The Length Of Faith

The Length of Faith's Shadow 2 Timothy 1:5-7 Cascades Fellowship CRC, JX MI May 11, 2003 Mother's Day It is said that an angel strolled out of heaven one beautiful day and found his way to this old world. He roamed through field and city beholding the varied scenes of nature and art, and just at sunset he plumed his golden wings and said, “I must return to the world of light; shall I not take with me some mementos of my visit here? “How beautiful and fragrant those flowers are! I will pluck of them a choice bouquet.” Passing a country home where he saw through the open door a rosy, little crib into its mother’s face, he said, “The smile of that baby is prettier than these roses; I will take that too.” Just then he looked beyond the cradle and saw a devout mother pouring out her love like the gush of a perpetual fountain, as she stopped to kiss “Good-night” her precious baby. “Oh,” said he, “that mother’s love is the prettiest thing I have seen in all the world; I will take that too!” With these three treasures he winged his way toward the pearly gates, but just before entering he decided to examine his mementos, and to his astonishment the flowers had withered until they were no longer things of beauty, the baby’s smile had changed into a frown, but the mother’s love retained all its pristine beauty and fragrance. He threw aside the withered roses and the departed smile, and, passing through the gates, was welcomed by the hosts of heaven that gathered about him to see what he had. “Here,” said he, “is the only thing I found on earth that would retain its fragrance and beauty all the way to heaven. The sweetest thing in all the world is a mother’s love.”

A rather fanciful story, but it illustrates an incredible truth for us this morning. There are few things as lasting or as influential in the life of a person than their relationship with their mother. Much of our understanding concerning human behavior is predicated on this foundational truth. For good or ill – and all too often today we hear the stories of how for ill – our relationship with our mothers influences the way we think, the life we pursue, the people we become. As we are all aware of – and if you are not, woe be onto you! – today is Mother's Day. The day that as a culture we set aside to honor mothers for the huge impact that they have on our lives. And for most of us today, we give our Creator thanks and praise for the wisdom, grace and love he demonstrated by giving mothers. In keeping with such thanksgiving, this morning we look at a passage that gives us some indication of just how powerful a mother's presence can be. In 2 Timothy 1:5-7 Paul is writing to his young protégé, Timothy. Many call this epistle Paul's "swan song." For Paul, the writing is on the wall and he has recognized that the only reason he will ever be released from prison is to be executed. So he writes to Timothy this final letter to encourage and instruct him on how he is to continue in the faith. Paul begins this encouragement by reminding Timothy about the gift of faith he has received. Look with me at v. 5 of our text. I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. At first blush, Paul's passing reference to Timothy's pedigree of faith comes across as inconsequential. It's nice – I mean, a son who takes up the mantle of faith from his

mother – that's a good plot line; makes for great reading. But I don't think that's why Paul included it here. To really grasp the impact of this lineage of faith we have to take a closer look at the people involved. You see, if you just looked at Timothy's biological lineage the notion that he would grow up to be a man of faith is anything but certain. Timothy grew up torn between two worlds – Greek and Jew. His father was a Greek, and by all accounts was not a man of faith – at least not a man of the true faith. It is thought that he was not even a God-fearer – a Greek who believed in the one true God but did not take the sign of the covenant, circumcision. So his influence in the life of his son could have easily had led him away from embracing faith in the One, True God. But Timothy's mother was a Jew. A Jew who embraced the teachings of her people, the authority of the Scriptures and the reality of living in relationship to God. She, by all accounts was firm in her faith – or at least became so as she matured. One must always ask how a Jew, firm in faith, could marry a Gentile – but we are not given that answer in the Scriptures. Nonetheless, Eunice apparently put forth a great deal of energy teaching her son Timothy about the life and faith of her people. In her endeavors she had an ally, her own mother Lois. And later in life, when Eunice and Lois heard the gospel and received Christ as the Messiah of their people and the Lord of life, they passed on this faith to Timothy as well. A young man who could have easily fallen under the influence of the dominate culture of his day – a pluralistic, Greek culture – grew into a faith in Christ because of the unwavering influence of his mother and grandmother.

Now consider for a moment the importance of the testimony of faith Timothy received from his mother and grandmother. In his encouragement Paul says that he sees in Timothy that same faith he witnessed in them. A faith spawned in the dots and tittles of the Old Testament. A faith founded on the covenant. And even though Lois failed to live fully in covenant faithfulness – remember that she did not have Timothy circumcised, that happened later in life – she still taught her son concerning the covenant knowing that God faithfully maintained it. It is that faithful grasping on to the covenant that Paul highlights for Timothy. "That faith," Paul says, "that grabs tenaciously on to the faithfulness of God, that pleads for his mercy and grace to overlook our weakness. That faith that trusts God to show himself strong where we are weak, to be faithful where we are faithless – that's the faith that has come to you as a gift. The faith that recognizes that it is not in what we do that we are justified, but in what trust and believe. That is the faith your mother and grandmother lived before you daily, taught you hourly, prayed for concerning you constantly. That is the faith you have received as a gift. That's the faith I see in you now." Are you getting a sense of the importance of the faith of Eunice and Lois in the life of Timothy? Campbell Morgan, a noted British preacher of the early 20th Century said: “My dedication to the preaching of the Word was maternal. Mother never told it to the baby or the boy, but waited. When but eight years old I preached to my little sister and to her dolls arrayed in orderly form before me. My sermons were Bible stories which I had first heard from my mother.”

That's the importance of the faith passed down. It becomes the seed that grows in the life of our children and forms the foundation of their character. It becomes the Word that burns deep in the heart, and forms the baseline for how they think, the values they embrace, the lives they lead when they are older. Proverbs 22:6 says "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." The man, the minister, the person of faith Timothy was when Paul writes to him stems directly from the training in faith he received at the knee of his mother and grandmother. The sincere faith that Paul commends Timothy for goes deeper than his own life. The shadow of his mother and grandmother's faith falls across his life. . People of God – but on this day especially mother's – the length of faith's shadow is long, often longer than we dare hope. Some of you may be struggling with fear, doubt and sadness because one or more of your children seem to live beyond that shadow. Somehow they seem to ignore everything you have instructed them in. Like the fig tree that Jesus cursed for failing to produce fruit when he was hungry, you feel like the seeds of faith you worked so hard to plant in the hearts of your children has withered. Let me encourage you – never give up hope in the power of God's Word to transform the life of even your most wayward. Franklin Graham today is an evangelist and author, much like his dad has been for more years than I have been upon this earth. But he was not always so. Until the age of 44, Franklin Graham resisted all messages of faith and calls to repentance. He entered into the dark and troubled lifestyle that his father spent all his adult life calling people out of. He became a man of violence and of substance abuse – a perverse and hard man. In

fact, Ruth Graham – just prior to Franklin's conversion – wrote a book about how a mother continues to love a prodigal child. But try as he might, Franklin could not outrun the length of faith's shadow. The seeds embedded in his heart throughout his childhood erupted into life – even though they appeared withered and useless. Today, Franklin ministers alongside his father and maintains an international ministry of his own. Mothers, never give up on your child. I stand here today because my mom never gave up.

Continue to pray, continue to share your faith with your child at every

opportunity. Continue to trust in him who maintains the covenant, holding up before God this child that stretches the bonds of the covenant to its limits. We cannot know the time and place of God's choosing – we can only continue in faith to pray that our children will come to receive Jesus Christ as their only hope in life and in death – that they too will belong body and soul to he who is our faithful Savior and Lord. Now let me say a word to the young mother's of the congregation – those who are still expecting children or who are still raising young children. Consider carefully what Paul says concerning the power of a mother's faith in the life of her child. Please, do not think that you are being open-minded and thoughtful by simply presenting your child with the opportunity to believe. Just bringing them to Sunday school and ensuring they are in church on Sunday is not enough. Deuteronomy 6 and 11 commands us to teach our children about our God and faith. We are to impress our children with our faith. The image there is to press something in relief into soft clay. Consider it this way – it’s like putting a signature imprint in a piece of pottery by pressing your thumb into the soft, pre-

fired clay. In other words, we need to be intentional and persistent in imprinting our faith upon our children. We can leave nothing to chance. Again, you are not being openminded and reasonable by simply providing opportunities for your kids to learn about the faith. You are being naïve. Impress the faith upon on them. Realize the length of faith's shadow. You have a huge amount of influence in the lives of your children – use it well. Know that the seeds you plant early in life can bloom later into a faith that produces fruit of righteousness. Finally on this Mother's day let me say something to all of you who are children – which should be everyone. Do we have any clones in here? What about spontaneous generators? Didn't think so. Take some time to reflect on and appreciate the shadow your mother's faith cast over your life. Recognize the blessing God poured out upon you through the love, persistence, forbearance, and patience of your mom. Give thanks for the example of faith and spiritual nurture and guidance he provided through your mom. Take a little time to appreciate that you did not come to faith in Jesus Christ in a vacuum. The faith growing inside – the fruit of righteousness ripening on the branches of your life – has roots anchored in the life of your mother. The faith you enjoy now is part of a chain and the links which anchor your faith were forged through your mother’s relationship with Jesus Christ and passed on to you. Think of it this way: Picture an old woman with a halo of silvered hair—the hot tears flowing down her furrowed cheeks—her worn hands busy over a washboard in a room of poverty—praying —for her son John—John who ran away from home in his teens to become a sailor—

John of whom it was now reported that he had become a very wicked man—praying, praying always, that her son might be of service to God. The mother believed in two things, the power of prayer and the reformation of her son. God answered the prayer by working a miracle in the heart of John Newton. John Newton, the sailor-preacher who gave us the hymn Amazing Grace. Among the thousands of men and women he brought to Christ was a man named Thomas Scott; cultured, selfish, and self-satisfied. Because of the washtub prayers another miracle was worked, and Thomas Scott used both his pen and voice to lead thousands of unbelieving hearts to Christ, among them an ill-natured, melancholic young man, William Cowper by name. He, too, was washed in the cleansing blood and in a moment of inspiration wrote There Is a Fountain Filled With Blood. These songs have impacted thousands, leading them to faith in the Man who died on Calvary. All this resulted because a mother took God at His word and prayed that her son’s heart might become as white as the soapsuds in the washtub. Now, let me say that I recognize that there are some here who didn’t have a mother who prayed for them or told them Bible stories when they were young and impressionable.

You may be saying to yourself, “I don’t have much reason to be

thankful.” For you I have two things I would like you to consider. The first is to say: be thankful any ways. If you are in Christ, God uses all things for the good of those who love him, those called according to his purpose. I cannot say how God will use the influence your mother has had on your life for your good, but I say with confidence that he has or will. It is his promise and he cannot lie.

The second is look carefully at your journey in faith; trace the lineage of your faith, where the links which anchor your faith were forged. See if God did not place someone in your life to “mother” you in the faith. We do not come to faith all on our own. God uses people – spiritual parents, if you will – to nurture us in our faith so that we grow into mature, faithful, and productive Christians. Take some time to discern who God has used as your “spiritual parent” and be thankful for his providence. Mothers, your faith – your relationship with Jesus Christ – has cast a large shadow over the lives of your children. No matter how far away we live, no matter how frequently or infrequently you see us now, your life of faith still shades our decisions, our attitudes, and our character. Let me say for all of us who have witnessed your love for Christ expressed in your love for us – thank you. May God grant that we will be as faithful, as patient, as gracious in passing on the faith which first lived in you to our children. Happy Mother’s day.