Reaching Beyond Ourselves

Happy Mother's Day

"When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12 (NIV) 

A little girl who was about to say her part in an old fashioned children's day program. When she got in front of the crowd, the sight of hundreds of pairs of curious eyes focused upon her threw her into a panic. Every line that she had rehearsed so carefully faded from her mind and she stood there frozen in her tracks, unable to utter a single syllable.

In the front row her mother was almost as frantic as the little girl. She gestured, she moved her lips to form the words that her daughter was to speak, but it did not work. Finally in desperation the mother whispered the opening phrase, "I am the light of the world." Instantly the child's face relaxed. A smile appeared where there had been clouds before. And with supreme confidence the litle girl began, "My mother is the light of the world." 

Of course we know that Jesus is the light of he world. But through the years, mothers have beautifully reflected the light of Jesus in their countenances and in their motherhood. Many great men's lives were lit up by their mothers and those men have publicly testified and showcased that light. Here are just a few:

"All that I am my mother made me."

- John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States

All that I am or hope to be I owe to my angel mother."

- Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president of the United States

"All that I have ever accomplished in life I owe to my mother."

- Dwight L. Moody, the famed evangelist