A little boy walked into a Reporter's office of a newspaper one day asking him to put an advertisement for him. The Reporter asked, "How much money do you have for the advertisement and what do you want to advertise?" The boy rolled a few coins from his hands and said, "Please advertise, 'Wanted: One mother, for a little boy.' My mother's dead, my Dad and I miss her. I need a mother to feed me, to love me and to care for me. Please find me one." Tears rolled out of the Reporter's eyes.

The whole world is in such a state. The world needs the caring of a mother.

YOU ARE THAT MOTHER, DEAR FRIEND!

And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother." (Matthew 12:49,50)

In Christ, we become a mother to the world when we do His will. The Lord needs a mother who would accomplish His will. Would that be you? Would you accomplish the will of God in this world?

A tribute to my mother

I am grateful to the Lord Almighty who had given me a mother who had established my life in the Lord. On this Mother's Day I wish her God's blessings from the depth of my heart for all that she had done for me.

1. She Put the Life of God in Me

Like Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, my mother inscribed spiritual life into my being even when I was in her womb. My mother prayed for my spiritual stature and also for the Lord to protect me from all the evils of this world and engulf me with His spirit for my close association with the Lord.

"For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb." (Luke 1:15)

2. She Put in Faith in Me

"When I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also." (2 Timothy 1:5)

Like Timothy's mother Eunice, my mother kept the faith on the Lord. When she conceived me, even after two miscarriages, she kept her faith in the Lord and made a vow with the Lord to send me for the ministry if He gives her a male child. Now, I am serving the most High God with reverence because of the faith that my mother had fixed on the solid Rock - Jesus Christ. Her faith inspired me in many ways and I could say she is the main reason for my strong spiritual life.

3. She Formed My Life

"It pleased God to separate me from my mother's womb and call me through His grace." (Galatians 1:15)
"I was cast upon You from birth. From My mother's womb You have been My God." (Psalm 22:10)

My mother made me to read the Bible and pray everyday, both in the morning and evening. For her, my growth in the Lord has been much more important than any other issue in this world. She made me to read, meditate and memorize the Bible verses, which has often been helpful in many ways in my life. I feel proud for the utterance which my mother taught me ( Proverbs 31:1).

4. She Taught Me the Law of God

"My son, hear the instruction of your father, And do not forsake the law of your mother". (Proverbs 1:8)
"My son, keep your father's command, And do not forsake the law of your mother". (Proverbs 6:20)

I used to be a mischievous boy during my young age, but my mother's disciplining and strict principles have turned me to be a mature child of God. I often have received punishments for not having followed her instructions and advices. Now when I look back, I can understand how she had adopted the teachings in the Bible to bring up a child, especially when I erred. I am bringing up my children in this discipline taking my mother to be my role model in this.

5. Her Love and Comfort

"As one whom his mother comforts, So I will comfort you; And you shall be comforted in Jerusalem." (Isaiah 66:13)

True as Isaiah's words, my mother has been a comfort for me during all my troubled moments. In every walk of my life, especially when I went away from the Lord and invited troubles, my mother was the comforter. Her love will make me joyful and come out of the problem when my mother has comforts me saying "It is alright my son, the Lord will deliver you from the problem". She will not stop with those words but would kneel down and pray for me fervently. This love and comfort which one cannot enjoy from anyone else but from a mother.

6. She Cared for Me

"Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you." (Isaiah 49:15)

I wonder how my mother used to take care of our needs when we were children. She used to buy everything for us even when my father had very little money for the family. As my father and mother are devoted to the Lord and His ministry, they will set apart the tithe for the Lord and leave the rest of the salary for that month's spending.

During an Easter season, when I was a very little boy, my father did not have money to buy new clothes for me. Knowing my expectation, my mother immediately knelt down and prayed to the Lord to provide some money to fulfill my desire. The next day listening to my mother's prayer the Lord provided the money and she purchased me new clothes.

7. She Counselled Me

Many times listening to my friends I used to indulge in activities which were not pleasing God. Whenever my mother noticed such deviation she counselled me and she prayed with me so that I could come out of the sinful and worldly deeds. Her timely identifying and counselling has shaped my life as a young boy.

8. She Proclaimed Greatness on Me

"Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne." (1 Kings 1:17,18)

Whenever I excelled in my life, my mother never stopped to thank God. Even, when I received the Doctorate degree in Business Administration she thanked God and proclaimed the greatness of the Lord in my life whomever she met. When the Lord opened me the doors of the ministry and came to serve the Lord my mother encouraged me and lauded for my sacrifice for the Lord. She proclaimed my sacrifice for the Lord and set me as an example for many.

I feel it as my privilege and honour to have such a wonderful mother who had taken care of me right from the day she gave birth to me till today in the daily walk of my life. I thank the Almighty God for blessing me with a wonderful mother who has been a great comforter, caretaker, counseller, encourager and interceder for me.

Because of my mother, today I proclaim the love of the Lord and His compassion which he had sent through His Son Jesus Christ into this world.

Dear friend, on this Mother's Day, why not we vow our mothers the due respect and express our love to her? When we grow up, let us return the love all that our mothers have showered upon us. By this, we will learn to love more and this will help many young children like the little boy at the Reporter's desk to experience mother's love in their lives.