Scripture Reading: 2 Timothy 1:3-5, 2 Timothy 3:14-17
Motherhood is one of the most sacred of privileges. With privileges there comes accompanying responsibility, because motherhood not only involves the present, but also embraces the future. Henry Ward Beecher once wrote, “The mother’s heart is the child’s schoolroom.” Abraham Lincoln wrote, “All that I am or hope to be I owe to my angel mother.” Napoleon Bonaparte said, “The future destiny of the child is always the work of the mother.”
Psychologists say that the first seven years of a child’s life are the most important to the development of character. These are the years when the child comes mostly under the influence of the mother. To be a mother and raise a child for God is one of the highest privileges given in God’s economy. The Bible says, “Train up (instruct, dedicate) a child in the way he should go and he will not depart from it when he is old” (see Proverbs 22:6).
A really good mother is unusual in that her love for her child goes far beyond the call of duty. A mother is the light in the window and the door that is never locked, the one who is ready and willing to welcome home the prodigal. It is not the first time that a mother has given her life for her child. In fact, every mother lays her life on the line to give birth to a child. Consider the love of Mary, the mother of Jesus, the covenanters of Scotland, and the mothers of Greenock. A mother’s love can be measured because it is expressed for her own flesh and blood that she conceived and nurtured in her own body.
Let us for a moment compare this with Divine love.
Romans 5:6-8 “For when we were without strength, in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet on occasion, for a good man some would even dare to die. But God lavished His unmitigated love on us, in that, while we were yet sinners, and enemies, Christ died for us.”
God’s love is incomparable in that Christ died for His enemies. Divine love is incomprehensible, unfathomable, and immeasurable; it is beyond all human thought. This is love that no tongue can teach—love that no thought can reach—no love like this—God is its blessed source—death never can stop its course, nothing can stay its force—matchless it is.
No higher honor could be conferred upon a human being. No greater responsibility could be given a human being. Charles Dickens once wrote: “The virtues of the mother shall be visited upon their children as well as the sins of the father.” Every mother should be acquainted with the words of the Egyptian Princess, “Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages” (see Exodus 2:9).
God has entrusted that little one to your care, dear mother. It is your responsibility to train it and nurse it for God. We are accountable to Him—we will receive our wages. If the mother’s heart is the child’s schoolroom, we are chargeable to God for our child’s moral and spiritual welfare.
“Whatsoever a man sows that shall he also reap. He that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption. He that soweth to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.”
Mephibesheth’s nurse let him fall and was lame for life. On the other hand, consider Hannah, the mother of Samuel. She gave him to God before he was born. After he was born, she nursed and trained him for God. Later as a young man, God took him unto His service and he became one of the greatest prophets Israel ever had.
Read Deuteronomy 6:6-9. Mother, do you teach your children the great truths of the Gospel? Let me ask you, mother, at this time, “Do you know the Lord as Savior?” If you do not know Christ, how will you be able to teach them about Christ? [Explain the ABC’s of the Gospel at this point.]
Mother, that little warm bundle of flesh that snuggles in your arms, that little one who skips so blithely at your side, that little dynamo that never seems to run down, that little one with the cubby cheeks and those big, round, trusting eyes, has been given to you by God, to nurse for Him. Paul says in 2 Timothy, “I thank God for the genuine faith in you.” This speaks of grandmothers and mothers. Timothy was actually a third generation believer. Paul attributes Timothy’s faith to the teaching of his grandmother and mother (2 Timothy 3:15). What was the result of their devotion to this child? A man of God.
Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go.” Lord Shafterbury said, “Give me a generation of Christian mothers and I will undertake to change the face of society.” I urge each believing mother to teach their child about Christ. Do not leave it to the Sunday School teacher. The great need for this is in view of educational standards. Teach them their need of a Savior. Teach them that He is the Guide through all of life. Teach them a faith by which to live. The faith that lives in you will be transmitted to your child. Urge salvation upon everyone, but especially on mothers. Romans 10:9 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raise him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”