Honor Thy Mother
by William Ward Ayer
M other ’ s D ay gives us a special opportunity to ful fill the Scriptural injunction, “Honor th y moth er.” How fa r we have come from the days of honoring “thy father and thy mother!” Today’s most deadly attack upon our civilization is made upon the home. It is sad th a t much of the motherhood of the day is not instilling in the m inds and hearts of childhood the Christian ideals of the past. Any time America loses its godly mother hood, Christian America is gone. “M y son, hear the in struction of th y father, and forsake not the law of th y mother: For they shall be an ornament of grace unto th y head, and chains about th y neck” (Proverbs 1:8, 9). W hy is motherhood so important for good or for ill? I t is because of the divine sanctity of the home. Home is earth’s first, foremost, and most fundamental institution. It was established by God in the Garden of Eden. And motherhood is the heart of the home. L iterally millions of people have sung these senti mental words: “When I was but a little child, how well I recollect How I would grieve my mother with my folly and neglect; And now that she has gone to heaven, I miss her tender care: O Saviour, tell my mother I’ll be there! “Tell mother I’ll be there in answer to her prayer; This message, blessed Saviour, to her bear. Tell mtJther I’ll be there, heaven’s joy with her to share. Yes, tell my darling mother I’ll be there!” This song has caused strong men to weep their way to Jesus, remembering as they did the childhood influ ence of their mothers upon their lives. The power of their mother’s prayers and the influence of their mother’s life upon them bore fru it as these people saw their need of the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour. Memories of mother may tru ly bring us back home to the simple things. Perhaps it w ill bring us back to the kingdom of God. On Mother’s Day, a good confession m ight be: “O mother, when I think of thee, ’Tis but a step to Calvary. Thy precious hand upon my brow Is leading me to Jesus now.” M any w ill remember their mother’s songs. They w ill feel a mother’s influence in the song she sang in their
childhood, remembering perhaps h e r voice in the church choir. Maybe the songs and hymns of the country parlor, sung there by mother and father and all the children, w ill come back to memory. Others w ill remember their mother’s prayers. It is surprising how m any of the “great” of earth have attrib uted their greatness to the influence of their mothers. Abraham Lincoln said: “I remember my mother’s pray ers, and they have followed me; they have clung to me all my life. All th a t I am and hope to be I owe to my angel mother.” Some w ill remember their mother’s admonition and chastisement. Modern mothers may talk a great deal about prohibitions, repressions, and all the rest, bu t the old-time mother who spanked on occasion, and whipped more severely when it was needed, did not raise a bunch of lawless, lazy, juvenile delinquents w ithout respect for God or man. Most of them raised a group of respectful children who were brought up in the fear and admoni tion of the Lord. W hat would you give to be able to obliterate the years, tu rn back the universe, and live one blessed hour of yesterday? How cheap our present day would appear if we could only do that. M any of the things to which we have become accustomed would nauseate us if we could go back to other days of godliness, purity, and simplicity. On this Mother’s Day, w ith all the tender memories crowding into consciousness, permeating your whole being w ith their fragrance, w ill you not say “Yes” to Jesus? The word of surrender may go w inging its way through this universe to the throne of God. “O Saviour, tell my mother I’ll be there.” The heritage of a godly mother is the most pre cious thing in the world. The influence that a mother exerts over her children in the tender years of their lives is not soon forgotten. In adult years we praise the Lord for godly mothers by whom we were raised in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Available in printed form from the American Tract Society, 513 West 166th Street, New York 32, N.Y.
MAY, 1961
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