Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Mothers (05/02/05)
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TITLE: A DIVINE RESPONSIBILITY | Previous Challenge Entry
By Phyllis Inniss
05/08/05 -
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“Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it, she is the mother thereof.” (1 Kings 3:27)
Although God has designed the bodies of women for child bearing, not all women give birth. Giving birth is such a beautiful gift bestowed on women that we can feel the pain of the women in the bible who were denied it. God’s gift was given to Sarah in her old age as a blessing to Abraham to whom God had made a promise that he would be father to many nations. Then there was Elizabeth, Zacharias’ wife, who was barren, and the Lord heard their prayer and blessed them with a son.
The delight and joy that a newborn brings to mothers, parents and families cannot be limited to mere words. It is an expression of the fulfilment of a mystical and magical experience. A new being has come into the world. The mother has brought this wonderful creature into the universe. She has carried this unknown for all these months, not knowing what the final result would be. There is a mixture of fear, apprehension, anxiety, all rolled into one, then the birth, then exhilaration.
The fulfilment of God’s promise to Abraham that he would be the father of many nations behoves us by faith to be obedient to His word. He expects us as parents to bring up our children in the fear of the Lord and to discipline them in the way they should go, so that when they grow up they will not depart from it. Although fathers are expected to play their part in the raising of their children, it is usually more incumbent on mothers generally, particularly in the early years of their children’s life, to be entrusted with the role of disciplining them. Their bodies are created for childbirth and suckling their young and are also softer than men’s. It seems natural for them to cuddle, breastfeed, bath and change their babies. Of course, we know men do nearly all these things and quite competently. In many societies women are the ones at home with their offspring, making it easier for them to do this
In most third world countries mothers are the backbone of the nation, and perhaps in some advanced ones as well. Mothers here have the role of being mother and father, teacher, playmate, guide, counsellor, psychologist and spiritual mentor. In many cases, no father is around to give the mother the support she needs. Surprisingly, some mothers handle this duty in such a masterly way that one is surprised when their children grow up better equipped than others who have both parents.
We know of ‘mothers’ who have never really given birth. They are mothers because they felt the need to love and take care of children. They do this by adoption or just temporarily taking care of other people’s offspring for one reason or other. Many of these ‘mothers’ carry out important functions in the society in which they live. They take charge of those whose natural mothers are unable to take care of them or have them in the same residence with them.
Our responsibility as mothers is to make sure we bring up our children with spiritual values. The love we display to our children provides a foundation for the love that they will show to others. Christ himself said in Luke l8:16 “Suffer little children to come unto me; and forbid them not, for of such is the Kingdom of God”.
As a mother myself, I thank God for the gift of a son that He bestowed on me so many years ago. I thank Him too for giving me the insight to raise him to be aware of, and to be always appreciative of, His blessings. I extend to all mothers a Happy Mother’s Day greeting and thank those who made this world a better place by carrying out their divine responsibility. (Psalm 1 “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly…….But his delight is in the law of the Lord; …….And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season ….and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” ) May God bless all mothers today and all the days to come.
(Quotes taken from the King James Version
of the Holy Bible)
8th May,05
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