Sacrificial Love: Thoughts For Mother’s Day

Sacrificial Love: Thoughts For Mother’s Day May 6, 2016

Image Credit: By Gabriela Pinto; CC 2.0
Image Credit: By Gabriela Pinto; CC 2.0

Traditionally Mother’s Day is the time when children give something back to their mothers for all of the spit they have supplied to wipe the dirt and food smudges off their rosy little cheeks, for all of the ABC (already been chewed) gum they’ve held in between their fingers so they could run to the swing at the playground, , for all the snot they’ve wipe from noses and had to keep the used tissue in their hand or purse for the next stream of slime, and for all the skinned knees and elbows they made feel better with just a simple kiss.

It’s the day we salute our mothers for cleaning our little bums after we have left them a little surprise in our diapers (and sometimes our underoos), for not getting angry when we sneak out the front door Sunday morning while wearing our Sunday best for church and sit right down in a mud puddle and start splashing around (yes, that one is autobiographical), for driving us to school when we missed the bus, and for sitting through karate tournaments and football games even in the cold and the rain. It’s a day for showing appreciation because they made us finish something we thought was impossible, for not believing us when we said those three piercing words: “I hate you,” and for being their during our good times as well as our bad.

Being a mother is a hard job as they are forced to wear many hats. In a very real way mothers are teachers, housekeepers, rule enforces, book keepers, landscapers, nurses, counselors, “limo” drivers and more.

They develop and shape our personalities, attitudes, and even our vocabularies. Not only are they all of these things, but their job never ends. It doesn’t matter if we are three or thirty, five or fifty, our mothers still feel not only pride, but worry and concern as well. This goes both ways. By that I mean that no matter how old, successful, or independent we get, there are still times when we just want our mommies.

More importantly though, mothers are the voice in our head that says, “I love you.” And mothers are our introduction to God. They are our first impression of God’s love. We see in our mothers sacrificial love, the kind of love Christ showed for us when He gave up His life for ours. Isn’t that essentially what a mother does, give up her life for ours?

How about this year we don’t take our mothers for granted? Just remember there are many out there who no longer have a mother to take for granted. Reflect back on all she has done for you and take this time of year to show her how much you appreciate her.

And by the way, Happy Mother’s Day Mom! I love you.

 

This was a guest post from Dr. Jeff Hagan.

Jeff is an ordained Christian minister with over 23 years of ministry experience. He has attended Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Luther Rice Seminary, Tyndale Seminary and a handful of other institutes as well. He has earned several degrees including the Doctor of Christian Education and the Doctor of Theology.


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