Happy Mother's Day

Not being a mother, I say the following by faith. The responsibility of Motherhood is both rewarding and consuming, especially during the early years. I think this picture just about sums it up.

The book of Proverbs begins,
"The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel."
Solomon was a great king and the son of a great king. He was famous and powerful. People bowed in his presence. They did what he said. He had immense authority and honor.
I think we can learn from how he treated his mother in this exalted role.

You recall who his mother was? Bathsheba. She had married his father David under very sinful circumstances—very displeasing to God. But she was his mother, and this is what it says in
1 Kings 2:19 So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king arose to meet her, bowed before her, and sat on his throne; then he had a throne set for the king's mother, and she sat on his right.

When she entered the room Solomon rose for her. He bowed to her. He even called for a throne to be put beside his for their conversation. Even kings should bow when their mothers enter the room.

There are at least three things Solomon tells us in Proverbs 1:7-9 about family.

1. The Family is God's Idea.
Proverbs 1:8
Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching.

Solomon takes for granted that there are mothers and fathers and children in relationship, and accountability.

The family is just a given with Solomon. It used to be with us also. Sad to say it can't be taken for granted any longer.

2. The family is God's basic school for instructing children how to live in the world. Proverbs 1:8
Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching.

The father is an instructor and the mother is a teacher. Therefore the family is a school.
God ordained you mom, and dad, not just to be fruitful and fill the earth with people, but to fill the earth with instructed people and taught people. Be careful who you give the responsibility to teach your children. It’s ultimately you.

3. The foundation of family instruction is the fear of the Lord.
Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,

In other words, … What is it that runs through your lives, daily teaching, correcting and disciplining that gives unity and meaning to it all?—The answer is "the fear of the Lord."

The reverence, fear, and the trusting of God is what family's are for.

The beginning of knowledge is the fear of the Lord.
• Science begins to then, make sense.
• History begins to unfold as you see God’s plan unfolding.
• Economics and world events find their meaning beginning with the fear of God.

The family is a school.