Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 2, Verses 1-8
As we celebrate the mother's day today, many memories of our mothers will come to our minds. I'm sure this is a day when we all remember our mothers and the many memories we have of them and our families when we were young. We have only one mother. Even though there are many mother-like figures who may have cared for you in many ways, there is only one real mother in this world who gave birth to you.
There was a little boy who was separated from his mother in a supermarket. He began to call out, "Sally, Sally," looking for his mother. Finally, his mother came running to him quickly and asked, "Honey, you should not call me Sally. I'm your mother." He then said, "Yes, I know, Mom, but this store is full of mothers." No matter how many mothers are around us in this world there is only one mother who carried us and gave birth to each of us.
Today is the special day we honor and remember our mothers is also a reminder of the love and care of God toward us, like a mother. Through the pain of a mother, life is ushered into this world. And through the pain of God on the cross of Calvary, by the pain and suffering of His son, we are assured eternal life into this world. That is why we say we are born again. Even though we are born of a mother through her pain in this world, we have to be born again as spiritual beings because of the suffering and pain that Jesus had to go through to give us eternal life. That is the second birth we have to experience. Anyone who has born only once will die twice, but anyone who has born twice, will die only once because you are guaranteed eternity with God.
God is a great and loving God, like a mother who cares for us. That is the beauty of this Sunday. When I thought about many others in the Bible, I remembered the many mothers we can relate to, such as Moses’ mother. She had to abandon her baby into the Nile River, but God made a way for her to rescue the baby. You probably know the story of Moses’ sister watching the baby floating through the river. The Pharaoh's daughter found the baby, and they were looking for a woman to nurse the baby. Moses' sister went to her mother and brought her to nurse the baby without being recognized by the Pharaoh. Moses' mother was probably the only mother who got paid by the government to nurse her own baby.
God works things together even when our future seems abandoned and hopeless. When we are afraid of our future, there is a God, like a mother knows and plans for the goodness of our future.
When I remember all of these mothers, Jesus' mother and Jacob's mother also stand out. There are many others, like the two midwives in the book of Exodus. When the Pharaoh declared that all children under two years old should be killed because he was afraid of Moses being born, these two midwives disobeyed the Pharaoh and did not kill the babies. They stood against the emperor's order. These women of great courage and faith.
But above all, there is one woman in the Bible who most people do not look at positively: Job's wife. We know the Book of Job. He suffered a lot and had many losses. His properties were taken away, and we read about the devil going to God and asking to test Job. God gave Job to him, saying he could take everything except his life because life belongs to God. The devil may have power but not authority on anything. God has the ultimate authority on our lives. There may be evil in this world, but God has the final authority.
Job lost everything, including his ten children, to the enemies. His properties were taken, and finally, the devil attacked his body with physical ailments. Job had to sit outside the house because the smell of his body was unbearable to his wife. Despite all this, the Bible does not say that Job's wife was taken away from him. She stayed with him through it all. This woman doesn't even have a name in the Bible. There are only three times Job's wife shows up. One of the times is when she says to Job, "Curse God and die." The other times we see her mentioned are when Job says, while crying in pain, "My breath is offensive to my wife." Then, in chapter 31, towards the end of his suffering, Job complains to God about his situation and says, "Take my wife and give her to somebody else." So, those are the only three times we hear about Job's wife. She has no name, as I said, and there is very little reference to her situation and who she was.
Many times, we forget the caregivers. We feel sorry for the people suffering, but to me, the caregivers have a more difficult time, especially with people who have dementia. They don't know what's going on, but the ones caring for them are in a painful situation in seeing the misery of their dear ones. Job's wife was one of them.
Many think she was a bad person for saying to Job to "curse God and die." She was probably tired of seeing her husband suffer. She might have been saying, "Let us take our own lives." People often think of her as the devil's accomplice, but I have sympathy for her because she saw it all and went through it all with Job. Her situation was mentally tiring and physically torturous. I am sure it was out of her own fatigue and despair that she suggested to curse God and die.
We don't need to condemn her because God does not condemn her. Job responded to her by saying, "You are speaking like a foolish woman." To me, that showed compassion. Job was saying, "Sweetheart, this is not you talking. This doesn't sound like the woman of God I married. Let us remember God's promises and His goodness."
Job's wife was a very loving, hardworking, and nurturing mother. She endured much, and without her, there would not have been a second Job. After Job went through all his trials, God gave him double the blessings, including ten more children. It is likely the same woman who gave birth to another ten children, making a total of twenty. That is a remarkable endurance.
One of the most enduring mothers in history, to me, is Job's wife She was one of the most beautiful women in history too. The Bible tells us that after Job got back his ten children, his daughters were the most beautiful women in history. Beautiful mothers give birth to beautiful children.. She was one of the most beautiful and most endurant women in history.
God is a God of great compassion for us, even when we go through difficult times in our lives. We might be ready to give up, but God says that there is more to our lives than we can see. So hang on. Let us remember our mothers who did not give up on us. Many of them could have given up on us, but they did not; they stayed strong. God is like a mother, tending to us and keeping us with a mother's love. He has compassion for us.
So let us all remember the love of God during this time. May the good Lord bless us and our mothers today as we go from this place. Amen.
In our selfish world, Job's wife was selfless. Despite all the bad rap she gets, she was a faithful and committed wife and mother. She cared for Job even when everyone else abandoned him. In this selfish generation, she was selfless, enduring the trials and remaining committed.
God is compassionate towards us, even when we are ready to give up. There is more to our lives than we can see. Let us remember our mothers who did not give up on us. They stayed strong. God is like a mother, tending to us with compassion.
May the good Lord bless us and our mothers. Amen.
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