A Mother’s Most Demanding Responsibility
Exodus 2:1-10
It has to rank right up there as one of the worst nightmares for a mom
-picture living in a 3rd-story apartment that is swallowed up in flames
--you are clutching your one-month-old baby, leaning outside your
bedroom window to find any amount of fresh air as smoke
billows out around you
-even though a small group of people is gathering some 30’ below,
there are still no professional rescue personnel anywhere in sight
--with smoke now engulfing you and your baby, what do you do?
It was a horrific nightmare-come-true for 30-year-old Tracinda Foxe
last
December in the
-with the situation quickly spiraling downward—at this point the
smoke was so intense that Tracinda could no longer see the
people on the ground—so she began to think the unthinkable
--if she held on to her baby boy, he would succumb to the smoke
and die in her arms
--but if she released her hold of tiny Eric...well, you can only
imagine what would happen
Tracinda prayed, “God, please save my son...let someone catch him.”
-and with that, she let her baby go
Just as Tricinda could not see down...those on the ground could not
see what was happening above
-Felix Vazquez, who was watching helplessly from below, could
hardly believe it when he saw a blanket-wrapped bundle suddenly
emerge from the smoke and tumble three stories
--Felix not only worked for the New York City Housing Authority,
he was also the catcher for their baseball team
--after making
a grab worthy of
Felix, who is also a former lifeguard, performed mouth-to-
mouth resuscitation on Eric...saving his life for the 2nd time
A tad melodramatic for a Mothers’ Day message?
-perhaps
--but then again, moms, how many times have you had to let go
with a quick, painful, faith-lacking, “God, please” kind of prayer?
For most moms, God allows the severity of that “letting go” pain to
increase slowly...because He’s graciously preparing you for the next
traumatic moment in life
-for example, the first day of kindergarten is not followed
immediately by the first day of college
--God tends to move moms and children in stages—knowing
we’re not real good about handling dramatic changes
-another thing God does to make letting go easier—and this is
further proof that He really does know exactly what He’s doing—
right before they leave home, God lets them be teenagers
--and while there are days when you can’t imagine your life
without them...there are also those occasional moments
when you rush out to buy luggage and a good road atlas
I’ll admit, even those gradual transitions can be awfully tough
-in the same week in March, we registered Hannah for high school,
and Josh turned 17
--on Tuesday afternoon, Hannah will be a freshman and Josh will
be a senior...and mom and dad will be relaxing peacefully
under heavy sedation
How in the world did we make it to this point?
-just last week we were sending Josh to his first day of school at
--there the student population was 94% Hispanic and 6% “other”
---“terrified” would be the understatement of the year (not Josh,
but us)
--when he came home that first day he said, “Dad, you won’t
believe the kids in my class!”
---and my initial, racist reaction was, “What is it, son? guns?
knives? drugs? gangs?”
--Josh said, “No one speaks English!”
-and you know what? Josh (and mom & dad) survived the year-long
ordeal known as “kindergarten”...there were no school shootings,
no knife-inflicted wounds, no gang initiations...just fun, learning,
recess, friendships, and cafeteria food
--so what was the big deal about kindergarten anyway?
---that’s what we thought until it was Hannah’s first day of
school and we went through the entire fear~faith cycle again
-that’s because each of those events is part of “the process”
We would have been sorry Hebrew parents in
-what with the slavery, the poverty, and the genocide of our people
--remember what
we read earlier à Pharaoh
gave this order to all
his people: “Every boy that is born you must throw into
the
-and it is into that ancient Holocaust a baby is born...a baby boy
Read Exodus 2:1-2
And so at great risk to herself, the baby’s mother protects him for as
long as she is able
-those three months must have been the most precious and the
most horrible ever...knowing the clock is ticking...knowing there
would soon come a day...
Read Exodus 2:3-4
You’ve probably seen the film, The Ten Commandments
-in it the little basket gently glides down a stream that looks more
like the
I like the way Disney’s movie, The Prince of Egypt tells the story
-they show the baby in the ark passing through a dangerous river
--enormous hippos and vicious crocodiles and unconcerned boats
and pounding waves…all threaten to capsize or just plain devour
the little guy
-according to John Maxwell, who served as an advisor to the film, the
creators wanted to demonstrate the fact that when God is at work,
nothing—not even wild crocs nor hippos—can disrupt His plans
So the baby’s mother is not abandoning him, no more than Tracinda
Foxe was attempting to kill her baby
-this mom is handling the most demanding responsibility of her life
--even though there’s unspeakable danger and peril in letting go,
she must take that risk because hanging on to him would mean
certain
death
-do you think the baby’s mother has any doubts?
--‘you think she questions her own sanity?
--‘you think she blames God for giving her this enormous
responsibility in the first place?
--does she have regrets the very moment the basket escapes her
reach and is carried away by the current?
What is the one thing the mother must believe before she could turn
her back on the river, the basket, and her baby?
-she must trust that her baby is safer in God’s hands than in hers
--on the surface, that seems ridiculous—after all, how many of
you are convinced that if you can only keep your eye on your
child...if you can just hold your child’s hand every time he
crosses the street...if you run alongside her whenever she
rides her bike...if you could just be beside him on the really tall
slide, on the bus, in the car, on a date, in the dorm, at a party,
...then everything would be OK because you’d be in control?
I’m not saying it’s wrong to miss your children when they leave home
-and I’m not saying you shouldn’t be a part of your child’s life
--but there’s
some pretty good logic and wisdom behind Genesis
2:24 à For
this reason a man will leave his father and mother
and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
--in case you’re wondering, when it says “they will become one”...
the “they” means only the man and his wife...not the man, his
dad and his mom and his wife
---I realize that I’ve not been there...but I also know God is
saying there comes a point in each of our lives when there
needs to be a definite separation between parent and child
----and for a parent to refuse to let go of a child...well—if
you want a vivid analogy—it’s like refusing to cut the
umbilical cord...they both result in a form of death...
because ultimately that child will not and cannot
become who God has
designed them to be
That’s precisely the dilemma faced by the Hebrew mother in
-if she insists on hanging on to him, he will die—no doubt about it
--and it’s only by letting go does she set into motion a series of
events that enables him to reach his God-given potential
You see, what the baby’s mom doesn’t realize—and couldn’t even
dream—is God is not only going to save her baby’s life, but He’s
going to guide that little basket with its precious cargo to Pharaoh’s
palace...and her baby will be discovered by the Egyptian princess
-but this doesn’t happen so the baby can enjoy the lifestyle of the
rich and famous
--God’s plans are far more significant than comfort and luxury
Read Exodus 2:5-10
A couple of really cool things are happening here
-first of all, by letting go, Moses’ mother is actually able to enjoy a
closer bond with her baby than if she’d tried hanging on
-there’s a strong affirmation of the often life-giving nature of adoption
-plus—Moses’ mother, then, had to give him up twice (vv. 3 and 10)
But if his mother had refused to let go, then Moses would have been
killed...he would never have made it to the palace...would never
have risen to a position of influence...would never have been forced
to choose between Hebrew and Egyptian...would never have been
used powerfully by God to free the Hebrews, lead them out of
slavery in
-and that was all made possible only because a mother had the
courage and had the faith in a big God to let go
So why do I call this a mother’s most demanding responsibility?
-it’s because
letting go...and doing it well...
--demands you use your time wisely by teaching things that matter
---it’s great to provide music lessons and sports camps and
educational trips...but do not for one minute believe those
things can replace teaching the life lessons that really count...
love, character, service, integrity, and faith
--it demands that you love your child more than you love yourself
---you want what’s best for her rather than what’s best for you
----don’t fool yourself into thinking that hanging on tightly is
what’s best for her (trust me—your desire for control
over every detail of her life is for your benefit, not hers)
----it goes without saying, you still expect respect...and you
still establish and enforce consistent limits, of course,
but
ones that are appropriate for her age and maturity
--it also demands you surrender to God’s plan for your children
---it requires you to experience the truth of Proverbs 3:5-6 in a
fresh light à Trust
in the Lord with all your heart and lean
not on your own understanding; in
all your ways acknowledge
Him, and He will make your paths
straight.
----do you get that?
-----trust in the Lord with all your heart about your child’s
life and his health and safety and his future
-----lean not on your own understanding about what’s
best for her, but instead pray constantly for God’s
wisdom
-----in all your ways acknowledge Him, including the fact
that your child is actually God’s child and He is the
Lord over all
-----He will make your paths straight...God will guide her
and lead her toward her life’s calling
---and you can see that the blessing comes only when you daily
surrender control to God
----this morning there were four sets of parents dedicating
six children to God—a wonderful moment for us all
-----but when we move beyond the traditional ritual, we
discover a pretty profound reminder...our children
are God’s—they have always belonged to Him...
they are always safe in His arms...and even
though it is terribly difficult (almost impossible at
times), we can trust Him to work lovingly and
faithfully to bring about what is the best
------the most difficult part, I’ve found, is the
trusting that He knows what’s best...but
that’s where faith comes into play
Moms...from the moment of conception, the life inside of you has
been created to move from dependence on you toward
independence from you toward dependence on God
-you can resist that for all you’re worth...or you can fulfill your most
demanding responsibility by loving them enough to prepare them
the best you can...by trusting God...and then trusting them into
His care by letting go