Here’s another opportunity from Ezer’s Handbook —
#6: Mentor the Vocation of Motherhood
The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living (Genesis 3:20).
Take a stand for life. Satan wanted woman to be the mother of death, but Adam named his wife “Eve” (Hebrew: chawwah, “life”) because she would be the mother of all the living. With this name, Adam expressed hope for the future through new life and, most importantly, through the promised Seed of the woman: Jesus Christ. How does God help us understand “choice” in Deuteronomy 30:19-20? Regardless of our choices in the past, what can we choose to do now? How does being pro-life affect the way we see ourselves and others? On Mother’s Day, celebrate the noble vocation of motherhood with a thank you to mothers and grandmothers. Pray for those who longed to be mothers but lost a child through miscarriage or stillbirth. Remember the mothers who chose abortion because they feared motherhood, that they might know the mercy of Jesus’ forgiveness and hope for new beginnings.
Trust God’s Word. A woman is, by God’s design, a “helper”. This is her first vocation. God equips wives and mothers to help men be good stewards, grow children in faith, defend human life, and serve neighbors. In what ways does a woman connect fathers to children? Raise standards of behavior? Nurture moral character? Encourage husbands and children to stand against evil? Write your vocational job description on a notecard and keep it by your bed or above the kitchen sink.
Create a peaceful “nest” for your family and guests. God’s Word in Isaiah 32:18 tells us, “My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.” The world is loud, selfish, rude, stressful, violent and disorderly. When your family and guests come in the door, welcome them to a different environment. A man should strive to bring order to his household, but the woman creates the “nest”. A mom doesn’t have to be a “super woman”, but she can keep her home clean, hospitable, peaceful, and Spirit-filled. Little things can help, such as: the music of teachable hymns, a scented candle, the table set and ready to receive the family, the Cross of Christ the Savior somewhere visible, personal composure, carefully spoken words, the practice of kindness, respect for “house rules”, limited TV and computer time, establishment of family traditions, and intentionally scheduled family time.
Invite your pastor to bless your home. Ask a few Christian friends to join you, your family and pastor for a “house blessing”. Join in prayer and God’s Word. Invite the Holy Spirit to live in your home and to fill it with truth, compassion, and faithfulness. Pray that God’s holy angels stand guard and resist evil.
Start a Titus 2 mother’s group. Be sure to include younger and older women. It is easy for young women to think that motherhood is different today than in the past. While it is true that work outside the home and modern trends may contrast the way “things used to be”, children themselves have not changed. They require discipline, boundaries, and the mentoring of agape love in order to grow in faith and face the challenges of a sin-filled world.
Incorporate Titus 2 mentoring into scrapbooking. While hands are busy preserving memories of children and families, resist idle gossip and, instead, keep conversations focused on all things good, right, positive and hopeful. Before you meet, invite everyone to read, for example, Lies Women Believe by Nancy Leigh DeMoss (Amazon) or Where’s Mom? (The High Calling of Wife and Mother in Biblical Perspective) by Dorothy Patterson (CBMW). Discuss the concepts of the books while working. Consider the resources found at Titus 2 for Life.
Encourage the single moms in your congregation and community. One suggestion is to order copies of Not Alone, a devotional booklet I wrote for single moms (#LFL901B—$2, Concordia Publishing House). Deliver one tied to a small flower bouquet or tucked in with a freezer-ready meal that you’ve prepared for her convenience.
Offer comfort to women who have lost a child to miscarriage or stillbirth. Sometimes, words of comfort and compassion fail us. I wrote Into His Loving Care after a pastor asked me if I would compose a devotional for parents who mourn the loss of their child to miscarriage or stillbirth (#LFL902 – $2, Concordia Publishing House). I admit to being surprised by the response. Often, when traveling the country, someone will approach me to explain that they received a copy from a friend or family member. “God’s Word comforted me,” said one mom, “even as I was reminded to entrust my child into the Savior’s loving care.”
Evaluate what comes into your home. Do the websites you view and the magazines and movies you bring into your home encourage or discourage the vocation of motherhood? From where does your help come? “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ” (Colossians 2:8).
Next? #7: Mentor in the Midst of Opposition
Ezer’s Handbook is a resource developed by
Linda Bartlett and presented at Titus 2 Retreats.
Don’t Mingle, “Dig In”
Posted in Commentaries of others, Culture Shifts, Faith & Practice, Life issues, tagged " conform, " vulnerability, chaos, church, God's Word, hope and change, influence, Jesus Christ, kindness, lifestyle, nation, order, PC, political correctness, public opinion, silly myths, The Life, The Truth, The Way, world on October 30, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Andree Seu, writing in WORLD (11-6-10), paraphrases comments made to her by Virginia Rep. Frank Wolf. With both hands about shoulder-level, roughly 12-inches apart, Rep Wolf explained to Seu that we have “the church” here and “the other world” here. He posited that this is always a constant distance of separation. Seu writes,
“Where the thing gets scary, explained Wolf, is that as the world moves toward greater immorality, the church continues to keep the same distance from it. That is to say, the church is sliding into debauchery along with the world, just at a slower rate. What is important to note is that this slippage from God is not so easily detected because the gap between church and world remains the same, and so we seem, to ourselves, to be doing OK.”
In the first session of my Titus 2 Retreat, “We Are Vulnerable,” I ask the group to give examples of “silly myths” that lead to “social experiments.” Believing “silly myths” (i.e. abortion is a woman’s right or two women who love each other should be able to marry) inevitably leads to social experimentation. Such experimentation is actually tampering with God’s design. This is never good for a people who want to imagine beyond themselves to new generations. God’s design brings order and new life. Experimenting with His design brings chaos and death.
We are vulnerable, I explain during a Titus 2 Retreat, when we profess Jesus Christ as our Lord but wrap Him around silly myths and social experiments. There is a saying: “We become like the company we keep.” We become like the world — even though we think we’re keeping a distance — when we begin to mingle (just a little here or a little there). When we let worldly ideas of spirituality, worship, the roles of men and women, marriage, family, and children weave into Christianity, we’re in trouble. Truth does not embrace or wrap around worldly ideas. Truth and the world are opposites. A lesson from history gives some clarity.
In the Old Testament book of Ezra, we learn that the king of Persia was going to allow the Jewish people to return to Jerusalem. They had been exiles and captives for a long time. It’s important to note that only a small number of Jewish exiles wanted to return to their homeland. Most were unwilling to give up their Babylonian property or lifestyle to go back to their old ways. So, because there was such a small group of workers, the rebuilding of Jerusalem became more difficult. There were people in the area who offered their help. Those people didn’t believe in God and held to a blend of mixed religious beliefs. It goes without saying that they had motives of their own. The Jewish people refused the offer of help with their building project. Why? 1) The task was given exclusively to God’s people; 2) accepting help from non-believers would obligate God’s people to pagan ways; and 3) the potential for corruption in worship was too great if God’s people became aligned with non-believers. (Ezra 4:3)
A Christian, wanting to be progressive, might think: If I embrace the best parts of a worldly idea, I will be able to move forward the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a modern way. But, too often, moral-influence flows the opposite direction. God knows that. Therefore, He says: Don’t mingle; dig in. Dig in to the One Who is not of this world (John 18:36). Jesus says, “I am the Light.” The world is dark (John 1:4-5). “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). The world is deceptive and leads to death (John 10:10). “My peace I give you.” The world offers no such peace. (John 14:27) For this reason, St. Paul was inspired to write in Romans 12:2:
Don’t mingle. Dig in.
To mingle with the world is to walk on shifting sand. For awhile, public opinion might lean one way; then, depending upon anything from the economy to a national crisis, public opinion can suddenly shift the opposite direction. Andree Seu explains that there is “a little thing called the ‘Overton Window.’ It is the term for an insight by a Joseph P. Overton that at any given point in the stream of a population’s public life there is a ‘window’ that contains or frames a range of opinion that is currently acceptable. Outside that window lie the ideas considered wacko. The intriguing thing is that what is ‘acceptable’ and what is ‘wacko’ can (and does) shift. The window itself moves — and clever and diabolical forces have an interest in moving it.”
What was “radical” yesterday is “acceptable” today. The unthinkable, notes Andree Seu, can go from “popular” to “policy.” Remember. Ideas like abortion, homosexual “marriage,” and euthanasia used to lurk in the shadows of the American landscape. Not anymore.
I’m an ezer woman who lives in a culture where “evil” is called “good.” For this reason, I’m compelled to dig heels into the foundation of God’s Word but, at the same time, push forward with weapons of truth. As ideas and behaviors spiral downward, the one who follows Jesus is called to be intentionally polite. Kind. Pure. This will irritate some and be seen as naive by others. But, for a neighbor caught momentarily in darkness, the light may shine more brightly. The Word of Truth, kindly spoken, pulls from shifting sand to solid ground.
There is a model for those who no longer want to mingle but, instead, dig in. Curious? I invite you to explore Titus 2 for Life.
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