Spiritual Parenting
“It is well to note the admirable selection of instructors. We are not at a loss to tell who instructed youthful Timothy. In this epistle Paul says, ‘When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.’ (2 Timothy 1:5). No doubt grandmother Lois and mother Eunice united in teaching the little one. Who should teach the children but the parents? Timothy’s father was a Greek, and probably a heathen, but this child was happy in having a venerable grandmother, so often the dearest of all relatives to a little child. He was blessed also with a gracious mother, once a devout Jewess, and afterwards also a firmly believing Christian, who made it her daily pleasure to teach her own dear child the Word of the Lord.
O dear mothers, please understand that you have a very sacred trust reposed in you by God! He has in effect said unto you, ‘Take this child away, and nurse it for Me, and I will give thee thy wages’ (Exodus 2:9). You are called to equip the future man of God, that he may be ‘ thoroughly furnished unto all good works’ (2 Timothy 3:17). If God spares you, you may live to hear that pretty boy speak to thousands, and you will have the sweet reflection in your heart that the quiet teachings of the nursery led the adult man to love his God and serve Him.
Those who think that a woman detained at home by her little family is doing nothing, think the reverse of what is true. Scarcely can the godly mother quit her home for a place of worship. However, dream not that she is lost to the work of the church. Far from it, she is doing the best possible service for her Lord.
Mothers, the godly training of your offspring is your first and most pressing duty. Christian women, by teaching children the Holy Scriptures, are as much fulfilling their part for the Lord as Moses did in judging Isreal, of Solomon in building the temple.”
“Spiritual Parenting” by C.H. Spurgeon
_______________________________________________________________________________
The Mother of the Saviour
“Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother” (John 19:25). After the days of his infancy and childhood, and during all the public ministry of Christ, we see and hear so little of Mary. Her life was lived in the background, among the shadows. But now, when the supreme hour strikes of her Son’s agony, when the world has cast out the child of her womb, she stands there by the cross! Who can fitly portray such a picture? Mary was nearest to the cruel tree! Bereft of faith and hope, baffled and paralyzed by the strange scene, yet bound with the golden chain of love to the dying one, there she stands! Try and read the thoughts and emotions of that mother’s heart. O what a sword it was that pierced her soul then! Never such bliss at a human birth, never such sorrow at an inhuman death.
Here we see displayed the Mother-heart. She is the dying man’s mother. The one who agonizes their on the cross is her child. She it was who first planted kisses on that brow now crowned with thorns. She it was who guided those hands and feet in their first infantile movements. No mother ever suffered as she did. His disciples may desert him, his friends may forsake him, his nation may despise him, but his mother stands there at the foot of his cross. Oh, who can fathom or analyze the Mother-heart.
Who can measure those hours of sorrow and suffering as the sword was slowly drawn through Mary’s soul! Hers was no hysterical or demonstrative sorrow. There was no show of feminine weakness; no wild outcry of uncontrollable anguish; no fainting. Not a word that fell from her lips has been recorded by either of the four evangelists: apparently she suffered in unbroken silence. Yet her sorrow was none the less real and acute. Still waters run deep. She saw that brow pierced with cruel thorns, but she could not smooth it with her tender touch. She watched his pierced hands and feet grow numb and livid, but she might not chafe them. She marks his need of a drink, but she is not allowed to slake his thirst. She suffered in profound desolation of spirit.
“There stood by the Cross of Jesus his mother” (John 19:25). The crowds are mocking, the thieves are taunting, the priests are jeering, the soldiers are callous and indifferent, the Saviour is bleeding, dying – and there is his mother beholding the horrible mockery. What wonder if she had swooned at such a sight! What wonder if she had turned away from such a spectacle! What wonder if she had fled from such a scene!
But no! There she is: she does not crouch away, she does not faint, she does not even sink to the ground in her grief – she stands. Her action and attitude are unique. In all the annals of history of our race there is no parallel. What transcendent courage. She stood by the cross of Jesus – what marvellous fortitude. She represses her grief, and stands there silent. Was it not reverence for the Lord which kept her from disturbing his last moments?
“When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home” John 19:26, 27
2. Here we see the perfect man setting example for children to honour their parents.
The Lord Jesus evidenced his perfection in the manner in which he fully discharged the obligations of every relationship that he sustained, either to God or man. On the cross we behold his tender care and solicitude for his mother, and in this we have the pattern of Jesus Christ presented to all children for their imitation, teaching them how to acquit themselves toward their parents according to the laws of nature and grace.
“The Seven Sayings of the Saviour on the Cross” by A.W. Pink
_____________________________________________________________________________
Mrs. John Leland
In the very beginning of her life, Mrs. John Leland (Sally Devine) had suffered much. When she was but two years old, she lost a father whom she loved very much. She was then driven from her home at the tender age of four by her cruel stepfather. As a result of such inhumane treatment, Sally’s feet were nearly frozen off, and a disease nearly consumed the palate in the back of her throat. Such misfortune caused her speech to be damaged, and only those who knew her extremely well could understand her. For some time, no one thought that she would live through this ordeal, but God saw fit to heal her. She found the grace that only God gives. After she recuperated from her poor health, she discovered that her property had been taken which left her destitute and dependent upon others. In spite of everything, Mrs. Leland found strength in God and trusted in Him to bring her through these hard times.
At the beginning of the American revolution, Sally married John Leland, a Baptist pastor in Virginia. She would be his constant helpmate all her life and the diligent keeper of his home. Mrs. Leland was truly a virtuous woman who could have easily stepped out of the Proverbs 31 passage. Sally was kind to everyone she met, and those who were in need she would supply with food or clothing. Her very nature forbade her to withhold kindness from anyone. Like her husband, she had a spirit for independence and attributes which fitted her for this time in history. A brave heart, a firm purpose, and a strong mind were just some of her desirable qualities—in peril, she was calm; in trials and afflictions, she was resilient. These were the things that served her steadfast character, and yet, accompanied with these qualities was a soft, gentle nature and quiet humility so befitting this godly woman.
Mrs. Leland had an excellent presence of mind in cases of emergency. Once, her four year old daughter was run over by a loaded cart. The little girl’s head was practically crushed, yet Mrs. Leland sat for hours holding the severed artery closed with her fingers thus saving her daughter’s life. As for her courage, it cannot be doubted. She once saved her husband from a murderer’s weapon, and during the revolution, more than one runaway slave or British soldier came to her door looking for food. God had commanded His people to “feed the hungry” and that is what she did, but more than one man who came to her door would have simply killed her for the food instead of asking. She prayed without ceasing to God to not let this happen, for she could not bare to think of leaving her children. Sally even sewed her children’s clothes by moonlight for fear that the light of a lamp would draw an assassin to her door.
In 1791, Mr. & Mrs. Leland were on a ship that was stricken in a horrific storm. The ship was tossed, turned, and battered for hours such that the vessel was despaired of—-certain it would sink:
“After twelve hours of incessant watching and agonizing prayer, expecting momentarily to go to the bottom, she appeared to sink into a slumber; but presently turning to her husband, she exclaimed, ” We shall not be lost.’” She had received this assurance from a figure in white which seemed to stand before her, measuring off piece after piece of a long white cord, and which said to her, ” The vessel cannot sink I have undergirded it.” [John Leland (2011-08-26T06:52:47+00:00). The writings of the late Elder John Leland (Kindle Locations 825-827). Printed by G.W. Wood. Kindle Edition].
The life of Mrs. Leland held not only physical hardship but mental suffering too. During a revival in which her husband was a part, she would be alone several days. At night, she and her children would hear a groaning in the walls of their home. Every night the groaning would be heard and the children would clutch their mother in fear and say “the groaner has come”. Each night the groaning became more terrifying and loud— it was an unearthly sound. When Mr. Leland came home, he was shocked to learn that this had been happening for eight months. Finally, he turned to his Lord in prayer and beseeched Him whether this sound was of good or evil. If it was the latter, Mr. Leland asked the Lord to destroy whatever it was. As he prayed, the screeching grew louder and louder until it suddenly vanished in a terrifying howl. The groaner was never heard from again.
This honorable woman was never seen to be idle. Sally never ceased her daily toil of handling her husband’s affairs and cultivating their small garden. Completely content in her place beside her husband, come what may, she was joyful in being his helpmate and in rearing their children for the Lord.
Near the end of her life, a disease settled upon her throat caused by the malady earlier in her childhood. The nature of the disease slowly closed her throat until she could only force liquids down. Soon, even this was impossible. Lacking proper nourishment, Mrs. Leland literally starved to death. Prior to her end, she still remained strong in fortitude and calm in spirit—she never complained. Throughout her life, Sally’s faith in the Lord never wavered as she stayed under His protective wing, and her piety was seen and revered by all who knew her.
~Holly A. Hildebrandt
Resource: The Writings of the Late Elder John Leland, by John Leland and L.F. Greene
________________________________________________________________________________
THIS DAY IN BAPTIST HISTORY PAST November 27, 1560 – Soetgen vanden Houte, sealed her profession of faith with her own blood in the city of Ghent in Belgium. Soetgen, a godly woman fell into the hands of the same persecutors that her husband had fallen into previously, and now she was left a widow with three children. Just prior to her death, Soetgen left a testament to her children: This is a portion of that testament. “In the name of the Lord: Grace, peace and mercy from God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, be to you, my dear children…To you, David, Betgen, and Tanneken, written by your mother in bonds, to put you in mind of the truth, to which I hope to testify by word and by death, by the help of the Almighty, and as an example to you. May the wisdom of the Holy Spirit instruct and strengthen you, that you may be nurtured in the ways of the Lord. Amen. Further my dear children, since it is pleasing to the Lord to take me out of the world, I will leave you a memento, not of silver of gold, for such jewels are perishable. I would fain inscribe a jewel in your heart were it possible-the word of truth. Thus I will a little teach you by the Word of the Lord, with my best wishes, according to the small ability I have received of the Lord, and in my simplicity,” At this point she began to exhort them to fear the Lord. Soetgen concluded by saying, “Oh! My dear children, I have written this with tears, admonishing you from love, praying for you with a fervent heart, that if it were possible, you may be found among that number (the redeemed). When your father was taken from me I did not spare myself, day or night, to bring you up… After commending the children to her family and to the Lord, Soetgen concluded her letter and was soon reunited with her husband in the presence of the Lord.
Dr. Greg J. Dixon from: This Day in Baptist History Vol. I: Cummins /Thompson , pp. 494-95.
________________________________________________________________________________