This Mother’s Day, we honor the women who have spent thankless hours wiping noses, serving as chauffeur for extracurriculars, and making sure everyone stays warm and fed. It may often seem like your daily efforts go unnoticed, but God sees and knows every second of your sacrifice.
What does His Word say about the value of womanhood? Learn more in this Billy Graham sermon from 1953:
The Bible is full of stories of women of God who have contributed to making this world a better place in which to live and ultimately advancing the kingdom of God.
It was Miriam who led the women in their rejoicing, saying, “Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously” (Exodus 15:21, KJV).
It was Ruth who put God first and as a result became the ancestress of David the king (see Ruth).
It was Deborah who led Israel when no man could be found (see Judges 4).
It was Hannah who “lent to the Lord” the child of her prayers and love (1 Samuel 2:20, KJV).
It was the royal Esther who took her life in her hand to plead for her doomed people (see Esther).
It was a widow’s hospitality which sustained the prophet, “and the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail” (1 Kings 17:16, KJV).
It was the little captive maid who told the proud Naaman of the man of God who would recover him of his leprosy (see 2 Kings 5).
It was a woman’s grateful love which broke the alabaster box of precious ointment (see Matthew 26:6–13).
It was a woman’s brokenness which washed the Master‘s feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head (see Luke 7:6–50).
It was a poor widow’s two mites that caused Jesus to say, “[She] hath cast in more than all they which have cast into the treasury” (cf. Mark 12:43, KJV).
It was Mary, blessed among women, who gave birth to the King of kings and Lord of lords (see Luke 1).
It was Martha who served while Mary sat at the feet of Jesus (see Luke 10:38–42).
It was Mary Magdalene bringing spice to anoint Him who first greeted the risen Lord and received the first commission: “Go, tell” (see Matthew 28:1–10).
It was Lydia, a seller of purple, whose heart the Lord opened and who became the first convert in Europe (see Acts 16:11–15). She has ever since been robed in the royal purple of the King‘s daughter.
It was Dorcas who was full of good works, and even today her name is a synonym for benevolence (see Acts 9:36–43).
Phoebe and Priscilla were called “helpers in the Lord” (see Romans 16:3).
It was Lois and Eunice who taught Timothy (see 2 Timothy 1:5).
It was Persis who was called “the beloved” (see Romans 16:12).
Tryphena and Tryphosa we are told labored much for the Lord (see Romans 16:12).
The Home Is Our Greatest Mission Field
With the home being the center of family life, the four walls of your house can be the very place where God sanctifies you most—and the greatest point of influence in your children’s lives.
Billy Graham’s 1953 sermon continued:
Living creatively for Christ in the home is the acid test for any Christian man or woman. It is far easier to live an excellent life among your friends, when you are putting your best foot forward and are conscious of public opinion, than it is to live for Christ in the home. If you are a true Christian, you will not give way in the home to bad temper, impatience, fault-finding, sarcasm, unkindness, suspicion, selfishness, or laziness. But instead, you will reveal through your daily life the fruit of the Spirit.
Only God Himself fully appreciates the influence of a Christian mother in the molding of the character in her children. They know and absorb her example and attitudes when it comes to questions of honesty, temperance, kindness, and industry.
The Scripture says your first and foremost job as a mother is to train your children to know Christ, and when they know Him, everything else will fall in line. The Bible promises that even though they may resent the discipline and training now, they will rise up some day to call you blessed.
When my father and mother, who live in Charlotte, North Carolina, made me go to Sunday school, and on Sunday afternoons my mother would read to us Bible stories, I sometimes rebelled and thought she was too rigid and sometimes thought she was trying to cram religion down my throat. But this morning I called her long distance and told her again my love and appreciation for those early years in which she and my father trained me in the things of God.
Many of you have had a Christian mother who has prayed for you many times, but as yet you have never surrendered your heart and life to Christ. Perhaps your mother has gone on to Heaven. She is there waiting for you.
The door is still open—the Savior is still inviting, appealing, entreating, welcoming, and wooing. All you have to do is walk in, and you will be received by the Master.
If you’re a mom, keep lifting your children’s spiritual lives to the Lord today, praising Him for the opportunity to guide them in the faith. And pray also for other women you know, that they will lead godly lives that point others to faith in Jesus Christ.
