In Jesus Holy Name May 12, 2024
Text: Psalm 127:3;128:6 John 15:12-13 Mother’s Day
“A Love Without Limits”
We are all aware that Mother’s Day is a National holiday. A day we dare not overlook. Happy Mother’s Day! On this mother’s day, as a community of believers we rejoice in the knowledge that the Savior’s tomb is empty, while at the same time we give thanks for the love our mothers demonstrated in our lives.
Let me ask: Why do you, mother’s love your children?
Would you do anything for them, to keep them from the dangers in the culture?
1st The reality is that without our mother’s, none of us would be here.
2nd I’m sure that most of us, as we grew up, tested the patience of our mothers, yet we knew she loved us without limits.
The love of a mother for her child . . . can be and often is a reflection of God’s love for us. Woven throughout the scriptures, like the ribbons on a newborn’s quilt, we can find gentle reminders that God’s love is like that of a mother: deep, unrelenting, without limits. If we as human beings, have experienced a mother’s love, then it is possible to transfer that experience to an understanding of God’s limitless love for us
On August 16th 1987 a Northwest Airlines flight took off from the Detroit airport. Soon after the take off the plane crashed on the highway. 155 people died. When rescuers arrived among the carnage of cars and aircraft they found a 4 year old girl. She said her name was Cecelia. Because of Cecelia’s almost perfect condition it was thought she had been a passenger in a car rather than the plane. A quick check of the flight’s roster showed that had been wrong.
Cecelia had been on flight 225. Cecelia had explained how in the plane’s last moments her mother, Paula, had unbuckled her seat belt, knelt in front of her daughter and held Cecelia as tightly as she could.
The mother put herself between her daughter and death. Love without limits. This is exactly what God has done for us. Jesus put Himself between us and the wrath of a holy God against our broken commandments and broken ethics, for which, we deserve both His punishment and eternal death. The writer of Psalm 103:6 understood God’s love without limits. “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His loving devotion for those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”
Most of you know that I love the way Max Lucado uses words to help his readers visualize God’s love and forgiveness. On Mother’s day, in 1995, his daily devotion was titled “Bold Love”. Let me share with you His words and reflections on the limitless love of mothers.
He writes: “Moms, I have a question: Why do you love your newborn? I know, I know, it’s a silly question. Indulge me.
For months your growing baby has brought you pain. She (or he) made you break out in pimples and waddle like a duck. That baby infant made you crave sardines and crackers and caused you to throw up in the morning. She punched you in the tummy. She occupied space that wasn’t hers and ate food she didn’t fix.
You kept her warm. You kept her safe. You kept her fed. But did she say thank you? Are you kidding? She’s no more out of the womb than she starts to cry! The room is too cold, the blanket is too rough, the nurse is too mean. And who does she want? Mom.
She didn’t even tell you she was coming. She just came. And what a coming! She rendered you a barbarian. You screamed. You swore. You tore the sheets. And now look at you. Your back aches. Your head pounds. Your body is drenched in sweat. Every muscle strained and stretched.
You should be angry………………… but are you?
Far from it. On your face is a for-longer-than-forever love. This new bundle in your arms has done nothing for you, yet all you can talk about are her good looks and bright future. She’s going to wake you up every night for the next six weeks, but that doesn’t matter. I can see it on your face. You’re crazy about her.
Why?” No one else can love your newborn more than you. Love without limits.
Max Lucado then makes this comparison. “God, I have a question: Why do You love your children? I don’t want to sound irreverent, but only heaven knows how much pain we’ve brought You. Why do You tolerate us? You give us every breath we breathe, but do we thank You?
Seldom.
We complain about the weather. We bicker about our toys. Not a second passes when someone, somewhere doesn’t use Your name to curse a hammered thumb or a bad call by the umpire. (As if it were your fault.)
You fill the world with food, but we blame You for hunger. You keep the earth from tilting and the Arctic’s from thawing, but we accuse You of unconcern. You give blue skies, and we demand rain. You give rain, and we demand sun. As if we knew what was best, anyway.
We sing more songs to the moon than to the Christ who saved us. We are a gnat on the tail of one elephant in the galaxy of Africa, and yet we demand that You find us a parking place when we ask. And if You don’t give us what we want, we say You don’t exist. As if our opinion matters.
We pollute the world You loan us. We mistreat the bodies You gave us. We ignore the Word You sent us. We are spoiled babies who are selfish and kick and pout and blaspheme.
You have every reason to abandon us. But do you?”
No, You sent Your Son to be one of us, to be born of Mary, who cradled Jesus in her arms, in the village of Bethlehem. Why? Because Your holiness could not and cannot be touched by sin. Jesus was obedient to all of Your commands. He never broke one. The curtain in the “temple” in Jerusalem was a visible barrier that could only be opened by the sacrifice of blood brought by the High Priest. Only then could forgiveness be attained. In the moment of His death on the cross, The curtain, the barrier that existed between God and all people was ripped from top to bottom, erased by His blood. Father, your love never ceases.
Our goodness cannot increase it. Our faith does not earn it. We can not add to nor take away from what Jesus did in our place on Calvary.
Your love never ceases. How do we explain it? As far as the East is from the West?
The answer is found in the eyes of the mother. Why does she love her newborn? Because the baby is hers? Even more. Because the baby is her. Her blood. Her flesh. Her hope. Her legacy. She knows a newborn is helpless, weak.
And God knows we are his idea. We are his. He created us to be loved by Him. He has asked us to love one another. He asked us to imitate His love.
God’s love took on human form. Stand with the shepherds of Bethlehem and hear the angel announce God’s good news. “Unto you is born, this day in the city of David a Savior, Christ the Lord.” Jesus was born. He was the visible presence of the invisible God. The blind received their sight. The lame walked, the dead were raised to life. He came to fulfill God’s commitment of love. Jesus knew the price he would pay to keep the promise of salvation. He was obedient, even unto death, even though He never sinned.
Jesus knew His home town would try to throw him off the cliff. He knew the Pharisees had plotted His death after the resurrection of Lazarus. He knew He would be betrayed with a kiss, from Judas. Jesus upheld God’s commitment and wore a crown of thorns. On the cross, He forgave those who nailed him to the wood beams. On the cross between His hands and the wood was a list of all of your bad attitudes, your bad habits, your broken commandments. His blood covered that piece of paper and blotted out your failures. “Because of Jesus God sees each of us without spot, without blemish, free from accusation, if we continue by faith holding onto the hand of Jesus.” (Colossians 1)
Jesus was born so that you and I might be saved. He lived, suffered and died so that his blood would cover our sins. He did what even the most compassionate and caring mother can not do: He rose from the dead. The empty tomb secures God’s commitment …that all who believe in Jesus will have eternal life. Jesus said: “I tell you the truth; whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and will not be condemned.” (John 5:24) “…for everyone who looks to the Son (of God) and believes in him shall have eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:40)
On this day we celebrate the love of our mothers, how much more should we celebrate the limitless love of our God? Who else but Jesus would come to seek and save the lost souls who were hiding? Who else would remain committed to showing a doubting world that God has been faithful in his commitment to rescue us from ourselves, to save us from sin and Satan? It is he who taught us to pray, ‘deliver us from the evil one.”
Jesus said, “I know my sheep”, I know my children. I call them by their name. They are mine and no one can snatch them out of my hand.” On this day we give thanks to our mother’s who were able to imitate the love of God to us, so that today we can give thanks for His love.
