Today is Mother’s Day, a day we honor our moms and thank them for all they have done for us.  Most of us have had mothers who loved us, made sacrifices for us, prayed for us, and did their best to make sure we had a good life.

Sometimes our moms tried to prepare us for dangers ahead.  There was a day when my younger brother and I could not cross the street unless we held our mom’s hand.  She looked for traffic and she decided when it was safe to cross.  All we had to do was hold on to her hand.

Then came the day when we didn’t want to hold her hand, but had to obey her voice.  She said when it was safe to cross the street.

Later, the day came when we had to cross the street alone and we were responsible for watching for the traffic, and we could hear her voice in our ear, “Look both ways twice.”

A good mom doesn’t want to hold our hand when we are capable of crossing the street alone.  Because we have followed her advice in the past, she will grow to trust us to make decisions even when she is not present.  She knows what she taught us will keep guiding us even when she is not there. 

At an early age we learn grownups have more experience and we should follow their advice.  We don’t know it all.  If we follow their advice, we can avoid some of the temptations and problems that seem to come to everyone.

Jesus taught us that God is like a perfect parent.  God is always interested in loving us and helping to equip us for what is ahead.  If we are careful to follow God’s instruction, we can avoid some of the troubles waiting for us. 

In the Scripture for today, Jesus was trying to prepare his disciples for what was coming.  He said that he was not always going to be there with them physically, but the Holy Spirit would come and remind them of what he taught.  He said, “I am telling you this now so that when it happens, your faith will grow even stronger.” 

Jesus knew that, even after being with him for three years, seeing the miracles he performed, and being present at every lesson and sermon, still the disciples’ faith was in the process of growing.  That is the reason he is pointing out this lesson in today’s Scripture.  When his words come to pass, they will remember and their faith will grow deeper. 

You and I may have been Christians for more than fifty years.  We may have a vast amount of experience trusting God, but none of us has arrived at the pinnacle of faith.  We are all still in the process of maturing in matters of our faith. 

Jesus loved his disciples, and it grieved his heart that he would not always be with them to hold their hand in the challenges that were coming.  Jesus told them, in the midst of all that was coming, he wanted them to have peace, the peace that guided his life.  It was a peace that came from knowing that he was doing what God had sent him to do.

After Jesus left, the disciples would have the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit would be there to help them make decisions that would help their faith and the Kingdom of God to grow.  Jesus told them this so that, when it happened, they would remember his words and their commitment to his teachings would grow deeper.

Today, Christ wants us to have the peace he had in knowing we are a part of God’s plan.  There is joy, even in the midst of challenges.  There is joy that keeps us motivated to help the Kingdom of God grow. 

We have the Holy Spirit to help us remember the teachings of Jesus and the wisdom of following them.  When we make poor decisions with no regard to how Jesus lived and taught, we get into trouble.  God is not interested in punishing us for our foolishness, but is interested in calling us back to a relationship with him. 

The hardships we bring on ourselves can be seen as the wrath of God coming down on us, causing us to rebel further, or they can be seen as a means of getting us turned around and headed back to focus on God’s Kingdom once again.  The sooner we get back to our relationship with God, the better. 

There may be those times when we know we are not following the way we have been taught.  There are those times when we think we are charting new territory and what we are doing won’t hurt us. 
 
“It is O.K. this once to stay out all night drinking with our friends.  After all, tomorrow is graduation.  So he is my sister’s boyfriend; no one will know.  The boss is rich.  He won’t miss the $1,400.  Mom will never know I came in an hour past the curfew.”

When the deceptions in our plan catch us, it is a bitter pill to have to admit we have broken the rule.  We dread hearing those words, “I told you so.”  It is bad enough to fail and get caught, but things seem at least ten times worse when there is someone there to rub salt in our wounds.
 
What kind of relationship does a child have with a parent who is always ready to say, “I told you so?  I told you this would happen, but no, you don’t have to listen to me, I’m only your mother.”

While it is true that God’s opened arms are always waiting for us, we may hesitate to run toward God and say we have been wrong because we are afraid of God holding it against us.  We don’t want God to say, “I told you so.” 
 
While I know country music isn’t the favorite of everyone living in southern Iowa, I want us to listen to this song that speaks of the fears we all have of hearing those words, “I told you so.”  As you listen to this song, hear it as though it is a as a prayer as the singer is singing to Jesus.  
 
God is never interested in saying, “I told you so.”  God doesn’t have to rub our face in our mistakes.  God will not find another love to take our place.  God has made only one of me, only one of you.  No one else will do.  God has made the heart inside us and given us the Holy Spirit.  When we stray away from God, the Holy Spirit will always be there to call us back and invite us to come home. 

We don’t have to live with a great distance between us and God.  God is always willing to welcome us back.   This is an unholy world we live in.  There is temptation on every hand and we are constantly being called away from our relationship with God.  

When we have not paid attention to what Jesus had to say and teach, we get far away from God.  Life gets more and more complicated and a cloud of gloom seems to thicken. 

God misses us so much that God has sent his Son, Jesus, to be the payment for our sin.  When we trust Christ to be our Savior, that cloud of gloom disappears and we find that God has been waiting with eager anticipation for our return.

We all know the human misery that happens from a strained parent-child relationship.  If you have ever been angry with one of your parents, or one of your children, you know about the sleepless nights and the longing to have things mended once again.

Where are you?  Would you like to know God better than you do?  Would you like to be assured of the direction of the Holy Spirit in the decisions you have to make?  What is preventing that?

Maybe you think too much time has gone by?  Do you think you are too far away?  It has been too long?  Are you apprehensive about God letting you back in?

Jesus knew what we’d have ahead.  He said we would have the Holy Spirit to remind us of the way back to God, the way he taught.  Jesus knew this day would come for all of us.  Today we have heard his words, “Now I have told you this before it occurs so that when it does occur you may believe.”

This is our opportunity once again to put our faith in our Lord, and let our faith grow as we learn to trust him.  Our God is always ready to welcome us back home.

                                                          Amen.

Home • Worship • Christian Education • Sermon • Obituaries • Calendar
Children • MIddle School • High School • Women • Men • Older Adults • Contact Us

First Presbyterian Church, Oskaloosa, Iowa