosen by heaven to be the instrument through whom God would send His Son into the world. 

 

Now, for the first time in verse 31 the angel says, "you shall bring forth a son and shall call his name Jesus".   That's the first time I guess Mary ever heard the name Jesus.

 

Oh, how it must have thrilled the heart of young

Mary to hear that she was going to give birth to a son and his name was Jesus. 

 

 

He was going to be a special child. Of course, all children are special, but us was especially special because He was born of a virgin. That means

he would be born by a biological miracle. 

 

In verse 35 the angel said, "therefore also that

holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called

the son of God".  

 

God told Mary she was going to have a special child. If you have a child that child is a special child and God has a special purpose for you, mother. Your purpose is to be everything God wants that little boy or girl to have in a mother.

 

Well, that’s picture #1, but the story continues. 

 

Look at the second chapter of the Gospel of Luke. 

In that chapter we are told about how nine months later Mary and Joseph go down to the little village of

Bethlehem. There on that beautiful starlit night the angels came down the stairways of the stars and they celebrated the birth of the Son of God, the Lord Jesus.

 

Jesus was born. It was an experience mingled with joy and sorrow because it wasn't long until they went into the temple and Simeon, the old man, said to Mary, "A sword will pierce through your heart." 

 

What a prediction to give a brand new mother. In a little while they ran for their lives down to Egypt. Later they came up to Nazareth. Mary had to encounter the ugly, unkind gossip of a little town. No gossip like the gossip of a little town.   She had to endure all of that. 

 

Then at the age of 12, Mary and Joseph took

Jesus to Jerusalem for His Bar mitzvah so that he might become a son of the law. We learn something about

 

#2 The commitment of Mary. 

 

She is committed to being the mother of Jesus. 

 

The whole role of the woman has changed in American culture. There's another interesting the paper this morning you might like to read. It pointed out that only 25% of the families in America are what we call nuclear families. 

 

That is, a father, a mother, and the children. We are living in the day of the working mother, the day of the single mother. There are many mothers who would love to be at home but necessity requires that they not be in the home. 

 

The workload of women in our culture has tripled and quadrupled. The tragedy is the time hasn't increased any. Mothers have to work hard all day and then they go home and they have to work hard at night. 

 

You men, if it is necessary for your wife to have work responsibilities outside the home, then you have work responsibilities inside the home. It's not fair for some of you men to let your wife work an eight hour job and then you come home and plop yourself down in that worn out den chair of yours and let your dear wife and mother work for the rest of the night. 

 

 

If she has work responsibilities outside the home, you have work responsibilities inside the home.    I noticed I didn't get many amens from the men on that. 

But it's the truth. The women will amen it, won't you, women?   I'm popular with the women.

 

Let me read you some quotes from the feminists about this matter of the dignity of a woman being a mother and deciding to stay at home. That's a choice also. I'm pro-choice. I believe women ought to make a decision in this matter. 

 

"Being a housewife is an illegitimate profession." Isn't that awful? The feminist movement has lowered the dignity of women to the status of a substitute man. 

 

Listen to what one feminist writer says. "No woman should be authorized to stay at home and raise children. Women should not have that choice because if there is such a choice, too many will take that one." So much for pro-choice.

 

The name, Mary, occurs 51 times in the New Testament alone. Almost 40 times in the New Testament, Mary is referred to as the mother of Jesus. 

 

If you had seen Mary in the mall in Nazareth and said to her, "What do you do?" Mary might have said, "I am Mary, mother of Jesus."    What a commitment!  

 

There are a couple of things I want to say about this that I find right here in Luke 2. 

 

Notice that she provided for the Lord Jesus Christ a faith.

 

At the age of 12 they make their way up to the temple for an annual worship experience. She understood the importance of the Lord Jesus being in the atmosphere of faith. 

 

In fact, as Jesus' custom was, they went to the synagogue. All of His ministry, Jesus Christ made a habit to regularly go to church. Where do you think He got that training? He got it from his godly mother.

 

I want to thank you mothers today for bringing your boys and girls to church. I want to thank you mothers for letting us as a church have an opportunity to have a little impact on your boys and girls. 

 

But moms and dads, if they are going to benefit by what we have to offer as a church, you have to bring them. They can't drive themselves to church.  

 

They are on their way up to Jerusalem. It must have been a happy time. They were singing on the way. 

I've always believed you should teach your children it's a happy time when they get ready to go to church on Sunday.

 

This morning Dad is sitting out there in the car steaming. Mom comes out adjusting her girdle. Sis comes out with rollers all in her hair. Looks like something from outer space. Throckmorten comes out with a sausage biscuit and a toothbrush in his mouth. They all get into the car, heading down the interstate at 70 miles an hour. 

Sis and brother get in a little stew in the back. Daddy says, "If you don't straighten out, I'm coming back there with you."  

 

The old boy is sitting there thinking, "Come on back, dad, I want to see the crash when it happens." Then they roll into one of these lots around here and the doors open up and they all come out singing, "Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound."

 

It ought to be a happy time when we go to church. 

Don't you think you ought to enjoy yourself at church? 

 

I see some of these Christians who look like they have been born in the objective mood and weaned on a dill pickle. It looks like they have a liver problem. Their bile has erupted or something. It ought to be fun to come to church.

 

She provided faith. Mother, if you want to strengthen your influence upon your children, could I encourage you to deepen your relationship with the

Lord. Oh, what a wonderful thing it is when mothers are open to the things of God and instill those spiritual truths in the lives of their sons and daughters. One of the grandest places for a child to get saved is at the knee of his or her mother.

 

And she provided family. You know the story. Right there in Luke 2. The Bible says they lost Jesus. Think about it. They lost Jesus Christ. Her lost boy was going to be the Savior for a lost world. But for a few days they lost Him. Look down at verse 44. It says, "but they supposing him to have been in the company".  

 

Mother, don't ever suppose anything about your children. Don't ever leave anything to suppose. Check up and see how things are going. 

 

They found Him, took Him home. The Bible says He was subject unto them. Now, kids, here's a little word for you. Jesus was subject to His parents. He was the sinless Son of God. He was God in flesh. His mother and daddy were just normal human beings like you and me and yet, Jesus, the Son of God submitted himself to his parents.  

 

Your parents and my parents were sinners like the rest of us. There may be times when they are wrong, but nobody loves you like your family does. Nobody cares about you like your family does. Nobody is praying for you like your family is. The least you can do is that if they are trying to lead you in the things of God, be obedient and submissive and subject yourself to their guidance.

 

Now then, picture #3. Turn to John 19.

 

Now, Mary stands at the cross. In John 19:25 it says, "now there stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother".  

 

Think about the sorrow at the cross. I'm trying to say that nothing that happens to a mother's child fails to get to a mother's heart. Mary was there. She saw the nails driven into His hands and feet. His mother heard all the blasphemy and all the hate. She sat them spitting in his face. She saw the crown of thorns on his head. No momma ought to have to go through anything like that. She's seeing her own boy die. 

 

Her heart is just filled with sorrow. I don't care what your boys and girls are going through today, if it hurts them, it hurts you.

 

Standing by that cross, Mary experienced some sorrow, but it was also there that she experiences her Savior. 

 

Mary was a wonderful, godly woman. A pure woman. But Mary was just a woman. In fact, when she sang her great song after the angel had announced the good news to her, there's a line which says, "my soul rejoices in God my Savior". 

 

Mary needed somebody to die on the cross for her just like you do and just like I do. That day it must have dawned on her when Jesus in verse 26, saw

His mother and the disciple John, he says to her, "woman, behold thy son". Talking about John.

 

Then he says to the disciple, "behold thy mother".   I think surely by then it must have dawned on Mary that she was no longer His mother. He had now died to be her Savior. And not only her Savior, but the Savior of the whole wide world. 

 

That simply means that when Jesus died that day on that cross, He died for the sins of the world. That means that the day Jesus died on that cross and Mary stood by, He died for every person in this building. That means that Jesus died for all the mothers in this building. It means Jesus died for all the men. It means Jesus died for all the boys. Jesus died for all the girls. Jesus died for all the young people. What you need is a Savior who died on the cross.

 

The last scene we have of Mary is in the upper room. Now, in the upper room she has identified herself with His followers and she takes her stand. 

 

Wouldn't you like to take your stand this morning? Wouldn't you like to take your stand with Christ? And with God? And with good? And with the noble and with the holy and with the pure?

 

To every mother we say thank you. To children, husbands and fathers: this is an opportunity to show your appreciation and gratitude. You and I both know that nothing would make a godly mother happier than to see her kids loving and serving the same Lord she loves and serves.