by Pastor Patrick Cho

This past Sunday (on 5/12) we celebrated Mother’s Day at LBC and took some time away from the Book of James to study Paul’s remarkable statement in 1 Timothy 2:15, “Yet she will be saved through childbearing – if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.” Paul’s point is to direct his readers’ attention to God’s amazing grace towards women by providing a means for them to have great dignity and honor. This “salvation” was granted because of the indignity that resulted through Eve’s deception when she became a transgressor. God’s highest calling for a woman is for her to serve her family – to be a helper for her husband and instrumentally to raise up the next generation in the Lord. This is given for her good and as a blessing.

I’m afraid that the more time passes, the more our culture will drift further from the loving counsel of God’s Word. Such a message about a woman’s high calling sounds antiquated and even barbaric to contemporary ears. Popular culture scoffs at the idea that a woman’s highest calling is to be in the home caring for her family. If God was a loving God who cared for men and women equally, wouldn’t He give to both genders complete equality, not only in value but also in function? The answer to that question is obviously no. The Word of God was written as God’s loving counsel to men. The instructions He has given to bring order to the home and church are driven from the fact that He is a God of love, and yet gender role distinctions are clear from what we read in the Bible.

Certainly it is challenging to go against the grain of contemporary thought and even to be mocked by the masses for holding to such a seemingly outdated concept. The rest of society believes it has promoted justice by rejecting God’s plan for men and women, but how is going against the God of justice promoting true justice? Perhaps the reason these principles are difficult is not so much because of God but because of our own hearts. Rather than trusting that God’s sovereign plan is best for us, we would rather challenge Him and hold to our own belief of what is best.

The church should rise up in celebrating God’s roles for men and women. We ought to celebrate our differences and glory in the roles and work to which God has called us. This is not just the “Lighthouse way.” It is so frustrating to hear people reduce it to that. “So-and-so is only a stay at home mom because that’s the way Lighthouse is.” How unfair and belittling this opinion is when a mother is seeking to devote herself to the Lord and be a God-honoring mom, and others believe it is simply to conform to an institution. This isn’t Lighthouse’s way. It’s God’s.

Some have asked about single moms. How do these principles apply in their unique contexts? I agree that the context is unique and challenging. In the plans and purposes of God and because of the fallen nature of man, some God-fearing women are put in the position to raise their children on their own. In some ways, they are asked to serve as both mother and father. Of course this necessitates that these moms find work outside the home. But I also believe it places a greater responsibility and obligation upon the church to care for these ladies. God has graciously given us a church family where we can mutually encourage and serve one another, and in the absence of a father the rest of the church family can help to fill that void in a child’s life. Praise God that single moms are not abandoned by God and left to fend for themselves (cf. Mark 10:29-30). At the very least, the members of the church ought to pray for our single moms that the Lord would strengthen them to persevere through the difficulties of being a single parent.

I’ve already heard that this past Sunday’s sermon has sparked some helpful conversations and challenging meditation. I praise God for that. He is a good God who knows what is best for us. Let’s continue to lean on His wisdom to direct us and guide us and trust that His understanding, goodness, and justice far exceeds ours. And in light of Mother’s Day, thank you to the moms of Lighthouse Bible Church who strive for excellence in raising up the next generation to love and fear the Lord.