[Faith-talk] Evening Thought for Monday, May 13, 2013

[Paul]

Hello and good morning, afternoon or evening wherever in this world you happen to live.  Here in eastern North America it's evening, hence the time of day.  However it may be another time of day or perhaps even another day where you are reading this.  At any rate I hope that your day is going well or went well.

Continuing the theme of Mother's Day yet for a little while, the late Dr. Ralph Montanus (1919-1986) who was the founder of the Gospel Association for the Blind, addressed this very topic in an article printed in that organizations magazine "The Gospel Messenger" some years ago.  Entitled "A Message To Mother," it is rendered as follows:

By an act of the Congress of the United States of America, the second Sunday in May of each year was set apart as Mother's Day.

It is unmistakably clear that Mother has a greater influence upon her children than any other person.  If Mother goes astray, the children are sure to follow.  How important it is, then, for each mother to have these four great "musts" in her life.

1.  Mother must know God.

A mother must have a personal experience with the Lord Jesus Christ in order for her to rear her children correctly.  Mother must know how to guide and instruct her children in the light of God's Word.

Teenagers have problems that are not always easy to solve.  If Mother knows Christ as Savior, she is able to come to Him and receive the wisdom and knowledge that is necessary to answer the dilemmas of youth.  Yet, it is important--vitally important--that Mother receive Christ as personal Savior and that she surrender to Him and make Him the Lord of her life.

2.  Mother must pray.

Every mother must know how to pray.  What an indictment against American motherhood has been given by chaplains who were in the Second World War! They tell of boys wounded and dying on the battlefield, with no knowledge of God.  Many times, while they were bending over dying boys and asking them to pray, the young men would reply in agony, "I don't know how to pray.  Oh, Chaplain, please help me, for I do not know how to pray."

There should never be such incidents, for every boy and girl should learn how to pray while still a child, and Mother is the logical person to instruct the child to seek God at an early age.  Years ago, American mothers were known to be godly women, gathering their children about them for daily prayer.  Many boys and girls learned how to pray at their mother's knee.  But what a difference today! We have cocktail-drinking, bridge-playing, cigarette-smoking mothers who have no experience with God.  Consequently, they do not know themselves how to pray, and, therefore, they are rearing prayerless, Godless children.

3.  Mother must read and know her Bible.

It has been well said, "The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world." >From the way the world is being governed today, it would seem that the hands that rocked the cradles of some of its leaders never fingered the Word of God.

As we look back in history to some of of the great men of our own nation, we ssee that their greatness can be traced to godly, Bible-reading and Bible-practicing mothers.  How sad that, in an era of great world crisis, there are thousands of American mothers who know about the latest Hollywood gossip and the current Broadway hits, but cannot recite the Lord's Prayer or quote John 3:16.

If ever there was a time in the history of America when mothers needed to study God's Word and impart the knowledge of it to their children, it is now! When one examines present-day statistics regarding juvenile delinquency, in comparison with the past, it would appear that we could very well become a completely lawless nation within a decade unless something is done quickly.

4.  Mother must set the example.

Notice how the little girl mimics Mother.  If Mother wears high heels, she will slip into them also.  She will stand before the mirror and use the same cosmetics.  She wants to be like her mother in every way.  Mother's phraseology, tones and expressions become hers at a very early age.

Whatever Mother does is absolutely right in the eyes of her little daughter.  Children receive their first impressions (which then become indelible) from their mothers.  For this reason, dear Mother, your sacred obligation is to live an exemplary life, both in word and deed.  However, this cannot be done until you have a personal experience of salvation.  How impossible it is to lead that little boy or girl aright unless you first are led by the Master Himself!

Well folks, even though this article is at least more than 25 years old, there are some truths in it that can be applied today, if you mothers who read it can look "between the lines," so to speak.  I hope it was a blessing to all readers.

And now until tomorrow when, Lord willing another daily or evening thought will be presented, may the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob just keep us safe, individually and collectively, throughout this night or day and especially in these last days in which we live.  Your Christian friend and brother, Paul