The Gospel and Motherhood

Motherhood. It’s one of the most beautiful things and one of the hardest things I’ve ever experienced. It demands our attention almost 24 hours a day many days and is physically and emotionally draining. At the same time, it is one of the greatest pleasures we can experience in life as we love, nurture, and raise sweet little ones and watch them grow. Motherhood is refining in so many ways- ways we welcome as we learn to love someone more than we ever thought possible…and in other ways that we never could’ve thought we would need to grow in as we struggle to be patient, kind, and slow to anger with our family.

The very nature of motherhood is filled with extremes like this. I remember experiencing so many of these drastic emotions when our first child was born. I had never felt so smitten by anyone, but I had also never struggled so much with so many areas of life. I endlessly researched, read books, and asked questions about how to be a mom. How do I handle these nursing struggles? How do I get him to sleep through the night? Why is he crying? How am I supposed to get housework and other things done while caring for this new little person entrusted to me?

As the years strung on into motherhood, I began to ask deeper questions as I struggled through the mundane moments of motherhood. How could washing the dishes or changing diapers glorify God? Is what I’m doing even making a difference for the Kingdom of God? Why am I struggling with all of these sin issues that I never knew I struggled with like impatience, irritability, anger, etc? Again, I read books, researched, and asked others for their opinions.

What I found in the end was that the gospel was all that I needed.

While the books, articles, and friends were incredibly helpful, what I really needed to take a deep look at was the gospel. If it truly changes everything about our lives, then surely it impacts even the seemingly mundane, everyday moments of motherhood.

I began spending hours looking at the gospel and what it had to do with motherhood. What I realized in the end was that I needed the gospel to press me into Christ-likeness all the more in my everyday moments of life because it is in these everyday moments that my faith is tested. It is exactly in these moments that my heart is revealed and you can see clearly who I truly worship.

The big truths of the gospel are enfleshed and lived out in the everyday moments of my life, no matter how mundane they might seem.

Let’s take a look at what these big truths of the gospel are exactly and how they have anything to do with motherhood.

Looking at creation, God made us to worship Him and Him only. He made us to reflect His character in our work and roles. He created the first mother, Eve, to be a life-giver and a helper. God designed mothers to model God’s love and care to their children. A mother’s love for God was meant to be passed down to her children and the next generation and to train them in godliness. While motherhood was one role God created, it was not meant to be anyone’s true satisfaction- we were created to be fully satisfied in our Creator alone.

As sin entered the world, we struggled to worship the created things rather than our Creator (Romans 1). This perfect picture of a loving mother modeling God’s greatness to her children was marred as we began loving our children more than God, as our struggle with sin overtook our parenting, and as our children struggled to obey their parents. Other issues took over our hearts like wanting control over our households and feeling guilt, shame, and pride, somehow all at once! Our sin has caused a real struggle to worship God with all our hearts and to pass on this love of our great God to our children.

BUT GOD. I love this statement all over scripture. While we were busy struggling with our sin, we were not worthy of God’s love or forgiveness, “BUT GOD shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8. While we couldn’t perfectly worship God or keep His law, Jesus died for us and rose again victoriously over sin and death. And it is this same power that rose Jesus from the dead that, as followers of Christ, empowers us to be the mother God created us to be. By the power of the Holy Spirit within us, we can put off our sin, we can walk with Christ in everyday moments, and we can pass along Christ to our children. Christ has done what we couldn’t and strengthens us each day to live out our calling as mothers. While we still struggle with all the sin issues that go along with motherhood, we have the sacrifice of Christ covering our sin and the power of the Spirit within us helping us to walk with Christ everyday, even when our hands are full.

This struggle between desiring to worship God with all our hearts and constantly failing to do so will not be forever! We can look ahead to the future hope we have in Christ for eternity with Him. Therefore, we don’t have to depend on our abilities (or failings) as mothers, but we can put our hope in Christ. We can trust that our days, as mundane as they may seem at times, are preparing for us our future glory in Christ (Romans 8:18).

The big truths of the gospel speak so much to motherhood. They speak so deeply into the daily struggles that we experience as we change diapers, comfort crying babies, or answer the same question for the millionth time.

It is in these daily struggles that the gospel strengthens us to treasure Christ above all else.

It is as we lean into these mundane moments, that our true hearts are revealed and we see our desperate need for a Savior.

It is in these everyday moments that we run to Jesus, depend on Him, and that He transforms our hearts to make us more like Him.

Our daily moments testify to the greatness, majesty, and steadfast love of God. As we wash the dishes, He enables us to do so with joy. As we wipe up the spill for the fifth time, He gives us the patience we need. As we are up in the middle of the night, He gives us the grace and strength to love as He loves us. And when we struggle to be joyful, kind, patient, and gracious, it draws our hearts to remember our need for a Savior, and again causes our hearts to cry out in praise to our Creator. Our character is transformed as we allow Him to work in these moments and our dependence on Him becomes stronger with each day.

Sometimes it’s still hard to see how the gospel applies to the everyday moments of motherhood. Oftentimes I struggle to think that the sneaky chocolate when no one is looking or the night that I so deserve to sit and watch Netflix all night or the night out with friends will solve all my problems and give me all that I desire. But then I’m reminded of the life-giving truths of the gospel that are more precious than gold and sweeter than honey, (Psalm 19) and I remember that HE is all I need.

The gospel strengthens me as I go about my day to “rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory” (1 Peter 1:8) in the One who is inexpressibly glorious! It also causes me to rejoice in what God has called me to and reminds me of the great privilege I have to pour out this amazing grace into my children each and everyday. As I depend on Him for all I need in the everyday moments of motherhood, my children see the deep impact the gospel has on every aspect of our lives.

While this isn’t always easy, God is faithfully walking alongside me, strengthening me, and reminding me to have the gospel at the forefront of my mind in all that I do. As I look to Jesus, He gives me the attitude of Christ (Philippians 2:5) and helps me to share this love, grace, and mercy to my children. And I pray that through this, my children experience and know God’s love for them and how the gospel impacts every moment of everyday of our lives.

What a privilege and joy it is to be called to be a mom, with all the ups and downs, joys and sorrows, extraordinary and mundane moments, every one of them is a part of the calling we have to declare the excellencies of Christ to our children and to conform us to the image of Christ.

1 Peter 1:3-8 sums it all up so well as we conclude:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,”