…that kind of person. That is what I said about a certain type of parent in my last post. And coincidentally, just a few days after typing those words, I stumbled across someone who exemplified what I would not want to become. I saw an excerpt of her writing while perusing a childfree site, and I actually thought the author was being facetious. I went to the source site to see if this was intended to be serious (it was), and I was dumbfounded by the following quote: “You created life and forever more, you will nurture life. Mothers are almost God-like in that way. And when you carry that force out into the world, you will be awed by the power you have to effect change everywhere. You are now a mother in the world. All hail before you.”
I’ll be the first to admit that I sometimes think too highly of myself. But… wow… just, wow. After I recovered from reading the paragraph above, I remembered something that I recently read in Luke 11:27-28: As [Jesus] said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
I found it fascinating that when someone praised the mother of our Savior for giving birth to and nursing him, he immediately shut the person down with the response that it was instead blessed for someone to keep the word of God. What an interesting set of priorities.
And this shall be my priority too. I know what I don’t want to be; instead, I do want to be the kind of person who hears and keeps the word of God.
I must highlight Luke 11:27-28 in my Bible! Not that Mary wasn't a wonderful young woman, but Jesus was the living Word of God, not her.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like the first hail Mary! Very interesting coming from a childfree perspective, though. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing. I have been reading your blog for some time now. It's great to know there are like-minded Christians out there. They are hard to come by at my church filled with young families.
Thank you both for your comments. Growing up in the Baptist church, I was always taught to have a good, healthy respect for Mary, though we did not elevate her to the level that our Catholic sisters and brothers do.
ReplyDeleteBut as you alluded, Jamie, this verse takes on a whole new meaning when looking through the eyes of a childfree person in a motherhood-obsessed culture.
I understand how you feel. I am reading in a Christian book now for my own study as well as help; The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace. It is a very good book to read, also helps me keeping my focuse into the right things, as well as it is full of biblical back up's in each chapter.
ReplyDeleteThe only parts I didn't liked about this book, is when she writes about one of the duties about being a wife is having children, being a mother. As well as writing about the man and the wife are supposed procreating, as well as being in "One in the flesh". I sure agree about the last part, but procreation doesn't fit for me and my husband.
I do understand that in the biblical times it was very important for humans to be multiplying, and those who couldn't bear any children would be looked down on or being looked at with shame. Also whenever we do come across certain bible verses where such things are written, my husband reminds me about how it was in the biblical time and that we should look at it more like how it was back then, and to not view it as something that one has to be doing during today's society.
When reading those parts where this author talks about these things, I mostly look away from it and take in all the other things that are more fit for my walk in Christ. As a friend of mine told me once; "Not everything written in a book is directly meant for me."