Monday, May 15, 2006
GRACE FOR MOM
(based on Genesis 4)
It couldn't have gotten much worse. What a horrible day it was for Eve, the world's very first mother. Who broke the news to her? Was it Adam who told her that her son Abel was found dead in the field, murdered by her son Cain?
No. It couldn't have gotten much worse. But while Eve was the first to feel a mother's broken heart, she wasn't the last. Down through ages, countless mothers have felt great sadness on account of their children. Some have seen their children struck by a debilitating illness. Others have seen their children ruin their lives through drug or alcohol abuse. Today more than 2000 mothers are grieving for a son or daughter in war torn Iraq.
The deepest mother pain, of course, is felt by the Christian mother whose child has deserted Christ for the passing pleasures of the world. One can't help but think that Eve grieved for Cain more than she did for Abel. As one who trusted in the promised Serpent Crusher, Abel was safe and happy with God in heaven. Cain, on the other hand, was an impenitent sinner who had turned his back on God's grace. Eve must have offered up tearful prayers day and night for the soul of her unbelieving son.
Perhaps, years later, Mary thought of Eve when Jesus' own brothers (fellow Jews) murdered him. The prophesied sword pierced Mary's soul when her firstborn son was crucified. Talk about every mother's worst nightmare -- to see your own child tortured in such a gruesome way!
And yet Jesus' death gives the peace that every mother needs. The Christian mother knows that despite her many failures as a Mom, Christ paid for all her sins. She knows that the everlasting love God demonstrated in offering His Son is love that is there for her to cling to everyday. She knows only God's love can truly heal the heartaches that mothers experience -- and certainly every Christian mother longs to be in heaven with Christ, where God will wipe away every tear from her eyes. Then, delivered from this world of heartbreaking sin, every Christian mother will one day be able to say, "IT JUST CAN'T GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS!"
