One of the best parts of my job is to share Bible Stories with the Antioch Little Duckling Preschoolers each week. This usually involves the lesson, a memory verse, a song, and a prayer. It’s such a blessing to see the joy and enthusiasm on their faces as they learn about God and His ways.
A little over four years ago, I had told the children about how the Israelites had gotten trapped at the Red Sea after having left Egypt. As they looked to their rear, Pharaoh’s army was charging toward them and their situation seemed hopeless. “Suddenly,” I said, “God told Moses to raise his arms and when he did, the Red Sea parted in two!” Seeing the amazed looks on their little faces, I then asked, “Can you do that?” They correctly answered, “No!” I persisted, “Can your teachers do that?” Once again, they echoed back, “No!” Driving the point of God’s omnipotence home, I asked, “Who can do that?” To which little Sophie answered, “My mom!”
So there you have it. If you need a miracle, see Sophie’s mother. Because of my regular struggles, I put her number on speed dial. How wonderful that this little four-year-old believed so strongly in her mother! On this Mothers’ Day weekend, we should all be sure to value our mothers, both those still living as well as those who have passed on.
A mother like Sophie’s fills the bill of what US Senate Chaplain Peter Marshall called for in his sermon entitled, Keepers of the Springs. In that message preached in the late 1930s, he accurately observes, “No nation has ever made any progress in a downward direction. No people ever became great by lowering their standards. No people ever became good by adopting a looser morality. It is not progress when the moral tone is lower than it was. It is not progress when purity is not as sweet. It is not progress when womanhood has lost its fragrance. Whatever else it is, it is not progress!”
He goes on to state, “We hear about every other kind of women—beautiful women, smart women, sophisticated women, career women, talented women, … but so seldom do we hear of a godly woman—or of a godly man either, for that matter… It is a much nobler thing to be a good wife than to be Miss America. It is a greater achievement to establish a Christian home than it is to produce a second-rate novel, filled with filth.”
“The world has enough women who know how to be brilliant. It needs some who will be brave. The world has enough women who are popular. It needs more who are pure.” What a powerful message this was and perhaps even more appropriate today than it was when he preached it over 80 years ago. All that is labeled progress or progressive is not that at all and much of it is actually regress and regressive leading culture in a downward direction.
Although his comments may not be considered politically correct for current culture, his assessment goes right to the heart of what our nation, our churches, our families, and our children need. How desperately our society needs Godly women and men who live as consistent witnesses for Jesus Christ day in and day out. Praise God for those mothers who are modeling just this sort of lifestyle for their children and grandchildren.
On this Mothers’ Day, let us thank God for our own mothers and all those around us and let us pray for the courage, strength and bravery for all of them to be godly so that their children consider them the miracle workers God created them to be and whom their young preschoolers believe them to be. Happy Mothers’ Day! George