A mother's faith

“And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river’s brink.”

            You may recall this scene when Miriam, Moses’ sister, kept watch over the basket where the baby Moses was placed in order to protect him impending murder. First before we highlight Miriam’s heroic actions, can you imagine what it must have taken for Moses’ mother to place her son in a basket, not knowing whether he would be delivered? Trusting God for our children’s safety and redemption is not easy, especially in a culture that exalts itself against the knowledge of God on all fronts. Moses’ mother was a woman of faith and action. I find it interesting that there is no mention of Moses’ father. The text does not address him…so we cannot make any assumptions. What we do know is that God chose to highlight Moses’ mother. Why? Because a mother’s faith and actions are the most powerful redeeming influence upon our children’s lives. What about fathers? There are plenty of places in Scripture that speak to the  importance of a father’s role in this redemption process, especially Malachi 4:6 and Luke 1:17. But not enough can be said for a mother’s influence. I believe Paul speaks about this redeeming faith of a mother in I Timothy 2:15:  “Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and love and holiness with sobriety.” This verse speaks of a mother’s redemptive influence upon her children—“she shall be saved (delivered) in childbearing…”  In the same manner that Moses brought redemption to his own mother and an entire nation, so each mother has the same responsibility in the raising of their children…so that they too might bring about redemption to others…if they continue in faith, love, and sobriety.  A mother’s faith and influence is a very important part in the redemptive process of our Great God and Savior. Though Christ is our ultimate redemption, a mother’s faith may be the instrument that God uses to deliver a nation.