Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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In The Faith of  Mothers


Santhosh George
 St. Johns MTC, NY

5.  I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you.

 
If there was one group of people in the Bible who was underappreciated and unnoticed, it is the mothers.  Throughout the Bible, we see strong faithful men coming to the scene and working hard to give glory to their creator and sometimes even miserably failing in that journey.  It would be foolishness to think that these men were self-made without any influence from the home they came from.  We come across several prophets, kings, priests, etc.  There are even some faithful women who we meet through the Scriptures. But, mothers?  Only a handful!  Keeping that in mind, we can understand the gravity of Paul’s comments regarding Timothy’s mother and grandmother.  Secondly the Book of  Timothy is the most personal of the Pastoral letters, most of it is directed specifically to Timothy.  But, Paul begins with his witness to the unseen foundation in the young pastor.  
Sincere faith that transmits through generation:
To say that children absorb everything we do, more than what we proclaim with our mouth is an understatement!  No matter how much we preach, unless we embody our own teaching, children would see through us and call us hypocrites.  On the contrary, here Paul highlights the sincere faith that lives in Timothy which was passed down through his grandmother and mother. This faith had “lived in” their characters, not proclaimed through words alone.  Imagine how proud Eunice would have felt hearing this from Paul!  He is an outsider to the family giving witness to the unwavering faith that was displayed through Timothy’s service. Mothers have a unique place in molding a child’s faith and character.  Sincere faith is not a state of mind, but a continuous way of life.  We must continuously work towards having a sincere faith.  We must recognize the mothers who work very hard to mold and shape the next generation.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, we thank you for providing us faithful mothers to look up to.  Help us to stay true to the truth they shared with us.  Enable us to have the vision to see the unseen sacrifices that mothers make daily.  Amen.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

What are we passing down to our children?  A set of directions without a model or a  faith that is lived out in flesh and is rooted in Jesus.   

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