“Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: "that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” Ephesians 6:2-3
In 1996, while we were on our break from our mission work in Liberia we were visiting my parents in Wisconsin. Dressed in my new-to-me orange t-shirt, my mom and I were visiting in the kitchen one morning when my twelve year-old daughter walked in. She listened as we planned our day. When I mentioned we would be going out, she said with obvious disapproval in her voice, "You aren't going out in that, are you?"
Without skipping a beat my mom looked at me and said, "Huh! Now you know how it feels!"
Wow, did I have that one coming. Clothing choices were just one of the many areas where I, as a teen, had assumed I knew more than my mom. I was sometimes mouthy and often absolutely clueless. And what I was most clueless about was the work and downright tenacity it took to raise children such as myself from infancy to adulthood. In fact, it wasn't until I had children of my own that I began to understand what my mother had gone through when, before my older brother turned two, my twin sister and I were born. And then another baby came two and a half years later.
Looking back now I see my mom was absolutely amazing and thankfully we grew quite close after I became an adult and was much more teachable. Through the years and before her death in 2000, I was able to tell her of the many ways in which she blessed and profoundly impacted my life.
As I matured I also learned the honoring of my parents had ramifications far beyond the obvious. There is a spiritual dimension with huge ramifications. When I honor my parents, that obedience to His written Word honors God Himself. Additionally, honoring parents is good practice for respecting authority figures such as political leaders, teachers and legal authorities. After all, if I can honor people whose faults I know, I have practice for honoring people whose faults I have yet to find out.
And unlike what I assumed as a teen, my honor was never meant to be tied to my parents' perfection. For reasons I don't have to understand, my honor lifts up God's name in a world where He is often defamed. And so on this Mother's Day 2014, although she is not here to personally receive it, I choose to honor my mother. It is one of the 365 days each year in which obedience to Ephesians 6:2 is a great idea.
As I matured I also learned the honoring of my parents had ramifications far beyond the obvious. There is a spiritual dimension with huge ramifications. When I honor my parents, that obedience to His written Word honors God Himself. Additionally, honoring parents is good practice for respecting authority figures such as political leaders, teachers and legal authorities. After all, if I can honor people whose faults I know, I have practice for honoring people whose faults I have yet to find out.
And unlike what I assumed as a teen, my honor was never meant to be tied to my parents' perfection. For reasons I don't have to understand, my honor lifts up God's name in a world where He is often defamed. And so on this Mother's Day 2014, although she is not here to personally receive it, I choose to honor my mother. It is one of the 365 days each year in which obedience to Ephesians 6:2 is a great idea.
No comments:
Post a Comment