The Amazing Calling of Motherhood

More than a Name

There are many here today that go by the name MOM.

It is a title you received when you first found out there was child growing inside your womb.

It is a name you heard months after when that little one said it’s first words.

Now it is likely something you hear often, maybe a bit more than you would care for at times (j/k)

Mom is also a word that brings up a variety of thoughts and emotions in us.

Whether it is sadness for the mothers we have lost or the unmet desire to be a mom.

Or maybe anger or disappointment from motherhood, either your own or what you have experienced.

My desire today is not to speak to every situation that has to do with motherhood.

My aim today is to present a biblical example of motherhood from which we can understand this amazing calling more fully.

Motherhood is more than just a name, and it is often more than just a biological connection.

The influence and impact of motherhood as we will see it in the passages we will look at today goes beyond whose womb you came out of.

Women in many relationships and positions can and do have influence on our lives in the way the two ladies we will look at today had on the life of Timothy.

So let’s look at Lois and Eunice and see what they teach us about the amazing calling of motherhood.

Background

The book of Acts records how the good news of Jesus spread throughout the Romans world and how churches were started in cities across the empire.

The Apostle Paul was the most prolific missionary and church planter in the early years of the church.

On his first missionary journey, alongside his mentor Barnabas, Paul goes to the area that was then known as Galatia, but we know today as Turkey.

He travel from city to city, preaching in the Jewish synagogues and starting churches as people trusted in Christ.

In Acts 14, Paul and Barnabas have a crazy, near-death experience in the city of Lystra.

Paul heals a man, which causes the crowd to mistake he and Barnabas as gods and want to offer sacrifices to them.

They try to explain the gospel to the crowd to get them to stop sacrificing to them, but before they are able, men from other towns Paul and Barnabas have been to come and turn the crowd against them.

Paul is stoned by the crowd to the point that they think he is dead and they drag him out of the city.

They then head to Derbe were Paul likely rests and heals up, and then we are told they returned to Lystra and the other cities in order to “22 strengthening the disciples by encouraging them to continue in the faith.”

They appointed elders in each of the churches as they left to return home.

Lystra is important to our story.

At the end of chapter 15, Paul and Barnabas have a disagreement over whether or not to take Mark (the gospel writer) on their next missionary journey.

It becomes so heated that they decide to part ways.

Barnabas takes Mark, and Paul takes Silas.

But one of Paul’s very first stops is in the city of Lystra where, we are told in Acts 16, he picks up a young man named Timothy.

Acts 16:1–2 CSB

1 Paul went on to Derbe and Lystra, where there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a believing Jewish woman, but his father was a Greek. 2 The brothers and sisters at Lystra and Iconium spoke highly of him.

Timothy becomes one of Paul most trusted partners as Paul mentors, trains, and send Timothy out to pastor.

2 Timothy is believed to be the last letter Paul writes before his death, and he begins it by giving thanks for Timothy potentially 20 years after he picked him up in Lystra.

He is specifically thankful for the 2 women the Lord used to shape Timothy into the man that he became, Lois and Eunice.

2 Timothy 1:5 CSB

5 I recall your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and now, I am convinced, is in you also.

Paul saw in Lois and Eunice something of great significance and influence in the life of Timothy.

Here, in 2 Timothy 3, and in Acts 16 we can see 3 traits in these women that god used to influence Timothy’s life.

I believe these 3 traits should be the aspirations of all mothers seeking to lead their children to know and follow Jesus.

Godly moms are women of SINCERE FAITH.

As Paul expresses his thankfulness for the sincere faith of Timothy, he acknowledges that his faith has roots.

Lois and Eunice were women of sincere faith.

Back in Acts 16 it is said that Eunice was married to a Greek man who was not a believer.

Their names are Greek, meaning they likely converted to Judaism at some point later in life. We aren’t told when or how Eunice and Lois became believers, but perhaps it was in Paul’s first missionary journey.

By the time Paul recruits Timothy to join him, he, and likely his mom and grandma, had become well respected in the Lystra church.

They were faithful, committed, and sacrificial followers of Jesus, but just Sunday church-goers.

Remember what happened to Paul his first visit to Lystra, he was stoned almost to death.

It was risky to follow Jesus in those days. It would potentially cost you your life.

Not only that, but Eunice was married to a Greek man, the very same type of person who would have been throwing stones at Paul in Acts 14.

The sincerity of their faith seemed to be contagious, as it rubbed off on Timothy, and likely many others.

Sincere faith isn’t perfect faith, but it is a faith that is convinced of the reality and goodness of Jesus.

And it is a faith that seeks to grow deeper and follow closer.

It doesn’t always get things right and isn’t without its quirks and hangups, but it is convicted, repentant, and hope-filled faith.

It is a faith that rubs off.

It doesn’t save, because God doesn’t the saving, but it does make and impact.

Godly moms are women OF THE WORD.

One of the most important and often quoted passages in 2 Timothy is 3:16-17 where Paul makes the declaration that all the Scriptures are “breathed out by God”.

He speaks of the role of scripture to teach us, rebuke us, correct us, and train us that we may be equipped to do good for the Lord.

But before he makes that powerful statement, Paul encourages Timothy to remain faithful to the truths he knows from the Scriptures.

And like in chapter 1, Paul acknowledges the roots of Timothy’s knowledge and commitment to the Word of God.

2 Timothy 3:14–15 CSB

14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed. You know those who taught you, 15 and you know that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

“from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures.”

From early in his life, Timothy had been exposed to the Word of God.

And the source of that exposure was almost certainly Lois and Eunice.

Timothy was taught the Scriptures, he was instructed, corrected, rebuked, trained, encouraged, equipped, and counseled from the Scriptures by these 2 women God had placed in his life.

What does it mean to be a “Woman of the Word”?

It means you believe the bible is the Word of God, not just some book.

It means you desire to know this book more deeply and intimately.

It means you commit to study and work through all that is in the Bible.

It doesn’t mean to are an expert, but that you see the bible as an essential tool for parenting and really in all areas of life.

Don’t hear me wrong, the goodness of your mothering is not dependent on how many bible verses you have memorized or how many hours you study every week.

It isn’t a grading scale, it is a dependence factor.

Some of you are parenting without a manual.

The bible is a guide, not just on how to get saved and how to do things in the church.

It is a guide to moms and dads as we seek to train, discipline, and lead our children in their lives and journeys with Christ.

It is a guide to us in marriage, work, and all others of life.

Aspiring to be a woman of the word simply means putting yourself in close proximity to it.

It starts with setting aside time to read it, study it, and grow in love with it more and more.

Let it shape your identity, grow your hope and confidence, and guide you to the wisdom we all need to faithfully train our children.

Aspire to be women of the Word.

Godly moms are women of KINGDOM IMPACT.

Timothy left quite a legacy of faithful ministry as a missionary and pastor.

We don’t know how much influence Lois and Eunice had on Timothy after he left home, but they had established a firm foundation in his life.

It is essential that all of you moms understand that you are not the one’s RESPONSIBLE for the salvation and future impact of your children.

You do not have the power to save or decide the path of your children.

That is God’s role.

But you do have the responsibility, opportunity, and blessing to intentionally show your kids the treasure that Jesus is.

Eunice and Lois didn’t know their son would have the impact he has had in the world for Christ.

They didn’t know he would still be talked about 2000 years later.

Charles Spurgeon’s mother taught him the bible and prayed over him as he was growing up. He later said:

“Never could it be possible for any man to estimate what he owes to a godly mother.” — Charles Spurgeon

Motherhood is an amazing calling.

Even in the mundane tasks and endless responsibilities. In the meals cooked, homework completed, discipline dished out, laundry done, and all the other tasks that keep moms busy, you are making an impact that we can never truly measure.

Ill end with this quote from Rachel Jankovic:

“I have come to realize through the years that the countless tasks I do that no one notices still shape our home and the people in it. Every meal I lay on the table is a small picture of the feeding of the five thousand. My meager offering, broken in the hands of Jesus, will feed generations of children. This home — the flavors and the smells and the atmosphere of love — will by God’s grace shape people who will go on to be the mothers and fathers of thousands. Is there any other work I could be doing that would be this exponentially fruitful or influential? A hundred years from now, I hope there are people who do not know my name or remember me, but nevertheless carry about with them seeds of faithful living that were first planted in the soil of this home.” — Rachel Jankovic