Mothers' Day

A Children’s Message for Mothers’ Day

Good morning, everyone! How’s it going? Excited for school wrapping up? Are you doing anything special to celebrate Mothers’ Day after worship? Good for you!

I have a question for you. Tell me, what are you all most proud of? What’s something really fun or great that you’ve done at some point in your life?

Now, which of us were able to do what we’re proud of without first having a mother? What, nobody? Has anyone ever been able to do something great—to do anything at all—without having a mother? No, I guess not. Before anything else in this world, you’ve got to have a mom.

In order for you to be you, and for any of us to accomplish anything in our lives, two people had to be willing to change their whole lives so that they could be parents. Two whole lives went into making you. And not just them! There were also four people who had to be willing to be grandparents. And eight people who were your great-grandparents. And 16 people became your great-great-grandparents! And then 32 and 64 and 128 and—you get the picture.

In fact, every single one of us is only able to be who we are, and to do the things we do, because thousands and thousands of people before us were willing to have a family, to be parents, to be moms. Every single one of us owes everything to the folks who came before. And it may be that the most important thing that we ever do is someday to become a great-grandparent to some amazing kid who hasn’t been born yet.

You know, when Jesus chose to come down from Heaven, the first thing He wanted was a mom. He didn’t have to have one, but He wanted one. He knew how important moms were. And sometimes He even described Himself as a mom, did you know that? He said that He felt like a mother hen who wanted to gather and protect her chicks. Jesus loved moms.

Now that doesn’t mean that everybody has to be a parent, does it? No. A lot of our greatest heroes didn’t have kids. Jesus didn’t. And there are a lot of ways to be parents, aren’t there? We can be parents to neighbors and even to strangers. Mothers’ Day doesn’t mean that everybody has to be, or should be, a mother. But it does mean that every single one of us owes everything we have and everything we are to a long line of mothers stretching back all the way through history. And we should be grateful for every mom, grandma, and great-grandma that God has given to us.

Let’s pray.

Lord, we know how very much you love mothers, and it’s amazing to think that even God had a mom. Teach us to love our mothers the way that you love yours—with devotion, forgiveness, and deepest love. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.