August is Women’s Month in
South Africa. We celebrate our mothers, sisters and friends who, like during
Biblical times, are central to God’s work and are pivotal role-models of how to
serve our Lord.
The stories of great women
in the Bible are inspirational to women today. Not only do they play a key
role in advancing the Kingdom of God (and often they are not recognized for it)
but they also prepared many other heroes and heroines of the faith to fulfill
their calling.
Mary, mother of Jesus,
remained a lifelong support, disciple and friend of the Saviour.
Elizabeth was key to forming
and preparing John the Baptist.
Hannah gave a powerful
prophet, Samuel, to the temple to serve God fervently.
Lois and Eunice educated a
zealous minister of the Word, called Timothy.
And this list goes on to
share with us the stories of these brave women and their work for God on all the
pages of the Scriptures.
The Bible shares amazing
stories about many strong women who played a central role in God’s encounters
with his people! Two of the many heroines of faith were the mother and
grandmother of Timothy.
The little that the Bible
tells us about these two ladies speaks volumes for their character. One verse,
2 Timothy 1:5 says: “When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is
in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois, and your mother Eunice; and
I am persuaded that is also in you.”
Paul was telling Timothy
that he saw great character in him and that he would become a pillar of
strength in the church. Paul’s letters to the young minister often refer to the
things Timothy had been taught and the things he had learned.
Timothy’s grandmother Lois
and mother Eunice taught Timothy about the Bible, about God and about Jesus, as
they seemed to be diligent students of God’s Word.
We know that without our
strong mothers, sisters and women co-workers, the church would have been too
poor, even unable, to fulfill her mission and serve her Lord.
We salute you, our mothers
and sisters! We confess that through the history of the church you were not
recognised as you should have been. We repent of this un-Christlike lack of
gratitude and respect.
We honour you and urge you
to continue to be as heroic as the women of God always had been in God’s
encounters with his people!
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