A Mother of an Influence

I ventured out of the home this morning and went down to our local shops to support the small businesses attempting to survive this pandemic. I thoroughly enjoyed a hot cup of coffee from my favourite barista (one large almond flat white please) and then very slowly perused a little gift shop - with appropriate distancing as the only customer - with the hope to find a mothers day gift for my mumma and mum-in-law. The pure bliss of looking at the lovely items with no children was equal to a holiday on a tropical island! In the book section, there were a beautiful array of picture books and biographies on famous women who have changed the world. Sitting right next to this section, albeit right at the edge of the shelf, was a cute little coffee table book called "The Power of Mum". With darling illustrations and sweet vignettes, this small book painted a beautiful picture of the power that a mother has on a child. Day by day and moment by moment, our mothers help form our worldviews and teach us right from wrong. The impact of this role, often overlooked and downplayed by society, is remarkably influential. And so inspired this blog post.

Speaking of influential people, one of the most influential Christian thinkers who ever lived was a man named Augustine of Hippo. A North African bishop during the 300s, Augustine has remained one of the foremost theologians in the history of the church. Augustine was, in short, a pretty big deal. But I don’t want to tell you about him...

I want to tell you about his mother.

Her name was Monica. She was a devout Christian married to a non-Christian, who would not even permit their children to be baptised. Even so, Monica persevered in prayer for her children. She taught them the Word of God, and she raised them to honour the Lord. She provided exactly the kind of childhood you would expect for a spiritual giant like Augustine, except for one little thing: he rebelled against it.

For years, Augustine rejected his mother’s faith in a “prodigal son” sort of fashion.  He cohabited with a woman, with whom he fathered an out-of-wedlock child. He became involved with a heretical cult, despite the objections of his mother. For years he lived a life of pure self-gratification, ignoring the pleas of his mother.   

Monica grieved her son’s choices, but she also pressed on. She prayed without ceasing, and she invited others to pray with her, including her church leaders.

Finally, when her son was thirty-one, Monica’s investment of prayers and tears yielded the harvest of his salvation: Augustine’s eyes were finally opened to the truth of the gospel.

And the rest is history.

Monica’s story, and the stories of so many others, remind us of the incredible influence of mothers. Not only do we contribute to the work of disciple-making, but we cultivate our children’s callings as well. Whether you are a biological mother, adoptive mother, or spiritual mother, you are helping to raise up the next gospel-centred generation, a responsibility you can uphold through these four practices:

1. Nurture your own faith – You cannot give your children something you do not possess, so spend time in God’s Word. Pray. Find a solid church community. Model faithfulness. Model service. Model humility. The Holy Spirit will cover our parenting when we fail, but our kids are watching to see if we really believe what we say, and they will know this from our lives.

2. Nurture the faith of your kids – Contrary to popular belief, the church will not be the biggest spiritual influence in the lives of your kids. Your church can and should be a major influence, but even if your kids are in the building every Sunday (or live-streaming on the web), your church cannot have the impact you have on a daily basis. As a parent, you are a frontline disciple-maker, so teach them Scripture, teach them prayer, and teach them what it looks like to follow Jesus in the big things and the small. Their journey to Jesus might not be a straight line, but be faithful in teaching them the gospel and let God handle the rest.

3. Steward your children’s gifts – One of the most powerful things a parent can do is to identify your child’s God-given gifts. Not the gifts you wish your child had, or even the gifts your child wishes they had, but their actual gifts. What gifts do you see in them, and how do you see God using them - even if they are still very young? Speak truth and vision over your children, not in the form of pressure but as encouragement. Help them to identify their specific role in God’s story.

4. Steward your own gifts – Be faithful in using the gifts that God has given you - for the eyes of your children are on you and they will learn from you. As a mumma you are a significant role model to your child, and this is a powerful form of influence. One of the most important ways we teach our kids to steward their gifts is by stewarding our own.

And finally, remember this: the work of the church is not passed on through the generations by a handful of visible leaders, but by a million different faithful people tending their sphere of influence. Each of us plays a major part in this work, raising up the next generation of disciples who not only know God’s truth, but who are living it out in the world. If you are a mother of any kind, then you are a leader, so wield your influence well.

"She is a partner with God. No being has a position of such power and influence. She holds in her hands the destiny of nations, for to her comes the responsibility and opportunity of moulding the nation's citizens." *

No pressure. Just privilege.

*same can definitely be said of fathers, but seeing as it is Mothers Day this week in Australia, I thought I'd keep it feminine...