Paul wrote, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 'Honor your father and mother' (this is the first commandment with a promise), 'that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.'" (Eph 6:1-3) A command with a promise; how nice. But ... do we do it?
It's interesting that Paul seems to equate "honor" with "obey." Is that a virtue anymore?
Paul told Timothy to treat older women as mothers (1 Tim 5:1-2). That's interesting. Apparently Timothy knew how to treat a mother. It would appear that Paul believed that treating women as mothers was something that could be easily understood. "But what about the kid that grew up with a lousy mother?" At first glance, that would seem to be a problem, but I would argue that all of us have an idea of what a good mother would be like, so even without the experience, we'd be able to treat older women as mothers and do it well.
I am not one of those who grew up without a good mother. I am one of the blessed who had a scintillating example of a godly mother. She taught us what we needed to know, urged us to be godly, and imitated Christ for us. She taught her daughters how to be godly wives just as our mother has been to our father. That has worked out well (as we knew it would). We boys learned to be gentlemen and to honor people everywhere, especially women. That, too, has worked out well. My mother immersed us in the Word and in the truth, and that has worked out very well.
I am indeed one of the most blessed when it comes to my mother. So I'm not as concerned about what to buy her for Mother's Day. I want to be sure that I am honoring her carefully and consciously all the time. And I pray that my daughter can become that kind of a mother to her kids. My mother fulfills the promise of Proverbs 31 -- "Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her." (Prov 31:28)
Happy Mother's Day, Mom.
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