PODCAST TRANSCRIPT | EPISODE 429: THE FLOURISHING MOTHER, PT 11
LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell
EPISODE 429: THE FLOURISHING MOTHER, PT 11
Today we conclude this wonderful series with THE FLOURISHING MOTHER HAS HER EYES ON THE ETERNAL GOAL. Motherhood is an eternal career, above every other career, as we train and prepare eternal souls for the eternal kingdom.
Announcer: Welcome to the podcast, Life to the Full, with Nancy Campbell, founder and publisher of Above Rubies, a magazine bringing strength and encouragement to families across the world.
Nancy Campbell: Hello, ladies! Today we’re getting to our last point on this wonderful series, “How to be a Flourishing Mother.” But before I get onto this last point, which is number 13, I have a few thoughts to share with you.
Last week we were speaking on the subject of THE FLORUISHING MOTHER HAS A SERVANT’S HEART. I spent most of that podcast sharing Scriptures with you. Of course, the Scriptures are the most powerful thing that I can share with you, but I didn’t get time to share anything practical. So, I want to share just a little bit today about that, because all right, we spoke about having a servant’s attitude in our homes.
I believe that servant attitude starts with our husbands, of course, and then our children. We serve our husband, we serve our children, we serve our homes. But it starts with our husbands. I want to encourage you, lovely ladies, to delight in serving your husband. I think we talked about these Scriptures in the last podcast.
Matthew 20:28, which says: “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.” That just means “to serve.” For “the son of man came not to be served, but to serve.” That’s what Jesus came to do. When I looked up that word “serve” in my Greek lexicon, it says it means, “a domestic servant; to offer food and drink.”
It even says these words: “a woman preparing food; to supply food and the necessities of life; to serve another’s interests; to wait upon someone.” Well, that sounds like serving food in our homes, doesn’t it? That’s a description.
And so, my lovely darling ladies, please don’t look down upon serving your husband his food. Even serving him breakfast, maybe before he gets out to work to make sure you give him a wholesome breakfast before he leaves. That is part of our serving ministry. It’s part of who we are as a wife, to be his helper, to help him be prepared to go out and face that day as he provides for our home.
I remember when I got to podcast 400, today it’s 429. I said to all of the ladies, “If you have listened to 400 podcasts, let me know, and tell me how you have been blessed.” I was surprised at how many shared with me that they had actually listened to 400 podcasts. Now I think that is pretty amazing.
Anyway, one lovely lady emailed back and said that she had, and also that she had been challenged through my podcasts to start serving her husband, and to delight in preparing meals for the family. She shared with her friends how she had started getting up and getting breakfast for her husband before he left for work. She was telling her friends how that had become such a blessing in their relationship.
And you know what? She said her friends said to her, “Oh, you're crazy!” They thought she was crazy because she was reaching out and taking time to serve her husband breakfast. Can you believe it? No wonder we have such a breakdown of marriage in our society today when wives don’t even think that they should serve their husband breakfast! They think a wife is crazy to do that? Goodness, where are we at? You can’t believe it, can you?
I think back to after Jesus had risen from the dead, and I love this story. Jesus wanted to find His disciples because He had a specific word He wanted to give to Peter. We read about this in John 21, the last chapter of John. We find that when Jesus went down to the Galilee, He saw His disciples. They were out on Lake Galilee fishing.
As they came to shore, the Bible says that they saw a fire glowing there. There was seen on that fire; there was fish, and there was bread. And Jesus was cooking breakfast. Now, just get this, ladies. This is Jesus, the Creator of the world, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, just risen from the dead. And what is He doing? He’s cooking! He’s cooking for His disciples.
Sometimes there are many mothers who think, “Oh! Cooking’s too lowly for me! I just have to do it, but it’s not my thing.” No, lovely ladies, this was something Jesus wanted to do for His disciples, even after He had risen from the dead. And we read here, in verse 12: “And Jesus said to His disciples, come and dine!”
And then in verse 13, it says: “Then Jesus comes and takes bread, and gives them the fish and the bread.” He gives it to them. He serves them. He doesn’t even say, “Come and get it, guys!” No, He takes it and He gives it to them. He takes the role of a servant and serves them. He’s showing us the example, not only of laying down His life to take upon Himself our sins and the sins of the world, but even after rising from the dead, He’s still walking in this servant attitude. He’s cooking. He’s serving His disciples.
And so, lovely ladies, don’t despise cooking meals for your family. Oh, that’s just a very practical way of serving. But it’s one of the most basic ways that we do in our family. So, delight in it. Amen? I just want to remind you about that.
This last week, I came across a very interesting revelation that I had never seen before. It kind of ties in here with what we are talking about at the moment. But it’s in a Scripture, a Scripture I know so well. I quote it so many times. I’ve preached on it. But I’ve never seen this understanding before.
Genesis 2:15: “And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.”
I think you know what the word “Eden” is, don’t you? The word “Eden” in the Hebrew means “delight, pleasure, enjoyment.” In fact, one translation calls it the “paradise of enjoyment.” And the Garden of Eden was the prototype of the very first home. This is what God wants all our homes to be. He wants us to make them a delight, a place of pleasure, a place of enjoyment.
But then it goes on to say that He put the man in the garden “to dress it and to keep it.” Well, the word “dress” in the Hebrew is abad. It means “to work, to till the land.” And “to keep it” is the Hebrew word shamar, and it means “to guard, to watch over.” So, God put the man in the garden to work at it, and to guard and watch over it.
I was reading that Scripture again and looking up a few different translations on it. I’m a great King James Bible reader but I love to also look at other translations. I thought, “I’ll look up the Young’s Literal Translation.” That’s by Robert Young who also compiled the Young’s Concordance which was published in 1879. It’s a very literal translation and this is what it says: “And Jehovah God taketh the man, and causeth him to rest in the garden of Eden, to serve it, and to keep it.”
Wow! I’d never seen those words “causeth him to rest” before! Because I’d never read this translation. Wow! I thought, “Why, I’d better check some more translations!” I did find it in two other translations too. I found it in the Literal Standard Version. It seems to be in the literal translations and also in the Berean Literal Bible.
Once again, it says the same thing: “And Jehovah God taketh the man, and causeth him to rest in the garden of Eden, to serve it, and to keep it.” Exactly the same as the Young’s Literal Translation. I thought, “Well, wow! Where did they get that?” So, I’ve got to go back to the Hebrew, back to the original.” So, I go back to there and I look it up, and I find, “Yes, it is there!
It’s the Hebrew word yanah and it means “to rest, to settle down, to repose.” It also means “to lay down, or to set down.” And, of course, I guess if you lay something to rest, if you lay it down on a table, well, it’s going to rest there, isn’t it? But in the Hebrew Lexicon, the first meaning is “to rest.” So, those translations were absolutely correct. God put the man . . . in fact, one translation says: “The Lord God resteth Adam in the Garden of Eden.”
Now that is the prototype for all homes. So, when God puts us in our home, he puts us there, He rests us in our home. The Bible calls a home “a resting place.” But then I had to think, “Well, how does this work? Because God puts us in the home to rest.” There it is. It’s in the Hebrew, dear ladies.
And there’s another Scripture which says: “In your own home, the Lord says, I will give you rest.” And so, God’s heart is for us to live in a home of rest. But how on earth do we do that, when we’ve got to work! Wow! And then it also says that “God put the man.” He rested the man in the home to work, to till the ground, and to watch over it. Of course, this was before the fall.
It was after the fall that all the thistles and everything came and it all became more difficult to work at. But it was still work. God gave work before the fall, and He gave work to Adam, to keep that land, to till it But He wanted him to do it in an attitude of rest, with enjoyment. Yes, he had to work hard. I think this is something we have to learn.
This was a whole new revelation to me, and I hope it is for you, lovely ladies. But yes, we’ve got to work in our homes. And we have to work hard to keep our homes in good order, and manage them, and care for our children. Many times, at the end of the day, you are, ooh, you are so ready to just put your head on the pillow and get that restful sleep for the night.
But God wants us to work. But He wants us to do it in an attitude of rest. I do believe we come to that when we embrace it with joy, and we’re not doing it with resignation. “Oh, I’ve just got to do this. Poor me!” Or with a whole lot of complaints and groaning.
But no, we’re doing it for delight. We’re doing it as worship unto the Lord. Yes, because we’re serving our home. That literal translation, remember it says: “to serve it, and to keep it.” To serve it, and to keep it. And so, we’re serving in our home, but we’re doing it with delight. So, even when it’s hard work, even hard physical work. Hard physical work can be enjoyable! It all depends on our attitude.
I always remember reading, years and years ago about this man of God. He had a full ministry, but he always signed his letters “restfully busy.” I’ve never forgotten that. I think that’s a beautiful thing too, if we can get into taking this attitude into serving in our home, to be restfully busy.
Do you think you can have a restfully busy day today? Oh, I know you've got lots to do. And if it’s getting too much, sometimes you're taking on too much. Maybe taking on too much outside the home because God will give you grace for what you have to do in the home. That is the task He’s given you, to be this manager of the home.
But to do it in an attitude of rest, knowing that God, who is rest, dwells in you. Christ in you, the hope of glory. He lives in rest. Nothing gets Him uptight; nothing gets Him in a state of confusion or all that uptightness. No, He lives in rest and He lives in you. Amen? Well, may you be blessed with that little revelation that I got from the Word this last week.
Now, we’re onto the last point.
No. 13. THE FLOURISHING MOTHERT HAS HER EYES ON THE ETERNAL GOAL
This is the last point, dear ladies. This is such a powerful point, perhaps the greatest of all, that we mother with our eyes on the eternal goal. If we’re just mothering from day to day, just getting through each day, we’re most probably just surviving.
But if we can get an understanding that we are mothering for eternity, that what we are doing, even the most mundane jobs, God sees them. He sees you in your home, and this is where He has placed you. You are in His perfect will. Everything you are doing is for eternity because you are serving and keeping your home to make it a home where God dwells, and your children are raised in a home in the presence of the Lord, preparing them for eternity. You have your eyes on the eternal goal.
You know that your children are eternal souls, so you're not mothering just for this life. You’re not mothering just, oh, so they will get a good career. Well, yes, you want them to have a good career, and especially that your sons will have a good career that can provide for their families. You will be preparing them to be good providers and so on.
But ultimately, you are preparing them for eternity. Can you get this in your heart, lovely ladies? Oh, I know, I even would forget. It’s so easy in the midst of the whole grind of everyday life, and everything we have to do, to forget the eternal goal. But if we can seek to keep that before us, that would be so wonderful.
Let’s go to 1 Thessalonians 2:19. I love this Scripture here. This is Paul, speaking about the young Thessalonian Christians. They were like his babes in Christ, his children he was growing in the Lord. What does he say about them? “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? For ye are our glory and joy.”
If Paul could say that about those young believers, what about our very own children? Because this is what God has given us to do, to disciple them, and prepare them for eternity. So, when we stand before the Lord, we bring them before the Lord, and they are our hope and our joy and our crown of rejoicing as we present them before the Lord in the eternal realm. They are all there. Not one is lost, and they are our glory and our joy!
And so, we are seeking to lead them to Jesus, even at an early age, I do believe, mothers, that children living in a godly home where the Word of God is read every day, hopefully every morning and every evening, and that Word is going into their hearts, even as a little babe is at the breast, nursing from the mother, or on the mother’s knee and the father is reading the Word . . . .
As they’re growing, and becoming little toddlers, and they’re getting to three or four years of age, that Word is in their hearts. They may not understand it fully, but that Word is there, and that Word is powerful. Even as the Bible says in 2 Timothy 3:15, a most powerful Scripture. Here Paul is talking to Timothy, and he says: “And that from a child thou hast known” (thou hast known) “the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”
Now the word “child” there is the Greek word brephos. That word was used of Jesus when He was in the womb! It was used of Jesus when He was a babe lying in the manger and the angels said to the shepherds: “You will find a babe lying in a manger” and the word “babe” is brephos. It’s the same word as “child” here. So, the word brephos means “a babe in the womb, a newborn babe, a little child.”
And it’s speaking of a child, not an adult. A child. “From a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures.” And children, young children who have the Scriptures getting into them, the Scriptures prepare them for salvation. And they can be prepared to receive Christ into their hearts. Many of our children came to know Jesus when they were about four years of age. Is that too young? No. That moment is still real in their lives even in their sixties today. It’s something that is real.
Watch out for your children. Be watching to see when their hearts are tender, and when they may be ready to receive Jesus. You can ask them, “Would you like Jesus to come into your heart to be your Savior?” And many times, they are ready, and they’ll say yes.
It can become a very real thing in their lives as they invite Christ in, because I want to tell you, the devil is after your children. He wants to get into their minds, and into their souls, even from an early age. But we want Jesus to get into their lives, into their hearts, into their minds, into their souls from a very early age, so they belong to Him. Because they are eternal souls, and we want them to be ready for the everlasting kingdom. Hallelujah! Oh, how glorious.
Just the other day, I was thinking of John 3:16. Every single one of us knows that Scripture by heart. All your children know it. Children listening, I’m sure you all know John 3:16. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” That is the greatest hope, the greatest promise, the greatest Scripture in the Word of God; that when we believe on Him, we receive everlasting life.
We are preparing for everlasting life that will be forever and ever. Our minds cannot take it in, but we need to dwell on this. We need to have it before us. And we need to be constantly reminding our children of it, so that as they grow up, they are growing up with eternity before them, knowing that their lives are preparing for eternity. And only what comes from eternity will last.
It’s like that quote:
“Only one life ‘twill soon be past;
Only what’s done for Christ will last.”
Do you know that quote? I was brought up on that quote, and I taught my children that quote. They all know it. It was quoted by a man named Charles Studd. He was known as CT Studd. He was a famous cricketeer in England. He became very famous. He came from a very wealthy family.
But he came to know Jesus, and when he came to know Jesus, he gave up his fame as a cricketeer. He gave up all his wealth. He was left an inheritance which he could have lived on for the rest of his life. He just gave it all away, and he went out to the mission field. He went out to China first. He was there for ten years in China, then seven years in India. Then in Africa for 20 years.
He just poured out his life for God. He was the one who wrote that saying. He also quoted this one:
“If Jesus Christ be God, and died for me, then no sacrifice is too great for me to make for Him.”
Isn’t that powerful? That’s another quote that I grew up on. Here’s another quote from CT Studd:
“Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell.
I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell.”
That was the kind of guy he was.
Then I also love that quote by, well, we think it’s by Jim Elliott. He’s the one who’s known to have said it because he quoted it and he wrote it. But I’ve actually checked it out, and it was first written by Phillip Henry. Phillip Henry was the father of the famous Matthew Henry who wrote the whole commentary of the Bible.
This is a quote from Jim Elliott:
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep in order to gain what he cannot lose.”
The original quote from Phillip Henry is, “He is no fool who parts with that which he cannot keep, when he is sure to be recompensed for that which he cannot lose.”
By the way, did you see the recent movie that came out called The Great Awakening? Such a wonderful movie that speaks about and shows about George Whitfield and also Benjamin Franklin. It’s how George Whitfield prepared the way for the Great Awakening in America.
I also read that George Whitfield was born the year that Matthew Henry died. When he was converted, he got hold of Matthew Henry’s commentary. It says in his biography that he read through Matthew Henry’s commentary four times, twice while on his knees in prayer. He took it everywhere with him.
OK, so, lovely ladies, teach that quote to your children.
“Only one life ‘twill soon be past;
Only what’s done for Christ will last.”
Amen? Teach them to live for eternity. Give them a heart to serve the Lord, to give their whole lives to the Lord. Not partially, not compromisingly, not to be taken up completely with the things of this life, but to put Jesus first, knowing that this life is just such a vapor. It’s here today, and it’s gone tomorrow, just like a little vapor that we see and then it’s gone. The real world is the eternal world. Amen?
Let me take you to a few other Scriptures. 2 Peter. This is a little passage that I have been memorizing recently. Words that are so powerful for us to remember. They’re from 2 Peter 3:10-14: “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
“Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.”
Did you know, ladies, that this earth is going to be burned up? Then we “melt with fervent heat,” and God is going to create new heavens and a new earth (the heavens being the heavenly bodies—the stars, the planets, and so on. It’s all going to be new. New heavens, new earth. This time “wherein dwelleth righteousness.”
The Bible is encouraging us. What does it say? Two times it says here: “Looking for the coming of the Day of God . . . looking for these new heavens.” This is what we are encouraged to do and what we should be doing. We should put this into our children, that they also have a heart that they’re looking, not just for the things of this world, but looking for this day. . . but our hearts are always looking and because we know that He’s coming, we will want to live lives of holiness, without spot, without blame. Amen?
I remember how one Scripture says that He is coming for those who are looking for Him. Are we looking for Him each day? Let’s go over to 1 Corinthians 3. This is another passage that I have been memorizing because they’re such powerful, powerful Scriptures. From verse 11: “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” He is the foundation of our lives. If our lives are built on any other foundation, they’re going to fail. Again, to be just like the house that was built on the sand, and it just falls to nothing.
Verse 12: “Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.”
And so, how do we want to get into this eternal kingdom? There are two ways. This passage tells us about getting in “so as by fire.” Wow! It’s a picture of a building that’s burning and everything is just getting burned up. Maybe the family is inside and we get out! Everyone’s saved! You are saved. Maybe the family is saved. But you lose absolutely everything. Some people are going to get into eternity that way. Because they have believed in Jesus they will receive everlasting life.
But they’ve built nothing for eternity. And dear ladies, we are building for eternity here. Yes, we are preparing now for eternity. And so, not only are we doing this, but we must also encourage and put this goal within our children’s hearts too.
But then, of course, there is another way we can get in. 2 Peter tells us how we can get in with an abundant entrance. Isn’t that wonderful? So, let’s plan for that, shall we? An abundant entrance which you can rad about in 2 Peter 1:11.
All right. Oh, goodness me! There are just so many wonderful Scriptures. I won’t have time to give them all to you. Maybe I have time for just one more.
Let’s go over, shall we, to Titus 2. Here’s another one. We’ll read from verse 11: “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.”
Why? Verse 13: “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar” (that means “a special”) “people, zealous of good works.”
And so, because we are looking for His coming, we will be encouraged to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world. As we give our precious children a vision, and an understanding of the eternal world, we encourage them to live for eternity. That will encourage them to live holy lives, to live before God without spot, and without turning to the right or the left to evil but to run a straight course, keeping their eyes on the eternal world. Amen?
So, lovely ladies, this too, if you have this in your heart, and you know that, oh my, everything that you're doing as a mother will not be wasted. All that time you spend in prayer for your children, and putting the Word into them, and nurturing them, and loving them, and training them, and preparing them for this life, but ultimately the everlasting life.
Wow! You can live as a flourishing mother because you're doing the greatest thing you could ever do in the world! Because it’s something that will last for eternity. Hallelujah!
“Only one life ‘twill soon be past;
Only what’s done for Christ will last.”
Amen?
“Oh, dear Father, I pray that You will encourage every mother listening today to realize that she is doing an eternal work, that she will have a new understanding, Lord, of the eternal world. And that her children are eternal souls, created for this eternal world.
“Help us all, Lord, all of us, oh God, to keep our eyes upon You, and what You have for us, and what is ahead. That this life is just such a vapor, and the real world is the eternal world. Help us to live in the light of this. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.”
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
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