Mothers Who Love

If you figure that the average mother spends about 20 hours a week taking care of a child, by the time that child reaches 18, a mother has had to handle some extra 18,000 hours of child-generated work. That’s a lot!

In fact, women who never have children enjoy the equivalent of an extra three months a year in leisure time!

A Junior High science teacher lectured on the properties of magnets for an entire class. The next day he gave his students a quiz. The first question read like this: “My name begins with an “M,” has six letters, and I pick things up. What am I?” Half the kids in the class wrote, “Mother.”

That reminds me of the father who was trying to explain the concept of marriage to his 4-year-old daughter. He got out their wedding album, thinking visual images would help, and explained the entire wedding service to her. When he was finished, he asked if she had any questions. She pointed to a picture of the wedding party and asked, “Daddy is that when mommy came to work for us?”

There’s a quote:

“If daddy ain’t happy, who cares? If momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy!”

And I wonder how true that is in most of our houses.

There are some great portraits of motherhood in Scripture.

I love the picture of the mother of Moses who cared so much for her son that she broke the law in order to teach him the faith of his people.

We see the sacrificial love of the mother who appeared before King Solomon and told him that she was willing to have her son taken away by another woman rather than see any harm come to him.

Or, the mother of James and John who loved her boys so much that she wanted them to sit by the Lord’s side in the heavenly kingdom.

And the mother of King Lemuel, who gave some advice to her son about godly living and how to pick a good wife in Proverbs 31

I know that Mother’s Day is a difficult for some of you.

· Some of you wanted children but for some reason couldn’t

· Some of you have not had the best mother in the world

· Some of you have lost your mother

· Some of you have lost a child

· Some of you feel the pain of a wayward child

· And, some of you are flying solo as you work hard to nurture your child’s faith

This morning, I’d like to introduce you to a young woman named Eunice.

She was raised in a religious home and was greatly impacted by her mother Lois. She loved to learn the stories from the Bible when she was young and enjoyed going to services where she could learn about God. As she approached her teenage years, she was still focused on spiritual matters but she became attracted to a young man who was not into religion at all. Against the best wishes of her mother, the teaching of her faith, and the tug of her conscience, she married the man.

Don’t get me wrong. He was a nice guy but thought spiritual matters were for weak people.

After a couple years of marriage, Eunice and her husband had a baby boy they named Timothy. In the meantime, Eunice’s dad had died so they asked her mother Lois to come and live with them. Little Timmy was a delight to everyone. Both his mother and grandmother spent hours with him, teaching him the stories of the Old Testament, praying with him and for him, and training him in the things of God.

Even though they didn’t have any Veggie Tale videos or an AWANA club nearby, they created a spiritual environment where little Timmy could flourish.

Then, one day, a preacher named Paul came to their town of Lystra and spoke about a man named Jesus. Both Lois and Eunice listened intently. They saw in Jesus the fulfillment of all the promises in the Old Testament and placed their trust in Him and were converted. These new believers in turn focused on teaching Timothy all about who Jesus was. We know from reading the book of Acts that Paul himself took a personal interest in Tim the teenager and, partnering with his mother and grandmother, led him to saving faith.

Later, Paul and Timothy partner together in ministry as the gospel continues to spread throughout the area. Many years later, while Paul is in prison, awaiting his execution, he writes two letters to young Timothy. These letters contain some teaching about how Timothy should behave as a church leader and are also filled with some reminiscing and nostalgia on Paul’s part.

As Paul writes these letters, that we know as 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy, he reflects on the mothers who made an impact in Tim’s life.

With that as background, I’m going to draw from three different passages of Scripture two of which are found in Paul’s second letter to Timothy to show how a mother and a grandmother can make a significant spiritual impact on her children.

So, let’s pray and we’ll go look at how these two women impacted Timothy’s life.

Pray!

Instill a Respect for Scripture

The first way a mother can do this is by instilling within her children a respect for Scripture.

In 2 Timothy 3:12, Paul reminds Timothy that everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. Then in verse 14, Paul urges Timothy to hang tough when the tough times come:

2 Timothy 3:14 ESV

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it

Timothy not only learned things cognitively, he made a practice of owning what he studied by becoming convinced of its truthfulness. He didn’t just fill his head with truth but internalized it and then lived it out. I think Timothy did this because he saw it modeled in his mother, in his grandmother, and in Paul himself.

2 Timothy 3:15 shows us what this truth was:

2 Timothy 3:15 ESV

and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

In the manner of devout Israelites, grandmother Lois and mother Eunice taught the Holy Scriptures to Timothy from the very beginning. The word “childhood” in some passages refers to a newborn baby or a toddler. Lois and Eunice teamed up to provide high-powered Bible Study Fellowship classes for young Timothy even before he could crawl! They read to him, they talked about Samson and Samuel, David and Ruth, Abraham and Noah. They did everything they could to provide Timothy with the opportunity to learn all he could about the Bible.

In essence, they lived out the commands of Deuteronomy 6:4-7:

Deuteronomy 6:4–7 ESV

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

These two mothers had God’s Word in their hearts. Because they had internalized the truth into their own lives, they could impress it upon young Timothy by talking about it throughout the day, showing Tim how the Scriptures should impact every area of life.

Mothers, it is never too early to start teaching the Bible to your children and, it’s never too late to start if you haven’t already. There is nothing that can replace your role in your child’s life. God wants to use you to instill within your children a respect for the Bible.

Four scholars were arguing over Bible translations. One said he preferred the King James Version because of its beauty and eloquent old English. Another said he liked the New American Standard Version for its literalism and how it moves the reader from passage to passage with confident feelings of accuracy from the original text. The third scholar was sold on the New Living Translation for its use of contemporary phrases and idioms that capture the meaning of difficult ideas.

After being quiet for a moment, the fourth scholar admitted: “I have personally preferred my mother’s translation.”

When the other scholars started laughing, he said, “Yes, she translated the Scriptures. My mom translated each page of the Bible into life. It is the most convincing translation I have ever read.”

Mothers, grandmothers, what kind of Bible are children reading when they see your life? Are you looking for ways to instill a respect for the Word of God into their lives? Remember, you can make a significant spiritual impact on your children.

The second way to make an impact in the lives of your children is by instilling within them an authentic faith.

Instill an Authentic Faith

We see this in 2 Timothy 1:5:

2 Timothy 1:5 ESV

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.

Even though Lois and Eunice were believers, Timothy needed to come to a point in which he put his faith in Christ. Faith is not hereditary, it is learned. At the same time, when mothers model genuine faith, an environment is set up whereby children will be motivated to want that same kind of faith.

The word, “sincere” related to faith means that it was “unhypocritical.” It was real, without any pretense or false façade. Faith had come and taken up residence in his mother’s heart and in his grandmother’s heart and was now alive in his own life. These two mothers were completely sold out to Christ. They were drop-dead serious about their faith. They were fully devoted and completely committed. And Timothy knew it. No one knows better than a child whether a parent’s faith is genuine.

Look at the sequence here: Lois to Eunice to Timothy.

Again, we don’t read of a grandfather or a father anywhere in this equation. That’s not to say that a father is not important because he is. What I’m saying is that a mother can make a significant spiritual impact on her children with or without the help of a father.

Moms, if you want to instill authentic faith in your children then you better take your own faith seriously. If you’re just going through the motions spiritually your kids will eventually see it, and tragically, may do the same thing when they are older. As you demonstrate your faith consistently by reading the Bible, praying, attending worship, bringing your kids to programs that help them grow spiritually, and by participating in the life and mission of the church, you will send a strong message to your children.

I heard about a pastor who had a long conversation with someone about becoming a member of his church. When he was done the young man said he was ready to join. The pastor was curious so he asked him, “What did I say that convinced you to join the church?” The man answered, “It was nothing I ever heard you say. It was the way my mother lived.”

As I think about the kind of faith that was passed from a mother to a mother to a son, I’m convinced that a mother like this has to be more interested in having her children know the Bible than be able to speak another language before they are 5-years-old.

She is also more interested in:

· Her children’s souls than in their bodies or in their clothes

· Her children’s eternal life than their success in this life

· Her children’s relationship with Jesus than their popularity in the world

· Her children’s standing before God than their social status

· Her children’s spirituality than their intellectual, musical, or athletic accomplishments

While it isn’t in the text, a mother who passes along a faith that is authentic is without a doubt a praying woman. Any home in which faith is passed on from generation to generation has to be a home of prayer.

I can’t imagine Lois not praying for Eunice or Eunice not praying for Timothy. Another mother opened her house for a prayer meeting while Peter was in prison.

Acts 12:12 ESV

When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.

In Acts 1:14, Mary, the mother of Jesus was with a large group who “devoting themselves to prayer.” That’s the hallmark of a godly mother.

Timothy’s family environment was fertile to his faith development. Both his mother and his grandmother held their faith deeply and shared it freely. How fertile is the environment in your family for the nurturing and growth of authentic faith in the lives of your children and grandchildren?

Mothers, are you passing along a legacy of authentic faith to your kids?

The third way to impact your children is to instill within them a desire to minister.

Instill a Desire to Minister

After Paul preached in Lystra, and Timothy was converted, he returned a short while later. Let’s pick up the story in Acts 16:1-3:

Acts 16:1–3 ESV

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.

There were at least three qualities in Timothy that were no doubt passed down from his mother, and his grandmother:

First of all,

he was a strong believer

He is referred to as a disciple. Luke, the author of Acts, could have referred to him as a believer or a Christian, but he chose to call him a disciple. A disciple is a learner and a follower. A disciple was one who was serious about Christ, not just one who was going through the motions. As we’ve already seen, his mother modeled this type of authentic, no holds-barred kind of faith.

Second,

he had a good reputation

The believers in the area spoke well of him. People knew him as a man of integrity and as a man of the Word. He was rock solid. Again, this had a lot to do with his mother and grandmother.

Third,

he was available

Paul wanted to take him along on the journey. If you continue to read the Book of Acts, you’ll see that Timothy was eager to minister. He knew it meant leaving home and he knew it meant facing hardship. Listen to me, there is no way this kind of commitment to ministry develops if it has not been encouraged at home.

When Paul stopped in Lystra for this second time, he enlisted Timothy to be his special assistant to replace John Mark. Paul refers to Timothy as his “beloved and faithful child” in 1 Corinthians 4:17 and in 1 Timothy 1:2, he calls him his “my true child in the faith.” And Paul writes in:

Philippians 2:20 ESV

For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare.

Paul thought very highly of Timothy and couldn’t wait to unleash him for ministry.

Mothers, part of your job is to instill a respect for the Bible, another responsibility is to instill an authentic faith. But these two are only preliminary for the most important job you have of instilling within your children a desire to minister. Our kids are to learn the Bible and grow in their faith so that they can become difference-makers in their world.

· So, they can share their faith with others.

· So, they can minister in the church and in their school.

· So, they can serve those who are hurting.

· So, they can serve as missionaries.

· So, they can identify their spiritual gifts and use them on a regular basis.

The truth of the matter is this: we are saved in order to serve. We are to be disciples so that we can disciple others. We are equipped so that we can evangelize. We are sanctified so that we can be sent to a lost and dying world.

Susannah Wesley, mother of 17, two of which were John and Charles Wesley, spent one hour each day praying for her children. In addition, she took each child aside for a full hour each week to discuss spiritual matters. No wonder her children were used of God to bring blessing to all of England and much of America.

I came across some parenting guidelines that helped her as a mother:

· Subdue self-will in a child and thus work together with God to save his soul.

· Teach the child to pray as soon as he can speak.

· Give the child nothing he cries for and only what is good for him if he asks for it politely.

· To prevent lying, punish no fault, which is freely confessed, but never allow a rebellious, sinful act to go unnoticed.

· Commend and reward good behavior.

· Strictly observe all promises you have made to your child.

Mothers, you can make a significant spiritual impact in your family. You can do that by instilling:

· A Respect for Scripture

· An Authentic Faith

· A Desire for Ministry

I want to applaud you mothers who take the task seriously of making a spiritual impact in the lives of your children.

As Proverbs 31:28 says:

28 Her children rise up and call her blessed…

We stand up this morning and call you blessed. Thanks for pouring your lives into ours.

[Have everyone, but mothers, stand and say, “You are blessed” to the mothers seated around you]

Proverbs 31:30 says that:

…but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

We praise God for those mothers who worship and adore the Lord and who pass this legacy on to their children.

[Have everyone applaud mothers and give thanks to God for them]

Happy Mother’s Day.

Related Media

Related Sermons

Earn an accredited degree from Redemption Seminary with Logos.