The Christian Woman’s Guilt-free Guide to Proverbs 31
A Bible Message for Mother’s Day
Mother’s Day is not a formal part of the Christian calendar, yet there are certain days—like this one—when those of us who proclaim the unsearchable riches of Christ would do well to pause, to listen, and to consider. In listening, we begin to understand just how deeply this day matters to people. It matters because motherhood—and more broadly, womanhood and family life—is under siege. The barrage comes not from the fringes, but from the center of our secular age: forces bent on disrupting, disorganizing, and ultimately dismantling what God Himself has created.
Mother’s Day is not merely a greeting card holiday. It is, in truth, a sacred moment—a time to return to God’s Word and recover His divine design for humanity. In the rhythms of motherhood, we glimpse a theologically rich vein running through the mountain of Scripture, pointing to the beauty, complexity, and glory of womanhood as seen through the lens of redemption in Jesus Christ.
The story begins, as it must, in Genesis. Woman fell, and her husband followed. There is more than enough to preach in that one haunting sequence. Yet it is also there—in the shadows of the Fall—that we hear the first whisper of grace. The Protoevangelium—the first Gospel—is found in Genesis 3:15, where God announces that the Savior will come through the woman, without the agency of a man. Christ proceeds not from Joseph, but from Almighty God; yet He enters the world through the womb of Mary. In this way, womanhood is not only redeemed—it is exalted (1 Timothy 2:15.1 Yet for many, Mother’s Day does not feel like a celebration. It can reopen wounds. For women who longed for children but could not bear them, this day can bring pressure, sorrow, even isolation. As a pastor, I have always prayed that such women would hear in my voice the compassion of Christ. I want them—and I want you—to know: God loves you. Your womanhood is not defined by bearing children. It is defined by your bearing the image of God. In His providence, what may feel like weakness or absence may become the very place where His power is magnified. The Lord brings transcendence in the midst of pain. He transforms sorrow into sacred space—a field of divine creativity, where possibilities emerge as sovereign initiatives to bless and to heal.
Mother’s Day is not merely a greeting card holiday. It is, in truth, a sacred moment—a time to return to God’s Word and recover His divine design for humanity. — Michael A. Milton
Others among us mourn mothers we have lost. Some mothers grieve a child, or children, taken too soon. There is, perhaps, no pain greater than that. And yet, even in death, the beauty of motherhood remains untouched by the grave. The honor you bear is not erased; it is illuminated by resurrection hope. As a pastor, as a man, I would rather be with that grieving mother than anywhere else. God is there. “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18 ESV).
And to men and boys: there is a word here for you. The last creature God made was not an afterthought—it was His crowning work of creation. Woman stands at the pinnacle of the created order. Her strength is not found in brute force, but in the quiet grandeur of her calling. The Christian man—husband, father, son, brother—is called to use his strength to lift up, not to lord over; to honor, not to diminish the gift of woman. When she enters your presence, stand. When she approaches, acknowledge her. When she enters, she goes first. When she is vulnerable, cover her. If she is threatened, protect her. If all is lost, she lives. These are not merely good manners or antiquated customs. Honoring women by our masculinity is honoring God. So, never, ever tell me it is fine for a deranged male to get into a boxing ring and hit a woman. Forcefully hit a woman. To write the words feels evil. Don’t try to sell me an absurd postmodern idea that there are no differences. Those twisted thoughts, whether coming from feminists (naïvely hurting women) or men (shameless abdicators), inevitably lead to the dehumanizing of women—an act of demonic influence born of rejecting God (Romans 1:18-32). “Professing to be wise, they became fools . . .” (Verse 22).
We turn to Proverbs 31. We do so not to place a burden, but to bring a blessing. The title of this message, The Christian Woman’s Guilt-Free Guide to Proverbs 31, is a nod to the unease many women feel when reading that passage. “Who can live up to it?” they ask. The answer is: no one—and that is precisely the point. This is an idealized portrait. These words were not written as a checklist, but as a vision. They come from a woman—Bathsheba—sharing this (the Word of God) with her son, Solomon, about the kind of woman he should seek as his wife, the vision of a woman that Bathsheba wants for herself—a noble woman of iridescent integrity, of a kind of female beauty that cannot fade. It is poetry, not pressure. It is divinely revealed wisdom for every woman and man in every age.
So now, we come to our message. And in doing so, we ask God’s blessing on every woman, every mother, and every family—an anointing to bring gladness, comfort, resurrection hope, and encouragement through the Gospel so beautifully portrayed by God’s plan of salvation in the lives of our most precious mothers, sisters, daughters, girlfriends, co-workers, female friends, neighbors, and all women. We honor you.
A few years ago I was asked by Crosswalk to write an article for their Mother’s Day edition. I distilled the teaching in this sermon to prepare the article. Perhaps, it will be of help and hope to some.
PROVERBS 31
The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him:
2 What are you doing, my son?1 What are you doing, fson of my womb?
What are you doing, gson of my vows?
3 Do hnot give your strength to women,
your ways to those iwho destroy kings.
4 jIt is not for kings, O Lemuel,
it is not for kings kto drink wine,
or for rulers to take lstrong drink,
5 lest they drink and forget what has been decreed
and mpervert the rights of all the afflicted.
6 Give strong drink to the one who nis perishing,
and wine to othose in bitter distress;2
7 plet them drink and forget their poverty
and remember their misery no more.
8 qOpen your mouth for the mute,
for the rights of all who are destitute.3
9 Open your mouth, rjudge righteously,
The Woman Who Fears the Lord
10 4 uAn excellent wife who can find?
She is far more precious than vjewels.
11 The heart of her husband trusts in her,
and he will have no lack of gain.
12 She does him good, and not harm,
all the days of her life.
13 She wseeks wool and flax,
and works with willing hands.
14 She is like the ships of the merchant;
she brings her food from afar.
15 She xrises while it is yet night
and yprovides food for her household
and portions for her maidens.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
17 She zdresses herself5 with strength
and makes her arms strong.
18 She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.
Her lamp does not go out at night.
19 She puts her hands to the distaff,
and her hands hold the spindle.
20 She aopens her hand to bthe poor
and reaches out her hands to bthe needy.
21 She is not afraid of snow for her household,
for all her household are clothed in cscarlet.6
22 She makes dbed coverings for herself;
her clothing is efine linen and fpurple.
23 Her husband is known in gthe gates
when he sits among the elders of the land.
24 She makes hlinen garments and sells them;
she delivers sashes to the merchant.
25 iStrength and dignity are her clothing,
and she laughs at the time to come.
26 She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
27 She looks well to the ways of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children rise up and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many jwomen have done kexcellently,
but you surpass them all.”
30 lCharm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands,
and let her works praise her in the gates.
I find the following dynamic equivalence an appropriate expression of the original. “Yet salvation will come through a child born by a woman, and women will be saved by that ‘child’ if they continue in faith with love, holiness, and self-control.” The English Standard Version: “For Adam was formed first, then Eve; 14and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. 15Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.“