Milk, eggs, sugar, flour. Milk, eggs, sugar, flour. Milk, eggs, sugar, flour. Imagine you’re going to the grocery store to pick up a few things, but you didn’t write down what you need. You’re likely going to repeat what you need over and over again in your head so you remember what to pick up at the store. We do this because repetition is a helpful strategy for remembering or memorizing information.
Moses used this strategy as he authored Genesis.
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Motherhood. It’s a beautiful gift and a tremendous blessing from our heavenly Father. But sometimes, motherhood can seem so ordinary.
While I am not a mother, I’ve spent time with women who are, and many of the women I follow on Instagram write and post about their struggles in motherhood. I’ve come to realize that daily motherly tasks often prevent women from doing things they believe make a great impact for the kingdom of God. While artists are creating products that support uneducated women in another country, you’re washing your dishes and folding your laundry. While pastors are planting churches in unchurched cities, you’re changing diapers and training your toddlers to use a toilet. While others are hosting revivals and seeing hundreds or even thousands of people come to Christ, you’re sitting in carline for an hour every day. While missionaries are preaching the gospel to unreached people groups, you are dragging your kids to church every week kicking and screaming, sometimes literally.
Mommas – can’t you relate? Sometimes, motherhood feels ordinary, and it seems like you’re just not in a season to do anything extraordinary for God.
But the Bible teaches us differently. Over and over again, God works through the most ordinary of people to do extraordinary things. And a lot of these extra ordinary people are mothers just like you.
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Professor Jones. Doctor Scott. Mrs. Baker. Mom. What do all these characters have in common? They each have a name or title that tell us something significant about them. We call someone a professor because they teach at a college or university. We call someone a doctor because they’ve earned a doctorate degree. We call a woman “Mrs.” because she is married. We call someone Mom (or Dad) because they play an important role in our lives by teaching us, guiding us, and helping us. We give other people similar names/titles, like our Pastor, President, or Principal. These titles and others tell us important things about the people they describe.
God was also given names and titles in the Bible which tell us significant things about Him. The most popular name of God is “YHWH”, which can also be spelled “Yahweh” or “Jehovah”. This name basically means “Lord” or “Master” (and is often written as “LORD” in our Bibles). There are several compound names of God in the Bible that specify who our Lord is and what our Lord does. One of these names is Jehovah Jireh, which means “The Lord will Provide”.[1]
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According to Ligonier Ministries’ State of Theology survey in 2018, fifty-seven percent of American adults agree with the statement that “Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God.” The majority of Americans believe that Jesus was a created being. They believe that He was the first and greatest creation, but He was still created by God. Is this actually true? And does it really matter whether Jesus was created or not?
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We love lots of things! We love our family. We love our friends. We can love our coworkers, teammates, and fellow Christians. We love dogs and cats. We love tacos and pizza. We can love reading, hiking, baking, painting, playing an instrument, or doing some other fun hobby. We love sunrises and sunsets. We can love mountains or forests or beaches. We love laughing and having fun. We have a lot of loves, but these loves can change as we go through life. If you develop a dairy intolerance, you definitely won’t love cheese pizza as much! If you get attacked by a dog, it’s hard to love and trust other dogs. If a friend turns their back on you or a partner cheats on you, it’s hard to still show love to them.
But there is one love that never changes no matter the circumstance. It endures forever! This never-changing love is the love of our God.
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