One of our cultural customs honors our mothers once a year on Mother’s Day. There is no divine sanction for the particular day chosen, but the theme of the observance is required in the Ten Commandments, and Paul tells us that this is the first commandment with a promise—that your life may be long in the earth.
And so we obey, and we honor our mothers. We begin with our Mother the Church. The one who seemed barren all those centuries has given birth at last, just like Sarah, and great is the number of her children. The Jerusalem above, Paul states, is the mother of us all. This heavenly Jerusalem is the bride, the wife of the Lamb, the holy Christian church. This is your mother; this is the one the Lord Jesus determined to marry before all worlds. This is the one He chose; honor her.
In our marriages and families, we are given the tremendous privilege of reflecting this, embodying it. Men choose their wives, deciding to love them. God gives children to these women, who in turn give the children back to their husbands, and husbands and wives together give their children back to God in baptism. This is all a fearful mystery, but it must be said that if the fact of motherhood in your home does not unsettle and terrify you, you are not paying attention.
So honor your grandmother. Honor your own mother. Honor the mother who made you a father. Honor the mother who gave you life, and milk, and cereal, and lectures, and wisdom. Never forget that in Proverbs, wisdom is a great lady. Those who do not know this, and fear, do not know anything.