Honor That Comes Back

Abraham Lincoln once said, “All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.” It is a line that has lasted for more than 150 years because so many of us could say something close to it about our own moms. Mothers shape us through prayers we do not remember, sacrifices we never saw, and a love we often do not fully appreciate until much later.

Mother’s Day is the one weekend on the calendar where we get to pause and honour the woman who was cheering for us long before anyone else knew our name.

Whether your mom is going to be sitting beside you in one of our services this Sunday, you are calling her from a thousand miles away, or you are holding her in your memory because she is already with the Lord, God calls us to honour.

The First Commandment with a Promise

Out of all the commandments God gave us, only one comes attached to a promise, and it just so happens to be the one about our parents. In Ephesians 6:2-3, Paul writes, “Honor your father and mother” — this is the first commandment with a promise — “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”

Of all the things God could have attached a promise to, such as generosity, courage, faithfulness, even prayer, He chose honouring our parents.

The way we treat our mothers not only blesses them; God uses it to shape our future. Honour is a gift God turns around and places back into our own lives.

Behind Every Story, There’s a Mom

Long before a teacher, coach, mentor, or pastor stepped into your story, your mom was already believing there was something significant in you. She carried you in her womb, rocked you when you could not sleep, worried over things you never knew about, and prayed for you before you knew how to pray for yourself.

The Bible is full of mothers like that. Jochebed wove a tiny basket out of reeds and entrusted her baby to the Nile because she believed what was in him was worth preserving. That baby grew up to be Moses (Exodus 2:1-10).

Hannah prayed and wept for years for the gift of a son, and when God gave her Samuel, she gave him back to the Lord (1 Samuel 1).

Mary said yes to a calling she did not fully understand, carried the Son of God in her womb, and was still there at the foot of the cross when nearly everyone else had left (Luke 1:38; John 19:25-27).

Each of these women showed up faithfully, often without applause and often without seeing the full picture of what God was doing. They simply kept loving, kept believing, and kept obeying. Through their faithfulness, God built nations, raised up prophets and kings, and changed the world.

For many of us, that is what our mothers have done on a smaller but still significant scale. They may not have known the full story God was writing in us, but they kept showing up anyway, and that is worth honouring.

Three Words I Wish I Had Said More Often

Twelve years ago, my own mom went home to be with Jesus. As I look back on the years we had together, there are three simple things I wish I had said to her more often, and these three things I have come to believe are some of the most meaningful gifts we can give the women who raised us. The good news is that they cost nothing, and all of us already have them sitting right in our mouths:

1. “Thank you.” Two of the most underused words in any language. Thank her for the meals, the prayers, the rides, the late nights, the second chances, and the sacrifices you only understand now. Be specific with your gratitude. General appreciation is good, but specific gratitude has a way of reaching the heart.
2. “I’m proud of you.” That is the sentence we usually wait for our parents to say to us, but moms need to hear it too. Especially in the seasons when she wonders, quietly, if she is doing this right. Motherhood is a beautiful calling, but it can also be an exhausting one. Letting her know that she is seen is something that she will carry for a long time.
3. “I love you.” A few sentences in any language stir love quite like a son or daughter saying, “Mom, I love you.” It may be simple, but it is never wasted. Don’t let familiarity keep you from saying what matters. Proverbs 16:24 says, “Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.”

While the Window Is Open

It is a sobering reality that we will not always have our moms in the same way forever. Seasons change, distance grows, health shifts, but the beautiful thing about Mother’s Day is that it gives a reason to honour now. If your mom is still here, do not outsource it all to a card. Pick up the phone. Drive over. Sit with her. Make her a cup of tea. Tell her what she means to you. Let’s honour her while the window to do so on Earth is still open.

And if your mom has already gone home to be with the Lord, or if your relationship with her is complicated, there is still honour you can give. Honour does not mean pretending everything is perfect. It does not erase pain or remove the need for wisdom and healthy boundaries.

In this weekend’s message we are looking at three levels of honour we can give our moms; affirmation, appreciation, and admiration. While appreciation and admiration are important, affirmation – drawing attention to the strengths, talents, and abilities God placed in her – is the starting point. For some of us, because of neglect or pain, that is as far as we can go right now, but that is still honouring her and pleasing to the Lord. Honour does not require a perfect mother or a perfect relationship, but a willing heart of obedience.

This Mother’s Day, let’s honour our moms. As we do, we will not only see it bless her, but God is faithful to His Word that it shall also be well with you.