Happy Mother’s Day!
In both the Old and New Testaments God commands us to “honor your father and mother” (Exodus 20:12; Ephesians 6:2). The idea behind the Hebrew word for honor is “weightiness.” There is a gravity and substance and thickness to honor. To honor one’s parents is to sense the weight of their role in our lives and esteem them for it. Parenting is a heavy task. It’s an honorable duty.
But giving honor is often difficult for us. Our parents are, of course, great sinners. Which means their legacy for us is one of both beauty and brokenness. For some of us the beauty outweighed the brokenness. Honor comes more easily in these cases. But for others, the brokenness is what we felt most. How do you honor someone who caused you so much hurt?
I find it helpful to remember that while respect is earned, honor
is a choice. We can choose to honor people we don’t respect. We do it all the time with bosses, family members, and politicians. We honor them for their roles even if we can’t respect them as persons. Because respect is something people earn by their treatment of us, but honor is something we can choose to extend, even to the undeserving.
So on this Mother’s Day, which is filled with great joys for some and great pains for others, let us make the choice to honor our mothers. Our Moms gave us life and so much more. Motherhood is a heavy task and an honorable duty. We give thanks to God for our earthly mothers and for all the spiritual mothers He has brought into our lives along the way. We honor you today.
You are loved, more than you know!
Pastor Philip
