Mothers And Generational Faith

For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois, and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well. 2 Tim 1:5

Today is Mother’s Day.  It is a day of celebration of the impact that our mothers have had on us.  While I had a challenging relationship with my mother growing up, I have learned to respect and appreciate her love for us, her children and her desired to see us succeed.  As a father, I can more deeply appreciate the challenges parenting can be and I know it was not easy to raise us.  I have three mothers – my father remarried Linda who took on an active role in getting to know us quirky Quiggs.  She is always willing to share her home and her life with us.  We love visiting them.  Then there is my mother-in-law, Jean (or Mimi) who has always been supporting and loving of her daughter and son-in-law.  Her real gift is service and as we speak she is hosting two of our daughters and Josh, my son-in-law for a big meal.   Not surprising at all given her love for serving others.

But the most important part of parenting is the legacy we leave our children.  In the passage cited above, there is a reference to a three generational family impact that deeply marked out Timothy as a man of “sincere faith”.  It started with grandmother Lois, and then proceeded to mom Eunice. There is no mention of the men in this story.  It is largely believed that Timothy’s father as a Greek was likely not a believer in Christ.  So the heritage of faith had to pass through the women.  In our culture, it is so sad that women have to take the mantle of leadership that the man is supposed to take.  However, godly women are constant examples throughout Scripture.  Hannah is mentioned as the one who devotes young Samuel to a life of service.  Mary, the mother of Jesus is there throughout His life and present at his death.  It is largely believed that Joseph had died sometime during Jesus’ young life. 

My wife has had a large impact in the lives of our three girls.  Her consistency of example, her devotion and consistent love to them, and her commitment to faith were instrumental to their upbringing.  Legacies are hard to pass on and so easy to break in our fallen world.  We cannot guarantee the success of our children.  I know many parents that I know are godly yet have children who rebelled.  We live in a fallen world.  There is much to trip up our kids and there is the issue of rebellious hearts.  It is a supernatural issue one that we leave prayerfully up to the delicate balance of God’s grace and man’s free will.