This post by Chris Anderson comes from Gospel Meditations for Mothers (Day 4).
We live in the day of the superlative. Normalcy is so twentieth century. Everything today must be “hard core” or “radical” or “extreme,” even in the church. (Bonus points if you spell it “Xtreme.”) The push for Christians to take risks and get out of their comfort zones for the sake of gospel advance is good. But an unintended consequence of all the talk about “risk-taking Christianity” is that normal Christian people—including normal Christian moms—can be made to feel left out, selfish, and useless.
The truth is, Christianity has thrived for two millennia because of normal, faithful, and anonymous Christian men and women. For every heroic martyr in church history, there have been hundreds or even thousands of heroic mothers. Living a steady, even mundane Christian life isn’t failure.
The truth is, Christianity has thrived for two millennia because of normal, faithful, and anonymous Christian men and women.
Have you ever considered the fact that the most common illustration for the Christian life in the New Testament is a walk? Over twenty times, in a majority of the New Testament letters, we are told to “walk” in a way that is fitting for Christians. The picture hardly needs explanation. To walk a certain way means to live that way—consistently, not occasionally. Step by step, day by day.
- Walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:4)
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Walk by faith. (2 Corinthians 5:7)
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Walk by the Spirit. (Galatians 5:16)
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Walk in love. (Ephesians 5:2)
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Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. (Colossians 1:10)
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Walk properly before outsiders. (1 Thessalonians 4:12)
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Walk in the light. (1 John 1:7)
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Walk in the same way in which [ Jesus] walked. (1 John 2:6)
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Walk in the truth. (2 John 4; 3 John 3–4)
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Walk according to [God’s] commandments. (2 John 6)
The Christian life is a walk. You can’t get much more pedestrian than that. It’s not a high jump. It’s not cliff diving, or bungee jumping, or parasailing. It’s not all that extreme. It’s just a walk—slow, steady, and sustainable. There are moms who are called to do exceptional things, like going to the mission field or adopting a needy child. Praise God for them. Pray for them! But don’t believe the lie that your life is somehow meaningless if you devote it to raising your children, serving in your local church, and reaching out to your sphere of influence, as limited as it may be.
Don’t believe the lie that your life is somehow meaningless if you devote it to “mundane” tasks.
Mom, you have an amazing opportunity to show your children what faithfulness to their Savior looks like. You can show them genuine humility and unselfishness. You can model the fruit of the Spirit for them. You can teach them how to share the gospel with their friends—and pray with them for the salvation of those friends. You can help them strive for holiness without haughtiness. You can train them to love everyone and to abhor prejudice. You can help them see that being a regular and enthusiastic part of a strong local church is a joy, not a burden. Walk with them. Teach them the joys of a walk with Jesus. They may grow up to do amazing, radical things. And they may grow up to be normal, anonymous Christians for God’s glory—which is a high calling indeed!
Let the gospel give meaning to your beautifully mundane life.
Explore the whole book!
The value of a mother is difficult to express without sounding clichéd. But a mother’s work is exceptionally important—and excruciatingly difficult much of the time. The physical price of carrying a child is surpassed only by the investment she makes in that child for the rest of his or her life. In Gospel Meditations for Mothers, moms will find encouragement from the authoritative and sufficient Word of God in their eternally important work and labor of love!
