Faith from Mama 2 Timothy 1:1-10

“For I am reminded of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well” (2 Tim. 1:5, NASB).

Mother’s Day 2020 will be quite different for my family and for our church family. Once again, we have to alter our usual activities because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our family will not treat mom to dinner at the restaurant of her choice. Our daughter will come over to the house for Mother’s Day dinner, but we will not sit down in a restaurant for a meal. Instead, we will order a take-out meal and eat at home.

Our church traditionally has made celebrating mothers in some special manner. Perhaps the children will give the mothers in the church a small token, and children and their mothers come to the altar together for prayer. This year there is going to be a drive by to those women that serve on the Mother’s Board (an auxiliary) in the church. Members are invited to join a caravan to drive by mothers home to celebrate them. There will not be hugs and kisses for the mothers. Those riding in the caravan will don masks, and they will stay in their cars as they drive by each mother’s house. What a difference Mother’s Day 2020 will be.

Although procedures and activities will change because of the coronavirus, there is one thing that will not change in my life. I have faith in God. I continue to trust in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Situations change, but Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. I take precautions to protect my wife and myself because I believe in the Lord, and I believe in the science. Did I discover my faith because of the crisis that we are faced with? Is faith something that we can grab hold to when we discover that we are facing a difficult situation in our life? I will not attempt to answer these questions here. You can ponder them for yourself. I will say that the faith that I have is a gift from my mother. This reminds me of the scripture passage above.

The book of Second Timothy is a letter written by the apostle Paul and sent to his protégé Timothy. Timothy, it seems, is a young pastor facing opposition in the church. The text implies that Timothy may be a mild mannered person. The opposition is not very nice; no humility and no meekness in this crowd. Now, Paul does not advise Timothy to develop a strategy to give him an advantage in the confrontation. The advice is that he simply remembers the faith that is in him. This faith comes to him from his grandmother and his mother. Because of his faith, God has given him the gift of the Holy Spirit. Timothy is not to face his opposition restricted by his timid personality. Rather, the Spirit will give him boldness to confront the opposition by the power and wisdom of God.

In this article I want to emphasize the faith of Timothy’s grandmother and mother. You see, Timothy has faith, and his faith is nothing new. Paul reminds Timothy that he comes from a family of faith. What is Paul talking about? Well, we learn in Acts 16:1-3 that Paul meets Timothy. His mother is a Jewish woman and his father is Greek. We are given no details of the relationship between this Jewish woman and this Greek man. We do know that Timothy was well spoken of by the brethren who were in Lystra and Iconium” (Acts 16:2). Regardless of the relationship between Timothy’s mother and father, Timothy’s grandmother and mother brought him up in the faith of the church.

Now, there are two ways that we can look at faith. First, we can look at faith subjectively. This means that we simply believe in something or someone. There are many people that believe in God. They believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus died on the cross to save men from the penalty of sin. However, subjective faith alone will not help us very much when we are faced with a crisis.

The second way that we can look at faith is objectively. This means that we live life according to certain standards, values, morals, and ethics. Faith is not defined by what we say. Rather, faith is defined by what we do. We need to know this because there are a lot of Christians that are emotionally charged by the name of Jesus. Yet, this subjective faith has no effect on how they live. Life goes on as usual until there is a sense of need for a higher power. Paul is advising Timothy to respond to the crisis that he is facing by following the faith, the examples, that he has learned from his grandmother and his mother. In like manner, I celebrate this Mother’s Day blessed with both the subjective faith and the objective faith of my mother. Let me give a brief account.

When I am born, I live in a home in which my father, my mother, and my eleven older brothers and sisters frequently talk about God. Everyone believes in God. They know that Jesus is our savior. It is my mother that sets the tone in the home that defines for us, the children, how we are to live out our faith in God. My daddy works all day in the fields while my mama takes care of the little children. So, when I am old enough to go to the fields and work with my dad, I discover how my mother’s teaching looks in the larger world. My mother’s faith that she passed on to me looked like this:

First, there is God. He is alive and active in the world. We do not always know what God is up to; what God is doing in particular situations; and even the circumstances in our personal lives. Mama teaches us that God does what God wants to do. We cannot dictate to God, and we do not have the power to change anything that God decides to do. We are at God’s mercy when we do wrong. We don’t have very much, but the little that we have comes to us from the grace of God. God loves us and He is looking out for us all the time. Therefore, we yield to God’s will for our lives, and we follow His commandments. How can we know God’s commandments and His will for our lives?

My mother is well versed in the Scriptures. She comes from a family of faith. Her mother and father are leaders in the church. The Bible is important in the family. When I am growing up my mama has two brothers that are pastors. I remember my mama and her sister and their sister-in-laws, wives of pastors, sitting on the porch discussing and arguing about what the bible says and what the bible means. These discussions never lead to hostilities. Instead, everyone is feeling good even if they do not always agree and come to the same conclusions. You see, these discussions do not affect their subjective faith. These discussions are for the purpose of clarifying their objective faith. How should they live their lives day to day in various situations?

A second way that mama passed her faith to the children is to stress the importance of the bible. Mama is always saying to us: “the bible says.” Now, let us be clear. I have said above that my mama, her sister, and their sisters-in-laws discussed the meaning of the scriptures. The bible is not God, but the scriptures are written to inform of us of the mind of God. It is to be used to guide our lives according to the will of God.

In like manner, in his second letter to Timothy Paul reminds Timothy that he will face opposition from “evil men and imposters” (3:11). Then Paul gives Timothy these instructions. “You, however, continue in the things that you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (3:14-17, NASB).

Paul reminds Timothy that he already knows the Scriptures because he has been in the process of learning them from childhood. I too, learn from my mother the scriptures. “The bible says,” I so often hear her say. The bible is not just a book that the preacher reads from on Sunday morning when it is time for the sermon. Rather, the bible tells us how we are to live out our faith in God every day and in every endeavor of our life. The bible is not God. We do not worship the bible. The bible points us to God. Jesus reminds the Pharisees that their knowledge of the scriptures is useless if they do not point the way to God. Jesus says to these religious leaders, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life” Jn. 5:39-40, NASB). Yes, the advice that Paul gives to Timothy looks like a twin of the teaching that I receive from my mama.

The third thing that mama taught me was that knowledge is of no value if I do not possess the wisdom to use knowledge constructively in ways that are beneficial in my life. The wisdom that mama talks about comes from God. First, we must have the knowledge of God. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Prov. 1:7, NASB). Further, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Prov. 9:10, NASB).

I will celebrate this Mother’s Day. I received a gift from my mama, and I seek to return to her a gift every day of my life. I return to my mother the positive effects that her life and teachings has upon my life. I respect the COVID-19 pandemic, but I depend on my faith to see me though all the days of my life.