The Influence of Godly Mothers

II Timothy 1:3-5
3 I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day;

4 Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy;

5 When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.

II Timothy 3:14-17
14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;

15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

One of the greatest blessings anyone can receive in this life is to have a godly mother. In this passage we see that Timothy was blessed not only with a godly mother, but also a godly grandmother. These two women were instrumental in laying the foundation for Timothy's faith by teaching him the truth of the scriptures from an early age. It was because of the deep faith of Lois and Eunice, and their willingness to train him up in his childhood that Timothy was able to become the great man of faith that he was.

II Timothy 1:5 refers to the faith of Lois and Eunice as "unfeigned." They had a real, no nonsense, 24/7/365 kind of faith. Their faith wasn't the kind that just gets put on when you get to church or have the preacher over for dinner. They lived it in every fiber of their being, and therefore Timothy grew up seeing true faith in action. It was just the normal way to be for him. They didn't just tell him about Jesus; they showed him Jesus in themselves.

Lois and Eunice not only set a great example for Timothy, but also for all mothers who have come after them. They were only able to pass an unfeigned faith along to Timothy because that was what they had. If they had been hypocrites who only used faith as a mask around certain people, that's what they would have passed along to him. You cannot give what you do not have. They were able to give Timothy a deep knowledge of scripture and devotion to studying and learning more of it because that's how they were. Children learn from and pattern their lives after their parents, and in their early formative years they primarily learn from their mothers.

II Timothy 3:15 says, "from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." Children need to learn about the loving nature of God, but they also need to learn about His righteous judgment. They need to be taught from an early age about sin and its consequences, and about the love that Jesus has for them and how He paid the full price for them so that they could be with Him. They need to be made to understand why Christ died on the cross and how He is the only means of salvation. They need to learn of the people in the Bible who made mistakes, but were forgiven when they repented before God. They need to know that even when they mess up they are still loved and that things can be made right again, no matter how bad they think things are. There is no better teacher in a child's life than a godly mother.

Proverbs 31:28
Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.