What is a Mother?
A mother is someone to shelter and guide us, To love us, whatever we do,
With a warm understanding and infinite patience. And wonderful gentleness, too.
How often a mother means swift reassurance, In soothing our small, childish fears,
How tenderly mothers watch over their children, And treasure them all through the years!
The heart of a mother is full of forgiveness For any mistake, big or small,
And generous always in helping her family, Whose needs she has placed above all.
A mother can utter a word of compassion And make all our cares fall away,
She can brighten a home with the sound of her laughter And make life delightful and gay.
A mother possesses incredible wisdom And wonderful insight and skill
In each human heart is that one special corner Which only a mother can fill!
--Katherine Nelson Davis
A MOTHER'S LOVE
(By Emerson Blythe)
There is something SPECIAL about a MOTHER'S LOVE!
King Lemuel's success is traced back to his loving mother:
(Prov 31:1 KJV) "The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him."
In his writing of the Virtuous Woman, King Lemuel wrote: (Prov 31:27-28 KJV) "She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. {28} Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her."
The young preacher, Timothy, owed his position in life to his loving mother and grandmother:
(2 Tim 1:5 KJV) "When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also."
We are introcuded to Jesus as He is cared for by His loving mother:
(Mat 2:11 KJV) "And when they (the wise men) were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh."
When the massicre of children that happened as a result of Herod trying to destroy Jesus was prophesied of, the viewpoint is from the grief of the loving mother: (Jer 31:15 KJV) (Quoted in Mat 2:18) "Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not."
When Jesus was nailed to the cross, most of His disciples fled away, but His loving mother was by His side: (John 19:25 KJV) "Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene."
In His teaching, Jesus taught of the love of even a mother hen. (Mat 23:37 KJV) "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!"
And when the Apostle Paul mentioned to the Thessalonians his kind dealings with them, he likens it to that of a loving mother with her children: (1 Th 2:7 NIV) "but we were gentle among you, like a mother (KJV "nurse" i.e. a nursing mother) caring for her little children."
There is nothing more beautiful than to see a loving mother with her child. The kindness... the adoration... the LOVE, is amazing.
Even in the animal world the mother's love is astounding. Some birds will utter a shrill chirp when a hawk comes near, to draw the bird of pray to the mother, and away from the babies.
The mother hen will utter a low tone when a hawk approaches, and the baby chicks will scurry for cover under her wings.
Many of these animals will fight to the death to defend their young.
A mother dove will pretend to be lame and flutter along on the ground to draw an attacking cat or other animal away from her young, placing herself in harm's way, in place of her babies.
Most mother animals, in fact, undergo all kinds of self-sacrifice for their young. The mother bird hunts insects incessantly to bring to her nest of young. The mother crocodile defends and protects her eggs until they hatch, even going to great lengths to keep the nest at proper temperature. The mother dolphin, who gives birth to the young under water, immediately takes her nose and pushes the baby to the surface for air. Even mother insects, such as the spider, meticulously carry, defend and care for their young until they are big enough to care for themselves.
SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF A MOTHER'S LOVE:
1. CONSTANT.
2. STRONG.
3. SELFLESS, AND SELF-SACRIFICING.
4. LOVES EVEN WHEN THAT LOVE IS NOT RECIPROCAL.
5. EVEN PRACTICES HARD LOVE WHEN NECESSARY.
1. CONSTANT.
It is easy to be many things for a short time. It is easy to follow Jesus for a little while. But that means little. What counts is the long haul. That's why Jesus said, (Luke 9:23 KJV) "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me."
It is easy to love sporadically. Some husbands and wives love each other like that: one minute they are sweet on each other, the next, they fight. Some are sweet on each other until they say the marriage vows, or a kid comes along, and then their love wanes.
But this is not normally the way it is with mother's love. Mother's love for the child is constant, day-in, day-out; when things are going well, and when they are not; when she feels well and when she does not; when the child is well behaved, and when he is not.
A mother's love is constant even when the love is not reciprocal. When the child has a temper tantrum, mother still loves. When the child grows into a teen-ager and tells his mother he hates her, she still loves. She still cares about him, she still seeks his welfare. A mother's love is CONSTANT!
2. A MOTHER'S LOVE IS STRONG; IT IS REAL.
James said, (1 John 3:18 KJV) "My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth." That is the way a mother loves. She doesn't just feed the child a lot of palpable mush about how much she loves him: SHE PROVES IT WITH HER ACTIONS.
Concerning our love for God, Jesus said, (Mat 22:37 KJV) "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." That is a love that is strong and sincere. And that is the way of a mother's love. She cannot forget about her child. She cannot be in peace if the child is in danger. She cannot be unconcerned with his welfare.
3. A MOTHER'S LOVE IS SELFLESS, AND SELF-SACRIFICING.
We have all heard the story about how when there sre six pieces of pie and seven hungry mouths, Mom is always the one who suddenly confesses that she doesn't really like apple pie, anyway.
A Mother's love will lead her to enter the burning building to rescue her child; to put her life on the line for her son or daughter's welfare. When you are sick or injured, you are apt to hear a mother say, "I wish it could be me instead of you!"
A mother will do without what she needs so her child can have what he wants. She will make do with dollar store clouts so her child can have designer jeans. She is willing to not only give, but to give of herself for the child.
4. A MOTHER EVEN PRACTICES HARD LOVE WHEN NECESSARY.
Sometimes it takes more love to drag a protesting child out of the street than to be tolerant and let him play there. Sometimes it takes more love to not let him eat all the candy he wants so he will eat his proper meal, than to succomb to his wishes.
Have you ever seen a mom spank a child, and then cry herself because it hurt her worse? Have you ever heard a mother say, "I'd rather be punished myself than to punish my child," yet she does it anyway because she loves him too much to see him go astray?
A Mother's Love
by Jill Lemming
There is no love, like a mother's love, no stronger bond on earth...
like the precious bond that comes from God, to a mother, when she gives birth.
A mother's love is forever strong, never changing for all time...
and when her children need her most, a mother's love will shine.
God bless these special mothers, God bless them every one...
for all the tears and heartache, and for the special work they've done.
When her days on earth are over, a mother's love lives on...
through many generations, with God's blessings on each one.
Be thankful for our mothers, for they love with a higher love...
from the power God has given, and the strength from up above.
THERE ARE FEW THINGS TO COMPARE TO A MOTHER'S LOVE!
But it makes me think of something, and I'll bet it does you, too. What does a mother's love remind you of, BUT THE LOVE OF GOD FOR HIS CHILDREN?
1. A MOTHER'S LOVE IS CONSTANT, AND SO IS GOD'S.
(Rom 8:35-39 KJV) "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? {36} As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. {37} Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. {38} For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, {39} Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
2. A MOTHER'S LOVE IS STRONG AND REAL, AND SO IS GOD'S.
(Eph 2:4-6 KJV) "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, {5} Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) {6} And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:"
3. A MOTHER'S LOVE IS SELFLESS AND SELF-SACRIFICING, AND SO IS GOD'S.
(John 3:16 KJV) "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
(1 John 4:10 KJV) "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."
4. A MOTHER LOVES EVEN WHEN THAT LOVE IS NOT RECIPROCAL, AND SO DOES GOD. (Rom 5:6-8 KJV) "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. {7} For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. {8} But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
5. AND GOD, TOO, PRACTICES HARD LOVE.
(Heb 12:5-7 KJV) "And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: {6} For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. {7} If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?"
Once in a while, we will see an aberrant parent who will forsake her child, or mistreat, neglect, or abandon it. But not so with God--His love is perfect.
Have you not been moved by looking at this majectic love today? Then you will want to be a Christian. (1 John 4:16 KJV) "And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him."
Can we assist you in that respect?