Mother's Day - #4

I came across a wonderful article called the Four Characteristics of Motherhood.

Cyrus Dallin was one of America's great sculptors. He was a famous man. His mother was a simple pioneer woman, but a woman of great faith in God and in His Word. She brought up her family under hardship in a one-room cabin in the Midwest. Her husband was a hard-working, faithful man. Many years after their children had grown and the family was gone -Mrs. Dallin was invited to Boston one day to witness the unveiling of her son's latest masterpiece. It was a sculpture called "The Statue of a Pioneer Mother." It portrayed a woman holding a Bible firmly to her breast with one hand, and (as she gazed out into the future), with her other hand, she was holding the hand of a small child. When Cyrus Dallin told his mother (in front of the audience) that he had used her as the model for his masterpiece, she said: don't know if it looks like I look, but I know it feels like feel. "

That statue is a symbol of the kind of motherhood that makes a nation strong. She holds a Bible firmly to her body with one hand, and with the other hand, she holds the hand of a small child.
A mother's influence is great either for good or for evil. Someone asked a mother whose children had turned out very well, the secret by which she prepared them for usefulness and for the Christian life.

Without hesitation she said:

When I washed their faces, I prayed that they might be cleansed by the Saviour's precious blood.

When I put on their garments, I prayed that they might be arrayed in the garments of salvation and in the robes of God's righteousness.

When I gave them food, I prayed that they might be fed with the Bread of life.

When I started them on the road to school, I prayed that their faith might be a-, the shining light, ''brighter and brighter to the perfect day.''

When I put them to sleep, I prayed that they might be enfolded in the Saviour's everlasting arms

No wonder her children were early led to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, and noted for adorning the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.
What a joy to a mother's heart when her children rise up and call her blessed.

By way of contrast, a mother's influence can yield wickedness. Most of us are familiar with the account of Jezebel, the Didonian princess who married the Israelite King Ahab. She introduced Baal worship in Israel and was responsible for murdering true prophets of God. The manner in which she threatened Elijah after the experience on Mount Carmel (I Kings 19:1-2), and her directing of Naboth's death (I Kings 21:1-16) illustrate her wickedness.

What kind of influence did such a woman have on her children?

Three of Ahab and Jezebel's children are named in the Bible.

The first is Ahaziah who became king after Ahab's death. But he "did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother" (I Kings 22:52). After reigning only two years, he died from injuries which he received when he fell through a window.

Another of Jezebel's children was Jehoram. Instead of worshipping the statue of Baal which his father had made, Jehoram led the nation Israel in worshipping the golden calves made by Jeroboam. 2 Kings 3:2 says, "And he wrought evil in the sight of the Lord."

The third child of Ahab and Jezebel was a daughter named Athaliah. She became the wife of Jehoram, king of Judah. 2 Kings 8:18 says, "And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel ... for the daughter of Ahab was his wife, and he did evil in the sight of the Lord." Jehoram's reign in Judah was marked by sickness and numerous enemy invasions.

Our mothers cared for us when we were unable to care for ourselves. For that reason alone, we ought to show them respect. But for those who have godly Christian mothers, there is even more for which to be thankful. John Wanamaker was one of America's most successful merchants. Someone asked him one day, "Mr. Wanamaker, what was your most glorious hour in life?'' Without hesitation, he answered. "It was when I was a child, and my mother took my two baby hands and folded them in prayer as she pointed me to God."

John H. Starkey was a very malicious British criminal. He murdered his wife, was convicted of the crime, and later executed. The officials asked General William Booth (founder of the Salvation Army) to conduct Starkey's funeral. At the funeral, Booth faced a crowd of hard, scoffing men, but his first words stopped them and held their interest. William Booth said, "John H. Starkey never had a praying mother."

Surely many can say that of all the influences which had exercised themselves upon our lives, none has been so good and so strong as that which has come from our Christian mothers, united with that of a Christian father, in a home that stressed Christlikeness in each activity.
--H. S. M.
Harold S Martin