Rev. David Holwick
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
May 13, 1990
Ephesians 6:1-3
WHY I BELIEVE IN MOTHERHOOD
I. The love of a mother.
A. (Ted Bundy's mother.)
Mother calls son, tells others:
"He sounds wonderful. He sounds very much at peace with himself."
At the conclusion of the call she told him,
"You'll always be my precious son."
More than 40 million phone calls like this will be made today.
Nothing extraordinary about this one, except that the mom is
Louise Bundy, and she was talking to her son, Ted,
just before his execution in Utah.
Everyone else hated her son, but not Louise.
She had a mother's love. #627
II. God as a mother.
A. Controversy over feminists and Bible.
1) Inclusive theology.
a) "Our Father [and Mother], who art in heaven...." (Lect.)
b) "Christa" statue with nude woman nailed to cross.
c) De-sexed baptism service.
(George Williamson) "I baptize you in the name of the
Parent, the Child and the divine force."
2) Goes way-overboard. Adapting Bible to culture.
B. But important insight:
1) The Bible does not limit God to male images.
a) Male images.
1> Father, judge, king.
b) Female images.
1> God as human mother. Isaiah 49:15
2> God as mother hen.
PSA 57:1 Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for
in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the
shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.
PSA 91:4 He will cover you with his feathers, and under
his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will
be your shield and rampart.
3> Jesus and Jerusalem. Matt 23:37
MAT 23:37 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the
prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have
longed to gather your children together, as a hen
gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not
willing.
III. God is like a mother.
A. Protection.
1) Security of being under wings.
a) When everyone else rejects you, you turn to your mother.
b) You can also turn to God at those times.
2) Strength - moral more than muscular.
a) Strength to run house, kids, job, love husband.
Today you hear about fathers who stay home to take care
of their kids.
It is hard for fathers to do it all - to be "Mr. Mom."
According to a study by Penn State University,
women still do two or three times as much housework and
child rearing as men.
"Some fathers are downright angry about having to get
involved."
#514
1> Sarah Holwick's prayer last night:
"God, make mommy less tired when she has to work
at night."
b) God also has strength that we can take refuge in.
1> Moral.
2> Concrete protection.
B. Unconditional love.
1) Mothers always accept us.
a) "Face only a mother can love."
b) Animal experiments on nurture.
Professor Harlow's experiment with monkeys showed they
need a mother's love.
They preferred an artificial mother made of warm cloth
to one made of wire.
#855
2) God loves us and will never forget us.
a) His love is unconditional in that he accepts us where
we are.
Romans 5:9 -
"While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us..."
b) His love also keeps working in us, so that we are not
satisfied until we live in a way that pleases him.
IV. Mothers can be like God.
A. Remember that your children model themselves on you.
1) Show that your faith is real.
B. Tell your children about Jesus.
1) Evangelism conference: Mainline denominations are declining
not because everyone went to other churches, but because
we failed to convert our children.
a) Think about your own children.
1> How many are born-again Christians?
2> How many have drifted away?
A> Many moms have broken hearts because of kids.
b) The mysteries of God's plan.
1> Wayward kids may someday come back.
2> God does not call us to success, but faithfulness.
2) Importance of mothers in evangelism.
a) Take them to Sunday School and church.
b) Read them Bible stories and pray with them.
c) Talk to them in personal terms about what
Jesus means to you.
d) (Model the faith in the way you live.)
C. Examples of children influenced by mothers for God.
1) Samuel and Hannah. (Jesus and Mary??)
2) Timothy taught by mom & grandma.
3) R.A. Torrey.
R.A. Torrey was a great Christian of the early decades of this
century, but he did not start out that way.
Even though he had a godly mother, he himself had no faith
in God or the Bible.
He decided to leave home.
As he left his mother cried and told he could turn to God
when he got to the end of his rope.
He got into sinful lifestyle.
In a hotel room he was unable to sleep because his problems
pressed in on him.
He decided to take the gun in his dresser and end his life.
Just as he reached for the weapon, he remembered his mother's
last words.
Convicted by the Holy Spirit, he fell on his knees and cried out,
"Oh, God of my mother, if there is such a Being, I need Your
help.
If You will give it to me, I'll follow You!"
In a moment, peace entered his soul and he became an outstanding
evangelist.
#171
V. Limits of human examples.
A. Mothers are in a way like God, but God is not like all mothers.
1) All human mothers are inadequate, despite the warm glow of
Mother's Day.
B. God is better than any mom.
