HOW TO HONOR YOUR MOTHER
John 19:26-27
“When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.”
One of my first memories with my mom was when I was very young. We went to the lake to swim but I was terrified of water, so I stayed on the shore playing in the dirt for the most part. People would try to get me to go out into the water, but other than putting my feet in, I wasn’t going to go any deeper. If anyone tried to take me into the water, I would run away. The only one that could get me to go in the water was my mom. I remember her gently talking to me, picking me up and assuring me that everything would be okay. She walked me into the water, I was still terrified and likely crying but she just kept going deeper and deeper until finally we were really far away from shore. We were floating there and I began to think, well this isn’t so bad. Just about the time I calmed down my mom decided to do the unthinkable. She told me she was going to LET GO! WHAT?!? All my trust went out the window, I started to panic as she let go and started to back away from me. I frantically beat my arms against the water trying to keep my head up. Just about the time I was about to go under, my mom would be there to catch me, calm me down and I would beg her not to do that again. When I finally calmed down, she would say, I’m going to let you go again and the process would start all over. Each time she would tell me how great I did but I was mainly concerned about getting back to shore. I was getting exhausted, so she started heading back to shore, but just before I could touch the bottom she let go of me again and told me that I could make it the rest of the way by myself.
I made it back to land. It was over. I sat there thinking, “I’m never getting near the water again and I’m never trusting my mom again.” Little did I know on that day, my mom sparked something inside of me. I noticed myself later on playing in the water a little deeper, then I started swimming out and coming back on my own until eventually my fear of water was gone. My mom did this same thing in many areas of my life. She taught me how to conquer fear, live with courage, respect authority, and most importantly trust the Lord even when it doesn’t make sense. I thank God for my mom. She is an incredible lady and I don’t know where I would be without her influence in my life. I want to honor my mom the way I should, so here are some things I’ve learned by looking at Jesus’ relationship with His mom.
HOW TO HONOR YOUR MOTHER
1. Notice Her Needs
Jesus had every reason in the world to only be focused on Himself. After all he was dying on a cross, but instead the Bible says, “When Jesus therefore saw his mother…”. So often we become so distracted, busy or self-absorbed that we hardly notice or acknowledge the person that gave us life and taught us so many things. Too often we give ourselves a pass on honoring our moms because we are “so busy”. It’s time for us to lift up our eyes and to be mindful of what is going on in their life. Not all needs are the same. She may not need her house painted or yard mowed but she may need a phone call, a FaceTime, a visit, a prayer, a card or some surprise flowers. We could never repay all that our moms have done, but we can be aware of their needs by changing our selfish ways.
2. Don’t Stop At Thoughts
“Well I was meaning to…” never did any good for anyone. Your thoughts and good intentions must go further than your skull for it to accomplish anything. Jesus’ example to us is so good. He didn’t just notice the need that His mother had, He also noticed a solution. Jesus had taken on such an incredible burden (the sin of the world), yet he prioritized caring for His mother. Where is your mom on your priority list? Is she at the bottom? Is she an afterthought? If so, it’s probably time to turn those thoughts and intentions into action. I’m not saying that I have this all figured out, but Jesus did and I want to be like Him.
3. Put Your Heart Into It!
I’m sure many would have given Jesus a pass on caring for His mother in this, His darkest hour. However, Jesus enthusiastically took responsibility for making sure His mother was not only provided for physically but left with someone He knew would treat her with the utmost honor. Did you notice the exclamations when Jesus said, “Woman, behold thy son!” and “Behold thy mother!”? You can do stuff because you feel like you have to and you might as well have done nothing. Often that kind of disrespectful behavior creates division in a family and a sense of lesser value instead of honor in the mother. It’s time to be like Jesus and put some heart into what we do for our mothers.
I am so grateful for all that my mother has done and continues to do for me, for our family and for the Lord. Love you mom.
Proverbs 31:28, “Her children arise up, and call her blessed…”
