Rev. David Holwick
First Baptist Church
West Lafayette, Ohio
May 10, 1987
"Mother's Day"
A Mother's Struggle
2 Timothy 4:5-8, NIV
I believe in the working of the Holy Spirit. For the past several weeks I have been preaching through 2 Timothy, and I do not like to interrupt it. However, it's Mother's Day and if I don't preach about mothers I'll be lynched. This is where the Spirit comes in. As I studied this passage I was amazed how much it applied to mothers.
Paul has been summing up his life, which had not been without its disappointments. Especially at the end, it seemed like most of his accomplishments were evaporating. But the apostle had remained faithful. And now he was passing on the torch to the next generation.
Mothers go through the same thing. They have a very important, but difficult task. There are no guarantees they will be successful, but their faithfulness to the task will profoundly affect future generations.
Now let's turn to the passage -
Paul begins by saying, "But you, keep your head in all situations."
If I can say one thing about my mom, it is that she is level-headed. When I was around ten years old my friends and I were always exploring. One afternoon out in the woods we found a tree that had an interesting growth on its side. It was kind of like a huge fungus, but it was too high for us to get at. So we went back home and got a shovel. By this time my brother Jeb decided to tag along (like usual). We got to the tree and started poking at the fungus with the shovel. Suddenly the shovel slipped, fell down, and precisely whacked my little brother on the head. Blood was everywhere. Jeb sat down in a daze and we ran home to tell mom our exciting news.
How did she react?
She screamed and rushed out of the house to get him. She may have seemed out-of-control, but she knew what she was doing. She kept her head in a stressful situation.
Next Paul says that we must "endure hardship." Being a mother, a good one, is one of the hardest things in the world. We cover it up with jokes about how rotten kids can be, or the drudgery of housework, but it's not always a laughing matter. When a woman decides to have children she is agreeing to be burdened the next twenty years.
The other day I read an interesting statistic. It said the happiest time for a married couple is right after the ceremony. After that it's all downhill.
When does satisfaction in a marriage reach the lowest point? When your kids are little. When your kids are underfoot and constantly whining at you, it's hard. When they defy you and all you stand for, it's hard. Paul doesn't say you should enjoy hardship. He says you should endure it, because eventually it will pay off.
Paul continues: "Do the work of an evangelist." Most people think of an evangelist as a middle-aged man with blow-dried hair, white shoes and diamond pinky rings. In one sense it is a special position for certain people who are called by God. In a broader sense, it applies to anyone who passes on the faith to a new generation.
Throughout history, the most effective evangelists have been mothers. Timothy himself was nurtured in the faith by his mother. Our most religious president is usually considered to be Abraham Lincoln. He prayed and read his bible every day and his faith influenced everything he did. Where did he get it? From his mother.
If you are a mother, how important is it to you that your children become strong Christians? Do you care if they are born-again? It's easy for mothers to be all concerned about their kid's schoolwork, sports activities and social events. Sometimes the Christian faith is lumped in with them, and even then it doesn't get the highest priority.
How should a mother influence her children for Christ? Sunday school is good, but it's not enough. Dragging them to church is only part of it as well. If you really care for the spiritual welfare of your children, you should be praying with them and for them. And it is never too early to talk to them about salvation. If you wont' tell them, who will?
Evangelism is one of the most important tasks a mom has, but it is hardly the only one. Paul mentions, "Discharge all the duties of your ministry."
You used to hear about bored housewives - I've never met one. About eighty percent of all mothers work outside the home. And in spite of all the talk about husbands and wives dividing household chores more equally, the men do the yard work and the women do everything else. On top of this there are all the school and church activities.
This week I was listening to the Dr. Dobson program on the radio. He was interviewing mothers who have small children and he asked them if it was hard to get ready for church every Sunday morning. All of them agreed that to be ready on Sunday morning they have to have everything organized Saturday night, or they'd never pull it off. It can get so hectic they almost go to church out of obligation and aren't sure what went on.
The results of all these demands can easily lead to burn out. In verse 6 Paul himself seems to refer to this. He says, "For I am already being poured out as a drink offering." This is a very literal translation. A drink offering was part of a sacrifice. As the sacrifice was burned on the altar, the worshipper would pour a cup of wine on it. All of it was consumed before God. Being a mother is a consuming task. But if it is done from the heart, it honors God.
In verse 7 we come to the most famous phrase in this passage:
"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have kept the faith."
It is important to keep in mind Paul's circumstances when he said this. As far as the world was concerned, Paul was a failure. He was in prison and soon would be executed. Most of his friends, even his Christian ones, had deserted him. For all his pain, he had little to show for his life. You'll notice that Paul doesn't say he won the fight, or came in first in the race. He merely says he fought, he finished, and he held on.
The burden of many mothers is not that they have too much to do. Their burden is that they may fail. When you raise your kids you try to give them every opportunity you did not have. You try to pass on your morals and your faith. But you never know how you've done till they've grown up. In many cases it doesn't turn out like you'd expect.
God does not expect us to succeed in everything we do. He just expects us to do our best. Fight as good as you can, run as fast as you can, and hang on to God the whole way.
I believe God honors our faithfulness. Sometimes when it seems like you have failed completely, God steps in and sets things right. Many mothers have seen their children reject them and break their hearts. (No one can break a heart like a child.) But just as many mothers have seen their children come back, they work through that rebellion and realize their mom wasn't that stupid after all.
This is rewarding to a mother. Yet there is a reward that is even better than grateful children. Paul calls it the "crown of righteousness." God promises that those who accept his plan of salvation through Jesus and live upright lives will be kings and queens with him.
This promise is not just for mothers. Everyone who is ready and longs for the coming of Jesus can have this hope.
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Typed on January 17, 2005, by Sharon Lesko of Ledgewood Baptist Church, New Jersey
Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
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