By Mel Futrell

Today is once again Mother’s Day and how indebted we are, or at least ought to be, to these daughters of Eve. I for one hope that Mother’s Day hasn’t become so commonplace that we think a corsage and a noon meal “out to eat” will somehow fulfill our societal and family obligation to the mothers in our lives. It is fairly easy to exalt motherhood one day a year on Mother’s Day; the challenge is to make it real throughout the year.

We would do well to remember that God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.”  (Genesis 2:18). After having performed surgery on Adam, in which He removed a rib and “built” Adam’s helper, God presented her to the man. The man, Adam then said:

“This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man” (Genesis 2:23).

One chapter later, in Genesis 3:20, we read that Adam “called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.” And only three other times in Holy Scripture does the name Eve appear. In Genesis 4:1 we are informed by Moses that Eve “bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord.” In 2 Corinthians 11:3 Paul comments that “the serpent deceived Eve.” And finally the apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 2:13 writes by inspiration, “For Adam was first formed, then Eve.” In doing this he declares God’s order of creation as it pertains to the matter of male spiritual headship.

Honestly, I’m afraid the trend of society is against mom and thus motherhood has not been exalted to its proper place. Isn’t it terrible that the tragic sin of abortion (Proverbs 6:16-19), is actually a slap in mom’s face? We’ve got to combat such sin and once again impress upon others, mothers included, the centrality of mothers in the family and society. Recognition of the part good mothers play in our lives will go a long way toward healing the deep wounds inflicted by those generally opposed to Biblical motherhood.

I can’t speak for you, but my mother was at one time my: nurse, cook, mediator, housekeeper, fan club, room inspector, Bible story reader, babysitter, etc,. And later my wife was all of that to our girls. This just points out the valuable role mothers do, can, should, and must play in the home.

The wise man Solomon gave us the classic text in the Bible of the qualities of a good mother [a worthy woman] in Proverbs 31:10-31. There we find that she is:

◼ Trustworthy (vss. 10-12)

◼ Industrious (vss. 13-19)

◼ Compassionate (vs. 20)

◼ Focused on her family (vss. 21- 24 and 27-28)

◼ Possessed of inner strength (vs. 25)

◼ Wise and kind (vs. 26)

◼ Fearful of God (vss. 29-31)

What an absolutely beautiful picture of mother for the family and the family for mother.

If this passage from Proverbs 31 holds any truth for us, and it does, then mothers today should be treated as partners in the family: finances, plans, management, fun, and troubles. Personally, I know of no mother who is asking for her family to wait on her all of the time. Yet hopefully the little courtesies, kind words, and praise we extend to mothers today will be just the tip of the iceberg.

Brethren, if we are going to keep our homes from being swamped by the moral disintegration of the present society, we are going to have to restore motherhood to the exalted position it deserves and the Bible calls for. This can indeed be done, but it will require that mothers, fathers, and children all do their part. Solomon’s inspired advice on the matter was, “My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother” (Proverbs 1:8). So to all mothers, HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!