This Sunday is Mother’s Day, and we will join with families and individuals across the nation in honoring our mothers. Many will go to Harris Teeter or Publix to buy flowers and cards, or call the florist, or drop by Massage Envy to pick up a gift certificate — which begs the question, “What is the gift Mom really deserves?” I submit that the answer has a lot to do with the pace that’s set in the home for how Mom is treated.
Our Ladies Life Group is studying 1 Peter, and 1 Peter 3:7 contains a very convicting truth. It says, “You husbands in the same way (as would our Lord Jesus Christ), show consideration for your wives in your lives together, and grant her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life.” That word “honor” doesn’t mean, “Husbands, be nice to your wives.” When the word honor is used in the New Testament, it almost always recognizes a person who has attained a certain rank, a certain privilege, a certain standing in the community. What Peter is saying here means that we husbands are to recognize that our wives have an esteemed position.
The context for honoring and respecting our wives and our mothers is the fact that they have a very special rank in the kingdom of God. In treating them, in loving them, and in relating to them, we must relate to them in that context. So, when you look at your wife across the dinner table this evening, or when you go to bed tonight, just remember: she is a person of high esteem. God has given her a special high rank. She is God’s girl. And you should treat her as such.
I really believe this is a matter of renewing our minds — of beginning to think differently, first about our wives and mothers, then about one another. Because, after all, men, you and I are married to the daughter of the boss — a child who will live forever. I want to challenge our men and fathers to begin doing that. We have been called to follow in the footsteps of none other than our Savior Jesus Christ, and to follow his example, and to honor our wives and mothers — and to make sure that gift is given in abundance in our homes.
In the name of the One who can do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,
Bruce Jones, Pastor and Co-Creator,
Imagine Church of the Carolinas
