Ann Reeves Jarvis had campaigned since 1908 for a day to honor the sacrifices our mothers have made, and in 1914 President Woodrow Wilson signed a measure making the second Sunday in May Mother's Day. Now for 112 years we have been celebrating Mother's Day. It has become commercialized through many different avenues, but the original idea of honoring the sacrifice of our mothers remains intact.

Outside of a relationship with Jesus Christ, I think the miracle of conception ranks up there with some of the greatest miracles. What is so intriguing about the conception process is not the man or the woman as much as what God is doing within the womb (cf. Psalm 139:13, 14).

The Bible often uses pictures to illustrate spiritual truths. This is true of our physical births. Even in our births there are ways God illustrates cleansing the child, protecting the child, and giving the child life.

Yes, God uses a man and woman to bring a child into the world, but it is the miracle of His knitting within the womb that allows the baby to be born about nine months after birth. When the baby is born, it can be covered with both blood and a white substance called vernix caseosa. It is a protective coating produced in the womb that acts as a moisturizer and creates an antimicrobial barrier for the newborn's skin.

My question has been: is that just a natural part of the birthing process or something specific God has done to remind us of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? I think the answer to both questions is, "Yes." There is specific language God uses that helps us understand what sacrifice from His point of view consists of.

When I use the word sacrifice, what comes to your mind?

1. Strength
2. Valor
3. Courage
4. Heroism

When King David described the suffering Messiah in Psalm 22, he used the Hebrew word towla - a word connected to the crimson worm. That is surprising because when we think of sacrifice, we think of strength, courage, and heroism. Yet Jesus said, "I am a worm, and no man..." (cf. Psalm 22:6). At first glance, that sounds weak. But hidden within this picture is one of the clearest illustrations of sacrificial love.

To understand this word better let's start at the foot of the cross.
As Jesus Christ is coming close to His death on the cross, He begins to quote from Psalm 22. Psalm 22 has been in the category of the Messianic Psalms, and it is here we discover the heart of sacrifice.

God chose an unexpected picture to illustrate sacrifice. When we think of sacrifice, we think of warriors, heroes, and kings. Yet Scripture points us to a worm.

I know for a fact when we are talking about giving up one's life no one would consider their mother a worm nor would they consider Jesus Christ a worm. So what is God trying to tell us about sacrifice through this worm analogy?

Through the word towla, Scripture paints a picture of sacrifice. There are different names for the worm, but I will call it the Crimson Worm. It has about a fourteen day lifecycle, but the female has a very remarkable process to give birth. In the end, she will give her life so that her babies can live.

Mothers across the world would without doubt lay down their lives for their children. There is no measuring tool that would measure the amount of sacrifice a mother would endure for her children. We talk very highly of our mothers and for absolutely great reasons. Yet when God speaks of His Son's sacrifice He uses something so extraordinary it is hard to understand at first glance.

Jesus calling Himself a worm doesn't sound very sacrificial. Yet when we understand the full meaning behind the word, what we see if a complete picture of sacrifice, redemption and life. I understand most human mothers do not have to lay down their lives for their children, but in order for the next generation of Crimson Worms to survive their mothers have to lay down their lives.

The human race faces the same condition. If not for Jesus Christ willingly going to the wooden cross, shedding his blood, and dying for our sins, we would have no opportunity to have a relationship with the LORD. Hebrews 9:22 tells us that is it the shedding of blood that gives us forgiveness.

Today we honor mothers and women who have inspired and showed us what genuine sacrifice looks like. They have birthed us, protected us, and allowed us to see our purpose. God in a similar way shows us what sacrifice looks like through the smallest of illustrations. The Crimson Worm isn't very big compared to our world, but without her there'd be no scarlet or better illustration of Jesus' sacrifice.

Six years after President Wilson officially signed Mother's Day into our yearly calendar the originator Ann Reeves Jaris tried to end the official Mother's Day, because it was so commercialized. Like the commercialization of Mother's Day people have popularized Jesus Christ and through that people have been blinded to Jesus' purpose of coming to this world.

Jesus did not come so we can hang crosses around our necks, have beautiful churches, or even sing wonderful songs. Jesus did not come to be a beautiful religious symbol that we celebrate, but He came to be a sacrificial lamb. A lamb that would lay down His life for His sheep. A lamb that would willingly take on death so His sheep could have life.

Those things are not wrong within themselves, but they have blinded people to Jesus' purpose of sacrifice. Jesus Christ came to die, be buried and rise again to give you and I the opportunity to have a relationship with the LORD.

Today,

1. Celebrate your mother the best you can
2. Grasp sacrifices have been made to help you be the person you are
3. Come to the Father through the blood of Jesus Christ, the Lamb who laid down His life for you

The greatest sacrifice ever made was not simply a mother for her child, but a Savior for sinners.