Passing It On
2 John 4
Introduction
Dr. James Dobson tells about a time he came home when his son, Ryan was a small baby. It had been a terrible day for his wife. Ryan had been sick, and had cried all day long. Once, as Shirley was changing his diapers, the telephone rang and she reached over to answer it before fastening up his diapers. Just then Ryan had an attack of diarrhea. She cleaned up that mess and put him in clean, sweet-smelling clothes. Then she took him into the living room and fed him. As she was burping him he threw up all over himself, and her and the couch too. Dobson said, “When I came home I could smell the aroma of motherhood everywhere.” Shirley cried out to him, “Was all of this in my contract?”
I suppose that if we were to take the time, every mother in here could tell similar stories of their own children, and what is really remarkable, as miserable as those days seemed at the time, they somehow give us joy and laughter as time passes and the kids grow.
Parenting is one of those things that if we knew what we were getting into, very few would probably go through with it. However, generally speaking, the rewards and joys of being a parent far outweigh the pain and sorrow.
But what if there were a contract? I gave some thought to this in preparation for this message and wondered: If God required parents to sign a contract before He gave children to them, what kinds of things might He require of the mother and father? I am certain that there are some things that He would require that you pass along to your children. What are some of those things? In this message, let’s consider some of the things that might appear on what we’ll call our Contract for Motherhood.
You Must Pass Along Your Faith
If God were writing the contract, He would place a trusting faith in Christ at the top of the list because it doesn’t matter what you’ve done with your life or what you’ve given to your children if you’ve not made a decision for Christ. You must be saved!
The Bible teaches us that the process doesn’t end there. After salvation you need to follow the Lord in Scriptural baptism in by joining a sound New Testament church.
Not only should you do this, but mothers, you need to pass it along. Don’t leave it up to your husband or your pastor or your church to lead your child to Christ – you take the initiative, you ensure that they have had the opportunity to be saved. This is going to require you to know how to do such a thing – but there is no greater thing to know than how to lead your child to Christ.
Just as surely as I am saying this and just as surely as the Bible teaches it though, I know that some of you mothers will not tell your children how to be saved, and you will not learn how to do it. If that is your decision, then make sure they are exposed to the gospel at church.
You Must Pass Along A Love For Others
I am not sure that there is a greater example of this on earth of the Father’s love than a godly mother. It is from the mother that most children will learn how to love and be loved. It is the mother that a child watches.
Those kids watch how you express your love to your spouse. They see how you love them. They observe daily whether you express love for other people, particularly people who are hard to love. You remember that Jesus said that it wasn’t much of a big deal for us to love our friends, but the real test of love is whether you can love those who are unlovable. Why does the love of man grow cold? Because they do not see it modeled like they should.
Mom, are you a loving person, or have the circumstances in your life calloused you? Have you become hard and uncaring, or do you have a genuine love for other people? I’m not suggesting that it is easy to love others, but I am suggesting that the generation of children coming up in this world need to see love being modeled in their lives, and you may very well be the greatest model of it they’ll have.
You Must Pass Along Godly Values
What kind of values am I speaking about? There are many, and I will only mention them in passing – you write them down and reflect on them in your life.
1. Will you pass on a high estimation of obedience? Or will you pass on a life of bending the rules and looking for loopholes in everything? Will your children learn about obedience to God from you? Will they learn about obedience in the workplace from you? Will they learn about obedience to the law from you?
2. Will you pass on a high regard for church? Or will you pass on a set of shifting worldly values? I shouldn’t have to ask our children whether they will be in church, but I do. Listen to some of the things your children have said to me:
a. I have to play or practice ball.
b. I have to do my homework.
c. I needed to rest.
d. It’s our only day off.
3. There are others, but suffice it to say that for too many people church comes last when it needs to come a lot higher on your list of priorities. Why? Is it because the preacher gets upset? Hardly! If you want to ruin your lives and the lives of your children by telling them that pleasure and recreation are just as important or more important than their spiritual growth, then you head them off down that path – but you will answer for it, not me.
4. Will you pass on biblical values about money?
5. Will you pass on other things such as tenderness, kindness, forgiveness and mercy?
6. Will you pass on the biblical value of personal responsibility?
a. Let them clean their rooms. Let them help with the lawn or the dishes. They ought to never hear from your mouth – I’ve done my part and that’s all I’m doing.
b. When they do wrong – make them own up to it and discipline them. When they do right, praise them and be encouraging.
Conclusion
I must admit that I do not envy the mothers in this room or the work you do. I realize that Christian mothers and even fathers are under great attack in our nation like never before. You are under attack from Satan of course as he works in and through those in government, in our culture, and through your peers. They want you to conform, and they use your own feelings of guilt and inadequacy to pressure you to give in.
I hope that something has been said that would spark a renewed interest from you to be a mother that wants to please the Lord. There are no real contracts, but there is certainly a great responsibility for you to be different from the rest.
You can see the statement on the back of your bulletin. This morning I am going to challenge you to earnestly pray, to look inward, and to speak with the Lord about the way you measure up as one of God’s mothers. If you will agree with God about the things you need to be passing along to your children, and if you also agree to being working on these things, to make a conscious effort to apply them, then I am going to ask you to sign that statement.
No one is going to see except you. No one is going to be checking on you – but God knows your real desires. He knows whether you are serious about being a godly mother or just another woman who has given birth to some kids.
After you have signed it, I am going to ask you to take a step farther. While everyone’s head is bowed in prayer, I want you to come to the altar and bring your commitment to God. I realize that you don’t have to come to the altar and pray, but there is something serious and binding about coming up here and praying.
Perhaps this morning something is seriously wrong in your life concerning your salvation, or you have been lacking in one of the areas we have discussed. Make it right during this time.
How will you respond this morning?
ADD IN BULLETIN
I, ______________________________________, commit myself to passing along God’s priorities for my children. I agree that this will be no lip-service commitment, but will give my all in seeing that my children come to know Christ as their personal Savior, that they love and obey Him, that they learn His values from my life, and that they understand Jesus has first place in my life. I will make every effort to please Jesus first by giving myself to Him in salvation and service and in Christian growth and maturity. I understand that I am not alone in this endeavor because the Lord is my Helper and Comforter, and He has given me a church who will pray for me and aid me in times of need.
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