Motherhood: Reflections of Our Lord
Study Guide, May 11, 2025
Pastor Clay Olsen
It’s a privilege to spend some time together in honoring Mothers today, not only for their great significance, but also for their great sacrifice. Motherhood and sacrifice are kind of synonymous. We often reinforce the construct that Scriptures have a central interpretation, but then, it can have many applications. And there’s a remarkable application of Romans 12:1 in relation to Motherhood. Notice: “I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” NASU
Of course, we are each called to offer up our soul and our bodies as a sacrifice unto the Lord in our worship and service. But in connection with Motherhood, along with the spiritual and mental, the sacrifice certainly involves the physical. And Mothers know all about how having a child changes everything. Let’s ponder that for a while.
Having a baby significantly alters a person’s life, impacting their body, their mind, relationships, daily routines, priorities, responsibilities, and so on. Even before baby arrives, the Mother enters into a whole new zone of life…not the Twilight Zone, but maybe close. Does any of the following sound familiar…What’s up with all the heartburn? Chemical changes are allowing acids to flow more than before, especially when little Johnny or Janie is pushing against your stomach! And you can’t do drugs like you used to…no, not the illegal ones, just the medications and antibiotics that use to help you to not have to suffer through colds, and flu, and headaches, and other pains. Now, you are called to just endure the suffering, since you can’t chance any of it harming the little one you are protecting. It’s also harder to sleep with a little gymnast doing tuck-and-rolls during the night, since, and get this…preborn babies seem to be more nocturnal. What’s up with that…those little possums?!
And how did your emotions get high-jacked all of a sudden…making you cry when you’re happy, or when you’re sad, or anything remotely in between. That’s confusing, right? The chemical wash going on inside of you is like the tides that roll in and roll out. Even your sense of balance is thrown off, since your center of gravity is changing as the new little family member grows. Oh yes, sacrificial changes are part of the identity that comes with Motherhood. And these changes simply become part of your new life as a Mom.
And how about it Moms…remember hot meals? Having a hot meal is a luxury, right? Usually, lukewarm, and not all at the same time…with bites in between feeding the child and picking up the dropped pieces and spilled liquids, and such. And remember clean clothes? When you do manage to put on some clean clothes, it’s pretty certain that they won’t stay that way for long, with babies sniffles and spittles and such. And why is it that shopping stores or grocery stores or restaurants seem to trigger the dark side in kids? It’s like there’s something lurking in a grocery aisle or a check-out line that sets off an emotional earthquake in the little rascal!
And how’s that energy level, Moms? You say, what energy is that? Right! Motherhood reaches a new kind of ‘tired’. Really! It’s a real thing, a real name…it’s called being in the state of ‘Super tired’, where you are multi-tasking and caring for baby’s needs and others needs and emotionally being on high-alert, all the while sleep-deprived. Yup…the state of ‘Super-tired.’
Even a Mother’s brain is changed. It’s like a new link is formed that connects with the child or children, and it is continually firing with thoughts up and down the length of that chainlink that are occupied with factors of their safety, health, well-being, and nearly everything else. Plus, your mental music playlist also gets kind of stuck on ‘repeat’ of tunes like ‘The wheels on the bus go round and round, and ‘You are my sunshine’ and Baby shark…doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo…’…and more. (Some gleanings from 30 sacrifices…by Kat de Naoum, motherandbaby.com)
But in all of these sacrifices, and more, Mothers are willing to give them, because of another amazing attribute…which is – a Mother’s sacrificial love. And in this, Mothers are a remarkable reflection of our Lord. Now, we know that children are a blessing and a gift from God, as well as a fundamental part of God’s creation. And the Psalms describe children as both a gift and also a reward from the Lord. Ps 127:3-4- “Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth.” NASU What great pictures from God to keep in mind about how both He and we see our children.
And then listen to how God speaks to His people, to us really, in the terms of a Mother and child: Isa 46:3-4- “Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, You who have been borne by Me from birth and have been carried from the womb; Even to your old age I will be the same, and even to your graying years I will bear you! I have done it, and I will carry you; and I will bear you and I will deliver you.” NASU
Again, Mothers reflect this sacrificial love of God in its profound selflessness and willingness to give of themselves for the sake of others. Mothers place their own needs and desires on the altar. In them we see virtues such as: Self-sacrifice. Mothers are willing to endure physical and emotional pain, to place other’s needs above their own. We see unconditional love…an unwavering love, regardless of circumstances or conflicts. We see discipline and guidance, as Mothers direct and counsel and correct their children. We see nurturing and compassion as they care for and seek ways to help their children grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior. We see service, as Mothers model what it is to be the servant of God and others. And not just being a servant, but having a servant’s heart, where the service is not done grudgingly or pitifully, but thankfully and willfully. (some devotional thoughts gleaned from The Christ-like Sacrifice of Motherhood, Dan Hart, frc.org)
Each of these virtues are powerful reflections of our Lord, as He willingly sacrificed His own life for us, for our eternal salvation and our eternal well-being. Our Lord’s unconditional love is on display in how our God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believed in Him would not perish, but have eternal life. We see our Lord’s discipline described in Heb 12:5-6- “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by Him; for those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He chastens every son whom He receives.” NASB We see our God describing His compassion and His nurturing care even in terms as tender as this: Isa 49:15-16- “Can a woman forget her nursing child and have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands.” NASU (Of course, this became literal for Jesus, as we are, in essence, inscribed on the palms of Jesus’ hands. His love took Him to the Cross, and His sacrifice covered the sins of us all that nailed Him to the Cross. We will forever see this ‘sacrificial love of God’ for us inscribed on the hands of our Savior and Lord.)
And we see ‘servanthood’ on display in Motherhood. We are reminded of Jesus’ own words about service in Mark 10:43-45- “…whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” NASU
How just like our God to embed this kind of impact and power into servanthood. Jesus reveals this further as both Mark and Matthew records two more instances of this teaching. Note: Mark 9:35 – “Sitting down, He called the twelve and said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” NASU The Greek term for ‘first’ here is ‘proto’. And although it certainly applies to first as in a position or place, it also refers to first as in first in ‘importance and in impact!’ Hold onto that for a moment.
Matthew emphasizes it another way as he says: “It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant.” Matt 20:26 NASU
And the Greek term for ‘great’ here is ‘megas’, which also describes one not only as being great in importance, but also great as in being ‘mighty and powerful!’. Again, how like God to design life in such a way that those who make it their purpose, not to be served, but to serve, just like our Lord Jesus made that His purpose…that, built into this purpose to serve, would also be the power to impact and change others in deep and mighty ways.
Mark it down: The key to the power of impacting and changing others is ‘self-sacrifice and service!’ Jesus changed and is changing the world through His coming not to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for all. And that is the construct – ‘self-sacrifice and servanthood’ – that God built into the very fabric of human relationships…beginning with Parenthood. It is this self-sacrifice and servant heartedness in Mothers that is the key to their powerfully impacting and changing those God has placed into their care. Self-sacrifice is what makes Mothers great…great in significance and great in impact and great in importance. It is also what makes them mighty and powerful, just like those Greek terms describe.
And, again, it’s also how God changes the world…one person at a time. It begins with parents serving their child…their children, and thus setting into motion the most powerful instrument of change… ‘self-sacrifice’. Through self-sacrifice and service to others God works His works just like He did through His own Son, who came not to be served, but to serve…and through His service, through His self-sacrifice, one by one, others were changed forever.
What an amazing reflection of our Lord it is as Mothers give of themselves in sacrifice and service to their children, to their families, to others. To the world, that kind of sacrifice is often interpreted as ‘losing yourself’. But that’s just another example of how foolish and upside down the old human nature is, because in God’s design, the very path of ‘finding yourself’ is through ‘losing yourself’ in sacrifice and service unto God and unto others. Again, natural human reasoning is completely faulty here, because it is through being ‘self-serving’ and ‘self-focused’ and ‘self-centered’ that a person’s soul and spirit shrivels in size and diminishes in significance. There’s an old saying that says: ‘The person who is all wrapped up in himself is the smallest package in the world.’ To be sure, the person who focuses on their own self-fulfillment will find their soul and their life in waste…empty of fulfillment and joy. But the one, like Mothers, who pour themselves out in sacrifice and service, find themselves being filled and re-filled in their soul with the sense of their great significance and importance in the plans of God and in the lives of others.
Especially, Mothers who love their Maker, their Heavenly Father…those Mothers have found that the source of their sacrifice and service is the fountain of God’s love for them. It is the love of our Heavenly Parent for us, His children, that is the only source deep enough and wide enough and powerful enough to enable us to sacrifice and serve others in love and in truth. Yes, the power of impacting others is through self-sacrifice, but the source of the power is the love of God. And when we drink deeply at the fountain of God’s infinite love, then we have an endless supply to pour out on our family and others. Our love, mighty as it is, is still finite, like ourselves. But mixed with the infinite love of God, it makes a powerful impact on those on whom we pour it out upon. And, as we stated, the way you pour it out is through self-sacrifice and service…just like Jesus did.
Which, once more, is that reflection aspect of Mothers. Mothers are an amazing reflection of our Lord, and just another reason we honor them and thank God for them. God bless you, Mothers, as you are a blessing to us all.