A Mothers Influence
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· 8 viewsMothers will make the ultimate sacrifice for their Children
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One of the most intense debates in the realm of psychology is the debate of nature vs nurture. This debate is something you have likely heard of, and are familiar with. However in case you need a refresher, the nature vs nurture debate centers around the extent to which a person's behavior is influenced. The nature side of the debate suggests that people are more heavily influenced by biological factors such as genetic inheritance. The nurture side of the debate suggests that people are more heavily shaped by external factors such as exposure and life experience and learning of the individual.When looking at these factors from a Christian perspective, we can affirm that nature and nurture isn’t one or the other, rather they are factors and phenomena that are directly related. This is something which is extremely important for Christians to reconcile. We are products of both nature and nurture. Our nature is in sin. This isn’t a popular concept, yet it’s something the scripture confirms time and again.
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.
as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
If we acknowledge the truth that our nature is in sin, we have another truth we must recognize.Sin is in our nature, therefore faith must be nurtured. Which leads me to the main point and objective of our message. Today is mothers day. On this day we honor and celebrate our mothers, the endless work they’ve done on our behalf, and the influence they’ve had on their lives. It’s that last aspect I want to focus on. Remember that sin is in our nature, therefore faith must be nurtured. Who is in a better position to nurture our faith, then the mothers who influence us so much? A mothers influence is exactly what we will be observing today in our message.
Transition The early church encountered many years of turbulence and difficulty. Persecution was ongoing. Christians were either being persecuted by the Jews or the Romans. If Christians weren’t facing persecution, then they had to deal with people trying to undermine and discredit their faith. On top of this, Christianity was growing! More and more churches were being planted, and the gospel was spreading. While this certainly isn’t a bad thing, it did begin to stretch the apostles pretty thin. Willing ministry workers were an invaluable tool for the early apostles. People like Priscilla, Aquila, Apollos, and Timothy helped the early apostles greatly. One of the most important of these people was Timothy, who was a great help to the apostle Paul and the early church. However it’s quite possible that Timothy’s faith and work for the gospel would never have happened, had it not been for his faithful mother and grandmother.
READ 2nd Timothy 1:1-5
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus, To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.
To better understand the situation of Timothy, we have to read the original encounter of Paul and Timothy in the book of Acts. (READ Acts 16:1-5
Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.
In this passage we learn where Timothy is from, and we learn that he is half Jewish, half Gentile. Timothy’s mother was a devout Jew and a believer, however not much is said about his father. The scripture says that Timothy’s father was a gentile, it doesn’t really speak about his belief in God. Some have suggested he was an unbeliever, however the scripture doesn’t explicitly say as much. It seems clear, however, that Timothy’s faith was greatly influenced by his mother.
There are a couple different takeaways in this text in regards to what this text teaches about a mothers influence.
Generational influence I know today is mothers day, and we are celebrating a mothers influence on our lives. However I really like this text, because it also emphasizes the importance of Grandmothers as well. After all in order to be a grandmother, you must first be a mother, right? Paul mentions that Timothy’s faith was shaped not only by his mother Eunice, but his grandmother Lois as well.
The whole point of our discussion today is that since sin is in our nature, faith must be nurtured. This text proves that our traditional parents aren’t the only ones who nurture the faith in children. Grandparents are just as influential.
Fanning the flame Paul encourages Timothy to remember the faith of his mother and grandmother. In turn Paul reminds Timothy to use the faith nurtured in him to help nurture the faith of others around him. As Paul says, he is to fan the flame of the gift of God in his life. What does this teach us? If our faith has been shaped by our mother or Grandmother, we are to help shape and nurture the faith in others as well. This challenge to fan the flame, and to nurture obviously applies to how we influence our children. However it’s not limited to our children, but it extends to others as well.
Conclusion: In 1939 a desperate young woman named Kathleen Madoux had decided to resort to armed robbery to provide for herself. Kathleen and her brother Luther would enter a Cincinnati gas station and attempt to perform a haphazardly planned robbery. Armed with only a ketchup bottle, the robbery was ultimately a failure. Kathleen Madoux was sent to prison, while her son was sent to live with relatives. During the 5 years of her incarceration, her son would develop a manipulative personality, and practiced larceny himself. The name of this young man was Charles Manson. If Lois and Eunice show us the positive results of nurturing a faith in your children, then Kathleen Maddox's story shows us what happens when we nurture our sinful nature. This mothers day we honor, celebrate, and thank our mothers that have shaped us so greatly. However we would be remiss if we also didn’t leave us with a challenge. Sin is in our nature, so faith must be nurtured. Mothers please, nurture faith in the lives of the children in your lives. Pray the lord give you the courage of Wisdom of 2 wonderful women named Lois, and Eunice. Then maybe, just maybe, you’ll see the faith of the next Timothy grow before you.