Women as Mothers : Part 1
Titus 2:3-5
Years ago, I worked with a man who had been a “pattern maker” in a foundry. His job was to construct a model made of wood in the shape of the finished casting. The pattern was then placed in a box and sand was packed tightly around it. Then the pattern was carefully removed, leaving its form in the sand. The molten metal poured into the mold took the form of the pattern.
The use of wooden patterns in the foundry died out as newer forms of mold making came into existence. The demand for patternmakers is long gone. As long-established processes change, there are always those who are caught on the downside.
Changes in manufacturing and services occur more rapidly today than ever before. The vast majority of changes are good, even though they’re painful to those whose jobs are eliminated. But these rapid changes have led our culture, and sadly, the church, to view long established biblical patterns as “out of date” in our society. They’ve been carelessly discarded as “new” patterns, fashioned from the religion of humanism, have taken their place. We’ve had several decades to observe the impact of rejecting biblical patterns and the results are not good.
The principles God has given us in His Word are universal and timeless. While the applications of those principles may change, the principles themselves are relevant in every generation. The joy and beauty of motherhood is one of those biblical principles rejected by many in our postmodern culture. And yet, God’s design persists. I want us, and especially those of us who are professing Christians, to reexamine the biblical commands that guide our understanding and practice of this most important of roles. We believe and teach that God’s Word gives us the pattern for “Women as Mothers.”
As we consider this subject, I invite you to turn in your Bible to Titus 2:1-5.
Notice that our text begins with Paul’s instruction to Titus to provide wholesome, truthful instruction. If there was ever a need for an honest and balanced teaching of the Scriptures, it’s today. This chapter includes instruction for several specific groups of people within the body of Christ, the church. We will focus specifically on those parts that speak to motherhood and by God’s grace will attempt to provide wholesome, truthful instruction that will help you understand and follow the pattern of “Women as Mothers.”
In this text we’ll look at three PARTS that make up the Biblical pattern for “Women as Mothers.”
The first PART of the Pattern is,
Providentially Assigned
Notice that God has assigned the “older women” to be teachers and mentors to the younger women, and especially to younger mothers. So, I speak first of all to those mothers who’ve raised their families, or those who are significantly farther along in the process.
I see something happening in many local churches that concerns me. Interaction between the various age groups is becoming more limited, often by design. Many congregations have age segregated Sunday School classes; older women who are mothers in one class, and young mothers in another. That’s only one forum where this mentoring relationship can take place, but it is an important one. Many churches have programs for teens, for young mothers, for singles, and for retirees, but very little interaction between the various age groups. If there is little or no interaction how can this biblical command for mentoring take place?
In regard to this part of the pattern, Philip Towner writes: “”We have bought into the notion that older people have had their day of usefulness and ought to make way for the young. But the principle here (in our text) is quite the opposite. With age and experience come wisdom. Many older women have discovered secrets of godly living i...
