A mother who honored God

As the time for my daughter to be born approached, one of the things that surprised me was the incredible amount of unsolicited advice that my wife and I received about how to be good parents. We heard from friends, family members and total strangers, all of whom thought that they knew what we had to do in order to be good parents. As I considered all of this often contradictory advice, I asked myself what was the one thing that would make me a good father and my wife a good mother.

The Bible in II Kings, chapter 4, describes a woman who had the one most important qualification for being a good mother. That qualification is that she cared about God and actively sought to serve God. We are not told her name, only that she was a prominent woman and that she was a godly woman who lived near a place that a prophet named Elisha often traveled. She offered Elisha something to eat and a place to stay and even went so far as to build him an apartment in her house to give him a place to rest every time he was traveling in the area.

Although she did not yet have children, she was demonstrating that she was qualified to be a good mother by her service to God and she was also providing an example of the kind of love for God that can make any woman a good mother.

She was ready to be a good mother because she wanted to serve God. The prophet did not beg her for food and water but she persuaded him to come in and then she decided to build the apartment without being asked. The first qualification of a good mother is a heart that desires to serve God.

She also demonstrated that she was ready to be a good mother as she served God consistently. She aided the prophet every time he went by, not just when she felt like it. Children desperately need a mother who serves God all of the time and any woman who desires to be a good mother will seek to walk with God daily.

Another way that this lady demonstrated that she was prepared to be a good mother was that she served God from her wealth. When she built an apartment in her house, she did what many people would not have had the resources to do, but she demonstrated that she would serve God from her best and not simply with her leftovers. Children need mothers who will give God their best all of the time.

This godly woman proved that she was a true servant of God by serving God when others will not. She lived at a time and place where true commitment to God was rare but she honored God and his prophet anyway.

In the world we live in today we need mothers who will honor God without regard to what anyone else is doing. We need mothers to stand for holiness, teach their children the truths of the Bible, and to declare that loving God is the most important thing in their homes.

It is by walking with God that parents can be ready to face the challenges of raising children and guiding them to become adults who reach their full potential.

The answer to the question of what it takes to be a good parent must begin with the parents making a simple declaration. That declaration is: “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”