In looking at past posts, I’ve noticed several people go to this post about mothers. I’m glad you are interested and thought I’d reprint it here, the day after Thanksgiving 2017. What do Moms have to do with Thanksgiving? A lot! My mother was the greatest influence of my life. I remember Thanksgivings at her house, all the family gathered around. No, this isn’t Mother’s Day, but every day we should remember the love of our mothers and send a prayer to God of thankfulness for that lady around whom a child’s world turns.
Speaking of Moms and their influence, have you ever wondered about the outstanding people of the Bible and why they were so? I realize that God had His hand on them, for His purposes but I wonder in doing so, if God may have given them a particular mother. The first person I thought of was King David’s mother. When I looked her up, I found that her name was Nitzevet. In digging deeper, Nitzevet had quite a history. Interesting. It is my own opinion that David’s mother may have exerted a great influence over her son. We talked about King David yesterday in Sunday School. He was a poet, a musician, a shepherd, a warrior, and a king. David made some mighty big errors in his lifetime but he repented genuinely and was a “man after God’s own heart.” He was also the ancestor of Jesus.
The Bible names many remarkable mothers; among them are Hannah, Naomi, Rebecca, Sarah, Ruth, Elizabeth, and the mother of our Lord Jesus, Mary. Women play important roles in the Bible and mothers have positions of influence and honor. In reading the history of the Israelites, after King Solomon, many of the kings were weak or just plain evil and the country went downhill. However, here and there a godly king would ascend to the throne and the nation would, once again, prosper. I’ve wondered about those godly kings, if perhaps their mothers worshiped the one true God and if their influence was the reason their sons were great men.
The influence of godly mothers in no way diminishes the importance of fathers. The father’s role as head of the home, the protector and breadwinner, the spiritual leader is vital to a stable home. But mothers–well, their importance to children cannot be overstated. I believe their unconditional love, their care and concern for their children, their role in guiding small feet along the right pathway, is a picture of God’s own love. In the words of William Ross Wallace, “The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.”
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