The Faith of a Godly Mother

Cover Article

by Michael Jones · Week of May 10, 2026

Imagine a river—not a raging torrent, but a quiet, steady current that carves canyons over centuries because it never stops flowing. That is what a godly mother’s faith looks like: shaping a child’s soul not through one dramatic moment but through ten thousand ordinary ones. Paul understood this when he wrote to Timothy: “I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also” (2 Timothy 1:5). Notice that word: “lived.” Faith did not merely visit those women—it took up residence, and from that dwelling place it flowed into the next generation. “From childhood you have known the sacred writings, which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15). Someone sat with a small boy and opened the scrolls—someone whose name we barely know, yet whose legacy echoes through eternity. Real transformation is born in the daily faithfulness of a woman who shows up, who trusts God when life is hard, who chooses righteousness when no one is watching.

Proverbs 31:26 paints the portrait: “She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.” Picture it—not a lecture hall but a kitchen table, not a sermon but a conversation over dishes. The Hebrew word for “teaching” here is torah: instruction, guidance, the very word used for God’s law. A mother’s faithful words carry that weight. She teaches through a thousand small decisions—how she handles disappointment, whether she speaks truth when a lie would be easier. “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). The Hebrew chanak means to dedicate, to set the course—like a midwife placing olive oil on a newborn’s palate to awaken the desire to nurse. A godly mother awakens in her child the desire for God. She does not create faith—that is God’s work—but she cultivates the soil in which it grows. And here is the breathtaking truth: God does not require perfection to accomplish this. What mattered about Lois and Eunice was genuine faith, not flawless parenting.

Think of the mothers you have known. The one who rises before dawn because she needs God before the chaos begins. The one who comes home bone-tired yet kneels beside a small bed to pray. The one raising children alone, carrying the weight of two, yet refusing to release God’s hand. The one battling depression or grief who still opens her Bible, still whispers, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1). These women are not perfect—but their faith is real. And real faith transforms the next generation. “Her children rise up and call her blessed” (Proverbs 31:28)—not because she achieved the impossible, but because those who lived with her tasted something true, something pointing beyond her to God. “All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children” (Isaiah 54:13). A mother’s role is to bring her children into the presence of the One who alone can teach them to live.

So hear this, mothers: you are not failing. The messy house, the lost temper, the moment you hid in the bathroom just to breathe—none of it disqualifies you. “The Lord does not see as man sees; man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). When your children see you praying in worry, trusting in the storm, repenting when wrong, they watch transformation in real time—and they are changed by it. “We all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” (2 Corinthians 3:18). That is the miracle: a godly mother is not yet finished becoming who God is making her, and her children get to watch the process. And to those who are not mothers biologically—passing on faith flows through aunts, teachers, mentors, and friends. Paul called Timothy “my true child in the faith” (1 Timothy 1:2) though he was not his father by blood. Spiritual motherhood is real. If your own mother did not model faith, know this: God is able to do “far more abundantly than all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20). He can begin a new river of faith in you—one that flows into generations you will never meet. Your past does not write your future. God does.

Other congregations are welcome to reprint this. It may be reproduced in another congregation’s bulletin or newsletter without asking permission. An acknowledgement of Orange View Church of Christ is appreciated but not required.

Bible Questions & Answers

Should Christians tithe, or is that an Old Testament command?

This question deserves careful attention, because how we handle it reveals what we believe about the relationship between the Old and New Covenants. Let us begin with what is clear. The tithe (Hebrew maaser, “a tenth”) was a specific obligation under the Mosaic Law. Leviticus 27:30 states, “Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the Lord’s; it is holy to the Lord.” Numbers 18:21 directed the tithe to the Levites for their service. Deuteronomy 14:22–29 reveals there were actually multiple tithes—for the Levites, for festival observance, and every third year for the poor—totaling closer to twenty-three percent annually. The tithe was not a single simple command but an intricate system embedded in Israel’s theocratic governance. Now here is the critical point: the Mosaic Law, as a covenant, has been fulfilled and set aside. The Hebrew writer states, “In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete” (Hebrews 8:13). Paul writes that we have been “released from the law, having died to that which held us captive” (Romans 7:6). The tithing command was part of that old system, and nowhere in the New Testament is it reimposed on Christians.

But the absence of a tithing command does not mean the New Testament is silent on giving. Far from it. The New Testament raises the bar—not by imposing a percentage but by transforming the heart behind the gift. Paul holds up the Macedonian churches: “In a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity” (2 Corinthians 8:2). They gave not from surplus but from poverty, and with joy. He then states the governing principle: “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). The Greek hilaros (“cheerful”) is the root of our word “hilarious”—God desires giving that flows from delight, not duty. In 1 Corinthians 16:1–2, Paul adds practical instruction: “On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper.” Three principles emerge: giving is regular—every first day, when the church assembles (cf. Acts 20:7); individual—“each of you”; and proportional—“as he may prosper,” not a flat tax but a response to God’s provision.

What does this mean practically? Binding a ten-percent requirement on Christians has no New Testament authority. We must not legislate where Scripture does not. At the same time, the absence of a fixed percentage is no excuse for stinginess—“whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly” (2 Corinthians 9:6). The New Testament pattern calls us to give generously (2 Corinthians 8:2), purposefully (2 Corinthians 9:7), regularly (1 Corinthians 16:2), and proportionally (1 Corinthians 16:2). The church must support its work—evangelism, benevolence, edification—and Paul affirms that “the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:14). When a Christian asks, “How much should I give?” the answer is not a number but a question: How deeply has God’s grace penetrated your heart? Paul grounds giving in the ultimate act of generosity: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). The cross is the measure. Everything we give is a response to what has already been given.

So here is the invitation—not to calculate the minimum God requires, but to ask a different question altogether: What kind of person is God transforming me into? A person who clutches tightly, or one who gives with open hands? Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). The word “blessed” (makarios) describes a deep, settled happiness that comes from alignment with God’s character. Giving is not a burden the New Testament places on us; it is a privilege that shapes us into the image of Christ. If ten percent feels like a helpful starting benchmark for your own proportional giving, wonderful—but do not stop there, and do not bind it on others. Let your giving grow as your faith grows. Let it be regular, sacrificial, and joyful. Let it reflect the One who “did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all” (Romans 8:32). That is the standard—not a percentage, but a Person. - MJ