A Mother’s Heart

1 Kings 3:23-28 Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living. 24 And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king. 25 And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other. 26 Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it. 27 Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof. 28 And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.

Introduction: A heart-breaking story. Tragedy turned into treachery. Before DNA.

The real mother wanted to preserve her child’s life at any cost.

It has been said that this is a culture of death.

Legalized abortion, stem-cell research, euthanasia, right to suicide beliefs and other passionately debated issues dominate the cultural dialogue today.

The creation of life exists within the province of God’s hand alone.

Gen 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

TO CREATE bara’ OT:1254, “to create, make.” This verb is of profound theological significance, since it has only God as its subject. Only God can “create” in the sense implied by bara’. The verb expresses creation out of nothing, an idea seen clearly in passages having to do with creation on a cosmic scale: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” Gen 1:1; cf. Gen 2:3; Isa 40:26; 42:5. All other verbs for “creating” allow a much broader range of meaning; they have both divine and human subjects, and are used in contexts where bringing something or someone into existence is not the issue. (from Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright (c)1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

If God alone created life, then God alone determines when that life should end.

Buffalo firefighter who apparently suffered brain damage in a 1995 burning roof collapse and has since been virtually silent and nearly blind had a sudden unexplained recovery on Saturday, animatedly speaking to family and friends and trying to recover a lost decade. “How long have I been gone?” the puzzled firefighter, Donald Herbert, 44, asked in a 14-hour marathon of hugs, kisses, reunions and conversations with his wife, four sons, other relatives and old firefighter comrades. “We told him almost 10 years, and he said ‘Holy cow!’ ” Simon A. Manka, his uncle, recalled yesterday. “He thought it had been three months.” NYT 5-3-05

This mother essentially said, “Even if this life that was formed in my womb is taken out of my arms and placed in the control of another; even if I have to spend the rest of my life knowing that he’s mine but I can’t have him; even if he never knows that I am his real mother, KEEP HIM ALIVE!

The false mother valued fairness above life.

She herself was the victim of a tragic accident. I can’t imagine the anguish and guilt she felt for killing her own child.

She used the circumstances that caused the problem, however, to excuse her wrong actions to resolve the problem.

In her mind, the all-important goal was fairness. Divide the baby in two and give half to each of us.

Brother Robert Trapani often says, “Life’s not fair, but God is good.” Here is a man who has seen an abundance of tragedy in his own life. He lost a son to drowning some years ago. Ten months later, he lost another son due to a brain aneurism. Today, he is in the fourth stage of lymphoma. At our district conference this past week, he came and joked about saving money on razor blades and hair gel. Others have not had to go through the same horrific tragedies as he has, but he refuses to become bitter or revengeful.

This false mother first wanted that which was not rightfully hers. Then, she was willing to destroy a life in the interests of fairness. “If I can’t have everything I want, I don’t want you to have everything you want; if I am going to be miserable, I want you to be miserable; it’s fair if both our babies die.”

She subjected life to her own personal interests.

The wise man Solomon wanted truth more than anything else.

This was a huge dilemma. How could he possibly know which was the true mother. He knew that the true mother’s heart would lead him there. The truth was not in his sword, but in the mother’s heart. The true mother was willing to put up with loss, disappointment and pain if only the child would live. She must have believed that the day would come when her son would be restored to her. As long as he had life, hope for restoration existed. There are a lot of mother’s who pray this way today. “God, keep my son or my daughter alive long enough to bring them back to me!”

The church is the mother of us all.

Gal 4:22-28 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. 23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. 24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. 25 For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. 26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. 27 For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. 28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.

It is vitally important today, on this Mother’s Day, that you understand how the church is praying for you. False mothers are out there trying to steal your body, mind and soul. The world doesn’t want you because it loves you. The world wants you because you are a pawn in the vast scheme of things. You represent a victory in Satan’s win column, that’s all. He wins whether you live or die.

Luke 22:31-32 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: 32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

The church, your mother, is praying for you to live.

The church spreads the table for you to eat; the church provides shelter for your protection; the church comforts you during your trials and tribulations; the church offers instruction so you can know truth; in the midst of resistance, rebellion or lost condition, the church never stops loving you.