From Part 1 … “But whenever I start feeling this way – discouraged, overwhelmed, in tears, gripped with worry, I remember His words… My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness. And so, this message is as much for you as it is for me.
The Lord wants us to BE ENCOURAGED to see Motherhood as a Ministry.
BE ENCOURAGED to see motherhood as a ministry
I spoke about this at length at last year’s Mothers’ Day sharing, Motherhood is a Ministry. I like the quote from Charles Spurgeon on the right. Motherhood IS a Ministry, an assignment from God that has no end! Remember, we cannot quit being mothers! And we can’t take a 6-month sabbatical from it either! We are only released from this ministry when the Lord calls us back home. It is a ministry that has eternal souls at stake! Motherhood is not to be farmed out or out-sourced. Motherhood is a ministry to be taken up with pride and honour. It is not just something that happens to you because you were intimate with your husband. It is much more than that.
But …
A mindset change
We need a mindset change to view motherhood as a ministry. Serving at home, sharing the gospel to our own children, discipling them, modelling for them the love of Christ. These are all part of the ministry of motherhood. Yes, it a serious call. And as with all ministry work the Lord calls us to, it is as much for us, the minister, as it is for the people we are ministering to. And in this ministry especially, you can’t ever fake your faith the way one can (although one shouldn’t!) with a ministry that happens out of the home.
Our faith – up close and personal
Our children see our faith up close and personal. Do we say one thing but do another? Do we walk the talk? They see our every hypocritical act performed, and word spoken.
Scary… But, this is all good! Yes, it may not seem so while we are being called out by our children and having to deal with our sinful selves. But isn’t better to have our weaknesses, sinful nature, and hypocrisy revealed now? Then we can turn to the Lord for help and in repentance. Rather than fake it and have nothing to say when we finally stand in front of Jesus on the final Day?
And, in being confronted by our children, we can tell them – yes, truly all have fallen short of the glory of God. This is why we all need Jesus! Point them to Jesus. Don’t ever put ourselves on pedestals and give the impression that we have it all and know it all. Because we sure don’t and we will surely fall off our self-made pedestals.
A reminder
Motherhood is a very important ministry!
A reminder: don’t be too busy serving out of the home and forget your Primary Ministry to your own children. Be careful of farming out your own children too often and too much in order to serve other people or their children.
What else does the Lord want us to be encouraged in?
…To be continued next week!…
Some questions to ponder this week :
- Do you see motherhood as a ministry?
- Do you serve in an outside ministry or did you stop once you became a mother?
- Do you feel guilty that you are not as active (physically, socially) now that you are a mother?
Links and posts referenced in this post
The full series of Be Encouraged
- Part 1 – Be Encouraged: Introduction
- Part 2 – Be Encouraged to see motherhood as a ministry
- Part 3 – Be Encouraged to see our children as blessings
- Part 4 – Be Encouraged to fix our eyes on Jesus
- Part 5 – Be Encouraged, not afraid
- Part 6 – Be Encouraged while living out the daily grind of life
- Part 7 – Be Encouraged to know that He is the God-Who-Sees
- Part 8 – Be Encouraged and embrace motherhood wholeheartedly