Faith of our mothers

TODAY'S READING: 2 Timothy 1:5; 3:14-17
How many times have you said, "I am not going to be like my parents when I get older?" Or maybe you have said or thought something similar. But as hard as we may try, the reality is that as you get older you start saying and doing things you thought you would never say or do. They are the very things you said you wouldn't do when you were younger.
As you think about that, how important does that make it to model our faith to our children? We can talk all we want about Jesus, but unless children see faith lived out, it does not nearly have the impact. We can talk about God, but when our lives show something different, that is what children remember. I have seen parents that wonder why their children fail to live out the faith they told them about growing up. Often, the cause is a faith of words of only.
Consider the words of James...

Dear brothers and sisters, what's the use of saying you have faith if you don't prove it by your actions? That kind of faith can't save anyone. Suppose you see a brother or sister who needs food or clothing, and you say, "Well, good-bye and God bless you; stay warm and eat well"--but then you don't give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?
So you see, it isn't enough just to have faith. Faith that doesn't show itself by good deeds is no faith at all--it is dead and useless.
Now someone may argue, "Some people have faith; others have good deeds." I say, "I can't see your faith if you don't have good deeds, but I will show you my faith through my good deeds."
Do you still think it's enough just to believe that there is one God? Well, even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror! Fool! When will you ever learn that faith that does not result in good deeds is useless?
Don't you remember that our ancestor Abraham was declared right with God because of what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see, he was trusting God so much that he was willing to do whatever God told him to do. His faith was made complete by what he did--by his actions. And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: "Abraham believed God, so God declared him to be righteous." He was even called "the friend of God." So you see, we are made right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.
Rahab the prostitute is another example of this. She was made right with God by her actions--when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road. Just as the body is dead without a spirit, so also faith is dead without good deeds. (James 2:14-16)

If we try to pass on our faith by just talking about it, it is like planting a dead seed and hoping for growth. Our faith must be alive and well for our children to see.
It is obvious that Timothy's mother and grandmother had a living faith. Paul mentions it at the beginning of his letter to Timothy and towards the end of the letter he talks about the wisdom and preparation that come from faith and the Scriptures.
While we may resist and fight against the faith we see lived out in the lives of our mothers and grandmothers, we must never fail to respect them. While we know that no parent or grandparent is ever perfect, a faith-focused life will be a blessing. And one day when we are older and our faith is in action, we will be thankful for the way our mothers and grandmothers modeled a living faith for us.

shine!
Jason