Fifteen years ago, I preached a Mothers Day sermon on Mothers' Day. It was a pretty good little sermon — a few tears, a lot of smiles, and even an "Amen" or two. So I was shocked when someone caught me after the service and ripped into me for doing a Mothers' Day sermon. "What scriptural grounds do you have to preach on the subject of a secular holiday." I was a bit hurt. I was more than a bit hacked. From where I sit, women don't get enough credit for what they do in their service to the Lord. How dare anyone suggest we buck culture on the day it does once a year what should be done every day of every week! But as with most criticism, there was an element of truth in what was said. We sometimes just ape the secular calendar, or baptize it with a little religious speak and use it in our churches. So it's good to have someone rattle our cage and make us think why we do some of the things we do. I was delighted to find the answer was not hard to find. The answer, of course, is quite simple and quite biblical. Proverbs 31 gives us two powerful reasons to praise our mothers. After spending 18 verses describing all the different kinds of things a "worthy woman" does, he says:      Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.           "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all."      Charm is deceptive, beauty is fleeting;           but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.      Give her the reward she has earned,           and let her works bring her praise at the city gate. We are to praise our mothers because of the wonderful things they have done to bless us. While many women do many wonderful things, a mother, our mother, surpasses all others because she has done them for us. Think of all she has done to give us life: offered her body, her time, her own physical nourishment, her attention, her affection, her concern, her laughter, her tears, he guidance, her correction, her pain, her praise, her care, her sleep, and her love. In fact, the list could continue for more than a page. Most mothers have made incredible sacrifices for their children. Some of those are tangible. Others are places in her heart. So we praise our mothers because they are worthy of praise. "Give honor to whom honor is due." Can you think of anyone more deserving of honor? If the greatest in the kingdom is a servant, then moms will have most of the best places in the Kingdom when it comes in all its glory! Mothers come to glory the old fashioned way: "They earn it!" Take a moment and reminisce. Think of all the times your mother cared for you in special ways — birthday parties, shopping for you, praying for you, doing without so you could have… Write her a personal note thanking her for some of those. Remember them to her in as much detail as you can. But make sure she gets the drift of the message: "There are a lot of good women out there in the world, but Mom, you're the greatest!" Proverbs 31:29 makes clear, this praise should be given by a good mothers children and husband. Second, we take time to honor mothers on Mothers' Day because we are told to! A woman who honors God in her life is to praised. He said it and he means it. And this is not just to be the praise of a casual conversation at home. This is to be public praise. This is to be the praise of a husband who is known in the community as a man who adores and appreciates his wife. While it may not be hip to brag on your wife to your golfing, bowling, or fishing buddies, God's man honors God's woman in that way. She's earned it. You see, most of us are lured away from the important things. We get distracted by the shiny things, the deceptive and fleeting things. But when a woman fears the Lord and puts his will first in her life and the life of her family, she is to be praised. Why? Well, because he said so. But if you look carefully at verse 30, you know why—she has invested her life in what really matters. The real superstar women in our world are not the shooting stars who twinkle for a while in People Magazine® or a Barbara Walters Special. No, the true superstar women are known by their service to those they love. Now it's just up to us to make sure these stars know just how super we think they are!

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