A MOTHER'S LOVE

 

Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.  (Matthew 20:20)

The love of a mother is special.  She carries us near her heart—nourishing us for nine months and with great pain brings us into the world.  Mother then sustains us with her milk, cradles us in her arms, sings us to sleep, kisses away the hurts, diapers us, dresses us—and in so many ways pours out her life for us.  I know there are some mothers who abandon or abuse their children.  That never ceases to shock us because we know it is against the natural order of things.  For a mother not to love her child is like expecting the sun not to shine.  As that fiery orb illuminates the sky, a mother’s love radiates warmth in this cold, brutal world.  When it is a Christian mother, then her love is not only a natural expression, but is supernaturally enhanced.  Her desires for her children are underpinned by spiritual values.  That is what we observe in the mother of James and John.

We see a mother’s love expressed in HER INVOLVEMENT WITH HER CHILDREN.  This is an additional insight Matthew furnishes us that is not included in Mark and Luke’s accounts of this episode.  They only mention James and John coming.  The accounts are not contradictory—they are complementary.  All three came—and while two of the Gospel writers focused on the petition of the brothers, Matthew preserves for us this detail concerning their mother coming with them.  It doesn’t surprise us when we read it though, does it?  This mother was getting older, but still involved in the life of her boys—that is how mothers are!  You spell a mother’s love like this: T-I-M-E!  The mother of James and John invested time and energy in her sons.

Also, we observe a mother’s love expressed in HER INTERCESSION FOR HER CHILDREN.  She comes to Jesus with a petition on behalf of her two boys.  Her pleas cannot replace theirs.  They came too.  The weight of her intercession, however, was added.  In the same way, a mother’s prayers cannot replace her child’s own need to come to Christ in a personal relationship.  Each of us is responsible to seek the Lord individually.  Still, we cannot minimize how a mother’s prayers can make a big difference.  There are few forces as strong in the world as when a godly mother cries out on behalf of her child, fervently, faithfully bringing them before the throne of grace!  Mother—don’t ever stop praying for that child!

Further, we note a mother’s love expressed in HER INTENTION FOR HER CHILDREN.  “And He said to her, ‘What do you wish?’  She said to Him, ‘Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.’”  (Matt.20:21)  We are not surprised for a mother to be ambitious for her offspring.  This mother, however, was zealous for her sons concerning the Kingdom of God.  When a mother has a passion for spiritual values, it can motivate her child to do so, as well.  However else a son or daughter might excel, there is nothing more vital than to seek to be all that God wants us them to be. 

If you are a mother, father, or childless, let us model such a heart for the next generation!