10th March 2024
Mother’s love
I have seen many different portrayals of mothers on family sitcoms over the years. I remember the ‘perfect’ mom played by June Cleaver in Leave it to Beaver. Then there’s Claire Huxtable, the ‘have-it-all’ mom from the The Cosby Show. Even today, there’s the everyday mom, Debra Barone from Everybody Loves Raymond.
Television scriptwriters know that if you want a successful family sitcom, the mom had better play a prominent role. And we can find the same thing in the Bible.
Mothers almost always have our best interests at heart. They love us and make untold sacrifices for us. The love of a mother for a child is about as close to unconditional love that we humans can achieve. It is also a beautiful reflection of God’s unconditional love for us.
In Isaiah 66, verse 13 (NIV), God says, ‘As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you…’
And in Luke 13:34 Jesus actually likened himself to a mother hen, as he laments Jerusalem’s rejection of him, ‘…how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.’
One of the last things Jesus did before he died on the cross was ask a friend to look after his mother. ‘When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.’ (John 19:26-27).
In spite of his own agony, Jesus was concerned for his mother. Let me encourage you to follow his example.
Mother’s Day, or something like it, is celebrated in many countries around the world. In the UK Mothering Sunday is today, 10 March 2024. LifeWay Research conducted a survey of 1000 Protestant pastors and discovered from them that Mother’s Day was the third most attended church service after Easter and Christmas.
The role of Mother is one of the greatest gifts God has given to us. Think about how you can show your appreciation – to God – and to your Mom – on Mother’s Day.
Presented by Joseph Tkach
About the writer:
Joseph Tkach is the retired GCI President and Board Chair of Grace Communion International and resides in Oregon, USA. Word of Life each Sunday is taken from ‘Speaking of Life’, (https://www.gci.org/videos/media-speaking-of-life/), a public resource video on the USA website of Grace Communion International.
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