MVP

(click on the pic to listen) In a  Calvin and Hobbes comic strip, Calvin is standing by his mother’s bed when he says, “Hey, Mom! Wake up. I made you a Mother’s Day card.” His mother was very pleased and started to read it out loud. “I was going to buy a card with hearts of pink and red. But then I thought I’d rather spend the money instead. It’s awfully hard to buy things when one’s allowance is so small. So I guess you’re plenty lucky I got you anything at all. Happy Mother’s Day. There, I’ve said it. Now I’m done. So how about getting out of bed and fixing breakfast for your son.” She responds – “I am deeply moved.”  His response – “did you get the part about the allowance.”

Would you agree that we take our mother’s love for us for granted? I know I did. I wasn’t the easy kid to raise – there were times I had a mind of my own and would do whatever I wanted. You could say I had a free spirit. There were times I would stay up until 3 in the morning – I never called – I didn’t think I had to because I knew where I was at and I was fine.  That is all that mattered. But guess who waited up for me until 3 am. There were times when I waited to the last-minute to get a project done – guess who came beside me and helped me finish it. There were times when I would complain about not getting my way – guess  who listened to me and corrected me. There were times when we broke things – I learned quickly not to hide what we broke – she would find out anyway. There were a few times I got in trouble at school – I always wondered how my mom found out. Little did I know they called my mom. The few times I tried to lie and get out of something – well I haven’t figured out to this day how my mom ever knew I was lying.  She might have got mad at me, been disappointed in me, and I am sure I broke her heart many times by my lack of obedience.  But she never stopped loving me.  There are moments when I didn’t like her – but she never stopped loving me. She was there to put a badge on my knee. She sat with me for countless hours after I broke my elbow to stretch the tendons and muscles that were attached to it. She watched her garden get massacred as we played softball as kids in the back yard. Despite all of that, she never stopped loving me.  As I reflect about my mom over this weekend – I realized how much that I took advantage of her love.  You know what – she never minded! How do I know she never minded! Because she never stopped loving me.

One of things I learned is I was  not always willing to receive her love.  She kept giving it – but there were times I rejected it. I believe we do the same with God – He keeps giving love but there are times we reject it.

Scriptures:

John 1:12 – Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God –

John 3:16  “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

As I look at the scriptures, I have discovered that part of the way God’s love is best demonstrated is the way a mother loves her child. I have also discovered that we have taken His love for granted. Lastly, I have discovered that throughout history we spend a lot of time rejecting His love for us rather than simply receiving it.

How is God’s love similar to that of a mother’s love for her child?

1. First of all it is sacrificial.

In 1^st Kings 3 we get a beautiful picture of what a mother is willing to do for their child.  The readers digest version of the story goes like this:

Two women had babies at the same time. One of the babies died. One mother switched the babies in the middle of the night. The other mother woke and realized it was not her baby. The other mother KNEW it wasn’t her baby. So they took the issue to King Solomon. King Solomon said “cut the baby in half and give one half of the baby to one mother – give the other half of the baby to the other mother.” One mother said, “NO KING, just give the baby to her.” The other mom said, “king – do as you wish.” Who do you think the king gave the baby too?

The scriptures are full of stories where the mom had to make a tough decision on behalf of her child. There is story of Moses’ mom pushing her baby away so that he could live. There is Hannah who gave her son Samuel to a priest to be raised. And Mary, the mother of Jesus, who watched her son be brutalized, mocked, and crucified so that we could have eternal life. Through out history mothers have loved sacrificially. Think of what your mom has done for you and I believe will get the picture. Even if you think your mom is the worst mom in the world, she still brought you into this world.

A mother’s love is very similar to the love of God.

Wouldn’t a mom do anything for their kid?

Wouldn’t a mom risk their life for their kid like the mother in I Kings 3?

God loves you sacrificially.that God so loved the world he gave his one and only son. God allowed his only son to be a substitute for the punishment we deserve. His son was the perfect sacrifice. God willingly gave Him up so that you and I would one day be willing to receive him.

Adam, His first son He created, gave into temptation and fell short. The second Adam, the one we call Jesus, was tempted but did not sin but He became our substitute. In other words, he died so that we could live.

2. It is unselfish.

Mothers love unselfishly. Most of us can recount how unselfish our mothers are. They go through a lot of pain to give us life. They go through a lot of pain when we break their heart. They go through a lot of pain when we move away from home. They give of themselves generously not because they have to but because there is this built-in mechanism to love and to serve.

This past week Kevin Durant won the NBA MVP award. He gave an incredible tribute to his mom. It is also a great picture of the unselfishness of all moms. Just click on the pic to watch the 2.5 minute tribute.

God loves each one of us unselfishly. He sent his only son not to LORD over us but to serve under us! If you look at the life of Jesus, he came to serve.

Matthew 20:28 – “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

He fed the 5,000, he fed the 4,000, he healed the blind, the lame, the sick, he turned the water into wine, he washed his disciples feet, and then he gave up his life. He continues to love each of us unselfishly. Why? Because He can’t stop loving you.

3. It does not stop caring.

My mother, who is in her 80’s still loves to serve me. She never stops. All of us in here have disappointed our mom’s. We have tried our mom’s patience. We have made our mom’s angry. We have broken our mom’s heart. But, she never stops caring.

The same is true with God. Read the Old Testament – Israel disappointed Him time and time and again. Israel tried his patience time and time again. Israel made God angry time and time again. Israel broke God’s heart time and time again. But God never stopped caring.

When it comes to us, All of us have disappointed God. All of us have tried God’s patience. All of us have made God angry. All of us have broken God’s heart. But He never stops caring.

God can’t stop caring because he knit you together in your mother’s womb. God can’t stop caring because he wants a relationship with you. God can’t stop caring because you matter to Him.

What has our response been to this incredible love?

We have taken it for granted!

Only when we begin to reflect on the sacrifice He made. Only when we begin to reflect on how unselfish he is to serve us by giving up His only son. Only when we begin to reflect on how much He does care for us. Do we begin to understand how much he really loves us.

He is okay with us taking it for granted, because like our mothers, he will never stopped loving us, he hasn’t stopped caring for us, he hasn’t stopped serving us, he constantly still gives and gives and gives and gives and meets us at our deepest need.

Why does he keep loving, caring, and serving?

The answer is summed up in John 1:12:

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God –

He wants you to receive him. He wants you to believe him. Because when you receive him and believe him you have the right to become a child of God.

Before and after Jesus walked the earth, people still reject this incredible, unmeasurable, and unconditional love.

Growing up as kids – none of us really understood how much our mom’s loved us. We got angry at them when they told us no. We got upset at them when they wouldn’t give us our way. We got mad at them when they corrected us. We got frustrated at them when they took certain things away. Once we realized that all of this was out of love, once realized that they were right most of the time, once we realized that they never stopped loving us when we were difficult to love. They never stopped caring for us when we were difficult to care for. They never stopped serving us when we really didn’t deserve it. Once we came to that realization – the whole relationship changed.

The same is true with God – we get upset at him, we get mad at him, we get frustrated at him, we get angry with him but he never stops loving, he never stops caring, he never stops serving. And if you honestly think about it and honestly reflect on the fact that he is not going to stop loving you, he is not going to stop caring for you, he is not going to stop serving you – the same thing is going to happen to you that happened to Zacheus, Paul, the woman at the well, the disciples, and the countless billions of people who came to realization that God loves them – their lives were turned upside and they began to receive and believe this truth – and they became children of God.

When you believe and receive this truth it will totally mess up your life. It will turn your life upside down. It will change the way you do life. It will change the history of your family.It will change the way you think.