The Benefits and Blessings of Having a Godly Mother
By Jason Lovelace
Keys for Today:
“I thank God, whom I serve from my
forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I
have remembrance of thee n my prayers night and day; Greatly
desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may
be filled with joy; When I call into remembrance the
unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt in thy
grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded
that in thee also.”
– II Timothy 1.3~5
“Forty and two years old was
Ahaziah when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was
Athaliah the daughter of Omri. He also walked in the
ways of the house of Ahab: for his mother was his
counselor to do wickedly. Wherefore did he evil in the
sight of the Lord like the house of Ahab…”
– II Chronicles 22.2~4
In the movie Bill and Ted’s
Excellent Adventure – a story of two high school boys
going back in time to collect people of history for a class
project – one of the historical figures is being questioned
by the police. The exasperated
officer is, himself trying to question Sigmund Freud, when
Freud turns the tables and says to the cop, “Tell me about
your mother….” Since this Sunday (May 9th
2010) is Mother’s Day, this is what we will talk about (and
what everyone has been talking about since May 1st):
Mother. Today, this lesson will focus on the benefits
and blessings of having a Godly mother.
Tell Me About Your Mother…
Let me repeat Sigmund Freud’s
question from Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure:
Tell me about your Mother. Think about your mother.
Take some time to reflect and remember some of the things
that your mother has taught you or told you in the past.
When this writer thinks about his mother, he has many
memories: Mom crying at the last College Football Game
I ever played in. Mom crying as he left to go to Japan for the first time twelve
years ago. Mom hugging his wife before she ever knew
her. Mom praying over her sick family. Mom
singing as she worked around the house. What memories
come to mind when you think of your mother? When you
hear the word “Mom”, what do you think? For this
writer thoughts of Christmas Day, cookies, cakes, family
dinners, Thanksgiving, Family Reunions, Tall glasses of
ice-cold lemonade or sweet tea after a particularly hot and
busy day mowing the grass or doing outside work with Dad,
and quiet times with a good book or light conversation.
Memories of warm hugs, hot biscuits, good coffee, and
always, always lots and lots of love come to mind when this
writer hears the word “Mom”. What memories come to
your mind? Are they good?
The Influence of Mom
You see, Mom’s influence is quite
strong. Even in foreign lands, the word “Mom” – or
something very close and akin to it – has a lot of meaning.
In Medieval times in Japan, Mom was
the ruler of the house. Yes, Dad, too, is also the
ruler, but because Mom stayed home, it was her
responsibility to train up the children in basic methods of
self-defense, culture, traditions, and honor. Medieval
Japanese mothers were trained to use sharpened chopsticks or
longish penknives to defend their honor or to die in the
attempt. Japanese mothers also were generally trained
in the use of the spear to defend the home. In our
Keys for today, we see, too, how Ancient mothers had great
influence over their children. Long before the Apostle
Paul ever knew who Timothy was, his mother was preparing him
for the ministry and for life as a Christian believer.
On the flip side of things, we see, too, how King Ahaziah
was influenced for evil purposes by his mother. You
see, Mom has a great influence over the house, and over the
lives of children. Yes, Dad does too, and it takes a
team of Mom and Dad together to train up children, but since
today is Mother’s Day, we want to focus things on Mom.
Dad will get his due in a month and a week. The
influence of Mom cannot and should not be denied.
Moms, you have a great influence over your children.
Many people wonder how it came about that this writer became
a missionary. Much of the story comes about by way of
his mother’s family. Mom has and older sister.
Her name is Linda Spalding, and for the better part of four
decades, Uncle Tom and Aunt Linda – along with their three
children, this writer’s cousins – were foreign missionaries
in Central and South America. See? Mom’s influence. How
has Mom influenced your life?
A Lasting Legacy
The interesting things that this
writer found out about his mother is that the Godly Heritage
didn’t start with Mom. One of the things that this
writer’s Mom does when things are hard is sing hymns of the
church. In her hardest times, this writer has heard
and seen his mother sing hymns around the house. One
time when this writer was a boy, he was with his family at
his maternal grandmother’s house in Indiana. At Grandma Sibert’s house in
order to get form the guestroom to the restroom, it was
necessary to walk through the dining room, which was right
in front of the kitchen. Early one morning, when this
writer was a boy, he was walking through the dining room to
go to the bathroom. On his way back to bed (it was
something like 6AM), he heard Grandma Sibert in the kitchen.
“Good morning, Jason! Would you like an apple tart and
some milk? I just baked some.” Grandma Sibert
was a little German lady, and her apple tarts, pies, and
other goodies weren’t to be missed, especially when offered.
Accepting her offer readily, this writer sat down at Grandma
Sibert’s table. While he was having this early, early
morning breakfast, he noticed something. It was
Grandma’s soft, high voice humming, then singing, an old
hymn of the church while she finished preparations for
breakfast. As she turned, she saw his look of awe and
winked, and it was right then that this writer got it.
Mom sang because she learned to do so from Grandma!
See? Mom’s influence is a lasting legacy. While
growing up, this writer had often woken early while at home
too, to go to the restroom. Invariably, he would hear
his father praying in those early hours, and quite often for
him. Again, the family was in
Tennessee
visiting Grandma and Grandpa Kelley’s house, Dad’s parents.
Again, one morning, waking up early, and passing by Grandma
and Grandpa’s bedroom, this writer heard his grandmother
praying in the pre-dawn hours. Like Grandma Sibert,
Grandma Kelley always woke early, before the sun, to make
preparations for the day, and to get breakfast ready.
Grandma Kelley always started her day in prayer, and this
writer, her grandson, whenever he and his family would
visit, often passed by her room and heard her pray.
That’s where Dad learned it! You see, Grandma has an
influence, too! It’s a legacy, passed down from one
generation to another! What kind of legacy do you
have? What is being passed on?
Good Grandma, Bad Grandma
We see in today’s Keys a
contrasting situation involving two Biblical Families.
We have first, the Old Testament story of young King
Ahaziah. King Ahaziah’s mother was Queen Athaliah, but
the evil business and the evil influence didn’t start with
her. As the Scriptures state, Queen Athaliah was one
of the daughters of Omri. In essence, she was of the
household of King Ahab, the wicked king of Israel who
married the stunningly beautiful, but just-as-stunningly
corrupt and idolatrous Queen Jezebel. King Ahab and
Queen Jezebel were instrumental in presenting the vile and
grisly worship of Baal to Israel.
They, together, had two sons (Ahaziah and Jehoram) and one
daughter, named Athaliah. Athaliah was given in
marriage to prince (later King) Jehoram, the son of King
Jehoshaphat – the Godly king of Judah – in hopes to somehow
reunite or at least draw closer ties between Israel and Judah. Instead,
what Judah received was a disastrous
reign of two kings and a queen, all three of whom were
influenced by none other than Queen Jezebel (who,
interestingly enough, outlived all three of them). We
see the vile effects of having an ungodly mother and an even
worse grandmother. King Ahaziah of
Judah
is now known only for his death at the hands of King Jehu of Israel and his
one-year reign, and is largely unknown except aside form
people who read their Bibles – particularly the Old
Testament – with any regularity. His grandmother and
mother are both far better known (especially Grandma
Jezebel) and are infamous for their wretched evil.
We need to understand how evil – when it is given influence
– results in tragedy, death, and destruction. Both
Queens Jezebel and her daughter Athaliah met very painful
deaths, and the very existence of
Judah as a kingdom (let alone a Godly
one) was greatly jeopardized, and a young king who could
have had great influence became little more than an
afterthought and a footnote in the history of
Judah and the Bible and
Israel
as a whole. On the other side of the coin, in our Key
from the New Testament, we see how God blessed the family
and life of Timothy. We know very little about
Timothy’s Mother and Grandmother, Lois and Eunice. In
fact, this passage from Second Timothy is the only place
where we their names mentioned, though we do hear about
Timothy’s Mom and Dad in the Book of Acts. However,
even people who only read the Bible casually recognize the
name of Timothy. Many who come and go from church on a
regular basis recognize Timothy as not only the Apostle
Paul’s protégé, but also as the leader of the Early Church
at the time of the first government persecution of
Christians under Caesar Nero. Timothy figures very
importantly into the Bible, especially the New Testament,
and has two books named for him, as well as having a strong
presence in the Book of Acts, as well as being mentioned
elsewhere. Many Bible Scholars also believe that the
Epistle to the Hebrews – though credited to being an Epistle
written by Paul – was written and sent by Timothy
immediately following Paul’s death in
Rome. An interesting contrast
isn’t it? We know next-to-nothing about Timothy’s
Grandmother and Mother, save that they were Godly, yet
Timothy figures so prominently in the Bible. We know
and are very familiar with Queens Jezebel and Athaliah, but
their grandson and son King Ahaziah remains relatively
unknown. Do you see your influence Mom and Grandma?
How is that influence?
The Bottom Line – The Best Inheritance Mom and
Grandma can Give is a Godly Heritage
Both Charles Stanley and Joel
Osteen preached on this during the week of Mother’s Day,
2010: The best inheritance a Mother and a Grandmother
can give is not a large sum of money; it isn’t large houses
nor great swaths of land; it isn’t high power or prestige in
business or in any other sector today; the best inheritance
Mom and Grandma can give is a Godly, righteous heritage.
King Solomon in the Book of Proverbs writes this:
“Train up a child in the
way he should go: and when he is old, he will not
depart from it.”
– Proverbs 22.6
Now this Proverb is both good
news and bad news. It is bad news, first, because if a
child is brought up badly, he or she will end up badly, and
it will literally take a miracle to break a child away from
bad, evil habits. The examples given to us by Queens
Jezebel and Athaliah – along with other glaring examples
found in Scripture – are clear and glaring to us that evil
habits produce evil results. However, the Good News is
that this Proverb also means that children who are brought
up with a Godly, Christ-like heritage never forget it, and
even if they drift away, will often return later in life.
This writer’s maternal grandmother is a shining example.
Grandma Sibert had eleven children, and for many years –
despite Grandma Sibert being the Godly woman that she was –
most of her children walked away form the Lord. Yet,
before they died, two of her daughters and one of her sons
returned to the Lord, and a third daughter has also returned
to Jesus since Grandma Sibert passed away nearly twenty
years ago. Mom, grandma, what you do influences your
children and grandchildren.
Conclusion – Mom, You Have Great Influence
A few questions:
- Mom, what are you teaching
your children? Grandma, what are you passing on to your
grandchildren?
- In the future, what will
your children say about you, Mom? What kind of words
will your grandchildren use to identify you, grandma?
- What kind of influence are
you having now, and will you have in the future? Is it
Godly?
The good news is, if you have
lived a life and had a motherhood of unrighteousness,
tragedy, and failure, you can start today, but not without
the help of Jesus Christ. Grandmother, if your
influence has been shoddy in the past, you can change that
for the better. Also, Grandma, if your children
haven’t a Godly Mother, why not be that Godly influence that
children not only need, but also crave? You can do
that and be that right now. Remember that your memory
will far and long outlive you, and what influence you are
having today will pass on to generations that follow.
Let’s pray…
Prayer – Dear
Heavenly Father, we thank you for Mom. We thank you
for Grandma. Whether or not their influences were
right and good or not, we thank you for them and for their
decision to have children. Bless all mothers and
grandmothers that see this today, and if there be any who
wish to make that change, accept Jesus Christ as Lord and
Savior, we pray, Father, that they will come and put their
faith and trust in you today. We pray all of this in
Jesus’ precious name, Amen.
Verse for the Day:
“I thank God, whom I serve from my
forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I
have remembrance of thee n my prayers night and day; Greatly
desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may
be filled with joy; When I call into remembrance the
unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt in thy
grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded
that in thee also.”
– II Timothy 1.3~5