The Profile of a Godly Mother

For better or worse, mothers are the makers of men; they are the architects of the next generation. That’s why the goal of becoming a godly mother is the highest and most noble pursuit of womanhood. God has specially equipped women for that very purpose, and in Christ, women can experience profound satisfaction in that divinely ordained pursuit. They can be who God created them to be.

Contrary to popular opinion, the most important characteristic of a godly mother is her relationship, not with her children, but with her husband. What you communicate to your children through your marital relationship will stay with them for the rest of their lives. By watching you and your husband, they are learning the most fundamental lessons of life--love, self-sacrifice, integrity, virtue, sin, sympathy, compassion, understanding, and forgiveness. Whatever you teach them about those things, right or wrong, is planted deep within their hearts.

That emphasis on marriage was very evident between Elkanah and Hannah in 1 Samuel. They were dedicated to the faithful worship of God (1:3), and they were dedicated to loving one another (1:4-8). Their situation--being unable to have children together--was like an open wound. But it was an experience that drew out of Elkanah tender expressions of love for his wife.

At a particularly low point in Hannah’s discouragement, Elkanah comforted his wife with these words: “Hannah, why do you weep and why do you not eat and why is your heart sad? Am I not better to you than ten sons?” (1:8). That may not seem like a tremendous comfort to you, but he was appealing to the satisfaction they enjoyed in their marriage. Notice the effect: Hannah was encouraged--she started to eat and drink again (1:9), and she went to the temple to seek the Lord (1:9-11).

That’s the kind of marriage to which a godly mother is devoted--dedication to loving God, dedication to loving one another. That’s the soil where godly mothers grow and flourish.

—John MacArthur