Mother’s Day 2024
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· 2 viewsMotherhood helps us see the love of God for us.
Notes
Transcript
What do you remember best about your mom?
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Thank you!
As I prayed about where to go with today’s message this week, I believe God led me back to 1 Corinthians 13, specifically verses 4-7:
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
When it comes to moms, or those who fill that role in someone’s life, I think most often it is mom that is remembered with fondness. It is our mothers, or grandmothers, or the woman that has filled that role in your life, that have demonstrated to us in some way what it means to love. Often then, our own moms are for us models of the most basic code of conduct for the Christian: A life grounded in love.
The big idea today is just that:
Motherhood shows us our basic way of life: Love.
How does motherhood demonstrate what love is? And as Christians, what does it mean to live lives of love? We’re going to go back to 1 Corinthians 13 to understand this. To understand what Paul decribes this way of life actually looking like, and how motherhood shows us this, we need to spend the time asking this question: What is love?
Love is selfless
Love is selfless
As we look at these first verses concerning love, We need to understand the context that Paul is writing them in.
Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the higher gifts.
And I will show you a still more excellent way.
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Paul has been talking to the Corinthians previously about spiritual gifts, and being members of the church. He asks the Corinthians at the end of chapter 12. The Corinthians were struggling with placing too much emphasis on just one gift, causing disorder and chaos in the worship service. With this in mind, he launches at the beginning of chapter 13 into the understanding of how love should undergird everything the Christian does. His contrasts are interesting: He could speak in other languages - human tongues or angelic, but without love it’s like a noisy gong. This would be a fantastic gift to have! But without love, it is a pointless thing.
Likewise he could have all the knowledge, all the faith, understand deep and complex mysteries. But without love, it is worthless. He says he could give away everything, even his own life, but if these actions are not founded in love for others, they are worthless indeed.
I want to just stop and think about this for a minute: Without love for others, Paul states that these gifts, the sacrifice of both posessions and even body, are worthless. These are strong statements. Such pointed and heavy communication might irk us a bit even, but it is important to realize that the founding quality in the Christian life, the basic way of life for us is love. In fact love is so impoprtant that Jesus gives us the greatest commandment in Matthew 22:37-40
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
So then, this leads us to this question, what is love? The next few verses demonstrate both what love is, and what it is not. As we read 1 Corinthians 13:4-5, I believe we encounter love as selfless.
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
Love is:
Patient, kind, not envying, or boasting. it is not arrogant, or rude. Interestingly this word “rude” in Greek actually refers to sexual immorality - like a man forcing himself on his fiancé. Love doesn’t insist on its own way.
Love isn’ t insisting of its own way. It isn’t easily angered, and it doesn’t keep a record of wrongs.
I think this is where we take a few minutes to understand love through the lens of “mom.” If you are a mother here, you know the sacrifice made for your children right from day one. From the moment of conception mom is giving to baby - literally mom is the sustaining life force until the child is grown enough to be out on its own. Then, it is primarily mom’s task to nourish this new little life. As that child grows, it gradually transfers from needing physical sustaining (like food, clothing, etc.) to needing mental and emotional support and guidance. For many years, parenting addresses all of these areas in the child’s life at once! Parenting - “moming” in this case, is a selfless act.
Let’s think back for a moment to patience, to kindness. Who was it that probably first showed you patience - a longsuffering when you were being slow, or having trouble with something? Probably mom, or grandma, or maybe the woman in your life who best fit into the category of mother figure. How often did your mother go do what you wanted to do, or give you time to her own detriment, to help you? She could have insisted on her own way, but she didn’t. And despite this sacrifice, she probably - hopefully - does not resent you for it. I doubt (at least for most of us!) that you have kept a record of all the things your children did wrong against you. Everytime they screamed or yelled or threw a trantrum. Love does not keep this type of record - that’s not how love works. If you were to ask her why she did all this, what would be the answer? Because I love you. Or perhaps as a mom, you would be quick to say, because you’re my son, or daughter. I love you.
God our Father works the same way. Everything we recieve - every good and perfect gift the Word tells us - is from God. He gives them to us freely. Salvation - the ultimate sacrifice - God gives to us freely. Instead of keeping a record of everything we have done, for those who have accepted Christ we have this promise:
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
So we see as we consider these first descriptors that love is selfless. Often our moms are the first ones to show us this selfless kind of love.
This is the kind of love that should characterize the walk of a Christian. Love that extends enduring patience and kindness. Love that isn’t in it for themselves. Love that does not seek our own way, but the good of another first.
This is how Paul characterizes “love” in verses 4-5. But, he is not finished.
Love rejoices in truth
Love rejoices in truth
it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
What does it mean to not rejoice at wrongdoing, but to rejoice in the truth? Here Paul continues to build off the negatives he has already introduced: Love isn’t easily provoked, it doesn’t keep record of wrongs, and it does not rejoice at injustice. The ones that practice these things live in hate, not in love. (Cornerstone, p. 191). So with this in mind, let us consider: What characterizes love here:
1 Corinthians (2) What Love Does and Does Not Do (13:4–7)
love does not rejoice in behaving unjustly toward others but instead embraces God’s way of righteousness in relation to others
If we look back in 1 Corinthians, we see in chapter 6 that Paul addresses lawsuits:
When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases?
What was happening for these Corinthians believers? Rather than settling disputes among themselves, they were taking these matters to the common courts. Especially over trivial matters, this was something that should not be done. At this time in Corinthians culture, it would be totally normal for someone to take someone else to court for whatever. Especially for people who had wealth or power, taking someone of lower standing to court was commonplace. Great! Except this is not how Christians are suppoosed to live, or treat others. Especially not those who are also part of the body of Christ! Injustice was taking place here, and self-seeking that was contrary to the life that was supposed to be lived in Jesus Christ. Their practice of taking brothers and sisters to the common court both splintered the body, and gave a bad testimony to the world about the church. Paul says in verse 8:
But you yourselves wrong and defraud—even your own brothers!
Moreover, as Paul says later, why would you seek advice over petty squabbles from those who are even despised by the church. Does this mean that there is no place for court in the lives of Christians? Certainly not - sometimes it is necessary to employ the law in order to seek justice. But by that same token, when it came to petty squabbles inside the church, Paul reminders them that there is a gulf between the people of this world, and the people of the kingdom of God. It would not be appropriate - in these cases - to seek help from those they have so little in common with (Cornerstone, p. 88). Paul further says “isn’t it better to be wronged or suffer loss for the sake of the kingdom?” In other words, what’s more important to you? The kingdom of God, or your personal vendetas or advancements here on earth?
So, rather than rejoicing in injustice, or unrighteousness, Paul says “no, love rejoices in truth.” This has a moral implication: “God’s way of righteous living” - as one commentary puts it.
1 Corinthians ((2) What Love Does and Does Not Do (13:4–7))
Truth: God’s way of righteous living
There’s people in life who are hard to get along with. Personalities clash, arguments happen, different views come up. The church is no different. It’s filled with imperfect people trying to get along while serving the perfect God. It’s natural that disputes will come up! But love - if it is actually to be lived out - is more than a thought or feeling. It’s tested in the crucible of relationship. It’s shown in the “turning of the other cheek” that Jesus talks about in Matthew 5. Love rejoices in the truth - not in injustice or unrighteousness. Not only does love rejoice in a just way of handling conflict, but it also rejoices in speaking and upholding the truth. Love does not stand for immoral practices. So love - when demonstrated properly - also speaks the truth. Not in a way to harm or hurt, but to admonish people towards God’s righteous way of living.
Again we can ask the question, how does this match up to motherhood? Again, I consider both my mom, and my wife in these things. My mom was not afraid to speak truth, and to show her kids how to do so in an appropriate way. In our home, discipline and “justice” when there were disputes between sibilings was often carried out by Mom. And we could trust my mom for fair judgements. Though it’s much easier to say that now that at 14! But there were also the times in our lives when she showed us how to peacefully stand up for rights or freedoms. Not in a way that hurt others or caused harm, but in a way that communicated that we - as a family - would not stand for injustice.
Much in the same way, Katie operates this way. Our kids may be young, but Jonathan is all too happy to create “injustice,” most of the time for the cat. As his mom Katie must discipline him and communicate to him that injustice - even when it looks like sitting on the cat and squishing her - cannot be tolerated. In defense of loved ones, and seeing truth come about, moms often go to bat for their kids and families in order to see fair treatment at school, or sports, or work, or wherever. Moreover, it is often a mother’s influence that may get their child to return the thing they stole, confess to wrong doing, or simply not do that “thing” at all. Moms showcase for us how rejoicing in the truth works. In doing so, they demonstrate another facet of the love of God.
God also rejoices in the truth and hates injustice. From the numerous Old Testament passages that show Israel how injustice to the poor and needy should not be, to prophecies such as this one from Micah 6 8
He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
We see that our God rejoices in the truth, and is a just God.
Love never gives up
Love never gives up
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Finally, we see how love carries people. I am blanketing a few aspects of love into this point. But as we read these descriptors, I think we see how love lived out means that we care for people, carry their burdens, and carries on during the challenges of life.
1 Corinthians (2) What Love Does and Does Not Do (13:4–7)
“Love never tires of support, never loses faith, never exhausts hope, never gives up.”
How do you know the meaning of a true friend, or how much someone loves you? Often you determine the commitment level of someone when trials come. Some of the most trusted people in your life may be the ones who walk with you, even through fire. Ultimately, when we experience trials and troubles, we should turn to God for help. Why? Because He is our Father, and He cares for us. His love is demonstrated to us in that He never leaves us or forsakes us. Deut 31 8.
It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
Paul says here that love bears all things. This word communicates the idea of trouble. What Paul is saying is that when trouble comes, we bear burdens with others. Certainly this is the job of the church. We care for each other and those outside of our body - this is extending the love of Christ to them.
To believe and hope all things (or always), is not to express naive faith and trust - love is discerning still! But it means that, even when someone’s case seems hopeless, the one who practices love will continue to hope for them. They will not consider them a hopeless case, but will continue to believe that with God, all things are possible.
The idea of endurance in this passage lends itself again to the concept of facing challenge. Despite trial and hardship, love continues on. Literally, this word means to face or withstand something with courage (LXGNTLEX). Love does not give up, even when times are tough and when things are hard.
Keep in mind who Paul is writing to. An audience in the middle of one of the most thriving port cities of the 1st century world. In the midst of different cultural values, different religions, temptation, and strife, Paul tells these readers that love - the basic code of conduct for the Christian - endures. They are supposed to carry each other’s burdens, as we read in Galatians 6 2
Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
They should continue to believe and hope, even when it seems hopeless or like people are a lost cause. For Paul himself, as he sees the Corinthian church start to backslide and go down hill, he contiues to believe that they are not a lost cause.
Again, we can take this back to our mothers. I think there are few better examples of the kind of love that does not give up than moms. Moms bear the burdens of their children. They exercise faith, even when their kids seem to be a lost cause, that there is hope, and rejoice when that hope does present itself. Moms press on in the face of trial and trouble, and will not give up. Now, I get it, not everyone has had a healthy mother figure in their life. If that is you, I hope and pray you can understand that love from the ultimate source of love: God. He is the One ultimately who demonstrates the kind of love that doesn’t give up, that bears all things, that contiues to follow after us with the message of hope even when it seems we are too far gone.
Love never gives up. This is what we find here in 1 Corinthians 13:7. That when someone practices love, they will bear another’s burdens, they will not tire of exercising faith and hope - even when someone seems like a lost cause. They will endure in the face of hardship and trial.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Motherhood shows us our basic way of life: Love.
As we consider 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, we find the operating parameters for love: It is patient, kind, not keeping a record of wrongs. It is not easily angered, nor does the one who practices love work for their own selfish gain. Love rejoices in righteousness and truth - the righteous way that God wants us to live. Love stands up for the truth. However, it takes no pleasure in the injustices found in this world, and stands opposed to them. Love never gives up on someone, but carries other’s burdens and always has faith and hope. Not a naive faith or hope that is blind, but the kind of hope and faith that believes that with God, even the hardest cases aren’t necessarily lost causes.
Motherhood - “moming” teaches us so much about what love is, and how it works. We’ve taken time today to explore 1 Corinthians 13 - how the Bible sees love played out in the lives of Christians. These different characteristics of love are so often exhibited by the ones who care for us, who even work to bring us into this world, and who constanrtly give of themselves for us.
Today is Mother’s Day, so I think we should take a moment to thank moms. Because in many cases our mothers really our our first and often one of our greatest examples of Godly, selfless love. So, to the mom who’s working hard to care for her kids, even to the detriment of her own wants, and desires, thank you for being an example of selfless love. To the women who are filling the role of mother, or grandmother, on behalf of another, thank you for caring for those God places in your care - for bearing their burdens, for enduring, and for hoping, praying, and encouraging.
To those who don’t have a mother figure in their life right now, or maybe never had, I hope as you read 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 you see the love of God. Everything Paul talks about here has been modeled for us by Jesus Christ. He is the ultimate example of someone who loved selflessly, who bears our burdens, rejoices in the truth, and continues to seek us even when we seem like lost cases.
Our moms are often our first and one of the strongest testaments we have to the love of God lived out. So today, I have two challenges for you: First, if you have someone in your life who has been that person for you, go honestly thank them. Second, thank God for the gift of that person or people that he’s brought into your life. And finally, and perhaps most important: Take time to figure out how the basic code of conduct for our loves - love - needs to be played out in your life. Where is an area of your life that the Spirit of God wants to work on, to better reflect Jesus, and be a living example of love to those around you.
Happy Mother’s Day.