Now, what are some of the good things about Mrs. Zebedee? First of all, she came to the Lord, praying that her sons might be a part of His Kingdom. I can think of no more important task of motherhood than that - to seek to ensure that your children are a part of the Kingdom of God. I know that many mothers pray. Sometimes they pray out of necessity. Sometimes they pray because motherhood is not easy, but extremely difficult. James Dobson tells about a time he came home when his son, Ryan, was a small baby. It had been a terrible day for his wife. Ryan had been sick, & had cried all day long. Once, as she was changing his diapers, the telephone rang & Shirley reached over to answer it before fastening up his diapers. Just then Ryan had an attack of diarrhea.She cleaned up that mess & put him in clean, sweet-smelling clothes. Then she took him into the living room & fed him. As she was burping him he threw up all over himself, & her, & the couch, too. Dobson writes, "When I came home I could smell the aroma of motherhood everywhere." Shirley cried out to him, "I don’t remember all of this in my contract?" Sometimes mothers pray just out of the frustration of it all. And sometimes in the frustration of trying to teach our children we realize the difficulties of communication. I remember very clearly the time I gave my nine-year-old son, Eric, a very important responsibility. I told Eric to watch Kathryn, his baby sister, while I stepped out of the room. I had only been gone a few moments when he heard a thump, & then Kathryn started crying. I rushed back in to find that Kathryn had fallen from Eric’s shoulders and was stretched out on the floor with a bloody nose and busted lip. Meanwhile, Eric just stood there, looking so innocent…with nothing to say. I said, "Eric, I told you to watch her." Eric answered, "I did." He watched her fall & he watched her cry. He did exactly what he was told to do. Being a parent is not easy. Sometimes it is filled with joy & sometimes with sadness. Sometimes your children make you so proud you want to pop your buttons. At other times you can’t find enough handkerchiefs to dry your tears. What good is it if our children are successful in making money, & driving fine automobiles, & living in good neighborhoods, but they don’t know God? What does it matter if they gain the whole world, but lose their souls? Being a parent is not easy. It is difficult. But Mrs. Zebedee gives us a valuable example, for she prayed earnestly that her sons would be a part of His kingdom. We need that same concern for our children. I hope that in the heart of every mother & father here this morning there is a burden to go to the throne of God & to pray for your children - to pray that they will be saved, saved for eternal life. That is the place to begin. SHE PRAYED THAT HER SONS WOULD BE INVOLVED IN THE WORK OF HIS KINGDOM: Secondly, not only did Mrs. Zebedee pray that her children would be a part of His kingdom, but she prayed that they would be actively involved in the work of His kingdom. Maybe it is not enough just to be saved. Churches are full of people content just to fill a pew on Sunday mornings. There are plenty of people willing to sit back & receive the blessings, but seldom do they get involved in doing any of the real work of the church. But where does the spirit of service begin? It begins at home, with mothers & fathers setting the example & praying that their sons & daughters might be involved in the work of the kingdom - as teachers & leaders, discipling others - that they might be the ones to go out into the world & find the lost - to see that the church continues on until Jesus comes again. Mrs. Zebedee prayed that her children would be actively involved in the work of His kingdom. And we need to walk in her footsteps, too. SHE HAD SOME BIG EXPECTATIONS: Thirdly, Mrs. Zebedee had big expectations, & I like that. She didn’t just pray that her children would be doorkeepers. She wanted them on the right hand & left hand of Jesus. When you’re working in a kingdom, there are no higher positions than those on the right & left of the King himself, & that’s what she wanted for her sons. We may consider Mrs. Zebedee brash & presumptuous. But I admire her boldness. Too often we have settled for mediocrity in the church. For too long we have been content with just barely making it through the door. For too long we have been content to sit back & let things happen. It is time for some of us to take our positions on the right & left hand, to become leaders - molding & fashioning the outreach of the church - mobilizing to make sure the message of Christ goes into all the world. It is time to strive for excellence - to reach for the very best there is. The Lord calls us to be His disciples, & to be effective laborers in His kingdom. Do you remember? Erma Bombeck had God saying as He was creating a mother, "I am close to creating something very much like myself." Well, I suppose that is why today is very special - because we recognize that a mother’s love is probably the closest example we have to God’s love. It is a love that goes through the valley of the shadow of death to bring life into being. It is a love that sacrifices itself over & over again & would even dare to lay down its life for its own offspring. The story is told - out of WW 2 & the holocaust that took the lives of millions of people - of Solomon Rosenberg & his family. It is a true story. Solomon Rosenberg & his wife & their 2 sons & his mother & father were arrested & placed in a Nazi concentration camp. It was a labor camp, & the rules were simple. "As long as you can do your work, you are permitted to live. When you become too weak to do your work, then you are exterminated. Rosenberg watched his mother & father marched off to their deaths, & he knew that next would be his youngest son, David, because David had always been a frail child. Every evening Rosenberg came back into the barracks after his hours of labor & searched for the faces of his family. When he found them they would huddle together, embrace one another, & thank God for another day of life. One day Rosenberg came back & didn’t see those familiar faces. He finally discovered his oldest son, Joshua, in a corner, huddled, weeping, & praying. He said, "Josh, tell me it’s not true." Joshua turned & said, "It is true, poppa. Today David was not strong enough to do his work. So they came for him." "But where is your mother?" asked Mr. Rosenberg. "Oh poppa," he said, "When they came for David, he was afraid & he cried. Momma said, `There is nothing to be afraid of, David,’ & she took his hand & went with him." That is motherhood. Mothers, this is your day. May God bless you in it. And I pray that if there is someone here who has never experienced the love of God that is so close to the love of a mother, that this will be your time of decision. I pray that if you have felt that you have had to walk through that valley alone so many times, that you will recognize that there is a hand reaching out to you, saying, "There is nothing to be afraid of. I’ll go with you." And I pray that you will recognize that that one has already gone through the valley of the shadow for you, & made it possible for you to live forever. He extends His loving invitation in much the same way that a mother opens the doors of home & invites her children to come back again, He invites you, too. How cool is that?
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