A Mother’s Example

Proverbs 1:8-9

1 Thessalonians 2:7-12

a. Serving with gentleness (2:7-8)

b. Serving with diligence (2:9-11)

c. Serving with purpose (2:12)

1. INTRODUCTION

a. I would like to first ask, what is the greatest/best lesson you have learned from your mom? When I asked myself this question, I came to this conclusion. I can say I learned a lot of things from my mom but I would say that one of the greatest lessons if not the greatest lesson I have learned from my mother is a life of service. My mom didn’t spend much time with me when I was young because she had to make a living for us. She would work 15-19 hour days and work 6 days a week until I was in middle school.

b. During my high school years, I got to know her more as my family separated. We no longer lived with my grandmother and my cousins, but now it was only our family; my dad, mom, and sister. It was during this time, that as I reflect back on my life and the impact my mother had on me, I have concluded that one of the greatest lessons my mother has left me with is her willingness to serve others.

c. As you know, my mom was a pastor’s wife. I think it’s easy to say that most pastor’s wives serve in the church, but one of the things that I saw in my mother’s life is her ability to serve her family and our church simultaneously. She always worked and provided for our home but also, always worked to serve the people in her church.

d. This is where I would say, if I had to inject and add to the greatest lesson, it would be her willingness to love her family and love the church. As I thought about my mom, I came upon this section of Paul’s message to the church at Thessalonica that helped me to see how we should serve, not simply in the church, but rather, how we should live our lives.

e. Now I understand that the purpose of this section of Paul’s letter to Thessalonica is not about mothers. I know that’s not the main purpose for this text, but for us to understand the text better, we must understand the language in which Paul expresses in verse 7, this phrase, “a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children.”

f. Paul expresses this idea of a mother caring tenderly for her own children sets the tone for how Paul served other Christians which helps us understand the example our mother’s set for us in our own lives. So although this text is speaking primarily about Paul’s ministry, I want us to look at the example our mothers set for us over the scope of our lives and the ways in which they loved us. I pray that this would serve as an encouragement in helping us understand how we are to serve/love others for the glory of God.

2. BODY

a. Serving with gentleness (2:7-8)

i. Paul starts in chapter 2 by talking about his coming to visit the church in 2:1. Paul states that his coming was not in failure. This is significant because in 2:2, he says they suffered and were mistreated in Philippi and later, says that they faced much opposition while preaching the Gospel of God.

ii. But despite this opposition, they had boldness in God, literally, they were given courage, that they relied and knew that God would allow them to do this, to speak and preach the Gospel of God. Because of this, although they faced much hardship and opposition, some might say it was a failure, but you know that it wasn’t because the Gospel was proclaimed and if it was proclaimed, it will accomplish what it sets out to do.

iii. Paul tells the church that they were approved by God to speak, not to please men, but God (2:4). They recognized that God was the only one they were called to seek. Paul wasn’t focused on what others thought, and even the obstacles and opposition that he would face, but rather, he was more worried about what God thought of him.

iv. Paul continues in verse 5 by saying that they didn’t come with flattering speech, they didn’t just come to compliment them and make them feel better, or to say things so that people would be compelled to help them financially, they weren’t doing this to scam people for money, not for the glory of man, where they could have flaunted their message and exercised their authority.

v. They could have easily said they were from God, he says “even though as apostles of Christ”, he could have asserted this authority for personal greed. This was exactly what false teachers were doing. We know this from the requirements of an elder in 1 Timothy 3 where Paul writes that an elder or overseer must be free from the love of money.

vi. Paul’s statement which leads us to verse 7 is, we could have exercised our authority upon you, but rather, we proved to be gentle among you. We chose to be like a mother who nurses tenderly for her own children. One lesson I have learned growing up is how different men and women are. Women are much more sensitive and emotional than men. I say this in the most positive way possible. When I think about my wife, she and I are totally different, but I’ve learned that our differences don’t hurt us, but rather, cover all parts of the spectrum. Her gentleness covers my pointedness, her patience covers my impatience.

vii. This verse helped me to think about this message for mother’s day. All the mother’s that we have in this church, are a picture of what verse 7 tells us. Our mothers and wives are much more gentle and gracious than we are. If I were to make something, it would have sharp edges and sharp angles like the Cybertruck, but due to my wife, it looks more like a Sienna. My wife sharpens my edges and causes me to think about the person more.

viii. This is the attitude in which Paul was speaking. When you read verse 7 and 8 together, it shows us how a mother serves her family. Paul writes that a mother doesn’t tenderly serve her own children because they are her children. No, she serves them because of how precious her children are to her. Paul was simply stating that he didn’t serve the church out of duty, but because he loved them as if they were his own children. Paul was explaining the heart of serving and using mothers as an example. We should serve others like a mother loves her own children.

ix. Better yet, we should serve our mothers the way they serve us. You know what’s amazing about mothers? Even as you and I get older, our moms are always our moms. What do I mean by this? No matter how old you get, your mom will always worry about you and care for you. I hope we can learn to love our mothers the way they love us.

b. Serving with diligence (2:9-11)

i. Not only do our mothers serve us with gentleness, but they serve us with diligence. Paul writes in verse 9, that they labored working night and day not to burden any of you. Paul was working, laboring, creating his own income so he didn’t burden the church. He knew that the church was struggling financially so he didn’t want to give added pressure.

ii. Therefore, he labored day and night so that they would not be a burden. Not only this, but they labored and exhorted, encouraged the church as a father would his own children. You can see from Paul’s language how hard they worked. They were gentle like a mother, and parenting and guiding the church like a father.

iii. Paul was telling the church how hard they proved to not just tell them how they are to be, but showed them with their own lives. As I think about this in my own mother, my mom worked very hard to provide but also set an example of how to serve other people even when you are stretched thin. Her influence on my life of always serving others and serving the church is one lesson I have carried over into my own ministry.

iv. Paul reminds us how we must be diligent not simply in serving but also striving to live the gospel that we preach. Mothers are a wonderful example to us to show us how hard they work every day, to meet the needs of her family and allow the family to flourish. We see this in Proverbs 31:15 where it says that she rises while it is still night and gives food to her household. It shows how she maintains her home, then in 31:27, it encapsulates the whole idea. Verse 27 says, She looks well to the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.

v. This is the essence of a mother. Your mom is never sitting around. Even when she is sitting around, she’s always thinking of how to better serve her family. She’s constantly at work, whether it be physical work or mental work or spiritual work. We would benefit greatly from learning from our mothers.

c. Serving with purpose (2:12)

i. Lastly, Paul reveals to us

3. CONCLUSION