Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Proverbs 6:20-23 My son, keep your father's commands and do not forsake your mother's teaching. Bind them upon your heart forever; fasten them around your neck. When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you. For these commands are a lamp, this teaching is a light, and the corrections of discipline are the way to life.
A BLESSING TO THE CHILD: MOTHER AS FIRST TEACHER
From the very beginning, a mother is a teacher.
When she cradles her newborn to feed him the first time, his schooling begins. The first lesson is love. It is followed by lessons in patience, diligence, self-sacrifice and duty. Later these lessons will be spoken, but at first mom simply teaches by example.
The subjects in a Christian mother's classroom vary widely. She teaches simple day-to-day things like tying your shoes and chewing with your mouth closed. But she also teaches the profound. Respect for others. Selflessness. Honesty.
A Christian mother's curriculum begins with the Bible. She wants her child to know and understand this world. But more than that, she wants her child to know and love the world's Creator. She wants her child to look in hope and trust to the Savior from sin that the Creator sent.
How many children have been held by their own mothers as they were baptized into the Kingdom of Christ? How many Bible story books opened by Mom? How many alarm clocks set so that her children will be there for Sunday School? How many Sunday School lessons taught by Mom herself? How many children have learned to trust the God of the Bible by watching Mom trust Him and communicate with Him?
Paul wrote the following to a young pastor named Timothy: "I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also" (2 Timothy 1:5 NIV).
Thank God for Christian mothers who teach.
