Coffeeville First Baptist Church By Craig Baker, Pastor

By Marie | May 13, 2025 |

There was a young couple who had 3 small children. The mother stayed home with the kids, and the father worked outside the home. One afternoon the husband came home to find their three small children outside playing in the yard. As he pulled up the driveway, he realized the kids had the water hose running and had turned the front yard into a mud pit. The kids were half clothed and covered in mud. Toys were scattered up the driveway and across the yard. All the doors of his wife’s car were wide open, the inside was covered in mud, and there was mud piled in the floors. The front door to the house was standing open. He quickly parked his car and rushed in. Inside he found muddy footprints and handprints all over the floors, walls, and furniture. Something that looked like a mix of peanut butter, chocolate, mud, and vanilla ice cream was smeared over everything. The lamps were knocked over. One of the end tables was broken. The TV was blaring a cartoon show. A trail of soda cans and snack wrappers led down the hallway. The house was a complete mess. He went into the kitchen to find the sink filled with dishes. Food was all over the counters and floor. The refrigerator door was open, the milk jug was turned sideways with the cap off, and milk had ran out of the refrigerator onto the floor. Pots, pans, and spoons were laid out as if they had been used as a drum set. Very concerned now, and fearing the worst, the husband frantically began looking for his wife, dodging toys & piles of clothes as he made his way to the upstairs part of the house. He was worried she might be sick or something worse had happened to her. At the top of the stairs, he realized the carpet was soaked with water. He looked into the bathroom to find water all over the floor, wet toilet paper everywhere, and the sink faucet running full blast. The place looked like a bomb had gone off. His pace quickened as he made his way to his bedroom door and rushed in. He couldn’t believe what he found. There was his wife on their bed, in her pajamas. She had a set of headphones on watching something on her iPad. She calmly looked up, smiled at him, took her headphones off, and asked him how his day had been. Utterly confused and worried, he looked at her & asked, ’What happened here today?’ Again she smiled and answered, ’You know, how every day when you come home from work you ask me what I’ve done today?’ ’Yes,’ he said. She answered, ’Well, today I didn’t do it.’ Mothers, you are the unsung heroes of your family. The ones who quietly go about your responsibilities; often without any recognition or help for all that you do, and though it may not seem like it at times, your influence on your family, especially your children; and therefore, our society is immeasurable. As one would expect, the Bible has a lot to say about mothers, and I want to share just a brief thought on a single verse that I believe is perhaps the greatest compliments ever to mothers. In just a few short words this verse speaks volumes about what makes mothers so special to us. We find this verse in what seems like an odd place. It isn’t found in the Psalms or Proverbs or some of the other places in the Bible we typically think of when we consider what the Bible has to say about mothers. The verse I am referring to is found in Isaiah 66. If we consider the book of Isaiah, it seems an unlikely place for us to find a compliment to mothers. The first 40 or so chapters of Isaiah contain the prophet’s message to the Nation of Judah, God’s people, about the judgment that is coming on them. They have sinned, and God is going to judge them for it. And the Isaiah’s words to them are harsh at times. Isaiah calls God’s people to turn back to Him. He warns them about their hypocrisy and empty worship. He pleads with them to be faithful, obedient, and have a heart that rejoices in God and a life that glorifies Him. If they refuse to heed His words, the Day of the Lord, a great judgment is coming. It all sounds very similar to what we have seen in our study of Revelation. However, towards the end of Isaiah’s prophecy, the message shifts from a message of judgment to a message of hope as Isaiah shares God’s message of redemption, grace, protection, and blessing, and right at the very end in Isaiah 66:13, God, speaking through His prophet Isaiah, sums up this message of hope with these words. “As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted in Jerusalem.” Now those words were spoken to the Nation of Judah, but God is unchanging, and His words still hold true for you and me today. So, think about what this says. God tells His people; I will comfort you like a mother comforts her child. When you read those words, what do you think of? If you are a mother, you probably think of your child, and how you have wiped away their tears, held them when they were scared, walked with them into the unknown, assured them that there was no monster waiting in the dark or that those ugly names the other kids called them weren’t true, picked them up when they have fallen, kissed and cleaned their scrapes and bruises, rocking them in your arms until the crying and pain went away. Perhaps you may think back to when you were a child and your mother putting her arms around you to comfort you in your times of trouble. You can almost feel your mother’s touch and hear her voice, as she hugs you tight and whispers in your ear that everything is going to be alright. Regardless of what you think when you hear the words of verse 13, comforting a child requires care, patience, love, and tenderness. Things that a lot of us men struggle to express, but there is no questioning the comfort that is in the arms of a good mother. Somehow a good mother can just always make things better. God has gifted them with that ability. It’s been said that the love of a good mother is probably the closest earthly example we have of how God loves us, and this verse certainly seems to suggest there is some truth to that statement. When God wanted His people to understand the depth of His love and care for them, He could have compared himself to anything or anyone, but He chose to compare His care for them to a mother comforting her child. Now we all know that mothers, just like everyone else, fall way short of the glory of God, but a good mother reflects the character of God the way the moon reflects the sun. When we look at the glow of the moon, there is no comparison to the radiance of the sun. The sun outshines the moon a million to one, but the moon, reflecting the light of the sun on a clear night, is still a beautiful thing to see and gives us a glimpse of the sun’s magnificence. Just as the moon reflects some of the light of the sun, a good mother reflects some of the incredible qualities of God, so I ask you mothers, what do your children see in you? When they look at you do they see a reflection of God’s love and care for them? Mothers, I encourage you to be that example for your children. Whether you realize it or not, you will leave a lasting impression on them. Your actions and words speak volumes in their eyes. The most important thing you can do for your children is to walk in the ways of the Lord.

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