Motherhood Today

MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER
CENTRAL CHRISTIAN, BROWNSVILLE, TX

ILL. Most of you are familiar with the Calvin & Hobbes comic strip. Well, on one Mother’s Day, Calvin is pictured standing by his mother’s bed. "Hey, Mom! Wake up. I made you a Mother’s Day card." "My, how sweet of you." she says. "I did it all by myself. Go ahead & read it."

She begins to read: "I was going to buy a card with hearts of pink & red.
But then I thought I’d rather spend the money on me instead.
It’s awfully hard to buy things when one’s allowance is so small.
So I guess you’re pretty lucky I got you anything at all.
Happy Mother’s Day. There, I’ve said it. Now I’m done.
So how about getting out of bed & fixing breakfast for your son."
Signed, "Calvin."

"I’m deeply moved." said his mother. "Did you notice the part about my allowance?" He asks.

A. Well, some of you may feel like Calvin’s mother this morning, wondering if anybody’s going to say, "Thank you, Mom, for all the good stuff you do." Being a mother is a tough job & we recognize & honor that today.

ILL. One Mother’s Day a "For Better or Worse" comic strip portrayed Michael’s mother tossing & turning on her bed, thinking about her role as a mother, asking herself: "Am I too tough or am I too lenient? Do I give in too much or too seldom? Do I listen to what he has to say? Do I understand him? Do I nag him too much? Am I really a good parent?"

The last frame shows Michael lying on his bed saying, "The problem with grownups is they think they know it all." No, Michael, maybe not.

B. In fact, mothers recognize all too well that as they send their children off in the morning all kinds of things lie in wait to waylay them - things like drugs & gangs & alcohol & pornography. And they must be strong if they are going to overcome that.

In the past, our educational system encouraged development of Christian principles & attitudes. But today that is not necessarily true. Too often, children are being taught that there are no absolute standards of right & wrong. Anything goes, & everything is permissible, as long as it feels good.

PROP. So it’s difficult being a Christian mother today. But as hard as that may be, we need to realize that difficulties are not unique to our time. In every age Motherhood has had it’s share of difficulties.

For example, let’s look at Mary, the mother of Jesus, & consider some of the difficulties she faced, & apply them to our lives today.

I. THE DIFFICULTIES MARY FACED

A. First of all, she faced the difficulty of a tarnished reputation. Mary was pregnant out of wedlock. Now we know the rest of the story, & that the child in her womb was of the Holy Spirit, & is the Son of God.

But do you think they believed that story in the little town of Nazareth? If you came from a small town you know that juicy gossip is a hot item in small towns. And here’s this unmarried teenage girl expecting a child. Oh, how the gossips must have enjoyed talking about that!

In fact, 30 years later when Jesus was beginning His ministry, His enemies said to Him, "We are not illegitimate children." In opposing Him they weren’t above putting in what they thought was a knife & twisting it.