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Mother's Day is fast approaching us. This Sunday, around the country, many will come together and give "Mama" a big hug and perhaps some roses or a nice meal to celebrate what she means to the family. Mother's Day is a holiday that began when President Woodrow Wilson officially set aside the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day in 1912. While Mother's Day may have had rather recent beginnings, the celebration of mothers and all that they give to the family has been going on for centuries.
A study through the Bible will reveal some very important mothers who have had life changing impacts on their children. These mothers have spared lives, been godly examples, and prayed heartfelt prayers over their children. However, there is one thing that a mother is called to do that is above every other responsibility. Mothers teach their children about God. Now, don’t misunderstand me to say that the husband is not the spiritual leader of the home, but moms are instructed in 1 Timothy 1:11-15 that one of their primary responsibilities in the home is in the instruction of their children.
However, let me say for just a moment that Mother’s Day is not just for mothers either. We certainly don’t want to take anything away from those dear ladies who raised us, but for many women, the gift of motherhood seems to be a distant dream. Many ladies dread Mother’s Day because it brings back the pain of years of trying to have children and being unable to have them or of a tragedy that robbed them of their own children. For these ladies, motherhood may not come in the form of having biological children, but that doesn’t mean that they cannot have spiritual children.
The title of this blog post is “This Could Be the Beginning of Something Good.” I chose this title because the key word is “could.” Whether you are a mother or not, there are some important things to learn about being a spiritual mother. We learn from the Scripture that mother’s are responsible for starting their children’s spiritual education. Paul tells the women in 1 Tim. 1:11-15 that they are not permitted to have authority over a man in the churches, but that they are to learn with submissive attitudes. This exhortation has nothing to do with the value of a woman or her teaching. In many cases women may be more capable and more educated in the Bible than men. This was the case with Lottie Moon. However, God has given us an order of how households, including His own, should operate. In the Scripture, we recognize that Christ submits to the Father, yet he is not inferior to the Father but is One and the same with the Father. Christ sets for us the example of how human relationships are to function. Women are under the leadership of their husbands and other authority figures that are placed in their lives as an act of obedience to the Lord (Eph. 5:22), not as a result of an inferiority in their worth. Men are to submit the Christ, and Christ submits to the Father. Submission, therefore, is an act of worship.
However, this does not mean that women are not responsible for teaching at all. On the contrary, Paul in this same passage of Scripture informs women that their role of teaching is to occur in childrearing. Women are not simply to be “baby-making machines,” but they are given the blessing of being one of the primary caregivers to their children under the spiritual leadership of their husbands. For this reason, women have in many ways an even greater impact on the direction of the church than they may realize, because they are able to help instill the godly values that are needed for these future leaders of the church. Paul was very clear that Timothy had been shaped by the teaching of his grandmother and mother in 2 Timothy 1:5. They also train up godly women who will, in turn, train up godly children themselves. This is a most commendable calling: the calling of motherhood.
As I mentioned before, many may be spiritual mothers, while not necessarily biological mothers. If you are a lady in the church, you are in some ways a mother. Many women serve in the children’s ministries of the church and make a substantial impact on the lives of the children they serve. The primary educator of children is to be the family, instituted and ordained by God; however, the sad truth is that there are many parents that will simply ship their children off to the church to receive their spiritual education. It is great that they see the value of instilling Christian virtue in their children, but they are usurping a God-given role that He has given to the family. The church cannot possibly train children at exactly the same level of effectiveness as a parent could. This being said, it is the women that are currently serving the church in the area of children’s ministry that have an opportunity to set an example of how a godly lady should live and teach them the gospel and what it means to be a follower of Christ. These ladies are just as deserving of our praise this Mother’s Day as any of our biological mothers.
If you are a lady, we applaud you and exhort you in the Lord to be all that you are meant to be in Christ. If you have children or not, we are thankful to you this Mother’s Day that God has placed you in His body. Our prayers are for you and your spiritual development. May you shape the next generation of His leaders as we seek to share the good news of the gospel to the nations. This could be the beginning of something good!
