The children had a special program at church and a little girl was to recite the Scripture she had memorized for the occasion. When she got in front of the crowd, the sight of hundreds of eyes peering at her caused her to forget her memory work.
Every line that she had so carefully rehearsed faded from her mind, and she stood there unable to utter a single word. In the front row, her mother was almost as frantic as the little girl. The mother gestured, moved her lips, trying to form the words for the girl, but it did no good.
Finally, the mother, in desperation, whispered the opening phrase of the memorized Scripture: “I am the light of the world.”
Immediately the child’s face lit up and a smile appeared as she said with supreme confidence: “My mother is the light of the world!” (James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited, p. 381)
Do you know? That little girl wasn’t too far off. Even though Jesus Christ Himself is THE light of the world, mothers in many ways reflect that light. They can be a tremendous influence not only on their own children and grandchildren, but on the world through their children.
The question is how? How can mothers (and grandmothers) impact the world for Jesus Christ? How can they make a significant difference in a world that seems hell-bent for destruction? Timothy’s mother and grandmother show us how. So if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to 2 Timothy 1, 2 Timothy 1, where we see how these two great ladies influenced their world for Christ.
2 Timothy 1:3-5 I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well (ESV).
Paul writes this from a Roman dungeon, and he’s about to be beheaded. In 2 Timothy 4:6 he says, I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. Paul is about to lose his life, but he finds comfort and joy in a young man raised by a godly mother and grandmother. He thanks God constantly for Timothy, and he longs to see him. Timothy gave Paul joy. When everybody else had deserted him (4:16), only Timothy and one or two other close friends remained.
Timothy gave Paul joy, and your children can give people joy, as well. You can raise godly children that other people will appreciate.
A little boy on his fifth birthday, looked at his hand, counted on his fingers, and said, “Mom, first I was one, then I was two, then three, yesterday I was four. Now I’m a whole handful” (Julia Chapman, Tennessee. Today’s Christian Woman, “Small Talk;” www.PreachingToday.com).
Some children, even when they’re grown up, are a handful. Others are a real blessing to be around. Mom’s and dad’s, don’t raise your children to be a “handful.” Instead…
RAISE YOUR CHILDREN TO BLESS OTHERS.
Raise them to give people joy and cause others to praise God.
Frederick Wertham once said, “A child’s mind is like a bank—whatever you put in, you get back in 10 years, with interest.” What are you putting into your child’s mind these days?
Dr. Ben Carson, renowned surgeon at Johns Hopkins and former HUD director, tells a moving story about his mother. Mrs. Carson insisted that Ben and his brother Curtis write a book report every couple of weeks. This wasn't for school—this was for their mom.
Ben and Curtis dutifully obeyed.
About the time he was in junior high, Ben finally realized something quite shocking. His mom couldn't read. For years Ben had read books and scratched out reports, assuming that his mom was checking every word. But she didn't have a clue what he was writing.
Think about it. An illiterate mother raised Ben, who grew up to be a world-famous surgeon, who was featured in many articles, who was the author of several books, and who became a cabinet level secretary under President Trump. His illiterate mom didn't wring her hands over her lack of learning and give up hope of raising intelligent boys. Instead, she gave her boys what she had—interest, accountability, and the courage to demand extra work.
And it paid off.
Years later, someone asked Ben why his mother still lived with him, even after he was married and had a family of his own. “You don't understand,” Ben answered. “If it weren't for that woman, I wouldn't be living here. She earned this” (Kevin Leman, What a Difference a Daddy Makes, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2000, pp.57-58; www.PreachingToday.com).
If Mrs. Carson raised a son who blessed the world, you can too! Don’t worry about what you don’t have. Just give what you do have—your love, your attention, accountability, and the courage to set and enforce boundaries.
If you want your children and grandchildren to positively impact their world for Christ, then raise them to bless others. More than that…
RAISE YOUR CHILDREN TO BELIEVE IN JESUS.
Lead them to faith in Christ. Make sure they know what it means to be saved, and invite them to trust Christ as their savior. That’s what Timothy’s mother and grandmother did.
2 Timothy 1:5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well (ESV).
Lois passed the faith onto to Eunice, who passed it onto her son, Timothy, and she did it without the help and support of her husband. Acts 16:1 tells us that Timothy’s father was a gentile, and probably an unbeliever. Which means Eunice had to raise her children in the Christian faith alone. She had no encouragement, no help, no support from her husband. He might even have been antagonistic. Yet, in dependence upon the Lord, Eunice raised a boy who became a godly man, a man with a sincere faith.
You can do it too! For the sake of our country and our world, you MUST do it. You must raise your children and grandchildren, to have a strong faith in Christ.
Now, there are some parents who say, “I’m not going to force religion down my children’s throats. I’ll just let them choose their own religion when they’re old enough to decide.” Do you know what I think about that idea? I think it’s the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard when it comes to raising children.
John Wesley once talked about an ancient king, who decided he would discover the natural language of humans. So he made arrangements for two infants, as soon as they were born, to be brought to a place where they would never hear a human voice.
What do you think happened after several years? Did they speak one of the ancient languages like Hebrew or Greek? Maybe they turned out speaking Swahili or English. No way! You know what happened. They spoke no language at all!. They could only grunt and groan like animals (John Wesley).
So it is when parents refuse to pass their faith on. Their children become irreligious. They end up with no religion at all, and they behave like animals. We’ve removed religion from the classroom, and we wonder why there’s so much violence in our schools today. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that one out.
My dear friends, it is imperative that you pass the Christian faith on to the next generation or two. It is imperative that you teach your children and grandchildren to trust and believe in Jesus Christ. Their eternal destiny depends on it, as well as the future of our country.
Someone once asked the late J. Edgar Hoover, “Should I make my child go to Sunday school and church?” His reply was both Scriptural and practical.
“Yes,” said the former head of the FBI, “you certainly should, and with no further discussion about the matter. You may be startled by my answer, but what do you say to Junior when he comes to breakfast on Monday morning and announces he isn’t going to school anymore? You know! He goes!
“How do you answer him when he comes home covered with mud and says, ‘I’m not going to take a bath.’ Junior bathes, doesn’t he?
“Why all this timidity, then, in the realm of spiritual guidance and growth? You say you’re going to let him wait and decide what church he wants to go to when he is old enough? Quit your kidding!
You wouldn’t wait until he’s grown up to choose whether he wishes to be clean or dirty, would you? Do you let him decide for himself whether to take medicine when he’s sick? Do you?
How shall we respond, then, when Junior says he doesn’t want to go to Sunday school and church? That’s easy! Just be consistent. Tell him, ‘Son, in our house we ALL go to Sunday school and church, and that includes you!’ Your firmness and example will furnish a bridge over which youthful rebellion will then travel into many rich and satisfying spiritual experiences.”
My friends, for their sake and for the sake of our country, you must pass the faith on to your children and grandchildren. Give them every opportunity to trust Christ as their Savior. Give them every opportunity to grow in their faith. Give them every opportunity to know and understand what it means to be a Christian.
Several years ago (2001), ChristianityToday.com asked readers to share how much their mothers and grandmothers meant to them. In response, Bill Fix, of Taylor, Michigan, shared a moving testimony about his mother's faithful witness:
[Mom] grew up around the coal mines where her daddy worked, deep in the mountainous regions of Virginia. She came from a large, poverty-stricken family, so she learned how to be content with little. Dad and Mom were poor by the world's standards, but as a kid growing up, I did not know it. We were rich in so many other ways. Dad had two—sometimes three—jobs, so Mom could stay home and be a full-time mommy to her five children.
She hummed softly as she went about her work. It was as if she had blocked all the bad news out and was contemplating what was good and right and lovely. She was always living in the present, fondly reflecting [on] the past, and looking forward to the future. She found that in the present there was love, in the past there was joy, and in the future there was hope.
I will not forget the day the doctors told us that Mom had terminal cancer. I was devastated by [the] news. Things did not seem to change for Mom, though. Whenever I visited her, she was busy cooking or baking, doing a load of clothes, or sewing or working on something else. As she worked, she hummed a tune that seemed so beautiful to me.
[When I spoke with her about the cancer, she was calm.] She told me that this was not really her home. She said she had a home in heaven and that she would be going there soon. She told me not to worry, that she would be all right. Although that brought tears to my eyes, she continued to hum. I saw a beauty in my mother that I had never seen before. In her affliction she had become radiant. When she died, she was 59-years-old. I have replayed her words many times: “This is not my home. I have a home in heaven. I'll be all right.” She is at her eternal home today.
Since that time, I have become a pastor of a church where I have had an opportunity to see many people, like Mom, go to another home. As I minister to many of them, I am reminded of her—afflicted, yet radiant (Bill Fix, “Memories of Mom,” www.christianitytoday.com, 2001; www.PreachingToday.com).
That mother lived out her faith, despite her affliction, and passed it onto her children. You do the same with your children and grandchildren. Use the opportunities God gives you to speak of Jesus and your assurance of heaven.
If you want to raise children of influence, if you want to raise children who will impact their world for Christ, then #1, raise them to bless others. #2, raise them to believe in Jesus. And #3…
RAISE YOUR CHILDREN TO BOLDLY SHARE THEIR FAITH.
Don’t raise wimps. Raise men and women of courage. Raise sons and daughters who will not be afraid to take a stand for Christ.
Timothy was that kind of young man.
In verse 6 Paul tells him, “For this reason” – I.e., because of your faith which was passed down from your grandmother – “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame – or better, keep on fanning into flame – the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.”
Paul tells Timothy to keep on preaching God’s Word, to keep on exercising his spiritual gift…
2 Timothy 1:7 …for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control (ESV).
Paul and Timothy were courageous men. They were men of power, love and discipline, born of their faith in Christ.
Now, Timothy had every reason to be afraid. Nero was on the throne. He’s the one who impaled Christians on stakes, dipped them in tar, and then set them on fire to light his palace gardens. He’s the one who burned the city of Rome and then blamed the Christians. It gave him an excuse to outlaw Christianity. In fact, Roman authorities were getting ready to chop Paul’s head off for being a Christian.
Timothy had every reason to be afraid, but he found courage, for God had given him a different spirit. God had given him the spirit of power, love and discipline. God had instilled in him the courage of his convictions, which came from his mother and grandmother.
They had raised a courageous young man, and you can too. As you help your children grow in their faith, they will grow in their fearlessness. As their confidence in Christ increases, so will their courage.
In 1993, Cassie Bernall was involved in witchcraft and suicidal. She started running with the wrong crowd during her freshman year in high school and was far away from God. It was then that her parents forcibly dragged her into their youth pastor’s office at the West Bowles Community Church in southwest suburban Denver.
Later, at a church youth retreat, she committed her life to Christ and returned a totally different person. She became a leader in her youth group. She helped out at a mission that works with drug addicts and prostitutes. And she became a “radical evangelist” on campus at her high school.
Then, on April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, fellow classmates, entered the library of the high school with guns blazing. One of them asked Cassie, “Do you believe in God?” And she responded, “Yes, I believe in Jesus.”
“Why?” the gunman asked. And before she could answer, he blew her away. That was at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado.
Cassie, even in the face of death, boldly proclaimed her faith. At her funeral, a number of girls shared how Cassie had led them to faith in Christ. At that same funeral, 75 more young people made first time commitments to Christ. People around the world heard her testimony, and who knows how many others came to Christ because of her bold witness in the face of death.
My hat is off to Brad and Misty Bernall, Cassi’s parents. They did what they had to, to turn their daughter around—even if it meant restricting her activities and forcibly dragging her to church. As a result, that mom and dad made an impact on our world for Christ. They raised a daughter of tremendous influence, and you can too.
Just raise your children to bless others. Raise your children to believe in Jesus. And raise your children to boldly share their faith.
I took a piece of plastic clay,
And idly fashioned it one day.
And as my fingers pressed it still,
It moved and yielded to my will.
I came again when the days were passed,
And the bit of clay was hard at last.
The form I gave it still it bore,
But I could change that form no more.
I took a piece of living clay,
And gently formed it day by day;
And molded with my power and art,
A young child's soft and yielding heart.
I came again when the days were gone,
It was a man I looked upon.
He still that early impress wore,
But I could change that form no more
(Dave Stone, “Keep the Dust Off the Highchair,” Preaching Today, Tape No. 143; www.PreachingToday.com).
Please, don’t wait to impress upon your children and grandchildren your commitment to Christ. Instead, with God’s help, shape their hearts and minds to follow hard after Jesus long before they become hardened to any more change.
