What is a Mother?

  The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines a mother as “the female parent.” For most of us, the word mother has warm connotations, but for others, even the very word proves sexism and oppression. But what should women of faith think of when they hear the word mother? There was a time when the answer to that question was a no-brainer, but that time is long gone. Now, even we young mothers who want to fulfill our God-ordained roles have a hard time figuring out how to be a mother in a mother-less world.

 A mother gives life and sustains life (Eve was the mother of all living.). A mother isn’t a machine for making new humans; after the baby is born, she continues to sustain life, providing for the child’s most basic needs. We see Hannah bringing Samuel his yearly sweater and the Prov. 31 mother sewing warm clothes and bringing in a variety of foods from far away places. In the New Testament, Mary and Martha prepared meals and widows were commended for washing the feet of saints. And on that third day after Jesus’ death, who came to see that the body was tended to? And though our Lord gives the more public jobs to men—apostles, prophets, pastors, God treasures a mother’s role: when you fed and clothed the least of them, did you not do it unto the Lord Himself?

A mother is a teacher. The two cannot be separated, for even if you do not thoughtfully teach, you’re teaching something. God’s people were commanded to teach the law constantly to their children, and the book of Proverbs gives great weight to mother’s teaching. Timothy, Paul’s prodigy, was instructed by his mother and grandmother. Another Timothy, the grandson of Jonathan Edwards was educated by his mother, Mary. Timothy Dwight remarked, “All that I am and all that I shall be, I owe to my mother.”

A mother is a disciplinarian. She is not a sentimental softie. Biblical love is more than a feeling, and sentimental attachment that prevents discipline is, in essence, Biblical hatred. If your heart keeps you from discipline, then you have set your heart on your child’s destruction. A mother’s home is a place of constant love and comfort—discipline keeps it this way. An undisciplined home drains the home of peace and comfort.

A mother is a helper to the father and to the male leadership of the church. Just as the wife’s careful management of the home allows the husband to “sit in the gates,” women in the church free the men to give their time to study and leadership. Days Inn and the Olive Garden help alleviate the burdens of hospitality, but our modern conveniences can rob us of great blessing.

A mother creates godly culture. That much longed-for community, starkly missing in our society, begins at home. A hot breakfast, clean clothes, a fresh bed. A real home gives us security and stability. Throw in bedtime stories, family traditions, and continual words of blessing from mom and dad, and we might be able to eliminate the self-help section at Barnes & Noble. This home community spills over into the church and provides love and stability for those less fortunate.

A true mother is worthy of great respect. It didn’t have to be that way, you know. God could have made us a “little lower” than the men, but we are co-heirs of the grace of life and our stations have been deemed respectable. Many have proclaimed God’s truth, organized His armies, gone to His mission field, but Mary is most blessed among all women, for she was the mother of God.