When you speak harshly in anger to your child, it’s your theology that reminds you that Jesus came to die for those very sins. It tells you that Jesus lived a perfect life, was never unkind, always loving and that his righteousness has been credited to you in being joined to him by faith. It tells you that he is at work in you even now, leading you to repentance and refining the work that he began in you.
When your meaning becomes merged with your role as mother, it’s your theology that reminds you that your identity is found in Christ. It’s not found in how successful you are as a mother, or in how well-behaved your child is, or in how neat and clean you keep your home. Your meaning, purpose, significance and identity is grounded in who you are as a redeemed and adopted child of God.
When you are drop-dead tired and your child is sick and your husband is out of town for work and you don’t think you can make it until he returns, it is your theology that tells you that God will provide you with the grace you need in the moment. It is your theology that reminds you that you can’t do life on your own and that, without Jesus, you can do nothing. It tells you that your rest and hope is found in Christ alone and that you can trust him to sustain you.
Real Hope, Real Wisdom, Real Peace
It is tempting as moms to think that what we need to make our lives better is a quick solution—something tangible that we can implement tomorrow to make things run smoothly and comfortably. When the daily challenges of running a home and raising children overwhelm us, we think that what we need most is a fresh idea or a new technique, and then everything will be OK. So in those few moments when we have time to think and read, we reach out for those practical books and articles, hoping that some new tip will change things.
While books with practical tips are useful for some things, the hope they provide can be short-lived. In truth, it is in theology, in our study of who God is and what he has done, that gives us the real hope, real wisdom and real peace that we need in our lives—the kind that lasts. It’s theology—knowing God—that anchors us in the chaos of motherhood.
So moms, theology isn’t just for pastors, teachers and professors; it’s for you too. And it’s not for another stage of life. It’s vital for you right here, right now, in the trenches of your daily life as a mom.
