A Mother's Love for Her Children
Pastor Tan Thai · May 12, 2018
This Mother's Day sermon reflects on a mother's deep love through the story of Naomi and Ruth in Ruth chapter 1. The pastor calls the church to be a place of safety and genuine love, like Ruth who stood by Naomi in her deepest grief.
The sermon opens by acknowledging Mother's Day as a global occasion to honor mothers across all religions and nations. The pastor draws on multiple Vietnamese poems and songs praising a mother's love as vast as the Pacific Ocean, immeasurable and boundless. He explains the Vietnamese cultural term 'tần tảo' — rooted in imagery of a diligent woman gathering water plants — to paint a picture of a mother's tireless, self-sacrificing life for her husband and children.
The central passage is the story of Naomi in Ruth chapter 1. Naomi left her homeland for Moab with her husband and two sons, only to lose all three. The pastor broadens the meaning of 'losing a child' beyond physical death to include children who drift from faith, live prodigally, or are corrupted by societal influences. The story of Ruth Graham and grieving mothers with prodigal children is shared to illustrate the universal pain many mothers in the congregation may carry.
The pastor poses a key challenge to the church: How will the congregation respond when they see a mother who has lost her child? He firmly rebukes judgmental, blaming, or condemning attitudes within the church and declares that the church must be a safe place of genuine love, welcoming both the grieving mother and the prodigal child. The example of Ruth's faithful companionship with Naomi is presented as the model for how the church should treat the suffering.
The sermon also addresses Naomi's bitterness toward God, and the pastor urges the congregation not to quickly judge her faith, since no one who has not walked her path can truly understand her pain. He warns that bitterness cannot bring a lost child home, but prayer and trust in God's power can. The book of Ruth ends with restoration, and Ruth's lineage leads to King David and ultimately to Jesus Christ.
The closing section speaks directly to adult children, calling them to follow Ruth's example in caring for aging parents without complaint. A moving story of a young boy presenting his mother with a bill for household chores — and the mother's tearful, grace-filled response listing all her uncounted sacrifices — illustrates the unconditional nature of a mother's love and the gratitude children owe their mothers.