Romans 16:13 The Power of the Mom Influence
Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine.
(Romans 16:13 NKJV)
“An ounce of mother is worth a ton of priest.”
– Spanish proverb
“I cannot tell you how much I owe to the solemn word of my good mother.”
“My mother said to me, “If you become a soldier you’ll be a general; if you become a monk you’ll end up as the pope.” Instead, I became a painter and wound up as Picasso.”
I am quite certain that everyone in this room was influenced by our mothers. Good or bad, Mother’s Day reminds us of their contribution.
Every mother has an influence. They are in a unique position to share and impart into everyone in our lives good things.
Prayers are said
Emotions are shared
Security is provided
Skills and manners are taught
Faith values are transferred
A mother has a special sphere of influence. She can impart love, the most basic and important value that Christians should learn and share.
We recognize mothers of physical children today. But in some sense, every woman can share what I call that “Mom influence”. Rufus’ mother shared her influence with Rufus, a physical son, and with Paul, a spiritual son.
You might be thinking: “Why does Paul write about Rufus and his mother?”. This verse has an interesting history.
Paul calls Rufus, “chosen in the Lord” which means that he became a Christian. How did Rufus come to Christ? Scholars point to another verse in Scripture that also has the name of Rufus.
Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross.
(Mark 15:21 NKJV)
Mark according to tradition wrote his Gospel in Rome, and therefore some scholars believe that there is a link between Rufus the son of Simon who carred the cross of Jesus, and the Rufus that Paul greets in the book of Romans.
Simon had no interest in Christ when he met Jesus. But Simon was forced to carry Jesus’ cross and that experience changed his life. Simon came home and told his family about Jesus. It is very possible that this testimony changed his family forever. For we see that Mark identifies two sons of Simon as his children. These names come up again in the New Testament. When they do come up, it has to do with infleunce.
In Romans 16:13, Rufus, son of Simon, is described as the son of a woman whom the apostle Paul considered his surrogate mother. Put the pieces together and it’s obvious that when Simon returned home, he told his wife about Christ and the crucifixion. She became not only a godly woman, but an influence to Paul. Simon told his sons Alexander and Rufus about what he had witnessed, and they became two of the greatest believers in the first-century church. The surprising embarrassment Simon endured that day turned out to be a great good for Simon and for his family.
So one man, influenced his family and they became Christian. Simon’s wife, who had children, influenced her own children as well as other people.
So a mother’s influence can be given to two groups of children: physical children and spiritual children. The Bible gives examples of both.
the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things– that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.
(Titus 2:3-5 NKJV)
The Bible shows in Titus that women who are married should love their husbands and love their children. This illustrates to us that mothers of physical children should share their “mom influence”. But this verse also says that there will be women who can share that “mom influence” with younger women.
So you can share that “mom influence” with physical children if you are a young mother with a new-born baby, a mother with grown children, or a grandmother.
This even says that you have that “mom influence” if a Christian woman is married to an unbelieving husband.
If you are a Christian woman who works with children, students, or even the elderly, you too can share that “mom influence”.
All Christian women will share that “mom influence” with someone.
Moms, who are the children you are influencing? Moms, are you instilling the value of love to your children? Ladies, are there people to whom you can mentor like Rufus’ mother did for Paul?
Ladies, you need to know today that you make a difference in the lives of everyone you touch. When you change that diaper, when you help with the homework, when you cook that meal, when you teach that Bible lesson, every action you do influences someone else. You are impacting other people. We celebrate that influence today. But we at IBC Bremen also want to challenge every Christian lady today to consider how you can influence others in their spiritual walk.
Every lady here can influence another person in positive ways. You can make a difference. You can share with them the love of Christ and pass that on to the next generation, and the one after that, and the one after that.
Look at the people around you, in your sphere of influence – whether that is a schoolroom, a boardroom, or the living room. Make a resolution today that you will continue to use the power that God has given you to influence others for God. Whether that is sharing a prayer, a scripture, a testimony, or a meal, think of every act of influence as an act of love for God. Paul said this to Titus, that women should love their husbands and their children with God’s love. He knows because he learned it from his spiritual mother – the unnamed mother of Rufus. We don’t even know her name, but we see the result of her influence. Rufus’s mother influenced her son, her spiritual son Paul, and even generations of Christians. We wish the same will be true for you. Happy Mother’s Day
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