MARVELLOUS MOTHERS
by Keith Hunt
Tomorrow is Mother's Day (whenever in your part of the
world) THE DAY we remember the wonderful ladies in our lives,
especially those who have been and are mothers. Today I attended
the Seventh Day Adventist church in our small village of Hampton.
We have many friends among them. They are a warm and caring group
of people, and although they know we have many differences from
them in regards "theology" they have always made us VERY welcome
at their worship services. A younger SDA pastor from a nearby
city brought a fine sermon on the topic of mothers.
What I want to pass on to you in this message of mine is the
song that was sung by one of the members of the congregation.
Actually it was 95% recitation with 5% singing, a few lines of
song at the beginning and the ending.
These words are sung:
"I've just been in vision with someone so true, I dreamed about
Mama last night. She read me the Bible like she used to do, I
dreamed about Mama last night."
Then follows these spoken words:
"She never closed her eyes in sleep till we were all in bed,
and on party nights till we came home, she often sat and
read. We little thought about it then, for we were young and
sometimes astray, just how much Mama worried, when we
children were away.
We only knew she never slept, when we were out at night,
that she waited just to know, that we'd come home alright.
And sometimes when we'd stay a while, till one, or two, or
three, it seemed to us that Mama heard the turning of the
key. For always when we'd step inside, she'd call and we'd
reply, but we were all too young back then, to understand
the reason why.
Until the last one had returned, she'd always keep a light,
for Mama couldn't go to sleep till she kissed us all
goodnight. She had to know that we were safe, before she
went to rest, she seemed to fear the world might harm the
ones she loved the best.
And once she said: 'When you have grown to women and to men,
perhaps I'll sleep the whole night through, I may be
different then.' And so it seemed that night and day, we
knew a mother's care, for always when we got back home, we'd
find her waiting there.
Then came the night that we were called to gather round her
bed, 'the children are all with you now,' the kindly doctor
said. And in her eyes there gleamed again, that old time
tender light, that told us she'd been waiting there, just to
know we were alright. She smiled that old familiar smile,
and prayed to God to keep, her children safe through the
years, and then she went to sleep."
It is ended by singing:
"I've just been in a vision with someone so true, I dreamed about
Mama last night. She read me the Bible like she used to do, I
dreamed about Mama last night."
Oh, I'm sure we all have different but wonderful memories of
our Mothers. My mother died three years ago (1994) from a rare
painless cancer that the medical profession is at a loss to
combat in any way, she was only 73. I was very close to my mother
as a boy growing up in England. My father worked a 12 hour night
shift and slept during the day. Until I was about 12 years of age
I had very little contact with him. My mother was not only my
mother but in many ways by best friend, and as an only child, I
have many fond and lovely memories of the times we had together.
She was not a religious person, but she did teach me to be kind,
mannerly, helpful to other, polite and courteous to adults and
the elderly. She was strict and stern with me in many ways, but
also took the time to read me those stories kids love to hear.
And she enjoyed a good clean laugh at some of those old comedy
movies. Ah, and there were the times we would watch together the
real true sentimental, good morality, uplifting and inspiring TV
movies, where she taught me it was okay for a boy or a man to cry
at times.
When God created man, He looked at what He had made and
said: "Oh, this is good." But He also looked, knowing HOW He had
created man, and said: "It is not good that man should be ALONE,
I will create for him a help fitting for him." So He put Adam to
sleep and took a rib, that which was close to his heart, not a
bone of the foot so he could step on her, but a bone close to the
heart so he could love her. And with it this same God, He
Himself, personally, made a woman. He put within her all the
ingredients that would COMPLEMENT the man He had made. He made
her not to compete against the man as to see who was the
greatest, but that BOTH the man and the woman would COMPLETE each
other, help and serve each other, work as two to become as one.
Modern science is today discovering as never before HOW MUCH
alike man and woman are in many ways, even from the time of
conception. Yet at the same time they are discovering how
DIFFERENT we are in many respects. But those differences are not
there for the two sexes to battle each other with, but to
COMPLEMENT each other, if we will but let two become as one
flesh.
Peter was inspired to write to us men: "Likewise you
husbands, dwell with them according to KNOWLEDGE, giving honor
unto the weaker vessel, and as BEING HEIRS TOGETHER of the GRACE
of life, that your prayers be not hindered."
This is important men, for if we do not do what Peter
admonishes us here to do, it could HINDER our prayers!
We do well to take these words SERIOUSLY!
Now it is true that the female is, generally speaking(there
are exceptions we know), not as physically as strong as the male,
and God designed it so. I have stated, being in the Orthotic shoe
making trade, that there are way more women with foot problems
than men. There are a few basic reasons why this is so. The wrong
type of footwear is one large problem that women have to contend
with compared to the footwear of men. But there is also the fact
that the female physical bone and muscle structure is not as
strong, and so the feet can break down easier than those of the
men.
We now know from modern science that women do not stutter in
speech as much as men, are better in the speech skills, generally
speaking, than men, because the female brain develops on both
sides of the brain, while the male only on one side of the brain.
God designed that it would be the female who would have more to
do with the upbringing and teaching of the children than the
male.
On the other hand, science has now shown that when it comes
to the skills of "arithmetic" the male develops both sides of the
brain, while the female only the one side(again, this is
generally speaking, there are exceptions), hence the fact that
the male is better at skills that must employ the arithmetic
subjects.
The female can endure on the whole, more pain than the male,
and there are other differences as some very recent documentary
TV programs have brought to light, as modern science is now
proving. Of course there are many areas of this physical life
that the male and female are just as able to perform either
naturally or with training. Singing, playing a musical
instrument, artistic work, to name just a few. There are many
others.
We men NEED to LEARN, especially husbands need to learn HOW
TO DWELL with our wives ACCORDING TO KNOWLEDGE! There are many
Christian books that can be obtained today along this teaching.
One I have in my library by Tim LaHaye is called, "I LOVE YOU,
BUT WHY ARE WE SO DIFFERENT - Making the Differences Work for
You." It is printed by Harvest House Publishers, OR.
I recommend that all married men have at least ONE of these
types of books in their personal library. James Dobson of "Focus
on the Family" fame has some similar books that serve men and
women learning to understand each other, and how God did create
us not only similar, but also different. And that difference was
not, let me repeat, so we could fight each other over who is the
greatest, not to compete, but to COMPLEMENT each other.
God looked down about 2000 years ago upon the house of Judah
to see who He could find to be the mother of the Son of man. He
found a young lady, about to be married to a man by the name of
Joseph. She was sincere in heart and mind to serving God with all
her strength and love, wanting to do the will of God, to obey
Him, to keep His commandments, to establish her marriage upon the
word of the Lord, to bring up her children in the knowledge of
the Eternal God of Israel. And that God knew she would do just
that, that she would teach and train her children to love and to
fear the true way of living by every word that proceeds out of
the mouth of God.
He looked down to find such a woman, and He saw there was
one. Her name was Mary. And so she was honored by being chosen to
bear and carry and give birth to the very Son of God, that would
be the Savior of the world and all sinners who had ever lived.
The Father in heaven knew he needed a woman, a mother, who
would care for and train this baby, then little pre-school child,
then little first, second grader etc. into the grace and
knowledge of Himself and His Scriptures. He knew He could depend
and count upon Mary to be given this awesome responsibility
during the young years of the one who became God in the flesh,
Immanuel.
Jesus as the one who was the creator, the one who took that
rib from Adam and with it created a woman. This Jesus, as a man
fulfilling His destiny to preach and teach the New Covenant to
Israel, loved, appreciated, and cared for WOMEN. He lived in a
Jewish society that in many ways treated and thought of women as
less than men, as inferior to men, as objects that could be
traded in and given a bill of divorcement for just about any
reason. Women were created second were they not, second to man,
so they had to be inferior to man in every way, so the reasoning
would go. And so they were, by far too many men, treated as
second class citizens.
Jesus comes along and THROWS THAT perverse idea and WRONG
attitude and teaching CLEAR OUT THE WINDOW onto the garbage pile
of pig swill and cow dung. Under His care and concern and love,
women were liberated to the rightful place of daughters of the
Eternal God in heaven, who from the beginning would have NO
RESPECT of persons and would grant salvation and rewards in His
family and Kingdom, for both men and women ON EQUAL footing. As
both were sinners, both would be saved the exact same way, by
grace through faith in Christ Jesus. In Christ there would be no
male or female, Jew or Gentile. And rewards would be given not
based upon being male or female, but on the justice of being
rewarded according to what you have done with what was given you
to do with.
Jesus treated women with respect and with dignity. He taught
them, He healed them, He comforted them, He served them, He
forgave them, He cared for them. He HONORED THEM by appearing
FIRST to WOMEN after His resurrection!
How many of you women have thought about that before? Well
please think about it if you have not done so. I believe that is
quite some HONOR. Jesus was carried of a woman in the womb, He
was born of a woman into this world, AND He first appeared after
His resurrection to a WOMAN!
Jesus loved women. Jesus loves women today. When He was
dying on the cross for the sins of both men and women, He took
the time to remember His mother, and all she had done for Him. He
looked at the apostle John and looked at His mother and said:
"Mother behold your son," and to the disciple, "Behold your
mother." From that time forward John knew he was to look after
Jesus' mother as if he was her literal son.
Jesus did not forget His mother, no, not even in death.
Tomorrow, the society of North America has said we shall for
one special day of the year, really take note of our mothers.
This is not taken from some pagan celebration (though some
would claim so) it is not against the commandments of the Lord,
to so set aside a day in the year to especially say THANK YOU to
our mothers in this part of the lands of Israel.
Let's remember them and show them our love, today, tomorrow,
and always.
...................
Written Saturday before Mother's Day of May 1997.
