Tuesday, April 12th, 2022
April 1st, 2021
Kingman, IN
“When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.”
John 19:26-27 (NIV)
Bible Reading • John 19:23-27
The Crucifixion of Jesus
“When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.” This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said, “They divided my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.” So this is what the soldiers did. Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.”
Challenge 🔹 Questions
Jesus’ way of love shows us that love honors parents, even in death.
A Lent Devotional-Uncovering the Love of Jesus by Asheritah Ciuciu
How can you honor your parents today?
- I am blessed to still have my father with me. I call him nearly everyday. And I am extremely blessed with a younger brother who does call our dad every single day and visits him almost everyday. My brother is a lifeline, an angel, he sits with dad and they share coffee and life stories, it is beautiful to see. My mother passed in 2012 but she’s never far away in my thoughts and my heart. I enjoy honoring her in many different ways…
- I honor my mother by placing new flowers and decorative items at her gravesite several times throughout the year. And sometimes, I just drive through the cemetery and pause to say, “I love you, mom!” I know she’s not there but it a place where I have spent a lot of time just talking to her. I have grieved her being gone; I have laughed while sharing a story and I simply just miss her.
- I honor my mother by trying to live a life pleasing to God, following the many life lessons she taught me. And, even now I continue to learn, rather (re) learn some of those lessons.
- I honor my mother by caring for others, as she cared for so many throughout her life.
- I honor my mother by speaking truth, she always spoke her mind and her convictions about life were her foundation.
- I honor my mother by living as passionately about family and caring for others as she did.
- One final thought, not sure it falls into honoring but my mom was a beautician and owned her own shop for many years. She had been the only one who had cared for my hair for many years. To this day, I think of my mom every time I wash my hair 😂 the one thing I always think of “Don’t use too much shampoo – it only takes a small amount!” It may seem silly but I love that memory. Pure joy!
L👀K around you, is there a parent figure in your community who lacks adult children to care for them?
- I am blessed to be surrounded by parent figures. Many have their own children and do not need care from me but I care for them nonetheless. To have a heart overflowing with love and gratitude towards others is a blessing indeed.
How might you love them like John was tasks with loving and caring for Mary?
- Availability…Availability…Availability.
- Words are very comforting to those we care for and about but I can tell you words cannot compare to the healing powers of touch. The simple act of touching a hand or shoulder can be so powerful. I get that not everyone is a “hugger” 🤗 but to me it’s positively magical.
📚 • Further Study • 📚
The Ten Commandments (verse 1-21)
“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.”
Exodus 20:12 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Exodus%2020:12&version=NIV
“Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving you.”
Deuteronomy 5:16 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Deuteronomy%205:16&version=NIV
“Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.”
Proverbs 23:22 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Proverbs%2023:22&version=NIV
That Which Defiles (verse 1-20)
“Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!” Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.”
Matthew 15:1-9 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Matthew%2015:1-9&version=NIV
Widows, Elders and Servants (verse 1-25)
“Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity. Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need. But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God. The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help. But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives. Give the people these instructions, so that no one may be open to blame. Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”
1 Timothy 5:1-8 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=1%20Timothy%205:1-8&version=NIV
Listening and Doing (verse 19-27)
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
James 1:27 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=James%201:27&version=NIV
Hi friends, thank you for visiting my blog today. I hope you are having a wonderful day and I look forward to sharing and uncovering more of the love of Jesus with you tomorrow. ~ Peace.
~Charlotte, Seeker of unexpected Comfort, Happiness, Joy and Patience.
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