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“To be a mother is the greatest vocation in the world. No being has a position of such great power and influence.” —Hannah Whitall Smith
A mother’s power impacts her children while she is alive, and a mother’s influence continues to empower them after she is gone. Other than Jesus Himself, I’m not sure who has a greater influence than a God-fearing mother.
A mother’s influence is seen in her children.
Paul was a prolific evangelist and letter writer. His letters make up a huge part of the New Testament of the Bible. Much of his travel and his letters were thanks to a faithful traveling companion named Timothy.
- Paul’s very last letter was written to Timothy, in which he called him my dear son (2 Timothy 1:2)
- Paul met him in Lystra where Timothy was well spoken of (Acts 16:1-2)
- Paul knew the anointing that was on Timothy (2 Timothy 1:6; 1 Timothy 1:18)
- Timothy stepped right into the fire of ministry—persecution in Philippi and Thessalonica; then he followed Paul to Corinth (Acts 18:1-5)
- Timothy was entrusted to deliver valuable letters and answer questions (1 Corinthians 4:17, 16:10-11; Philippians 2:19-23; 1 Thessalonians 2:18—3:6)
- In his first pastoral epistle, we see that Paul commissioned Timothy to pastor in Ephesus (a challenging place), and he reminds Timothy that he is my true son (1 Timothy 1:2)
(Check out all of the Scriptures in this post by clicking here.)
Paul knows that this godly man, this trusted friend, this faithful companion is a product of the power and influence of his mother, who in her turn was influence by her mother (2 Timothy 1:5).
There is very little mention of Timothy’s father, other than he was a Greek. That could mean he was of Greek nationality or that he was a Gentile. We know Gentiles were looking for Jesus (John 12:20-21) and were turning to Jesus (Acts 14:1), but it would seem this wasn’t the case for Timothy’s dad, since neither Luke nor Paul mention him by name.
The fact that we don’t know his name may means that he passed away or he may have been uninvolved in Timothy’s upbringing. We can at least tell that his father—who had the right to name his children—was hoping for great things from his son. The name Timotheus means honoring God.
The main influence in Timotheus’ life was his mother and grandmother. Already he was known as a disciple. Recall that Luke seldom used the word “Christian” but usually called the followers of Jesus saints, believers, and disciples. We also read that the fellow brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him (Acts 16:2).
Paul says this is because Lois (mimi) and Eunice (mama) had a sincere faith (2 Timothy 1:5), which literally means “without any hypocrisy.” Andrew Murray wrote, “Your motherhood is in God’s sight holier and more blessed than you realize.” This was in a time before the Church was very well established, so there were very few supports around them; certainly Timothy’s father wasn’t a supporter.
Timothy felt this impact just as King David did (Psalm 86:16). Paul tells Timothy to follow my example (v. 13-14) and follow the example of your godly mother and grandmother (v. 5).
Mothers and grandmothers, keep the faith!
Your life has power and it has influence. Charles Spurgeon said, “The devil never reckons a man to be lost so long as he has a good mother alive. O woman, great is thy power!”
Great, indeed, is your power, Mom! Don’t give up, don’t give in to despair.
I hope you get to see your power and your influence in your lifetime, but even if you don’t, be assured that your influence will outlive you—I am persuaded [the faith of your mother] now lives in you also!
Kids, today would be an especially good day to let your mother and grandmother know the positive influence they have had on your life. Trust me: nothing would make their day more than hearing those words from you!
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Craig T. Owens 