It’s important to remember those who were examples of what it means to love unconditionally. The first of the Ten Commandments with a promise is, honor thy father and thy mother… the promise is that thy days may be long upon the earth that the Lord thy God giveth thee….
The love of God thinketh no evil… it keeps no records of wrongs done. When we remember the things our mothers taught us, the greatest of these is love…. to love with the unconditional love of God. Pete remembers that his mother was the youngest of eight children. She grew up in a well to do family. Her father was well respected in the Alabama town where they grew up. When the recession hit in the 1930’s her father gave away his fortune to help the destitute and down trodden in their community. She inherited her generous spirit from her father.
Her brother owned a car dealership in Florida and Pete spent time with his cousins there. He remembers these times fondly in an idyllic friendly small town with his loving extended family.
Pete’s mother was the spiritual leader in their home. She raised her children to go to church every Sunday. She had married a man who was a practical hard worker. Pete’s father had come from a broken home where there was no association with the local church. However, his mother made sure that Pete and his brother were raised in an environment influenced by God’s Holy Spirit.
Proverbs 31 says about a virtuous woman…. They shall rise up and call her blessed.
John Adams said, the barometer of the character of a nation is characterized by the modesty and virtue of a nation’s women. The fabric of a nature is bound together by the nation’s virtuous women.
Pete’s mother was faithful to her husband even though her husband had strayed. Her two heroes were her older brother and her older sister. They set a high bar for achievement and worldly success. She learned to emulate their high standards.
Pete’s mother loved her children and held them to a higher standard… the standard of the truth of the Word of God. She taught her sons grace and that love means “I want only the best for you.” She cared when they were hurt. Pete recalls that he was running the anchor leg of a relay at a track meet in Birmingham. His team mate was leading the race. As his team mate passed him the baton, their feet got entangled up and Pete tripped, fell, and skinned his knee. He got up and finished the race in last place. Pete was embarrassed until his mother intervened. After the race she went up to the team and yelled at the coach and his team mate for tripping her son and causing the team to loose the race.
Pete’s mother was a strict disciplinarian. Hebrews 12 says, whom the Lord loves, he chastises. Since Pete’s dad worked as a lineman for the power company traveling all over Alabama, his mother practically raised her two sons as a single mother. She trained them with the character of a Godly woman.
According to Deuteronomy 6, Hear O Israel, the Lord thy God is one God. And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
Pete’s mother trained up her children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. She knew that the blessings of a generation will pass on to generations after. She taught her sons to look forward to marriage…. She said, if you have sex before marriage then what do you have to look forward to on your wedding day? The promise to his mother to abstain from sex before marriage kept Pete sexually pure until the day he married Suzan.
Pete knew that he was fortunate that his mother and father always attended his weekend ball games. Like other southern families, Pete’s mother hired a maid to help with the chores around the house. She always gave their maid a ride home and on Christmas, she would give her a generous check. She taught by example what it means to appreciate and give dignity and respect to those who serve us from a heart of love, even though they were of a different race.
A wise man once said, the best way to for a mother to love their
R children is to love, honor, and respect their father. Even though Pete’s father had many flaws including infidelity, she honored him and provided her children a stable home.
We learn love, gentleness, respect, forgiveness, and humility from our mothers. Even though Pete’s mother had a temper, her anger quickly passed. She never raised her voice to her children… she always treated her children lovingly even while reproving and correcting them.
Even though we may think that we did not live up to our mothers’ expectations, the scripture says, there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus…. God will fill in the gaps where our parents could not model the perfection we have in Christ.
Love covers a multitude of sins…. Love thinketh no evil… It never thinks evil of others and does not keep a record of wrongs done. Love is always eager to believe the best. Through the eyes of Christ we can remember the truth, honor, love, grace, and mercy that our mothers taught us….
That as we honor our mothers on Mothers Day and every day, we can live to the praise of the glory of the grace of our Lord,
Your brother in Christ,
Michael
