On Mother's Day, we celebrate the love and sacrifices of mothers, grandmothers, aunties, and all female caregivers who love and care for children. Today, I had the privilege of celebrating with around 100 mothers who gathered for breakfast in the Multi-Purpose Centre on our College campus. As I looked around the room, I was struck by the warmth and love that radiated from every mother present. It made me reflect on the value of a mother's love and guidance for her child.
Jochebed and Moses
One Bible story that illustrates a mother's love in action and the value of her love and guidance, is a story you will find in Exodus 2. Pharaoh decrees that all male Jewish babies be slaughtered as a way of controlling the Jewish slave population in Egypt.
Jochebed, the mother of baby Moses, faces a heart-wrenching decision: what can she possibly do to save her son? Finally, she settles on a plan to place him in a floating reed basket on the Nile River and get her daughter Miriam to oversee the child. It's a nail-biting time, but ultimately, Pharaoh's daughter finds the basket as she bathes in the river, falls in love with the baby, and decides to adopt him as her own. She asks Jochebed to raise Moses for the first seven years before taking him into the palace to live with her.
The Value of a Mother's Love and Guidance
Jochebed had only seven short years to pour her love and influence into Moses' life, but those years were foundational in making him one of the greatest leaders of all time. She instilled in him a love for God and a sense of his heritage, which stayed with him throughout his life. It was because of Jochebed's love that Moses never forgot his people's plight, and he led them to freedom from Egyptian slavery.
A mother's love, like Jochebed's, is a powerful force that shapes a child's life. It is selfless, patient, kind, and persevering. It always protects, trusts, and hopes for the future. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7) A mother's love models the kind of love that God has for us; a love that is unconditional, sacrificial, and everlasting. In fact, God's love is often compared to a mother's love in the Bible. In Isaiah 66:13, God says, "As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you." And in Psalm 131:2, the psalmist writes, "But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content." A mother's love and guidance for her child can shape their character and influence their future.
On this Mother's Day, we honour and thank all mothers, grandmothers, and female caregivers who pour out their love and sacrifice so much for their children. And we celebrate the connection between a mother's love and God's love, which sustains us through life's joys and struggles.
Principal's First Principles is a series of editorials by Brisbane Adventist College Principal Mr Peter Charleson.
