[:en]
by Juliet Lee Uytanlet
I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded, lives in you also
2 Timothy 1:5
Introduction
William Ross Wallace wrote in 1865 a poem entitled “The Hand that Rocks the Cradle is the Hand that Rules the World.” What did he mean with that poem? Mothers have a special role and an important responsibility given by God that is to care and nurture their children. They have a privileged opportunity to make an influence and impact their children who will eventually impact our society and our world.
Wallace was a native of Lexington, Kentucky. His father, a Presbyterian pastor, died when he was just an infant. He understood the difficulty and struggles of a single mom, widowed and facing parenthood alone. She needed to be both the provider and nurturer. Although today, many families are operating on a dual-income family, meaning both parents are working. Needless to say, raising a family alone is a huge and difficult task.
Let me share a stanza of this poem that reflects how Wallace honored mothers. First, he acknowledged the divine mission of mothers. Second, he reminded mothers of the opportunity to teach their children to trust in God. Lastly, Wallace believed that the success of a person is attributed to the hardship and sacrifices of a mother.
Woman, how divine your mission
Here upon our natal sod!
Keep, oh, keep the young heart open
Always to the breath of God!
All true trophies of the ages
Are from mother-love impearled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.
Dear mothers, and even fathers, grandparents, aunts, and uncles: if the Lord has placed in our hands that opportunity to influence and minister to a child, do not take this lightly. This is a very important responsibility. The daily opportunities to see them, talk to them, listen to them, play with them, read to them, advise them, pray with them, and model for them what it means to love the Lord and trust the Lord are oh so precious. The family is the basic unit of a society. It is imperative for us as Christians to build godly families to the praise and glory of God. For a godly family will affect and influence a community, a society, and a country.
So how can a mother best make a lasting impact on her children? It’s by discipling them.
Mothers Who Disciple Make a Lasting Impact
We know that discipleship simply means following Jesus. Jesus is our ultimate model on how we should live for God’s glory. We are convinced that discipleship is an important ministry that we all must be involved in. However, in the Christian home, the parents are the first disciplers of the children. The nurturing roles of fathers and mothers are crucial in the holistic and spiritual development of a child. But let me focus on the role of mothers, and the impact and influence they have on their children.
Paul discipled Timothy, but Paul acknowledged in this letter to Timothy the impact and influence of two godly women who greatly influenced and impacted the life of Timothy. Paul did not grab all the glory to himself for having a faithful disciple like Timothy. Instead, he encouraged Timothy by reminding him of his godly heritage that he was actually first discipled by his mother Eunice, who in turn was discipled by his grandmother Lois.
Acts 16:1-2 says, “Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek. The believers at Lystra and lconium spoke well of him.”
In this passage, we see that Timothy was a believer and a disciple (meaning growing and exemplifying faith and devotion to God) and was highly-regarded. He had a good testimony and people liked him. He brought honor to his parents and even grandparents. Lois and Eunice must be very proud of him.
By using the life of Timothy, and the impact of his mother and grandmother in his life, I want to share these three points on how we can disciple our children.
How Do Mothers Disciple Their Children?
1. Mothers must pass on a godly heritage.
What do I mean by a godly heritage? A heritage is the transmitted ancestral or cultural traditions, customs, and practices. As Chinese-Filipinos, we want to impart to our children our ethnic Chinese heritage by passing on the cultural traditions like employing the Minnanhua language, attending Chinese school, celebrating Chinese festivities, and at times even encouraging our children to find a Chinese life partner. A godly heritage is to pass on to our children Christian traditions, practices, and beliefs, with the hope that they will adhere to these and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Proverbs 22:6 (NASB) says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
Even though Eunice married a Greek and lived in Lystra (present day Turkey), she maintained her Jewish heritage by being God-fearing. Lystra became a Roman colony in 6 BC. It was possible that Lois and Eunice were part of the Jewish diaspora that went to Asia Minor and settled there.
Why did the Jews leave Jerusalem? We need to remember that in the Old Testament account, going to exile was the ultimate punishment of God for the Jews’ idolatry and unfaithfulness. Not all Jews scattered during the Babylonian Empire were able to return to Judea with Ezra and Nehemiah during the Persian Empire.
This could be the case of Lois and Eunice. Living as diaspora Jews, they did not forget or give up their godly heritage. The fact that Eunice gave her son the name Timothy or Timotheos in Greek, which means “honoring God” or “precious to God,” showed how she passed on that godly heritage.
Why did Eunice marry a Greek man? It could be because of love. It could be because there’s no Jewish male available. At one point in the history of the Chinese in the Philippines, there were more Chinese males than Chinese females. This led to scarcity of Chinese women for marriage. This scarcity led to many Chinese men finding Chinese Mestizas or Filipinas for marriage.
Despite the fact that Eunice married a Gentile, she passed on a godly heritage to her son Timothy. Eunice’s marital situation did not discourage her from maintaining her faith and passing her godly heritage to her son. She could have taught him Hebrew, brought him to the synagogues, made him memorize the Scriptures, obey the Jewish Law and etc.
As mothers, we can pass on a godly heritage by setting up a godly environment in the home. Make sure that God is honored, and His word is taught in the home. Practices like praying before eating or sleeping are good ways to honor God. Reading the Scriptures together, or teaching them how to read or establish daily quiet time, is crucial for them to see the relevance of God’s Word in their lives.
We pass on a godly heritage when we give testimonies of how God answers our prayers, how awesome are his creations, how he performed miracles and wonderful acts of grace. It is important we audibly tell our children that our God is real and not just a fairy-tale character.
2. Mothers must pass on their faith.
A godly heritage may not necessarily result to faith in God. A godly heritage can simply be practicing Jewish culture and traditions. In the case of Timothy, his mother not only passed on a godly heritage, but also her faith to him. What proof do we have? Timothy was already a disciple—a follower of Jesus—when Paul met him. He was first discipled by his mother and grandmother (2 Timothy 1:5). We can presume that these godly women taught him the teachings of the Scriptures even before they had heard of the Gospel about Jesus. The teachings of the Scriptures can be said as foundation for faith in God and eventually faith in Jesus.
When Paul and Silas came to Lystra by AD 48 during their first missionary journey, Lois, Eunice, and Timothy could have heard them preach the Gospel, saw them perform miracles, and witnessed how they endured persecutions. The missionary journey of Paul and Silas did bear fruit such that by the time Paul journeyed again to Lystra, he encountered Timothy as a disciple who is highly-regarded by the believers.
We need to remember that it is our responsibility to share the Gospel, but we can never force our children to come to faith. Nevertheless, we must continue to pray for them and pray with them.
I remember sharing the Gospel message when Johann was two years old and he prayed with me then. But I know I needed to fan the fire and constantly helped him to understand the Gospel message. When he turned four, he joined his very first VBS. His counselor shared the Gospel message to him, and he also prayed to accept Jesus. When the counselor told me this, I cried. I was filled with joy because I felt assured that he understood the Gospel message even in his young age.
When Johann reached eight, he decided to have his baptism. The Kentucky church we attended back then allowed child baptism with parental consent and the Sunday School teacher’s recommendation. At first, I was anxious that Johann might not fully understood what baptism was all about. After my husband talked to him about baptism and following Jesus, both of us, as his parents, were assured that he was sincere in his desire to be baptized. On that chilly Easter Sunday of 2012, my son was baptized and made a public declaration that he wanted to follow Jesus. My heart was filled with joy.
How can we pass on this faith?
First, pray. My good friend Teena one time shared with me that she would lay her hand and pray for her daughters before they left for school. She has been doing this practice since they started schooling. She said this helped her children recognize that God cares for them and that they can trust in Him. Further, this practice also helps them realize that God is sovereign, and they should seek to live for God and seek His help always. When my son started going to school, I also started to do this every morning. I pray a simple and short prayer (since we often are in a hurry to catch the school van) but it seeks God’s blessing, protection and strength for the day.
Second, share the Gospel message in portions or based on the age level.
Third, model your faith. Live in godliness and in fear of God. This brings us to the third point.
3. Mothers must pass on godly character.
Having faith in God and having Christ as Lord and Savior ought to lead to a godly character. But we all know that this is not always the case. As Christians, we are bombarded by various trials and temptations that may cause us to respond the wrong way and sin against men and against God.
No wonder Paul reminded us in Romans 12:2 that we should be careful not to conform to the pattern of this world, and its sinful and dark influences and practices. Rather, we should be transformed by the word of God and live holy lives.
As parents, every day, we exemplify what it means to be Christians. How we respond in trials and temptations will also reveal our faith and devotion to God. It is crucial then that the fruit of the Spirit is evident in our daily life.
Bill Bright was greatly used by God as he established Campus Crusade for Christ. In his biography, he mentioned the impact of the sacrificial love of his mother, Mary Lee. Mary was a Methodist who experienced personal conversion at age 16. She was a devout Christian. She woke up early in the morning for her devotion and attended church regularly. She was a schoolteacher before marriage. With this training, she made sure her children developed intellectually. She read to them nightly.
The year before Bill was born, Mary Lee had a still birth. She became wary for the next child. She prayed to God if this child is born healthy and well, she would dedicate him for the Lord’s use. Mary Lee never revealed this to Bill until later in his life when he became involved in the ministry. She remarked that she didn’t want to influence him to enter the ministry. She wanted God to work in him and influence him to the ministry. Bill’s fond memories of her mother are her sacrifices and her toil. In his own words:
“She (mother) was a very humble, quiet, gracious woman … At mealtime, she was always the last person to eat because she wanted to be sure that everyone else was served first. Mother would eat what was left over. We lived five miles from the nearest community. Many times I would walk or run home from school, and she would walk a mile or two from our house to meet me, as she did with the rest of the kids. Then we’d stroll back together and talk about what was on our mind.”
Conclusion and Challenge
Mothers, God gave us children not just for us to have heirs. God gave them to us to influence them to be good citizens and good parents themselves someday. Furthermore, to make a lasting impact, we must seek to impart to them a godly heritage, a godly faith and a godly character.[:]