A mother’s heart is a self-sacrificing heart.

The question was not who gave birth to this child, but who had the mother’s heart.

It takes more than having a baby to be a mother.

I am appalled at what I have seen in this world today – Mothers who don’t like their children (or at least treat their children like they don’t like them) – mothers who abuse their children or allow others to – mothers who kill their children. If ever the devil had control of this world it is today.

And get this now – I have even seen Christian mothers who treat their children badly – or at least with disrespect.

Proverbs 31 says –

A mother doesn’t demand respect; she wins it by her godly life. She wins it by love - loving care and loving discipline.

Helen Steiner Rice wrote:

What Is A Mother?

It takes a Mother’s love to make a house a home,

A place to be remembered, no matter where we roam . . .

It takes a Mother’s patience to bring a child up right,

And her courage and her cheerfulness to make a dark day bright.

It takes a Mother’s thoughtfulness to mend the heart’s deep hurts

And her skill and her endurance to mend little socks and shirts …

It takes a Mother’s kindness to forgive us when we err,

To sympathize in trouble and bow her head in prayer …

It takes a Mother’s wisdom to recognize our needs

And to give us reassurance by her loving words and deeds …

It takes a Mother’s endless faith, her confidence and trust

To guide us through the pitfalls of selfishness and lust …

And that is why in all this world there could not be another

Who could fulfill God’s purpose as completely as a Mother!

A old legend tells how an angel came down from heaven to earth one day, viewing fields and cities, and the varied scenes of nature and art. At sunset he said: "I must return to the world of light; shall I not take with me some momentos of my visit here? How beautiful and fragrant the flowers are! I will pick of them a choice bouquet."

But, passing a country home, he saw a rosy baby, smiling up into the mother’s face, and he said: "The smile of that baby is prettier than these roses; I must take that, too."

But just then he looked beyond the cradle, and saw the mother’s face alight with love as she kissed the child, and he said, "Oh, that mother’s love is the most beautiful thing I have seen in all the world; I will take that also."

But when he reached the pearly gates, he found that his flowers had withered, the baby’s smile had changed into a frown, and only the mother’s love remained unchanged. So he stood before the throne with only one treasure. "Here," he said, "is the only thing I found on earth that would retain its fragrance and beauty all the way to heaven. The sweetest, most beautiful and everlasting thing in all this world is a mother’s love."

Abraham Lincoln said, "All that I am, I owe to my mother."

Mothers, you have an awesome responsibility and an awesome privilege. I charge you and challenge you – be a mother! Do your job. Raise those kids. Teach them. Love them. Discipline them. Give them your best. Your influence will live on for generations to come.

Think about this – George Washington had a mother. Billy Graham had a mother. So did Adolph Hitler and Al Capone! I’ll bet if you looked closely you would find some great differences in the way these men were raised.

I took a piece of plastic clay

And idly fashioned it one day.

And as my fingers pressed it, still

It moved and yielded to my will.

I came again when days were passed,

That bit of clay was hard at last,

The form I gave it, still it bore,

And I could change that form no more.

Then I took a piece of living clay

And gently formed it, day by day.

And molded with my power and art,

A young child’s soft and yielding heart.

I came again when year’s were gone,

It was a man I looked upon.

He still that early impress bore,

And I could change it nevermore.

Mom, yours is a lasting impression. Use your influence wisely.

Now, I have spoken to the mothers, let me speak to the children.

Your mother is a special person. You may not always think so. Sometimes you may dislike her, but never disrespect her. Sometimes you may take her lightly, but never take her for granted. Sometimes you may disagree, but never disobey her.

You owe a great deal to this woman who brought you into this world. She not only brought you in, but she has brought you through thus far. And believe it or not, she’ll be there as long as there is breath in her body.

I want to share with you three poems that express the value of a mother better than I could ever hope to.

For care in childhood’s helpless days,

For sleepless nights and anxious days,

For loving help in many ways,

I love you.

For service rendered without thanks

For patience toward a child’s pranks

For wise reproof and even spanks

I love you.

For opening youth’s unheeding eyes

To beauty that around us lies

In field and forest, earth and skies

I love you.

For many a humble, homely deed

Performed to meet the family need

For making "others first" your creed

I love you.

For many and hour of stress and strain

For cheerfulness in spite of pain

For counting work for others gain

I love you.’

For all these things and others too

Your daily gifts a long life through

But most of all because you’re you

I love you.

Did you ever think about how much a mother does?

Hear this offering form Laverne Hughes Northrop –

You Cared Enough

So much was taken for granted

But I needed you every day

The person I couldn’t do without

My mother who showed me the way.

Now I can see things better

It takes a few years to learn

Through endless hours of unselfish caring

You made the home fires burn.

You cared enough to teach me

"Never mind what people say,

What matters most is what God thinks

He knows the better way."

You cared enough to show me

How to live and ear for health

That it’s nice to have, but better to give

There are greater things than wealth.

Your love is deep and steady

The kind that’s tried and true

I love you, mama, and thank you much

For patiently seeing me through.

Finally, what did you get mom for Mother’s Day? Did you find the perfect gift? Listen, and I’ll tell you of the perfect gift – the best gift you can give your mother.

I do not build a monument

Of carved white marble for your sake

That only those who pass may read

And only those memorial make.

My life must be the monument

I consecrate in your behalf

My charity must carve you name

My gentleness your epitaph.

Above this record I engrave

No drooping figure there must be

Straight-shouldered courage, starry-eyed

Must mark this scroll of destiny.

And may some fragments of your strength

By God’s great mystery fall on me

That through this monument of mine

May shine your immortality.

The best thing you can give your mother is a life that honors her. And ultimately, the life that best honors mom will be a life that honors God. For a mother to raise a child who follows the path designed by the creator is the ultimate triumph.

Do you want to honor your mother? Let Jesus build you a life that will do it best.

Now, let me push this application a little further. I started out saying, "A mother’s love is a self-sacrificing love." Well, so is a Christian’s love. A "Christian" is supposed to be a follower of Christ. (We have been instructed to not refer to ourselves as ‘Christians’ in Albania. We are ‘followers of Jesus Christ’. Christian is the nominal term that their persecutors bear. Those who kill and maim and rape them are "Christians", because they are not Muslims.)

A true Christian is Christ-like. That means we love with the love of Christ. His love sent him to the cross ‘for others’.

An old song says, "What the world needs now is love, sweet love. That’s the only thing that there’s just too little of."

What the world needs is God’s love. They need Jesus, and they need to see Jesus in us.