Mother’s Day

Obviously moms play a huge role in everyone’s lives, but I believe that role is multiplied in the kingdom of God.

Great Commission, called to make disciples, teaching them how to live as a follower of Christ. That takes life-on-life, and I don’t know if there’s any more life-on-life than motherhood!

John Wesley, founder of Methodist movement/church, professor at Oxford. He said,

I learned more about Christianity from my mother than from all the theologians in England.
John Wesley

Thousands and thousands of Christians around the world who would agree. It is an amazing opportunity to shape little hearts to love and serve Jesus.

We’re just about to wrap up our study of 1 Thessalonians, you may remember back in chapter 2, Paul said that he had been like a mother to these new believers.

We were gentle among you, as a nursing mother nurtures her own children.
1 Thessalonians 2:7

Sounds funny at first, but Paul did actually show us some very mom-like traits:

Bragging on them (chapters 1-2)
Serving as examples (oldest kids, you heard that one from Mom!)
They’re his pride and joy (2:19-20)
Worried sick about them (chapter 3)
Wants to see them! (3:10)
Lots of good advice (like place nice with bro/sis, respect elders)
Has big hopes and dreams for their future. (5:23)

For whatever reason in the way God made us, moms tend to have the biggest, clearest dreams for their kids. Not that dads don’t, but moms seem to think about it more and feel it more.

Paul closes out this letter in the traditional way that a Greek letter was closed, with well wishes for the person’s health. But in this case, with a twist. Let’s read it together:

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. And may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Thessalonians 5:23

It’s a wish (may the God, may your whole spirit), turned into a prayer.

This isn’t the first time he’s brought this up, actually. Because as all moms, all parents know, once is rarely enough. You have to repeat it over and over and over again. It’s been a theme running through the whole letter.

…as you have received instruction from us on how you should live and please God—as you are doing—do this even more.
1 Thessalonians 4:1

For this is God’s will, your sanctification
1 Thessalonians 4:3

May he make your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. Amen.
1 Thessalonians 3:13

Essentially the same prayer at the end of chapter 3 as the end of chapter 5. It’s pretty much what he’s been talking about this whole time.

1. Our aspiration is to be wholly His, through and through.

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through.
1 Thessalonians 5:23, NIV

Sanctify

Set apart, holy, growing in the faith. Sin less and less, love more and more.

Positional, already happened at salvation, past tense.
Perfect, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, future tense.
Practical, growing into what we already are, present tense.

There is not a single area of life that the gospel does not transform.

Spirit, Soul, & Body

And may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Thessalonians 5:23

There is no reason to believe that he’s making a detailed argument about the nature of humanity. If that’s the case, and 1 Thessalonians was the first book Paul wrote, then you’ll have to say that he changed his mind by the time he wrote Romans, 1 Corinthians, because he only divides into two.

And Jesus said “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, strength.” That’s four, so is Paul contradicting Jesus? Of course not!

What it really means is that we’re trying to read more into the text than is actually there. You’ve probably heard explanations of what part of you is your soul vs spirit vs body. The reality is that it’s prooftexting at best, and pure speculation at worst.

The point of these passegs is not to have an understanding of anthropology, but the totality of a life surrendered to Christ.

So I’m not going to waste your time with my opinions about whether your thoughts are your body (brain), soul, or spirit. All I know is that, whatever mixture of the two/three it is, between them they cover every single aspect of what it means to be a human being. And all of it, all of it, is to be surrendered to Christ.

Me & Ben yesterday, 2.5 hours in the church van, talked about everything.

Smokey Mountains, been into National Parks ever since.
He’s a very science-minded kid (don’t know where he gets that from!)
My sister Andrea sent me an article about a study in the UK that flying insect population may be down up to 60% since 2004. Incredibly concerning.
We talked about conservation, creation care, Adam’s original mandate.
Netflix documentary “Our Great National Parks”, narrated by Barack Obama. Had to tell him that while I agree that the show is good and national parks are amazing, for the sake of peace, try to leave that name out of it.” “Why?”
Well, different political party than a lot of people we know.
“Dad, what’s a party?” “Lord, help! If I ever needed wisdom, it’s now!”
Explained as best I could, including that as Christians we’re never gonna fit in, because our primary role is as ambassadors from an entirely different Kingdom. And how we’re to treat everyone with respect even if we disagree.

That’s just one car ride! But I pray, with the Spirit’s help, some discipleship happened. I want my son to understand, the gospel changes everything.

When you think about God sanctifying you through and through, all your thoughts, ideas, actions, attitudes, motivations. And him making you blameless in every single way, your spirit, soul, and body. Does that sound a bit exhausting?

Yeah, it does. And it is, if you’re trying to do it on your own strength. Not just exhausting, impossible. But there’s good news.

Our aspiration is to be wholly His, through and through.

2. Our assurance is that He will see us through

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. And may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will do it.
1 Thessalonians 5:23–24

That is such good news.

Self-Confidence

More Christians are defeated on account
of self-reliance than Satanic attack.
David Guzik

Zero confidence in my ability. (self-confidence)
Total confidence in His ability. (Spirit-confidence)
Humble confidence in His work through me.

Now you have a framework to handle both failure and success.

“Not by strength or by might, but by my Spirit,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
Zechariah 4:6

My mom had a lot of sayings, most of which have made it into my own parenting.

“Tell it, don’t yell it.”
“Have fun, be good, be careful!”
“You can do this the easy way or the hard way.”

That’s what the Spirit’s saying to us right here. It’s happening one way or the other.

Our aspiration is to be wholly His, through and through.
Our assurance is that He will see us through

Conclusion

Toxic mommy culture, Instagram reality.

Generally fall into either performative perfection, or celebrating disfunction, also performative. (How many posts/memes/T-shirts do we need about how mamma runs on coffee and wine?)

They’re two sides of the same coin. Both of them valuing the likes, hearts, shares, and comments more than the children who are in the background while momma poses to get the selfie just right.

That’s a fairly small demographic, but they’re the ones that everyone else is doomscrolling when you’re having a bad day. (Applies to social media in general, but we’re talking moms here.)

As one who’s called to shepherd people’s souls, including a bunch of moms, I care about this stuff. It’s not good for your soul. It’s not good for your kids. It’s not good for the Kingdom.

It leads to envy, discontentment, guilt, and depression on the “look at me, I’ve got it together” side, because you’re not like that and you wish you could be; or a passive, indulgent, normalization of sinful heart patterns on the “look at me, I’m a mess” side.

The Gospel, like always, offers a Third Way. The I’m a mess, but Jesus isn’t” approach. Where you can admit that you’re not enough, but believe wholeheartedly that He is.

Distinctly Christian mothering is done from a posture of weakness and dependence. We nurture life in the face of death by grace through faith in Jesus. The cross is everything to us—not a bonus prize or safety net. He has given us a cross-shaped, everyday ministry of mothering others.
Gloria Furman, Missional Motherhood

“Run, John, run,” the law commands But gives us neither feet nor hands,
Far better news the gospel brings:
It bids us fly and gives us wings”
John Bunyan