Pastor’s Honor your mom

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

— Like tattoos? Some people do. I have a few and now that I’m older I wish that I didn’t get them. I suppose we do a lot of things when we are younger that we think, “If I had only listened to my mom....” You know exactly what I mean. My mom always told me that I’d regret getting a tattoo and she was right. I suppose she didn’t want to see her baby boy doing potentially harmful things to himself. (By the way- if you are reading this and don’t agree that moms still think of their grown children as their babies, call your mom and find out for yourself!) Even if I had gone out and gotten the “Mom” tattoo in a red heart that was embraced by homesick sailors of the past, she still wouldn’t have approved.

Thinking of dear old Mom, I can’t help but thank God for her. After all, she is a gift from our Lord to us. God places us gently in their wombs and brings us into this treacherous place we call home via their loving embrace. Many a mom have risked their all for the lives of their babies. God bless ’em all. Many a mom have ripped out their hearts to let their child live, even when they couldn’t care for the child themselves and watched as the little babe went to other families for their rearing. This produces two moms who should both be regarded with dear affection. If that is you, thanks Mom.

As we read God’s Word,it is very clear that mothers are special, especially to God. He even gives us in His great commands to honor our father and mother (Exodus 20) and as St. Paul reminds us in Ephesians 6, the first command with a promise “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” Pretty cool.

Honoring is hard work, but it is a blessing to all involved.

This week, please take time to thank a mom. Not just your mom, but any mom. They are some of the hardest working people you’ll ever meet and without them not a single one of us would be here, that’s how God planned it. We should give them their due honor and lift them up as they’ve lifted us. One of the best ways we can do this is simply by listening. Listen to your mom, what she says or what she would say if she were with you now.

It’ll keep you out of a lot of trouble and maybe, just maybe, we can pull something off that she just might approve.

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Neil Vanderbush is the pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church, Pea Ridge. He can be contacted at P.O. Box 555, Pea Ridge, AR 72751, or by e-mail at [email protected].

Church, Pages 2 on 05/12/2010