May

A seventh grade science teacher beginning a segment on magnets introduced it with a riddle. He said to the class: My name has six letters. I begin with the letter M and I pick things up. What am I? Instead of shouting out magnet more than half the class shouted out Mother. You can probably understand why they came to that conclusion.

Mother has six letters. Mothers pick up a wide assortment of things. By the time a newborn baby reaches maturity a mother would have put in 18,000 hours of work. This is work she would not have had to do if her baby had not been born.

Watching families, it is easy to see that mothers are special in deed! For one thing we can count on mothers to accept us as we are, no matter what we’ve done wrong.

A mother’s love will allow strong sons to sob like seven year olds and cradle successful daughters as if they were little babies. Still, even a mother’s love has limitations. There are some problems that a mother’s love, as great as it is, can’t sort out. There are places a mother’s love cannot reach. There are hurts so hideous and harmful that even a mother’s love, as pure and powerful as it is, cannot heal.

That is exactly why we all need a love even stronger, more patient, more powerful and more pure than even the best mother’s love. That is why we need the love of the Lord. God never overlooks our shortcomings and sins: He removes them. His love doesn’t make excuses for our misbehavior; He transforms us.

Most mothers pick up the messes that their children leave behind. But they can’t do the same when their children become a mess. Then, only Jesus can help them. Only Jesus through His sacrifice, can pick us up, cleanse us from our sin, and transform us. His kind of love even a mother is forced to admire.

(Adaptation of a Lutheran Hour Sermon preached May 11, 2003 (which was Mother’s Day of course)

A Blessed Mothers Day to all our Moms and those who care about them.

Pastor David

 

         

revdnuss@msn.com