Today is Mother’s Day and let me first wish all mothers a very happy Mother’s Day!
About a month ago, different kinds of advertisements for Mother’s Day gifts began finding their way to my email inbox. Businesses must have thought that this is a golden opportunity to boost product sales. Indeed, many of us are willing to buy gifts for our mothers, hoping to make them happy and satisfied. Afterall, Mother’s Day is the perfect opportunity to express love for our mothers. At the same time, what caught my attention in the array of Mother’s Day gift promotions was that some businesses specifically mentioned upfront that if for any reasons buyers do not wish to receive this kind of promotional messages, they can click a link and those Mother’s Day promotion messages will be temporarily ceased to be sent to their email accounts. In order to win the favour of customers, businesses are doing their best to cater for the needs of customers. This also reminds us of the importance of going the extra mile to cater for the needs of our family members and to express our love appropriately within the family.
Buying gifts to mothers on Mother's Day or treating them to a meal is indeed a wonderful opportunity to express love. However, our expressions of love for mothers should not only be limited to this day of celebration. The relationship of love is the foundation of family relationships, and a harmonious relationship between parents and children requires effort and honing over time. The realisation of love no doubt has its challenges. From the perspective of a mother, sacrificing for her children is unquestionable, yet it is necessary to learn how to love children wisely and according to God's will. From the perspective of the children, loving their mothers is irrefutable, but why do many children still have countless complaints about their mothers, even estrangements and rebellion?
Christ taught us that the precursor to love is the willingness to submit to God. If we do not rely on God to live out love, our love is often as frail as a feather, and may even have the opposite effect. If we truly wish to love our family and friends, the first and foremost thing we need to learn is to love God. By loving God and submitting to His Lordship in our lives, we can then understand how to truly love others, and will have the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of true fellowship in the Lord. God is faithful, and He will bless those who are willing to rely on Him to live out love in their lives.
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今天是母親節，先祝福各位母親們節日快樂！
大約一個多月前，在我的電子郵件信箱中，就開始收到各種推銷母親節禮物的廣告，商家們一定覺得這是一個提升產品銷售的好機會。確實，我們很多人都願意買禮物給母親，希望母親快樂滿足，母親節是向母親表達關愛的好機會。另外，引起我注意的，是一些商家在開始母親節的促銷之前，也特別提出，如果你有一些原因，不想收到關於母親節的推銷信息，可以點一個鏈接，暫時商家們就不會推送關於母親節的訊息給你。為了贏得客戶的好感，商家們實在是盡其所能的體貼客戶的需要。這也提醒我們，其實在一個家庭裡，如何真實體貼家人的需要，恰當地表達愛，也是十分重要和值得關注的。
在母親節向母親送上禮物或請吃一頓大餐，確實是表達愛的美好機會。然而，對母親的愛和表達，卻也不僅僅停留在這一天的慶祝裡。愛的關係是家庭關係的基礎，父母和兒女的關係是否融洽，是需要日積月累，細水長流。彼此相愛的實現，是有挑戰的。雖然從作母親的一方來說，為兒女付出是義不容辭的，只是如何有智慧的，並且按照神的心意來愛兒女，卻是一直需要學習的功課；從兒女的角度來說，愛媽媽是毋庸置疑的，可是為何仍有許多作兒女的，對母親卻有諸多抱怨，甚至隔閡叛逆呢？
基督教導我們，愛的前提是先願意順服神。若不是依靠神來實踐愛，我們的愛常常不堪一擊，甚至產生反效果。若想好好地來愛家人，愛朋友，我們先要學習的，是愛神。能夠愛神，順服神，我們才會懂得如何真正愛人，也有機會享受在神裡面彼此相愛的甜蜜和美好。神是信實的，祂必賜福那些願意依靠祂活出愛的人。
