The Faith Of Our Mothers

The influence of mothers in the home is not to be underestimated. According to the Barna Group Research released this past week, finds that mothers—more often than fathers, or any other category of frequent participants in households—are seen as the confidants, providers of support and drivers of faith formation in the Christian home. This is not just mothers, but in many cases, this applies to grandmothers as well. For all the stereotypes of teens rolling their eyes at their parents, Generation Z (born after 1995) are actually very open with and dependent on their mothers. Teens go to moms for tough conversations & personal support. As mothers are seen as advisors and encouragers, teens report approaching them with tougher topics.

In the impressionable middle and high school years, even conversations about sex (41%) aren’t off limits between teens and moms. Understandably, when discussing sex, there is a bit of a difference depending on the teens’ gender, with 30 percent of boys and 48 percent of girls talking about this with their mother, and 50 percent of boys and 10 percent of girls covering this topic with their father). Christian teens also primarily seek out mothers’ opinions on questions of faith (72%) or the Bible (71%), as well as things that might be troubling them (78%). No wonder 68 percent of Gen Z in this survey say their mom was the one who was there for them in their last personal crisis. Practicing Christians in their teen years consistently identify mothers as the ones who provide spiritual guidance and instruction and instill the values and disciplines of their faith in the household.

Moms are their foremost partners in prayer (63%) and conversations about God (70%), the Bible (71%) or other faith questions (72%). This is consistent with Barna data through the years that show mothers to be the managers of faith formation (among other household routines and structures). Mothers are also the ones encouraging church attendance (79% mothers) or teaching kids about the Bible (66%), God’s forgiveness (66%) and religious traditions (72%). [1]

I believe this data includes more than just Gen Z. Today we will read about Timothy’s mother and Grandmother.

2 Timothy 1:3–5 (NKJV) 3 I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day, 4 greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy, 5 when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also.

Many notable men in history have credited their mothers

-John Quincy Adams - “All that I am, my mother made me.”

-Abraham Lincoln - “All that I am or hope to be, I own to my angel mother."

-Dwight Moody - "All that I have ever accomplished in life, I owe to my mother." [2]

Young Timothy was no different. We first meet Timothy in Acts 16:

Acts 16:1–3 (NKJV) Then he came to Derbe and Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a certain Jewish woman who believed, but his father was Greek. 2 He was well spoken of by the brethren who were at Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted to have him go on with him. And he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in that region, for they all knew that his father was Greek.

Timothy’s father probably figured little in his upbringing. The Scriptures say that Timothy’s father was a Greek. If he was a believer, the scripture would have most likely said so. Most of the time when the someone is said to be Greek in the scriptures, that usually meant he was a heathen or pagan. Timothy had not been circumcised possibly because of his father’s influence. So Paul had it done for the sake of the ministry. Timothy most likely became a Christian a few years earlier during Paul’s first missionary journey through the area of Derby and Lystra, either through the teachings of Paul or later from the witness of His mother and grandmother.

Paul brings Timothy along with him as his protégé. And Timothy become quite the servant of the Lord through the mentoring of Paul. Now years later, Paul is in a Roman prison, for the second time. His life is near the end, and this letter to Timothy was likely the last thing Paul wrote. So get the picture, Paul in a cold damp dungeon, chained like a common criminal, and He writes this upbeat letter.

2 Timothy 1:3 (NKJV) I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day,