Happy Mother’s Day to all you mom’s out there this morning. And I want to thank you for the love, care, time you have put forth in the care of your children, the commitment you have made in raising them in the ways of God. I know it can be tough at times, you may feel like what you say your children end up doing the exact opposite and you wonder if anything is getting through to them. You may be frustrated, even feeling like a failure at times, or according to them, you are "the meanest mom in the world!" I doubt that, have you seen Ossie Osbourns wife and the way she treats her kids, the way she speaks to them, the language she uses towards them? So you are not the meanest, or even the weirdest mom out there, no matter what your kids may say.
Please listen to this story of the meanest mother in the world and I think you will be encouraged by it. We don’t know who wrote this, but I’m sure it could have been written by any one of us during our days. The story goes like this:
We had the meanest mother in the whole world! While other kids ate candy for breakfast, we had to have cereal, eggs, and toast. When others had a Pepsi and a Twinkie for lunch, we had to eat sandwiches. And you can guess our mother fixed us a dinner that was different from what other kids had, too.
Mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times. You’d think we were convicts in a prison. She had to know who our friends were, and what we were doing with them. She insisted that if we said we would be gone for an hour, we would be gone for an hour or less.
We were ashamed to admit it, but she had the nerve to break the Child Labor Laws by making us work. We had to wash the dishes, make the beds, learn to cook, vacuum the floor, do laundry, and all sorts of cruel jobs. I think she would lie awake at night thinking of more things for us to do. She always insisted on us telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
By the time we were teenagers, she could read our minds. Then, life was really tough! Mother wouldn’t let our friends just honk the horn when they drove up. They had to come up to the door so she could meet them. While everyone else could date when they were 12 or 13, we had to wait until we were 16.
Because of our mother, we missed out on lots of things other kids experienced. None of us have ever been caught shoplifting, vandalizing other’s property, or even arrested for any crime. It was all her fault. We never got drunk, took up smoking, stayed out all night, or a million other things, other kids did. Sundays were reserved for church, and we never missed once. We knew better than to ask to spend the night with a friend on Saturdays.
Now that we have left home, we are all God-fearing, educated, honest adults. We are doing our best to be mean parents just like Mom was. I think that’s what is wrong with the world today. It just doesn’t have enough mean moms anymore.
- Source unknown
You see, if you truly love your children, you will raise them up in a way that will be healthy for them. They might night always agree with you, and as teenagers, they may never agree with you, but if you love them, you will do what is right because raising children is not a popularity contest. It is not a democracy, it is a dictatorship, you might say! It is hard, it can be very tough, but the fruit from that labor is beautiful, glorious, satisfying, even though it may take time to see that fruit, it will come!
This morning we are going to look at two families and see how they raised their children. Now some of you may not be a mom yet, or your kids are grown, or having kids is the farthest thing from your mind at this point in your life, but I still think you can gain some valuable lessons from this study, for God’s Word is powerful, it is living, and it will meet us where we are at. And my prayer is that through this study you will be encouraged, strengthened, even put back on track if need be, for the work that is before you now. Now, the first person we are going to look at is Mary, the mother of Jesus. I don’t think many studies have been done on this, so let’s dig into this and see what the Lord has for us this morning in Luke chapter 2, beginning in verse 39.
We don’t know a lot about the early years of Jesus but what we do know is that His parents did teach Him the things of God, they fulfilled the requirements of the Law. The y were a godly couple believing in the coming of the Messiah, and they probably were only some 15 years old or so! Now the results of that kind of upbringing, living in that kind of environment is that Jesus grew strong in spirit, that is He was strong in the Lord and able to resist those temptations of the world that were all around Him. He had the wisdom of God growing in Him as He took the Words of God and applied them to His life. And the grace of God was upon Him as Mary and Joseph prayed for their son.
Sometimes I think we have this concept of Jesus being born as a "Superman," but that is not what the Scriptures teach. He grew and matured like a person normally does. He was taught the things of God, and I believe Mary played an important role in this upbringing. You see, in Luke chapter 1 we have the beautiful song of Mary, often called "The Magnificat."
Now in this song Mary quotes out of the Old Testament some 15 times in only 10 verses! That tells me that Mary knew the Scriptures. She did not have to look up those verses, but they were in her heart and mind, and God put them together in this beautiful song. Thus, Jesus was raised in a home by parents who knew and loved the Scriptures. I’m sure Jesus received not only a daily supply of physical food, but also of spiritual food to grow by. And as poor as this family was physically, they had unfathomable resources from God on the spiritual level.
Now, back in Luke chapter 2, we see this family head to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of Passover which was followed by the feast of unleavened bread which lasted another 7 days. Jesus is 12 years old at this point, and as they begin their journey home as the feasts had ended, Jesus is not with them. In fact, it takes them a whole days journey before the realize that Jesus is not with them. You see, they would travel in a group with other family members and friends, so maybe Joseph thought Jesus was with Mary and Mary thought Jesus was with Joseph, and they both were mistaken!
Can you imagine how they felt as they traveled back a days journey to Jerusalem? The fear, anxiety, wondering what had happened to their son! Can you imagine their prayers, "Lord, I’m sorry, but we lost the Messiah! Can you help us find Him?" How hard of a journey that must have been for them.
And once they arrived back in Jerusalem, it took them another whole day to find Jesus, who was in the temple discussing things with the Jewish scholars, who were amazed at His wisdom, His knowledge of the Scriptures, what He knew of things they were suppose to know, but seems they didn’t. And once they found Him, I’m sure they rejoiced, took a big sigh of relieve, and then Mary tells Him, "Where have you been? Your Father and I have been worried sick over losing you!" And Jesus says, "...‘Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?’" Luke 2:49.
I believe it is at this point that Jesus recognizes His mission, who He is, maybe not fully, but He is moving in that direction. You see, He still needs to grow, mature and that is exactly what happens in His life. Now let me say this, and this is especially for the kids, Jesus did not cop an attitude at this point. He didn’t say "Hey, I’m God! I am not going to do no stinking dishes, and fix my bed, get real! I’m into the natural room look!" You see, even though He is God, He submitted Himself to His parents authority and grew in wisdom and stature!
Now some of you may be thinking, "You don’t know my kids, they aren’t God! In fact, at times I think they may be on the other end where I have to get the holy water out and sprinkle them, and hoping their heads don’t spin around!" Please understand that no child is going to be perfect, and kids, no parent is going to be perfect either! But also understand that no matter what, it should not stop you or discourage you from instilling in them the things of God. I will give you another example that you may be able to relate to a little more, it is the story of Timothy.
Please understand the faith of Timothy goes back a couple of generations, to his mom and grandmother. In Acts 16:1 we are told that his father was Greek and a unbeliever. On the other hand, his mother Eunice was a Jewish believer in the Messiah, in Jesus. Listen to what Paul tells us in II Timothy 1:3-5, "I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day, greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy, when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also."
Paul links the faith of Timothy to his mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois who instilled in him the things of God. But this was not the ideal situation to raise a child in, having a unbelieving Greek father, who in that culture, that period of time, had absolute authority over the family. But Eunice and Lois knew that God was bigger than any situation and raised up Timothy in the things of God. You see, Timothy could not live off the faith of his mother or grandmother, but had to come to that decision himself, he had to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior himself and he did and his faith was real, it was genuine!
Turn to II Timothy chapter 3 and let’s begin reading in verse 13, where Paul says, "But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." II Timothy 3:13-17.
Do you see what Paul is saying here? There are those men who are destructive to the faith, even destructive forces among so-called Jesus’ followers! The deception is there and how can you fight against it? Paul tells him to continue on in the faith, in the things you have learned, don’t be swayed by these imposters, these deceivers!
And here it is mom’s, Paul tells Timothy to hold onto those things you have learned as a child, that your mom and grandmother taught you! What did they teach young Timothy? The Words of God that come from the lips of God. That is how he was able to swim against these destructive currents of deception and expose the imposters!
Some of you mom’s may be struggling this morning with your child or children. They are rebellious, refuse to listen and you don’t know what to do any more. Now I am not speaking here of small children, they are disciplined differently than teenagers, I am speaking of teenagers who are now making their own decisions, testing the water you might say. And your fear is they will forget all you have given to them, all the things of God you have instilled in them.
I want to share with you this morning two verses to help encourage you. That your work, your efforts, your labor is not in vain. The first verse tells us what we are to do and then it gives to us the results of what we do and that is found in Proverbs 22:6, which says, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." The Living Bible puts it this way, "Teach a child to choose the right path, and when he is older, he will remain upon it."
Our responsibility is to train our children in the things of God, while they are young, and the promise is, "when he is old he will not depart from it." Now, I wish that verse read, "and when he is a teenager he will not depart from it" but that is not always the case. You see, some teens, some adults, not all, are on the run from God, they know the truth but they just are refusing it at this point in their life. Don’t give up, love them, not condoning their actions, but love them and wait for God to reel them back in. I believe He will as they get tired of running from Him!
But don’t get frustrated where you stop showing them the grace and love of Jesus, because it can get tough, but who else do they have? Of this verse in Proverbs, Jay Adams writes: "The verse stands not as a promise but as a warning to parents that if they allow a child to train himself after his own wishes (permissively), they should not expect him to want to change these patterns when he matures. Children are born sinners and, when allowed to follow their own wishes, will naturally develop sinful habit responses. The basic thought is that such habit patters become deep-seated when they have been ingrained in the child from the earliest of days."
Let me give you a modern day example of what I mean of a young man on the run. His name is Franklin Graham, and in his book, Rebel With a Cause, he tells of his time on the run from God. It was a hard road that I believe he needed to go down to be where he is at today. He needed to be broken of self so he could look up to God. And his parents, Billy and Ruth Graham, how do you think they felt? Here is this famous evangelist who has lead thousands to the Lord and his son is on the run from God! Listen to the words of Ruth and Billy Graham from Franklin’s book. They said:
Watching Franklin grow up has been an experience. Nothing like being fascinated with your own son’s life. A lot of what is contained in this book we had never heard before!
However, under all this rebel reminiscing, this book fails to tell you of the tender side of the little boy growing up...
The times after Ned was born when Franklin, then six years old, would go back to his mother’s room, cowboy boots clomping, jeans at half-mast, carrying a sloshing glass of milk grasped in two grimy hands, "So," as he said to his mother with happy concern, "you will have plenty of milk."
Or the time, looking outside the upstairs window, we saw him struggling up the steep slope of a mountain, carrying on his back a little Ned whose legs had given out.
Or the time when "the rebel’s," older sister, Bunny, was miserably homesick in the (then existing) Stony Brook School for girls, and he used his own meager allowance to buy candy to take it to her.
When Franklin and his buddy, Bill Cristobal, headed for England to pick up the Land Rover to drive to Jordan, Ruth got out her Bible to read John 17 as her prayer for the two boys, and was stopped short at verse nineteen, where she read, "for their sakes, I sanctify myself." If for our sakes the Lord Jesus felt the need to sanctify (dedicate or consecrate) Himself to His Father, how much more did she need to?
She put Franklin and Bill "on hold" and set about getting everything straightened out between herself and God.
How often we parents need to do just that.
We understood how difficult it must have been to have a well-known dad, yet we knew the rebellion was not against us personally. The girls would marry and take other names. The boys were stuck with Graham.
The fact that, while we knew that he smoked, he would never smoke around us, revealed this innate respect. Instead, at home, he would smoke in his room, blowing the smoke out the window, unaware the updraft from the valley carried the telltale smell of a cigarette right back to our bedroom window.
And Franklin was surrounded by people who really cared about him just like he was.
In short, Franklin didn’t have a chance. He had been given to God before his birth, and God has kept His hand on him without letting up all these years.
Franklin once told a group, "If my mom has white hair, it’s because of me!" To which she replied, "Don’t take all the credit, son. Age has something to do with it."
And with age has come the ever-growing, ever-deepening awareness of the relevance and the assurance of God’s promises. Not once has He failed.
When folks say, "You must be proud of Franklin," we realize it is not a matter of pride, but of gratitude to God for His faithfulness.
With God, nobody’s hopeless.
- Franklin Graham, Rebel With A Cause, pp. 313-314
you see, mom’s, dad’s, grandparents, our responsibility it to train them up, make sure we are living what we are speaking. To make sure our words and our actions are matching up. To make our faith real to them. And the second verse that I want to share with you and I believe will admonish you, is found in Isaiah 55:8-9, which says, "‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the LORD. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.’"
We might not always understand why they are doing the things they are doing, but God does have a plan, a purpose, and the Words of God you taught them as a child will still be with them the rest of their lives. Yes, each person does have a free will, he can do whatever he wants, but I truly believe that if you have trained your children in the things of God, that when they are old, they won’t depart from them, and they will return to Him!
We have seen this morning the influence of two godly mothers upon their children and one godly grandmother. You can make a difference. Your work is not in vain. You just can’t let your children grow up doing their own thing, that is destructive! You mut train them up in the things of God!
I want to close this morning with this thought to encourage you not to give up. As a mother, that is an awesome responsibility to raise a child, training them up to be future, doctors, lawyers, teachers, nurses, bus drivers, farmers, and-so-on, men and women of God! Thank you for your patience, your love, don’t give up but when you are down, frustrated, look to the Lord to be the strength of your life. You see, He will give you the strength you need and His Word will give you the hope you need as you stand on His promises!
Here is the story I want to leave you with, I Loved You Enough. It goes like this:
"You don’t love me!" How many times have your kids laid that one on you? Someday when my children are old enough to understand the logic motivating a mother, I’ll tell them:
Some mothers don’t know when their job is finished. They figure the longer the kids hang around, the better parents they are.
I see children as kites. You spend a lifetime trying to get them off the ground. You run with them until you’re both breathless...they crash...you add a longer tail. You patch and comfort, adjust and teach ---- and assure them that someday they will fly.
Finally they are airborne, but they need more string, and you keep letting it out. With each twist of the ball of twine, the kite becomes more distant. You know it won’t be long before that beautiful creature will snap the lifeline that bound you together and soar — free and alone. Only then do you know you did your job.
- Erma Bombeck, from "Forever, Erma," quoted in Reader’s Digest, March 1997, p. 148
Mom’s, one of the greatest things is to see your children soaring high for the Lord. It may seem like it is an impossible request. Don’t give up, for God is in the business of taking the impossible and making it possible. Keep praying and trusting in Him, give your children back to Him and see what He will do with them! The finished product will soar one day!