Becoming A Woman Of Impact

Happy Mothers’ Day!

How did it all start? This special day for mothers go all the way back to the 19th century.

Meet Anne Marie Reeves Jarvis. She was a daughter of a Methodist Minister in Virginia.

Tragedy brought out the best in her. Four out of her six children died of various diseases. All but one of the dead children had been born healthy. In those days, illness in children was swift and fatal. She blamed it to the unsanitary conditions of the slaughter house nearby.

But she did not sit down and watch the rest of her kids die also. She took matters in her own hands. She organized a women’s group called “Mother’s Work” to promote community health. Their motto was “Mother’s Work — For Better Mothers, Better Homes, Better Children, Better Men and Women.” And, through patient, hard work, they succeeded in their campaign.

And, when the Civil war broke out in America, her group worked for peace in their town throughout the war.

When she died on May 10, 1908, her daughter Anna wanted to honor her mom.

At a memorial service for her mother, Miss Jarvis gave a carnation to each person who attended. It was her mother’s favorite flower.

She also suggested the national observance of an annual day honoring all mothers because she had loved her own mother so dearly.

Soon, her idea of a day to honor mothers gained popularity in major cities in the USA.

Six years later, in honor of Anne Marie Reeves Jarvis, by an act of the US congress, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the 2nd Sunday in May as Mothers’ Day.

Now the question is… Would you be honored with a special day because of your life?

Well, the Bible teaches us how you could become a woman of impact. And we find it in Titus 2:3-5…

Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

To fully enjoy the richness of this passage, let us look into its context.

Note the word “Likewise”. This word gives us a clue that the verses are connected to each other.

Paul wrote to Titus who was pastoring the believers in Crete so “that [he] should set in order the things that are lacking” in that church.

Paul also instructed Titus in 2:1 and 15 that he “must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine. … These, then, are the things [he] should teach.” Note the phrase “sound doctrine”. It means that these teachings are not bad but good for us.

When your son is sick, he may not like the taste of the medicine. But, if it is what the doctor prescribed, he has to take it. It’s the same with the Word of God.

There are times that a pastor is afraid to tell the truth.

He fears that he might step on someone else’s toes. But Paul commanded us to “encourage and rebuke with all authority” and that we should “not let anyone despise [us].”

If we would read the rest of chapter 1, we find that false teachers were attacking the early church. That’s why Paul gave instructions on what to teach to various groups in church.

In verse 2, he talked about the men in the church. In verses 3-5, the women. In verses 6-8, the young people. In verses 9-10, the slaves. I encourage you to read the whole book. It’s very short.

Note that Paul focused on relationships, particularly the family. Always remember that, “As the family goes, so goes the church.” No amount of success in business or ministry will ever compensate for failure in the home.

Then Paul links our conduct in our families with the grace of God. In Titus 2:11-12 it says, “God has shown us how kind he is by coming to save all people. He taught us to give up our wicked ways and our worldly desires and to live decent and honest lives in this world.”

God’s kindness teaches us to live decent and honest lives in this world. What makes us good Christians ought to make us good fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, sons, daughters, brothers and sisters. That’s why the strength of the entire church depends upon the strength of the families in the church.

If we live the way God wants us to live, it says in verse 5, “no one will malign the word of God.”

If we live the way God wants us to live, it also says in verse 8 that “those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.”