Mom, You Forgot!

Rise and Shine for Jesus! \O/

By Pam Iannello (my late mother)

A ministry of New Beginnings Baptist Church @ www.nbbconline.com

Isaiah 49:15-16 (KJV)

Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.

While reading these two verses, one can't help but be impressed with the images God uses to illustrate the depth of His love. As mothers, we ought to be highly challenged to compare our mother love to that of the Lord's care and concern for His children. Can we, who carried a tiny life within our womb, actually forget that precious child we bore? The Bible says yes! Mothers are capable of forgetting...

"Her sucking child" is an image scripture uses that forces us to see our children in the proper light. A sucking child draws nourishment from its mother. To suck is to absorb; to drink in; to receive and retain. When is the last time that you sat down and thought about what your child was absorbing while dwelling by your side? What are your little ones drinking in; receiving and retaining from the beloved mother they are so dependent upon? Have you been carelessly inattentive to the priority of their heart's nourishment? Could it be as you carry out your daily duties that you have lost sight of your children somehow? Allow me to share with you several ways mothers are guilty of forgetting their children, which I have not only observed, but also even been guilty of myself…

1) Not diligently praying for them with true awareness of their spiritual condition ( Job 1:5, Pr. 27:23)

2) Not fearfully tending to our own Christian example before them (Titus 2:1-5, Ezekiel 16:44)

3) Not faithfully teaching them to love and obey God's Word (Deut.11:19)

4) Not making consistent church attendance a top priority (Heb. 10:25)

5) Not disciplining them whenever necessary (Pr. 19:18, Pr. 23:13, Pr. 22:15, Pr. 29:15 & 17))

6) Not soberly heeding their influences {friends, TV, computer, books, music} (Pr. 13:20)

Perhaps you have forgotten your children in some of these same ways. In reflecting upon the above list, has your consideration declined toward the son or daughter of your womb? Having compassion is to have a tender heart; to be easily moved by the distresses, sufferings, wants and infirmities of another. It is love mixed with sorrow; love attending needs. How involved are you really in the life of your children? Should the nourishment that goes into our children's lives become less of a priority simply because they travel from womb to world?? In either location, they are still a sucking child, still weak and growing and still absorbing from their mother. Yes, mothers have forgotten their children in many different ways, yet God will never forget us!

Psalm 27:10 (KJV)

When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up.

Hebrews 13:5b (KJV)

…for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

The Lord tells us in our main text today that He has graven each of us upon the palm of His hands. What a precious image of love this affords us! Ladies, as God's children, we are safe and secure, lovingly embedded deep into the inner part of God's hands. He watches over us with the deepest concern! Yet, what security, if any, do we offer our own children? Are they so imprinted in our hearts and minds that we might not overlook any area of their feeble lives? Mother, our heavenly Father would mark us with the same character traits of His Divine nature - that of consistent parental love and discipline and ever mindful care. A forgetful mother should use the Word of God to strengthen her maternal memory!

Psalm 113:9 (KJV)

He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the Lord.

Ladies, the power of God is unlimited. Only He can take a barren woman, a woman hollow of concern for children, and fill her heart to the top with Divine mother love! Do you need help today in becoming less of an unfruitful, neglectful mother and more of one who is pregnant with concern for her children's welfare? Are you grieved over the lack of time you have devoted to praying for each of your children? Have you been unconcerned or indifferent about your testimony as a Christian before your little ones? Have you slacked off in tending closely to the various influences that come into their lives? Have you dropped the ball when it comes to consistent church attendance? What impression have you given them of the truth as the Bible teaches it? In the daily rush, have you forgotten more than once or twice to share an appropriate portion of the Word of God with your offspring? Have you neglected to apply Biblical discipline as it becomes necessary, thereby forgetting to tend to their character as well as their souls? Our children greatly suffer when mother forgets what is right!

Deut. 4:9 (KJV)

Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons;

Mother, let the Word of God bring these priorities to your remembrance again! Daily, we must allow the scriptures to impress or apply pressure to our hearts and minds and affix deep and lasting concern for our children's souls upon us. Are you yielding to the mark of God as a parent, or resisting the indentations of godliness? Do you bear the imprint of God in your mothering techniques?

John 19:25 (KJV)

Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother...

At the lowest moment in the Savior's life, when He bore the sins of the world and freely gave up His life for our benefit, there was Jesus' earthly mother, standing by the cross. Mary was not off "doing her own thing" like many mothers today… From babyhood to grave, she did not fail to take into account the son of her womb. Never did Mary undermine God’s Word or will as a mother; thus, she was a help to the cause of Christ, not a hindrance. What an encouragement it must have been for Jesus to have a strong mother close by at Calvary – a woman wholeheartedly devoted to God and His purposes! Yes, mother was there; silent, yet fully aware of what her child was facing; there to nourish his suffering soul and body with her godly presence, her prayers, and her faith in the Lord - the One who also remembered us in our low estate. Ladies, a mother's love stands next to the love of God. Have you forgotten where your place is?

God Bless,

Pam

Isaiah 60:1&2

Copyright 2001 Pamela A. Iannello

Revised 2006