George Washington once said “All I am I owe to my mother”
On July 4th, 1884 - nearly 100 years after George Washington made that statement, France gave a gift to America. It was a huge copper-clad statue – that stood 305 feet tall. And – when it arrived in New York - it had to be sent in 214 shipping crates. It was a massive statue! Does anyone know what that huge statue was called? The Statue of Liberty.
For nearly 190 years, that Statue has stood for freedom and liberty. But what I found intriguing was WHO the designer had used for his model for this work of art. For it was a “work of art” and it required a model whose face and body projected the virtues of things like strength, respect, love, and acceptance. The artist examined dozens of outstanding heroines, but in the end - he chose for his model - his own mother. https://hanfordsentinel.com/print-specific/advice/in-celebration-of-moms/article_a825f50d-9bc6-5637-b1e3-606b0ce9fe23.html
It took him 20 years and $4 million in donations to create this masterpiece, so why did he choose his mother as the model for his greatest work? Well, it’s obvious that he loved her deeply, but, I believe that it was also obvious that he admired her. She had inspired him to be the man he became. He believed (like George Washington) that all that he was he owed to his mother. Ralph Waldo Emerson said it this way: “Men are what their mothers make them.”
Mothers can shape and form their sons and daughters into what they’re gonna grow up to be. And that’s particularly true of a man named Timothy. Timothy was complimented by the Apostle Paul – “I am reminded of your sincere faith.” And then Paul pointed out why Timothy’s faith was so sincere. Paul said that Timothy’s faith was “a faith that dwelt first in (his) grandmother Lois and (his) mother Eunice.” 2 Timothy 1:5
Timothy was shaped and formed into the man he was by the faith of his mother Eunice, and his grandmother Lois. These women were the models that turned Timothy into the man he became. These were heroines of Faith.
But HOW did they do that? How did they pass on their faith to Timothy? Well, I’ll be honest… the Bible doesn’t say. But I’ve got a couple good ideas.
First – I’m convinced that they had the right attitudes. Paul wrote that “older women (should) be reverent in behavior...” Titus 2:3. “Reverent”. (pause) You know, there’s an old saying that goes: “If momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.” Now that’s a humorous comment, and people laugh when they hear it, but any woman who is difficult to get along with… is not reverent.
ILLUS: Years ago a man told me about his mother – and she was a nasty person. She’d go into fits where she’d throw plates against the wall, shattering them. Now she never did this to NEW plates, just old ones she didn’t mind breaking. The man told me that he was glad when he got married and went off on his own. But then, one day, his dad called and said he couldn’t take it anymore, and asked if he could he come over and live with his son. The son said “No. If you come over here, she’ll be right behind you and I don’t want HER living here.” Neither the husband nor the son could stand that woman because she was an irreverent and ungodly woman.
Now, Eunice and Lois … they weren’t like that. They lived their faith. They were women who set an example for Timothy. And, how did they set an example? Well, they were Christian women who had a deep faith in Jesus and I believe they’d have been the kind of women who took I Corinthians 13:4-8 seriously:
“Love is patient and kind; Love does not envy or boast; It is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; It does not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.”
I’m convinced that Eunice and Lois didn’t just treat their husbands that way, they tried hard to treat their entire family that way as well. And they tried to show that kind of love to people in the church, and to people they met down at the market. Everywhere they went that’s what they tried to do.
Now, did they do this perfectly? Well… probably not! All of us have sinned and fall short. But I’m convinced that they TRIED to live this way. They made it their goal to love others the way Jesus loved them. And because they built their lives on living their faith and seeking to please God, Timothy SAW how they lived - and what he saw made an impact on his life. So, I believe these 2 women were able to pass their faith along to Timothy because they had the right attitude.
And I also believe they were able to pass their faith along to Timothy because they taught him the right things. Paul told Titus that women were not only to be reverent, but “They (were) to teach what is good.” Titus 2:3
What were they to teach? Well, the Bible would have been the best place to start.
ILLUS: When I was growing up, my mom read to me from the Bible every night. She read it all to me including those Bible names that nobody seems to know how to pronounce. And she read those same stories over and over again to me. There was one night when she stumbled over one of those Bible names she’d read to me so many times before. And I didn’t even stop to think: I pronounced the word for her. How did I know how to pronounce that word? She’d read it to me so often, that their names were as common to me as David, George, or Joe. And the reason I knew those names was because she was faithful to read to me. She taught me that which was good, and I internalized God’s Word into my mind.
ILLUS: But she also taught me in a different way. She told me two stories about what God did for me when I was younger. When I was about 1 or 2 years old, there a time when I was terribly sick. I was miserable, and – as I lay in my crib - I cried out in pain. This went on for a couple of days, and finally, mom called for a woman who was known for her praying. The woman came into our house – laid her hands on me – and she prayed. And Mom said what happened next shocked her. A nasty liquid poured out of mouth and my nose… and several other places. And suddenly I was better. I didn’t cry out in pain anymore… and I just fell off to sleep.
Later, when I was 5, it was a snowy winter day, and my sisters and brother and I were sliding down a really steep hill out back of the house. I was sitting on the sled in front of my sister, and we slid onto a part of the hill that had a patch where there was no snow, and we stopped … suddenly. And my leg got broken. I was rushed to the hospital where they set my leg and put it in traction… and that’s where I lay for the next couple weeks (this was before they knew that healing took place better when a person was forced to walk after such surgeries). Mom called in the woman that had prayed for me when I was sick in my crib, and she prayed for me. What happened? I began to drink milk… lots of milk. I drank so much milk that the doctor ordered them to give me anymore. And my leg healed more rapidly that it would have otherwise. Why? Because of the milk. But more importantly… because of prayer.
I remember those two stories to this very day. And WHY do I remember them? Because mom repeated them to me over and over throughout my life. And why did she repeat them to me? She wanted me to realize there was power in prayer, and she wanted me to remember that God had done something in my life.
So, if you’re a mother/father; or aunt/ uncle; or a grandmother/ grandfather - invest yourself in your kids/ grandkids/ nephews and nieces. Find a way to show them how a Christian lives out their faith. Tell them stories about what God has done in their lives. Find a time to read Scripture with them. Or take your kid out to a Godly movie.
But what if you don’t a kid, a grand kid, or a nephew and niece? Well… then go find one. Pick on a neighbor kid and invest in their lives. Bake them cookies, take them out for ice cream. And take them to church and youth group. If Jesus is as important to you as He was to Eunice and Lois, you WILL find a child you can show your love of Jesus to. And just like Timothy, they’ll SEE how you live. They’ll see what’s important to you - and what they see will make an impact on their lives.
Now, as I said before, Eunice and Lois were THE MODELS that turned Timothy into the man he became. These women were heroines of Faith.
(PAUSE) As I was working on this sermon… it occurred to me, that there are men in this world - even men in churches - who have a problem with women like Eunice & Lois. I mean “they’re just women”, how could they have anything important to say. If a woman expresses her opinion, there are men who discount anything she might say/ These are men who view themselves as somehow SUPERIOR to women and look down on women as being inferior to them. Often, they’ll not show any respect for women.
Don’t do that! The Bible has a very high view of women. In fact, men are commanded to show them respect! Paul told Timothy to “Treat… older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.” I Timothy 5:1-2
Granted – God expects men to lead in the home and in the church, and women are not to teach or have authority over a man (I Timothy 2:12), but that doesn’t mean women are inferior… they just have different roles. Women are different than men (I assume you’ve noticed that) and they think differently than men do… and that’s a good thing. It’s a woman’s way of thinking… that needs to be respected.
ILLUS: Years ago, the Elders of my home church asked my dad to be the Sunday School Superintendent at church. His response was: “Let me talk to Martha (my Mom) first.” She approved, and he took the job. But about a month after he took the job, he found out WHY the Elders offered him the job. It seems there was a “young couples” class that had had some problems. There were two older women (sisters) who were teaching the class and they had run off all the men. The class had degenerated into a group of woman who gathered into complaining session. The Elders had asked dad to shut the class down.
Now, as he often did, dad responded “Let me talk to Martha first” and mom’s response was “Get the Elders to sign a paper giving you that authority to do this, because if you don’t get that paper… when things blow up (and they will) they’ll say they had nothing to do with that decision, and they’ll blame everything on you.” So, dad went into the next Elders meeting and explained that before he could shut down the class, he needed the Elders to sign a paper giving him authority to do so. And dad said that, when he placed the paper on the table… and the Elders just looked at it. Dad said it was as if they thought it was a snake and it would bite them. No one wanted to sign it (mom was right). After a few moments, dad picked up the paper and said “well, I guess I just won’t shut down the class” and he started for the door. At that point, one of the Elders said “Let me have that paper!” And when it was all said and done – of the 12 elders at that church – all but the preacher and 2 of the Elders signed it.
Now my point is this: MY DAD listened to mom and it saved him a lot of grief because things DID blow up after he dispersed the class. Dad respected her opinion… and it showed wisdom on his part to do that.
And Christians should ALWAYS be like that. There is no excuse for any Christian man to treat any woman with disrespect. That doesn’t mean we won’t do that once in a while, but we shouldn’t. Christian men should honor their God… by how they honor women.
Now, one last thought: These two women - Eunice and Lois - how many times do their names show up in Scripture? That’s right, just once! Right here in II Timothy. So, why do their names show up here? Because, they helped make Timothy the kind of man he became. That means that the kind of man Timothy became, the way he lived, the way he dealt with people, was a reflection of the quality of the women who raised him.
Next weekend is Mother’s Day – and if your mothers are still alive, a lot of you folks will send cards and flowers to their mothers. And that’s a good thing! But an even better thing would be, if you lived your life in such a way that you honored God so that if your momma was alive… she’d be proud of you. And just like God honored Eunice and Lois - their names will be mentioned in heaven as well.
