The Best Mothers Learn From God

Joel 2:21-27

When I was young, but old enough to know right from wrong, my sister Kelly and I were at home by ourselves after school. At this stage in our lives, my sister and I didn’t like one another very much – and on some days, that’s putting it kindly. This particular day, we were fighting about something and my sister lured me outside and then locked the door behind me. Now, she was inside, and I was outside. This had happened before (I guess I’m a slow learner), but on this particular occasion, it was different. I was so angry with Kelly that I told her if she didn’t let me back inside, I was going to break the glass and get in! Now this was my own clever attempt to get back inside and it had worked before (I guess she’s a bit of a slow learner too!). Kelly called my bluff and said with a smile on her face, “Go right on ahead!” I always hated it when she was smarter than me. As my anger increased, my common sense decreased, and I broke that window just to prove to her I would follow through with my promise. As we both stood looking at the shattered glass on the front patio, I realized my ignorance had just reached a new level of stupidity. Dad had to work late but we both knew Mom would be home in a few minutes. After the shock wore off, my sister’s smile returned because she had just committed the perfect crime – she got me out of her hair for a while and got me in trouble as a bonus.

When Mom got home and surveyed the carnage, I got called into my room for a private consultation. I was afraid. My mom is not a violent woman but she can swing a wooden spoon with the best of them. Acute painful consequences were administered (that’s a spanking in case you’re wondering), but what I remembered most was how she held me with loving arms afterwards. I knew I deserved my punishment but in those moments on her lap I knew three things very clearly: (a) my mom was going to be there for me no matter what I did in life; (b) Mom was in charge of that moment and it would serve me well to understand this fact; and (c) other people would come to love me in life, but a mother’s love is unique.

I chose a passage for this Mother’s Day that doesn’t mention mothers, women, or Hallmark’s favorite holiday at all. The prophetic voices of Scripture are usually quite a distance from the greeting card fluff we enjoy on days like today. Yet, I think the picture of God’s love we see in this text will remind many of us of the love we experience from our mothers. Already in our worship service, we have heard other prophetic voices from Scripture that describe God in ways that remind us of our mothers.[1] Let’s look at our text.

The book of Joel is about a crisis in the community. A storm of locusts has come and devastated the countryside. It seems this is a consequence from God because the people have wandered away[2] but now the insects are gone. Through Joel, God tells the people to rejoice and celebrate because the worst is behind them. God has made renewal possible! Yet these folks need some convincing. God has removed this plague of bugs from the land but our text paints a picture of people who were still afraid. They were wondering which God was going to show up in the same way I wondered how my mom was going to react after I broke the window.

Do you ever wonder which God is going to show up? We preach and teach about a loving God yet in the back of our minds we still wonder if there are days when God’s out to get us. We cry out for God to heal, deliver, speak, or act and too often the God we experience is more like a disinterested pedestrian as our lives speed right on by. We get to a point where we’re ready to give up on God and then with perfect timing we experience a Divine loving hand so comforting and loving that it takes our breath away. What has been your most powerful experience of God lately?

Since this is Mother’s Day, perhaps we all have reflected on the many different ways in which we experience our mothers too. Our mothers teach us logic by reminding us: “If you fall off that swing and break your neck, you can’t go to the store with me.” Our mothers teach us medicine: “If you don’t stop crossing your eyes, they’re going to freeze that way.” Our mothers teach us that they have ESP: “Put your sweater on; don’t you think I know when you’re cold?” Our mothers teach us how to meet life’s challenges when they say things like: “Where’s your brother and don’t talk with food in your mouth. Now answer me.” Our mothers teach us humor: “When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don’t come running to me.” And they convince us that consequences are for our good by saying: “You’re grounded and this is what is best for you. You’ll thank me one day.”[3]

Most of us have known our mother’s anger and disappointment. We’ve been amazed at how they can mix together so many ingredients into something as wonderful as chocolate cake. We’ve seen their ingenuity as they build us forts and playhouses out of blankets and cardboard boxes. We kicked ourselves when our foolish actions have broken their hearts. There are so many facets to our mothers, but the best mothers are the ones who know how to begin and end each day showing their children they are loved. Where do mothers learn to maintain such vital love proportions? The best ones learn from God.

The last verse of our text today reminds us of three aspects of God’s love that all mothers would do well to implement in their own mothering. God says through Joel, “…I am in the midst of Israel…” God has always been planted directly in the middle of people’s lives. This is a promise from God and a reality we should look for. A goal for all mothers should be to plant themselves in the midst of their children’s lives. God next says through Joel, “…I, the Lord, am your God…” This is about Lordship. God wants to provide complete and absolute direction for our lives. Godly mothers can be part of guidance and leadership but mothers first have to make God Lord of their own lives. God thirdly says through Joel, “…there is no other…” God is unique. There is no other God like Yahweh. If we are indeed created in the image of God as Genesis tells us we are, then God has given us unique women to be part of our lives. Mothers, most certainly you are not perfect, but you are uniquely made to attend to your children. These three qualities of God: presence, providing direction, and uniqueness are a reminder of God’s call for motherly love.

Amen.

[1] We read Isaiah 46:3-4; Isaiah 66:13-14; and Hosea 11:3-4 in worship.