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Mother: Where Are You?
Luke 15:11-24
11 And he said, A certain man had two sons:
12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.
13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.
14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.
15 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.
17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.
20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.
22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:
23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:
24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
The story of the prodigal son is one of the most popular in the Bible.
- A son made some bad choices and squandered his inheritance.
- After a season he realizes his mistake and returns home. The father meets him and restores him.
It is a great story on many levels. The typology, the love, the restoration, the jealousy etc., all make it a powerful and intriguing story.
But something is missing. Where is the prodigal’s mother?
She is never mentioned at all. Was she there or was she nonexistent?
Mother: Where are you?
I cannot help but wonder how different this story may have been with a present mother.
- Would she have convinced him to stay?
- Would she have tracked him down in the pigpen?
- What would have changed had his mother been present?
One of the greatest presidents in US history claims “All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.” – Abraham Lincoln
His mother was present!
It has been stated: Life didn’t’t come with an instruction manual—it came with something far better. It came with a Mother. But what if there is no mother present?
It has been clinically proven that a child without a mother faces deep and negative emotional issues.
In an article titled “The Effects of an Absent Mother Figure” by C. Giles, the claim is made that without a mother a child is more prone to face low self-esteem, antisocial behavior, emotional problems and juvenile delinquency. It also produces trust and boundary issues, and may cause a motherless individual to have difficulty forming healthy adult relationships.
In short, our lives are lacking without a mother. Mothers…we need you!
Mother: Where are you?
Mother, please realize how valuable you are, not only to your family, but also to your society.
What is a mother worth?
Proverbs 31:10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
Proverbs 31:28 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
This passage speaks of a virtuous and priceless woman—but she was more than that…She was a Mother!
The book of Proverbs begins, “The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel.”
- He was a great king and the son of a great king. He was powerful and supreme.
- People bowed in his presence.
- They obeyed his command.
- He had great authority.
Where was Solomon’s mother?
Solomon’s mother was present…and he honored her
1 Kings 2:19 Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king arose to meet her, bowed before her, and sat on his throne; then he had a throne set for the king’s mother, and she sat on his right.
He bowed before his mother. Even brought forth a throne for her. What honor and respect! Solomon understood the importance of a mother in his life.
She supported not only Solomon but also her other children as well. What would Solomon have been without his mother?
Mother: Where are you?
Where does a mother rank in God’s eyes?
She was compared to rubies!
- The Ruby is mentioned as one of the twelve precious stones created by God when he created mankind.
- The Ruby has been called the “the lord of gems.”
- It adorned Aaron’s breastplate and was symbol of Judah.
- In ancient times rubies were considered more valuable than diamonds.
- In 16th century they were valued 8 times higher than other stones.
The Bible compares mothers to rubies in an effort to set the value at its pinnacle. To let the reader know there’s NOTHING more valuable—or that has more worth. He pulls the reader in showing the great value of rubies and then says: “for her price is far above rubies.”
But the Bible shows an even deeper revelation of the value of a mother
- The word “mother” is used 245 times in the Bible
- Strong’s Concordance tells us that the word literally means “the bond of the family”
- In other words, a mother is the glue that holds a family together.
Without a mother, the bond of the family is missing, and a family will often fall apart!
Mother: Where are you?
What does a mother do? What are her Jobs?
A Google search revealed a nearly endless list. Here are just a few:
Personal Chef
Head Cheerleader
Housekeeper
Taxi Driver
Judge Mom {daily court appearances}
Hair Stylist
Bed-wetting Patrol
Keeper of Secrets
Food Tester
Family Therapist
Errand Runner
Laundry expert
Janitor
Teacher {ABC’s and 123′s}
Toy Repair Service
Finance Manager
Refrigerator Art Director
Potty Trainer
Search and Rescue Patrol
Lifeguard
Daycare Provider
Personal Assistant
Wardrobe Stylist
Personal Shopper
PTA Representative
Play-date Coordinator
Birthday Events Director
Scary Monster Patrol Officer
Dramatic Story Teller
Backyard Safety Patrol
Boo-Boo Fixer
Kiss and Hugs Expert
Vacation Coordinator & Tour Guide
PhD in Reverse Psychology
Separation Anxiety Counselor
Seamstress
Blanket Fort Engineer
Stain Removal Expert
Bodyguard
Can you imagine life without all this?
Mother: Where are you?
What is the true value of a mother?
- Mothers work as many as 90 hours a week.
- Their job description defies logic.
- She’s on call 24/7.
The national average weekly salary for a full-time nanny is $705. That’s $36,660 a year.
A regular cleaning service costs anywhere between $50-$100 per visit, depending on how big your space is. You’re looking at $100 per week at the bare minimum to stay presentable.
That’s another $5,200 a year.
Does your mom ever run errands for you? Buy the groceries?
Personal shoppers on average run around $65 an hour. Average the amount of time spent at the grocery stores or department stores per week is 4 hours and you’re looking at around $260, and that’s an extremely conservative average.
That’s $13,520 a year.
Does your mom ever cook? Prepare meals?
A personal chef can start from $400. That’s $12,480 a year. And that’s excluding any hosting extra meals to cook or extra sides and entrees for potlucks and holiday parties.
So far we’re looking at $67,860 per year!
If your mom takes care of your finances, then add on $15 an hour for the average rate of a financial assistant. Let’s average 5 hours a week on financial services at $3900 per year.
If your mom does the laundry, then you’ll need to add at least a fee of $25 a week for the bare minimum washer/dryer personal service, which equals $1300 per year.
The average taxi fare is around $24 for 10 miles. Figuring at least 6 trips a week that’s another $7488 per year.
Add that onto our very conservative estimates for childcare, house cleaning, and shopping, and that’s an annual salary of $80,548.
And let’s remember, there’s no sick leave with childcare, there’s no paid time off, there’s no 401(k). All of the incentives that someone who makes over 80K a year would normally enjoy are not part of this deal.
This list falls embarrassingly short of all the things that are actually accomplished by a mother. We haven’t started to figure in the cost of the most important things in life!
- A loving hand on a skinned knee.
- Applause from the 3rd row of the 2nd grade school play.
- Tears of joy at graduation – whether it’s from kindergarten or college. Dishes
- Diapers
- Drama
- Discipline
- Shaping our consciences
- Teaching the first lessons of love
- Loving us unconditionally
What is the price of a mother’s LOVE?
Washington Irving wrote, “The love of a mother is never exhausted. It never changes—it never tires—it endures through all, in good repute, in bad repute, in the face of the world’s condemnation, a mother’s love still lives on.”
Mother: Where are you?
We need you!
Mary—the mother of Jesus
She was a constant part of the life of Jesus from the cradle to the cross.
What did she do for Jesus?
- I. She urged Jesus to do what was right. (John 2) Mothers believe in their kids. What if the prodigal had a mother telling him what was right…urging him to do right?
- II. Elizabeth said of Mary: Luke 1:45 And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.
- She had faith in God
- She lived a faithful life
- She took Jesus to church
- She taught him
- Proverbs 1:8 …forsake not your mother’s teaching
- 2 Timothy 1:5 “When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice…
- What motherly teaching and faith did the prodigal miss out on?
- III. She searched for Him when she thought He was lost (Luke 2). No one searched for the prodigal. Prodigal story would have been so different had their mother not been absent. I feel certain she would have been searching for him!
- IV. Mary stood with Jesus at Calvary when nearly everyone else deserted Him. Jesus acknowledged her, and provided for her, even during His tortuous death on the cross of salvation.
- 1. Of the last 11 words of Jesus before death, 6 concerned His mother. With the weight of the world’s sin on His shoulders, He interrupted the salvation of mankind to make sure His mother would be looked after.
John 19:26-27 ESV When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.”
A strong mother in the life of the prodigal, a mother standing by in crisis, could have driven the story in a different direction.
Just how valuable is a mother?
What is a mother worth?
A mother is priceless—when she is present
Mother:
- You child needs you
- Your family needs you
- Your home needs you
- Your church needs you
- Your world needs you
You are priceless and invaluable!
