HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!
“Building a Legacy”
2nd Timothy 3
On this day that we honor Moms, it’s good for us to think about how much they really do. By the time a child reaches 18, a mother has had to handle an extra 18,000 hours of work. 1000 hours a year.
I heard recently of a middle school science teacher who was lecturing his students on the properties of a magnet. The next day he gave his students a quiz. The first question read like this: My name begins with an “M”, has six letters and I pick things up. What am I? Half the kids in the class wrote mother.
In the Scripture we find some great portraits/pictures of motherhood. There’s the picture of the mother of Moses who cared so much for her son that she broke the law so that she could teach him about the true God. There is the mother who appeared before King Solomon and told him she was willing to have her son taken away by another woman rather than see any harm come to him. And there is the mother of James and John who loved her boys so much that she wanted them to sit on each side of the Lord in heaven. These are all mothers who put their children first, ahead of their own safety and convenience.
I want you to know that I am aware that today is a difficult day for many of you. It is for me as well.
• You may want to be with your mother today but you weren’t able to travel
• perhaps you didn’t have the best mom in the world
• for some of you-your mother has passed away and you would give anything to speak to her one more time. I would.
• some of you as moms, have lost a child
• many of you are doing it solo. You’re raising your children alone.
This morning, I want to introduce a woman to you in the Scripture. Her name is Eunice. She was raised in a Christian home by her mother whose name was Lois. As she entered her teenage years she was attracted to a young man who was not a believer. She went against the wishes of her mother and married the man. After a few years of marriage, Eunice and her husband had a baby and named him Timothy. Well Lois’s husband died so Eunice and her husband asked Lois to come and live with them. Together, Eunice and Lois spent many hours teaching Timothy the stories of the OT, praying with him, praying for him and training him to be a godly child. One day a preacher named Paul came to them and spoke about a man named Jesus and Lois and Eunice listened and realized this Jesus was the Messiah who had been promised for centuries, so they placed their faith in him. They then began to teach Timothy all about who Jesus was. Timothy also then came to a saving faith in Christ through the ministry of Paul.
Paul and Timothy began to partner together in ministry to spread the gospel. Many years later while Paul was imprisoned, waiting to be executed, he wrote two letters to young Timothy. The letters describe how a pastor should lead and how he should live. And in doing so he reflects on Eunice and Lois, the two women who impacted his life.
My big truth this morning that I want every mom to walk away with and understand is this:
a mother or a grandmother can make a huge impact on her children with or without the help of a father.
{1} The first way a mother can do this is by instilling within her children a respect for Scripture. Listen to what Paul says to Timothy. 2nd Timothy 3:12; 14-15. Did you see that? From infancy they taught him the Scriptures. From the time he was a baby, a little preschooler, they were teaching God’s word.
4 Bible scholars were arguing over various Bible translations. One said he preferred the KJV-because he loved the beauty of the old English. Another set I liked in NAS because it is so accurate. Another set I like the LB because it’s so easy to read. The fourth scholar said well I have always preferred my mother’s translation. The other scholars started laughing. He looked at them and said “yes, my mother translated the Scriptures too. My mom translated every page of the Bible into life.” He said, “Her life is the most convincing translation I have ever read.”
Let me ask you moms, what are your children seeing when they observed your life? You must instill within your children a respect for Scripture.
{2} You must instill an authentic faith. Paul wrote to Timothy and said “I have been reminded of your sincere faith which first lived in your grandmother, Lois and in your mother Eunice and I am persuaded now lives in you also.” 2nd Timothy 1:5.
Faith is not hereditary. You cannot inherit faith. Lois and Eunice were both believers but Timothy had to come to a point where he had his own faith. He had to come to a point where he placed his faith in Christ. Notice the link/the chain here. It is Lois to Eunice to Timothy. We don’t read of a grandfather here-we don’t read of a father anywhere in this equation. Certainly a father makes a difference but I am saying this: a mother can make a huge spiritual impact on her children with or without the help of a father.
Moms, if you want to instill authentic faith in your children, then you better take your faith seriously. If you’re simply going through the motions at church, your kids will know that. Children can spot hypocrisy a mile away. If you’re just going through the motions spiritually, your kids will see it and they will copy/emulate your behavior. You must live the way you want your children to live.
{3} You must instill within your children a desire to serve/minister. When Paul preached in the city of Lystra, Timothy was converted a short time later and he returned. We find this brief story in Acts. 16:1-3A. Listen as I read.
There are three qualities I see here in Timothy and they did not get there by accident.
First of all Timothy was a strong believer. He is referred to here as a disciple. Luke, who wrote this could’ve referred to him as a believer or Christian but he chose to call him a disciple. A disciple is a learner and a follower. We immediately see the word discipline coming out of the word disciple.
Second he had a good reputation. The brothers spoke well of him. They knew Timothy as a man of integrity and as a man of the word. He was solid as a rock in his faith and it could all be traced back to his mother and his grandmother.
3rd, He was available to serve. It was Paul’s desire to take Timothy along the journey with him. As we continue to read the book of Acts we see that Timothy made himself available. It meant that he would have to leave home but still was willing. When Paul stopped in Lystra for his second time, he asked Timothy to be his special assistant. Paul refers to Timothy as his own son in the faith. Paul says “I have no one else like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare.”
Paul Meyer said that all of us leave a legacy behind whether we have children or not. We will all be remembered for something.
As moms and Dads we are called in many ways to leave a legacy through our children. When we are gone, we will leave our children behind and they will be a living legacy of our lives. And how they live their lives in many ways will be evidence of the influence we have had on them. We have the opportunity and the privilege to plant the right things in their lives; regardless of their ages. It is your responsibility; your privilege, to instill within your children a respect for the Bible; to instill an authentic faith and to instill a desire to serve our Lord.
