On Sunday, May 14, Mother’s Day will be celebrated throughout our nation as well as others.  Mother’s Day in America was initiated by Anna Jarvis in 1908 as a day to honor motherhood, and it became an official U. S. holiday in 1914.  Jarvis later opposed the holiday because of it becoming commercialized, and spent the latter part of her life seeking to remove it from the calendar. 

“Words from Above” in the Bible tell us of an unusual mother who dedicated the entire life of her son to the service of the Lord God of heaven.  Before she became a mother, Hannah was unable to bear children, so she went to the Temple in Jerusalem and wept bitterly in prayer to the Lord to give her a son.  She made a vow to the Lord that if He would allow her to give birth to a son, that she would dedicate him to the service of the Lord all the days of his life, and would not allow his hair to be cut.

        God honored Hannah’s request for a son, and after she had weaned him, she kept her promise and took Samuel to Eli the priest so that he could serve in the Temple.  She visited him regularly and provided a coat for him during each of her annual visits.  Due to her faithfulness in keeping her promise to the Lord, Hannah had three more sons and also two daughters.

        Samuel eventually succeeded Eli the priest and became a great priest and a prophet in the land of Israel.  Like his mother, Samuel was faithful to the Lord all the days of his life.  God used him in mighty ways to guide the nation of Israel and its various leaders during his lifetime.   Samuel truly honored his mother in his obedience to the Lord, and there is no better way to honor mothers today.

        The nation of Israel came to a point in their history when they wanted to have a king to rule over them like all the other nations around them, but Samuel was opposed to the idea because he believed God Himself should be their only king.  However, he consulted the Lord and was given permission to anoint a king to rule over them.  God allowed him to warn the people about the negative affect having a king would have on them as a people, but they insisted on having their way.

        Hannah dedicated Samuel to the Lord, but he also dedicated himself to serving the Lord faithfully, as all of us should certainly do.  This will not only honor our mothers, but more importantly it will honor the Lord.

        Larry R. Steffee is pastor of the Center Hill Brethren In Christ Church on Miller Road in Smithville.  Everyone is welcome to attend.  For information, you may email lrsteffeetn@yahoo.com.