Found Poem

The Reading Mother

I had a Mother who read me things
That wholesome life to a child's heart brings –
Stories that stir with an upward touch.
Oh that every Mother were such!

You may have tangible wealth untold
Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.
Richer than I you can never be.
I had a Mother who read to me.

by Strickland Gillilan

illustration from:
http://sojgraphics.asmallapple.net/

Ladies in Christ

I found this study on 1 Timothy 2:12-15, (from The Church of the Great God's website) with an interesting explanation of "the curse" of woman from Genesis 3, and the idea that she will be "saved through childbearing". What do you think of this study?

. . .

"How, though, is a woman "saved in childbearing"? The word Paul uses for "saved" (sozo) can be used for both physical deliverance from danger and spiritual salvation. How does faith, love, holiness, and self-control prevent or nullify the physical dangers of pregnancy? Conversely, is not salvation by grace? Which salvation does the apostle mean here?

"Neither. A third explanation fits the context better. Paul's main concern in this section is proper order within the church. Men, he writes, should pray and teach. Women should adorn themselves modestly and do good works, but they should not be teaching publicly or leading men. Verse 15 explains what their primary concern should be: "childbearing." Thus, it means that much of God's judgment of women will be based on how well they perform their God-given role in bearing children.

"To us, this sounds quite misogynistic, but to the Greek speaker "childbearing" (teknogonia) covers a great deal more ground than just "popping out babies." The Strong's Concordance definition shows that the extended meaning is "maternity (the performance of maternal duties)." W. E. Vine, in his Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, agrees, writing that it "impl[ies] the duties of motherhood" (p. 190). The Twentieth Century New Testament translates this clause, "But women will find their salvation in motherhood."

"Paul's exhortation aims to bring marriage and family back to what God intended of men and women before Adam and Eve's sin. Just as God will judge men according to how well they fulfill their roles as husbands (leaders) and teachers, so He will judge women by their performance as wives and mothers. Since salvation, particularly the period of sanctification, is a process that covers our entire converted lifetimes, how well we fulfill our God-given responsibilities within our families will make a difference in God's judgment. Paul says we must perform these duties in faith, love, holiness, and self-control—, just as we must do everything else in our Christian lives.

"To summarize, then, the apostle simply states that God will judge and reward a woman according to her growth as a Christian within her appointed sphere of influence: her family. God Himself has drawn the lines between the sexes, and we should do our best to fulfill our roles with excellence, not rebellion or complaint. In this way, we will make progress in reversing the effects of the curses in the Garden of Eden."

Pearls

A friend of mine posted these thoughts on her blog today:

I learned yesterday that a string of pearls (given me by my mother 30 years ago) are real saltwater pearls ... and worth a bit of money. I learned how to take care of them and have put them away until another day.

This knowledge brought my thoughts immediately to the line of thinking on pearls of wisdom ... how much more important are those, received from God's word, than even a valuable string of real pearls? Very much more valuable to me. Sixty-two pearls on a string can't measure up at all, in fact.

So, do you have any pearls of wisdom to share with me today?

Here are my thoughts:

One of the first things I thought of when reading this was the idea that so often we realize later in life all the valuable saltwater pearls that our parents, and others, gave to us. We often take in pearls of wisdom from those who are more mature, not realizing their full value, thinking of them as merely nice, or maybe even a gaudy encumberance or old fashioned notion. Why do we wait to look - really look - at the pearls of great price that we have been given? We put them aside and don't care for them properly, and - how awful! - some of us even know those who have taken those wonderful pearls and given or thrown them away.

I can appreciate the fact that you want to put these physical pearls away until another day, but I do pray that we all wear the pearls of wisdom that we have every day. Maybe June Cleaver had the right idea after all!