O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. Psalm 104:24.
INTRODUCTION
God is so wonderful and as we look around us daily we cannot help being filled with awe. Creation is filled with stunning variety, revealing our loving God’s rich creativity goodness and wisdom. It is in this love, goodness and wisdom that God has called us to participate with Him in His creative works through procreation. A fresh look at the people you see everyday at home and in the work place tells you how uniquely God has made each of them – each with his/her own special beauty, special talents, abilities and gifts.
It is with the thought of God’s awesome wisdom and love that we want to focus on parenting with special emphasis on Motherhood. Christian motherhood is a Motherhood centred on Jesus Christ and His revelation to us of God.
The Bible speaks of God and the Church as a mother. – Is 66:13 – As a mother comforts her child so will I comfort you. Again in Isaiah 66:10-11 “Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice with her in joy, all you who mourn over her- that you may nurse and be satisfied from her consoling breast; that you may drink deeply with delight from her glorious bosom. Gal 4:26 also says, “But the other woman corresponds to the Jerusalem above; she is free and she is our mother”.
PERSPECTIVE
Motherhood is not just producing children but rather a continuous loving and nurturing relationship. It involves loving, comforting, protecting, training in values, disciplining, encouraging and building up- Eph6: 4; Col. 3:21. This is why parenting cannot be successfully accomplished by any human being except that person is enabled by God in Christ through the power of His Holy Spirit. It is God alone who is the perfect parent and He alone can impart this perfection to us.
CHRISTIAN MOTHERHOOD
Our God is so gracious and loving to women- we are so special to Him that it is in us that He has decided to work His greatest miracle – the making life with a clot of blood- Ps. 139:13-15- skilfully forming it as He did at creation with dust. Women are greatly blessed and are God’s partners in creating other human beings
God has always used women to bring His great servants into the world – Isaac, Jacob, Joseph – Moses, Deborah Samson, Ruth, David to mention a few in the Old Testament. But most importantly, salvation has come through a woman – Mary, Mother of Jesus. Through women have come LIFE, TRUTH, LIGHT and POWER, because of Jesus Christ.
MOTHERHOOD
The most important roles for a mother are to love and care for her family – that is the Christian perspective. God, through mothers, establishes human beings in the world and through mothers God wants to impart values that bring glory to His name.
DUTIES OF A MOTHER
- Love
Pregnancy from God’s perspective is rooted in love. God expects pregnancy to come through the union of marriage where two people are made one in love. Pregnancy then is God’s gift. Too much is going wrong because a number of pregnancies come about through sinful relationships. This is why it is important to stress that as far as God is concerned, love should be the key point in pregnancy. Thus:
- A mother’s love starts at the point of pregnancy – her body provides shelter, nourishment and emotions. An unhappy, dissatisfied pregnant woman deeply affects the foetus and the child comes out with emotional problems.
- Love continues after birth as a duty because the child totally depends on the mother for everything.
Women cannot give what they don’t have and therefore fathers must remember God’s instruction to love their wives – Eph. 5:25&28-29. This is important during pregnancy and after birth.
It was compassion that made the mother of the child in dispute during King Solomon’s reign decide to give up the child as we read in 2 Kings 3:26. The one who stole the child had no love and therefore was willing to have him cut into two.
- Comforting and Caring For Them
In Ruth 4:16 we read about Naomi who was a caring mother. How often children run to their mothers when they are bullied or get hurt!! Hannah, the mother of Samuel in 1 Samuel 1:22-27 is one caring woman. We therefore should be there for them just as God is for us Isa. 66:13- As a mother comforts her child so will I comfort you.
3. Protection
Jochebed, Moses’ mother, is one of the best examples of mothers protecting their children – Exodus 2:1-4. She caught a glimpse of God’s intentions and realised that Moses was God’s special person so she defied the Pharaoh’s order and protected him – Do we discern God’s plan for our children and therefore protect them? God has a plan for every body’s life. As mothers we are to cooperate with God so that our children can grow up fulfilling God’s plan for their lives.
4. Education
Education in parenting denotes teaching the child wisdom, which from God’s perspective means the fear of God and living in obedience of Him. Proverbs 31:1 tells us that what King Lemuel wrote was what his mother taught Him. Mothers are the first point of education for their children. We are to have the inner beauty of women who have been redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus. This is what enables us to have the quite gentle spirit that t he Apostle Peter speaks about in 1Pet 3:4. The Bible also tells us that we are to bear the fruit of the spirit – Gal. 5:22-23 and gain wisdom from above – James 3:17. Most of us are often rude – shouting, insulting, disrespectful- giving the child no dignity, cursing and giving them bad examples. By so doing we virtually give our children over to the devil.
We should speak with wisdom and have faithful instructions on our tongues – Proverbs 31:26. We should be vessels of honour used by the Holy Spirit so that we can bring up the children the way they should go. Timothy was well educated by his mother – 2 Timothy 1:5.
- Watch over children’s affairs
We are to cooperate with God and provide guidance for our children and not walk ahead of God as Rebekah did in Genesis 27:6-10, thus creating grave problems between her children and generations after them. Rather we should be like Hannah who took care of Samuel. She nurtured him and weaned him before sending him to the house of God under the care of Eli. Later she sent him clothes and other things to support his upkeep and demonstrate her love.
OUR GREAT MODEL
Mary, mother of Jesus is a good model for us. She exhibited good motherly qualities. She was:
- Spiritual – God spoke to her through Gabriel – Luke 1:46
- Submissive – She totally submitted to the will of God – Luke 1:38. Humble – Luke 2:19,39
· Loving, Gentle, Caring
- Woman of Faith – Believed in Jesus her own son as the Messiah
Precious Mothers, let us allow God to have His way in our lives
WHAT TO DO
The Bible clearly teaches us that apart form Jesus we can do nothing- John 15:5. Let us therefore accept Jesus as personal Saviour and Lord so that by the help of His Holy Spirit who indwells us we will:
- Grow in faith.
- Live the word in obedience, bear spiritual fruit and live as practical Christian.
- Be faithful stewards, using all our talents, gifts treasures and times to God’s glory
- Discipline our children in love – Heb 12:7- 10.
- Proverbs has much to teach us. For e.g., Prov. 13:24 – those who spare the rod hate their children, but those who love them are diligent to discipline them. The Rod of correction also imparts wisdom– Prov 29:15.
- Teach our children to put their faith in Jesus Christ, for He alone is Lord – Acts 4:12
HAPPY MOTHERS’ DAY!!!
Stay blessed!
For further inquiries please contact us on Tel Nos. 0302-772013 or 0268130615
Email: saltnlightministries@gmail.com
Website: saltandlightministriesgh.org
