A Mother's Day Devotional: Loving God through Serving Others

This blog post is a reprint from two years ago.

John 13:34- As new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

All Christians are instructed to love each other as Christ first loved us. What does this look like? How can we possibly show such a sacrificial love for each other? Motherhood surely starts to give us an idea.

It is often, as a mother, that I reflect on how my love for my children mirrors God's love for me and all those who know Him personally. God sacrificed that which was most dear to Him- his only Son- because He loved me so much. As a child of God I cannot possibly ever repay Him for what He has done for me. And He does not require that. I cannot work to repay Him, I can only graciously and humbly accept this precious gift of salvation. On a lesser, more human scale, my children receive the benefits of my sacrifices for them. They cannot repay me for nurturing them, and I do not require that. It is a joy to tend to them and love them and train them up for the Lord.

Motherhood is a job that requires us to serve- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Matt 20:28) Serving for a job takes some getting used to! It is difficult to go from working and going to school and having gold stars put on your chart for achieving goals- to performing a job where most of your tasks go unnoticed by most. Many mothers go through a difficult transition emotionally, especially if they are going to be staying at home. Mothers with older children probably remember this feeling, however fleeting. Yet-to-be mothers can consider themselves forewarned!

Christian mothers are still susceptible to the lies that Satan tells the world- your job is monotonous, there is no fulfillment, you should be making money, being a mom is not respectable. However, what we have that the world does not have is Jesus Christ and the hope that is in Him. We joyfully serve because we are serving Him! We wipe noses with our own shirts, we kiss owies over and over again, we do laundry while making dinner and paying bills, and then we do it over again. But oh, what we gain! Eternal life with the Father, and the knowledge that we walk each day with our Lord and Savior. And then, we get the privilege of watching a young man or woman grow. We have all heard it said that motherhood is a most noble calling. It is incredible to meditate on that thought and realize that it is true! Mothers cook and clean and drive and nurse, but through all this, we are shaping character. We are called by the Lord of the universe, Yahweh, to train these children up the way that they should go- which is ever closer to the Lord. How could we possibly desire anything more?

These words were written by Mr. J.R. Miller in 1882 about the high calling of a mother:

"Oh that God would give every mother a vision of the glory and splendor of the work that is given to her when a babe is placed in her bosom to be nursed and trained! Could she have but one glimpse into the future of that life as it reaches on into eternity; could she be made to understand her own personal responsibility for the training of this child, for the development of its life, and for its destiny,- she would see that in all God's world there is no other work so noble and so worthy of her best powers, and she would commit to no other hands the sacred and holy trust given to her" (Homemaking 106).

Mothers, rejoice at the sacred job God entrusts you with! If you are not a mother, then call your mother and thank her for all she has done. Have patience and tenderness for the mothers in your life. We all, with the help of Jesus Christ, are doing the best that we can. And it is only through Him that we do anything well. We celebrate mothers today. Here is the gold star on your chart- the hope of the glory of hearing, "Well done, my good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your master".