HONOR & PRIVILEGE
Philippians 2:1-11
Philippians 2:5-9: “Your attitude should be the same as Christ Jesus: Who, being in the very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross.”
Children are blessings from God. (See the lesson linked below).
The honor and privilege of being a mother never lessens when sacrificial servanthood is needed. Every woman who carried a baby in her womb also conceals a sacrificial servant story. Many will never admit what they refused pursuing when pregnancy altered their lives.
Others confess that having children was their life purpose and never sacrificed a thing. Serving others is some people’s best quality.
But women forget.
She forgot the morning sickness. She forgot how her body adjusted to a growing bowling ball for months. The most dreaded event she forgot was labor. She forgot every inconvenient sacrifice and numbing service (2:00 AM feedings) when her newborn first nestled into her arms.
Peering into space, it has no idea what’s happening. Momma’s voice is the only constant companion in its tiny world. Naturally, mom coos softly to her infant. Her voice directs where new eyes scan upwards to focus on her own. Sacrifice comes automatically. Mom decides then that she’d do anything to keep her infant safe—from all harm.
There are times when constant sacrifice wears thin and serving others becomes anything other than an honor and privilege. As Jesus spent three years leading a bunch of stragglers, even He wondered aloud how much more must He endure? Answering Philip in John 14:9a: “Don’t you know Me, Philip, even after I have ben with you such a long time? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father…”
This happened hours after Jesus had shown the best example of sacrificial servanthood (John 13:3-16). He knelt down and washed His disciples’ dusty, smelly feet. Then He suggested, (commanded) that His followers copy this humble example of serving others.
Take Home Nugget
It’s only when people stoop down and get dirty that they discover the gold inside the lining of servanthood. “Dying to self” while pouring our lives into another, “picking up our crosses”, creates the godly legacy that’s remembered for generations (Luke 9:23).
Mothers forget to remember the honor and privilege that serving her family is.
What greater blessing of becoming truly filled can anyone find other than in God’s perfect design of motherhood?
Heavenly Father, thank You for giving me the honor and privilege to lead and serve children. Yours is the gift that keeps on giving eternally! Amen.
Adapted from devotion “The Service of Motherhood” from www.intouch.org. Dr. Charles Stanley. May 8, 2017.
Happy Mother's Day!
Happy Mother's Day!
J.D. Griffith
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