Honor Your Mother
- Rev. Jerry Lepasana
- May 11, 2008
- Series: Bringing Christ Into the Home
Bringing Christ into the Home: (Part I)
HONOR YOUR MOTHER
Exodus 20:12 (NIV)
12 "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
Ephesians 6:1-3 (NIV)
1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
2 "Honor your father and mother"--which is the first commandment with a promise--
3 "that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth."
Someone has rightly said, “It's impossible to thank God for our existence unless we also thank our parents.” We definitely adhere to that saying here at Bible Church, and so we always seize the opportunity to celebrate Mother’s Day in order to express our appreciation to all mothers for their great contributions to their children. We recognize that being a mother is a tough job and for that we really want to honor all the mothers today.
At the same time, we want to kick off our family series entitled, Bringing Christ into the Home. The Bible makes an explicit claim that the presence of Christ in the life of a person brings a remarkable change that leads to a new and beautiful life. The apostle Paul taught the Ephesian believers about this:
Ephesians 5:8, 9 (NIV)
8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.
9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth)
For believers, living in darkness should be past. The present life must be described as living in the light, which consists of doing things which are pleasing in the sight of Christ. In other words, once you’re a believer, you will be committed to living a godly life.
Obviously, the effects of Christ presence in our lives extend even in our home life. If you follow the emphasis in Ephesians 5, beginning in verse 21 until chapter 6 verse 4, Paul sets down the specific applications in relation to the wife (22-24), husbands (25-33), children (6:1-30, and then to parents (4). The simple but significant truth is: you cannot say you value your relationship with Christ and neglect your relationships at home. Why do think this is important? Well, I believe with all my heart that the very first people we need to influence for Christ are the people closest to us. I heard one preacher said, “If your Christianity doesn’t work at home, it won’t work elsewhere.”
Throughout this series, we will take the time to talk about the different relationships at home and the ways we can improve them in order that we may exalt Jesus more in our midst. This morning, since we are celebrating Mother’s Day, we are going to primarily tackle our utmost duty to mothers, which is honoring them.
Let’s examine together this command and learn some practical ways on how we can obey it:
I PERCEIVE THE PRECIOUSNESS:
When the apostle Paul wrote the Ephesian church about honoring fathers and mothers, he carefully quoted from the Ten Commandments to give the impression that this was a serious duty. If you are familiar of the Ten Commandments, then you must be aware of their significance - God gave them to the nation of Israel so they would have some clear and unmistakable principles for their moral life. God himself wrote them not on paper but on a permanent material such as tablets of stone so they can be preserved for the coming generations. Since then, they have always been regarded as sacred and an absolute moral standard.
What does the word honor mean? In Ephesians, Paul carefully uses a Greek word which literally suggests to esteem and value as precious. The same word appears in 1 Peter 2:4, 6:
4 As you come to him, the living Stone--rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him--
6 For in Scripture it says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."
In the context of the passage, the word precious means valuable, or a cherished treasure. Now, let me ask you, do you see your mothers are precious? Well, perhaps some of you need to be reminded again that God wants you to treat your mothers as cherished treasures or as valuable persons in your life. How can we express their preciousness?
A. By Respecting Them:
Generally, the most basic idea of respect is giving esteem, which comes as a result of admiration. Children who value and admire their mothers will treat them with kindness and dignity. This respect is often expressed in obedience. The Bible has some strong words to children who disrespect their parents:
Matthew 15:4 (NIV)
4 For God said, 'Honor your father and mother' and 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.'
To curse means to speak evil of your parents. Evidently, God wants disrespectful children to be removed from the earth. So if you are looking for God’s blessings, you have to respect your parents at all times. Examining the phrase “In the Lord” in Ephesians 6:1, Paul establishes that when you obey or respect your parents, it is as if you have done it to the Lord.
B. By Recognizing Them:
With recognition, I would like to emphasize the effort of children to appreciate mothers. I believe we can do this in two ways:
· Thank God for them – God has reserved only one mother for every person. God had used our mother to bring us into the world, and nurture us to growth.
· Thank them personally – Everyone needs to feel appreciated. We can bring so much joy to our mothers if we take the time to praise and thank them personally.
C. By Regarding Their Needs:
Last but not the least; we can also honor them if we help take care of their physical and material needs after their productive time is past.
1 Timothy 5:4 (NIV)
4 But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God.
Christians validate their religion by how they live their lives. One basic expectation is for Christians to take care of their mothers who have needs.
One very important principle we draw from this is the fact that our attitude to our parents, our mothers in particular, reveal our attitude towards God. Our love and devotion to God is manifested clearly through our love and devotion to mom and dad.
II PREVAIL OVER THE PROBLEM
A huge barrier for many in obeying this command is when they have had some painful issues in the past with their mothers. Some people would use these issues to justify their negative attitudes to them. However, the command does not allow you to do that. God did not put a condition. He did not say, Honor you father and mother because they perfectly raised you or because they are perfect. I can already hear some people complaining, “But you don’t know who my mother is.” But the Bible is pretty straight - honor should be given regardless of who the mother is.
Dr. Chip Ingram, president and CEO of Walk thru the Bible, provided several principles in his book, Good to Great in God’s Eyes, on how we prevail over this problem:
A. None of us had perfect parents :
Jesus was the only perfect person on earth. We should never expect it from them. We should be willing to forgive them.
B. Thank God for what we got rather than dwell on what we didn’t get:
We have the tendency to focus on the negative or what we did not get. We need to spend time thanking God for the blessings we did receive.
C. Deal constructively with the damage
Everyone had to deal with difficult times. Great people don’t allow their difficulties to destroy them; they have used them to develop and move to greater heights. Be one of them. Deal constructively with your issues and allow them to grow you.
How is your relationship with your mother? I hope we will do whatever it takes to overcome some issues with them and really obey God’s command. As parents have lived with their children with patience and understanding, children must respond to their parents in the same way. James Dobson of Focus on the Family shared at one time to his listeners a letter of a mother to her children who was celebrating her 80th birthday:
To all my children:
I suppose my upcoming birthday started my thoughts along these lines...This is a good time to tell you that what I truly want are things I can never get enough of, yet they are free. I want the intangibles. I would like for you to come and sit with me, and for you to be relaxed. We can talk, or we can be silent. I would just like for us to be together.
I need your patience when I don’t hear what you say the first time. I know how tiresome it is to always be repeating, but sometimes I must ask you to repeat. I need your patience when I think too much about the past, with my slowness and my set ways. I want you to be tolerant with what the years have done to me physically.
Please be understanding about my personal care habits. I spill things. I lose things. I get unduly excited when I try to figure out my bank statements. I can’t remember what time to take my medication, or if I took it already. I take too many naps. Sometimes sleep helps to pass the day.
Well, there you have it: Time, Patience, and Understanding. Those are priceless gifts that I want.
Finally, in his letter, Paul wrote, “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.” I know I can, too! It’s a wonderful feeling to know His eye is on the sparrow and I know He cares for me. I guess being 80 isn’t so bad after all!
Love,
Mom
III PROFIT FROM THE PROMISES
The apostle Paul did not fail to remind the Ephesian believers that the fifth commandment has a promise attached to it. When you consider Exodus 20: 12, the promise “that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you,” was specifically applied to the Jews as they entered Canaan, which was the Promised Land. As Paul wrote the New Testament believers, he substituted “earth” for “land” and tells us that Christians who honor their parents can expect two special blessings:
A. It will go well with them:
This promise is related to the quality of life. God promises to enrich the lives of children who obey His will. Literally, to be well means to be whole. God’s true prosperity is not limited to financial blessing alone; it extends to your total being, which includes the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual blessings.
B. You will enjoy long life on earth:
This is now quantity of life. God promises to increase the number of years of those who honor their parents. Remember, living is a privilege, and only God can decide how long we can live our lives. If you wish to live longer, honor your parents and God.
Proverbs 10:27 (NIV)
27 The fear of the Lord adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short.
Beloved, we will never go wrong when we do the will of God. For this Mother’s Day, may we all renew our commitment to honor our mothers.