2009-5-10 Sermon Title: To be a perfect mother in an imperfect world
Thu, 06/11/2009 - 15:32 — hpcbc
Sermon 5/10/09
Sermon Title: To be a perfect mother in an imperfect world
講道題目：在這世代作個完全的母親
Sermon Text: Proverbs 31:28
講道經文：箴言三十一章廿八節
Scripture Reading: Proverbs 31:28-31
讀經：箴言三十一章廿八至三十一節
Today is Mothers’ Day. Children love it; because they get to eat out with their parents. They would proudly show the cards they made for their mother; while the father would dutifully shows his credit card to the waitress. It is the custom of the society; we set aside a day to honor our mothers. Restaurants are busy and flower shops sell a lot of roses on Mothers’ Day. We celebrate Mothers’ Day because of our children make this day very special.
Preachers are one of a kind and I am no exception. I thought of strange things like the Garden of Eden instead of a rose garden on Mothers’ Day. I thought of that day when Eve disobeyed God by eating that forbidden fruit and Man lost his innocent. Everybody lost that day when sin crept into the world. God said to the woman, “I will greatly increase your pain in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to your children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” (Gen. 3:16) A lady once said to me, “You will never know what a woman goes through in labor.” Thank God I would never truly know, but I can tell you I had felt it before. If a man does not believe a woman can hurt you with a hand shake, try holding the hand of your wife in a labor and delivery room! Woman can use tear to subdue a man of iron; she can also use it to calm a crying baby. When an infant was wrapped up in blanket and shown to the mother, her tear of pain immediately becomes the tear of joy. At the moment a woman gives birth to her first child she becomes a mother and a journey begins in that very special relationship.
Children cause pain to mothers in more ways than that of labor; but they also bring joy to their mothers in many ways. Mothers usually sacrifice more than the fathers in raising a child; and in the end get more blame also for a wayward child. In this day and age, a child learns from more than one source. How can a mother be sure that her child learns the right thing? How can a woman be a perfect mother in an imperfect world?
Psalm 127 reads, “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat—for he grants sleep to those he loves. Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him.” (Psalm 127:1-3) This is a song of ascents—a collection of songs to be sung by pilgrims going to Jerusalem to observe one of the three annual festivals. (Ex. 23:14-17; Dt. 16:16) Many of us, not being Jews, will overlook God’s timeless message concerning home and hearth. The word ‘house’ has a great variety of applications; can be a shelter or a family, or a home. The word ‘build’ bânâh can mean to build or obtain children; ‘builder’ the Hebrew for this word is a pun on that for ‘Sons’ bên a son as a builder of the family name. As the pilgrims were marching toward Zion and singing this song, it reminded them all of life’s securities and blessings were gifts from God rather than their own achievements. There are two parallel themes here: It is the Lord who provides shelter, securities and food; children too are a gift of his favor. Paraphrasing it in today’s language—we get up early to go about our jobs, to earn money to provide for the family and stay up late to worry about a sick child, the family budget, the daycare and PTA meetings, the teenagers, the family saving and retirement. All these are in vain unless God gives us wisdom to deal with them. God alone can grant us sleep in all those sleepless nights. The song reminded the pilgrims that good harvest was not the result of their labor; it was not their achievement, but it was the result of the Lord’s blessing. Children are God’s blessing also; they are a heritage—a gift rather than a possession. Children are a gift for us to love and enjoy. It is an awesome responsibility to raise children in the fear of the Lord. A mother certainly needs wisdom from above to accomplish that task. Many books were written on the subject and there are professional available to give mother advice on how to do her job of raising a child; but only God can give wisdom a mother needs.
The wisdom book Proverbs starts out by saying, “The fear of the lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.” (Proverbs 1:7) and ends with the wisdom sayings of King Lemuel. Little is known about King Lemuel and this section is certainly of non-Israelite origin. The wisdom of the king was taught by his mother. Mother is the most significant person in a child’s life. A child taught to appreciate the beauty of God’s creation will grow up enjoying life with a positive attitude. A child taught to be gentle with small animals will not grow up with violent behavior. A child taught to respect other’s property will not put graffiti on neighbor’s wall as teenagers. A child taught to read the Bible story and pray before going to bed will more likely to love and fear God as grownups. A mother’s real life is modeled by her young child so much that sometimes it can be a frightening thought. A mother needs to follow some standards and rules in child rearing. The world will tell you many different ways to teach a child, but I’ll advise you to trust the word of God as the only source of wisdom.
A woman is a daughter first; then a wife before she become a mother. This sequence represents three different relationships. A woman entered into the first relationship by no choice of her own. She can hardly change the situation she was in; but it frequently shaped her to be the women she would be. A woman enters the second relationship with her own choice although her expectation and performance in the second relationship will very much be influenced by her first relationship with parents. When a woman becomes a mother, she has to decide how she wants her next relationship to be. A Christian mother received her heritage from God and therefore should have a godly living as an example to her children. The last section of Proverbs 31 entitled the ‘Epilogue’; it is a description of a wife of noble character. “A wife of noble character who can find?” (Proverbs 31:10) It corresponds to the Prologue in 1:1-7. “The fear of the lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.” (Proverbs 1:7) The wife described here is almost a personification of wisdom. The excellent wife is trusted,
kind, fear the Lord, blessed by her children, careful, praised, not afraid, worker with hands, wise, generous, good to her husband, of exceptional worth, respectful to her husband, trusted and more. Wow, what a woman, where can we find such a woman? Many women want to be the excellent wife described in proverb 31 but they don’t believe it is possible for them. However, these virtues are the character traits of a godly woman; any godly woman can be an excellent wife! Any woman who knows and obeys God can be that excellent; any flower will bloom when tended by God’s hand. In the beginning God had ordained the marriage relationship the center of all human relationships: “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” (Gen.2:24) Jesus also said, “So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God had joined together, let man not separate.” (Matt. 19:6) In other word only marriage relationship is a permanent relationship; parental relationship is temporary in the sense that children will one day leave their parents. I sound more and more like practicing for the message to be used in Yolanda and Senwen’s wedding. Actually I am not preaching in a wedding; I am delivering a Mother’s Day message: An excellent wife makes an excellent daughter-in-law and an excellent mother. An excellent mother is a godly woman who knows God calling. Paul said, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Roman 8:28) A godly woman understands her calling is to be the helper suitable for her husband. (Gen. 2:18) She also understands that God has put her under the protective authority of man. (1Cor.11:3; Eph.5:23) God’s purpose for a woman to be submissive to her husband does not imply that he is smarter or more spiritual. To submit to the husband is actually submit to God who gives him the authority. In the same way, submission to a judge does not imply the judge is more intelligent or morally upright than you are. There are some corrupted judges who have totally lost their common sense while on the bench. The devil is against everything God has established; if he can convince you to be disobedient to God’s authority he has succeeded in undermining your godliness and your ability to be an excellent mother. “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” (Proverbs 31:30) A God fearing woman will naturally acquire all the wisdom of a godly living and “her children arise and called her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.” (Proverbs 31:28)
