This is just a message to inform you that we interrupt this series on “No Turning Back” to begin a series on “Families of the Bible.”  If I can remember, I plan each year to highlight one family from the Bible and look at the mother on Mother’s Day, the father on Father’s Day, the children on Children’s Day and possible the grandparents on “Grandparents Day.”  We will see.

           I am starting this by looking at the first family.  We notice right off the bat several things about this first family that will be important.

           First, they were the first family.  James Dobson hadn’t written any books, they had no parents to learn from, they were really ignorant of all that family meant and had to make it up as they went.

           Second, they were new at sin.  They had no history of family quarrels between themselves.  They were in the process of learning evil, because all they had known before was good.  So though they may have had no idea on how to raise children, they also did not have a history of living in a sinful family to drag them down.  They had no divorce, abuse, incest or other problems to deal with.  They hadn’t faced the stress of unemployment nor the hecticness of life in the fast lane.  Any excuse that they might have for difficult parenting was non-existent. 

           As this is Mother’s Day, we want to look at Eve.  Eve does not get good press in the New Testament.  In the two passages that mention her name, both bring up her deception at the hands of Satan. 2Co 11:3* But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.  1Ti 2:13* For Adam was formed first, then Eve.

           But as we look at the Old Testament, we see a more complete picture.  It is true that she was deceived by Satan.  But there is much more to her than that one incident.

           First, we honor Eve as our mother.  The Bible teaches that all human beings descended from Adam and Eve.  Genetic science is starting to come to understand this concept as well.   Adam named her Eve, which means “life-giver”  in recognition of this honor.  Ge 3:20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.  Genealogists who trace family history will eventually end up with Eve as the very last person entered.  All the lines of all your relatives that split in so many different family trees will converge with Eve.

           Second, we find that Eve, who will be the mother of all the living, had a first priority.  She was created as a “helper fit for Adam.”  The first priority for any mother is to complement her husband.  Children grow up best in a two parent home.  They grow up even better when the two are as one.  The unity of the parents provides stability and consistency for the children.  The Bible does not command the children to obey their Father alone or their mother alone.  Ephesians says, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord.” 

           Third, the best mother is a Christian mother.  Do not misquote me on this point.  I am not telling you that a Christian mother is better than a non-Christian mother.  I am not implying that because a person is a Christian, they are a good mother.  Many people become Christians  because they realize that they are not good and that they need God’s help.  Our church is full of people who struggle with doing what’s right and need God’s help to do so.  We are not better because we are Christians,  we just recognize that we need God’s help.

           What I am telling you is that the best mother is a Christian mother.  In other words, if you follow Christ, he will make you a better mother.  A great mother without Christ is not a great mother.  For the Bible tells us that what our children need most is Jesus.  If a mother gives her children everything the world has to offer and pours our her love, but doesn’t give them Jesus, then they are missing out on salvation, forgiveness of sin, the presence of the Holy Spirit, and will miss the real purpose for which God has created them.

           But if this great mother who loves her children and cares for them and instructs them in the way of life, in the way of Jesus, she will be even better than she was before.  That is why I say that the best mother is a Christian mother.

           Notice how Eve understands this concept.  Ge 4:1 Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man.”  This child that she had came from God.  Her ability to deliver the child came from God.  It is with the help of the Lord she  brought forth a man.

           Eve had close communion with God.  She was there when God, probably Jesus before his incarnation, walked with them in the garden of Eden.  She was deceived and fell, but that close communion with God made her relationship with Him central in her life.  She viewed her children as as gift from God.

           Fourth, Eve experiences, as many of the older women in the church, the heartbreak of children who didn’t do well in life.  We know the story of Cain, her oldest and Abel, her second born.  Cain killed Abel and was banished.  Abel died.  In one short time, this mother lost both her sons.  One to sin and one to death.

           Eve had never had anyone die before.  She had never read in the newspaper nor seen on TV of any death of a total stranger.  She had never had a grandparent, parent or any other relative die.  The first death in the Bible was the death of a good son. And Eve must have struggled with both the rebellion of Cain and the death of Abel. 

           It is interesting as she had her third son that she named him Seth.  Seth can have the meaning of “compensation, or substitute.”  I don’t know if she though the death of Abel would be the end for her, but when Seth was born, she felt a degree of compensation. 

           First, she had a son to replace Abel, though no son could do that completely, it has been my experience that many mothers who have lost children have often found comfort in a new baby.  It may not be the experience of all, but for some certainly it is.

           Second, I may be reading into this a little, but I wonder if it was also compensation for her.  I wonder if she was hearing God say, “What Cain did to Abel was not your fault.  I am not punishing you for your children’s sin.” 

           Your bring your children up as good as you can.  But they are independent agents.  As a matter of fact, I wondered if in Genesis 4:1, when Eve said, “I have brought forth a man” if the Hebrew word here was Adam.  If so, then she would have been complementing her husband.

           But that was not the case.  The word Adam can also mean “mankind” and is used in more of a universal sense.  The Hebrew word used for man can be translated “individual” in that “I have brought forth a particular man, an individual.”  Cain was an individual.  He was not Adam he was not Eve.  He was independent of both and he acted that way.

           How it must have broken this mother’s heart to see her family fall apart before her eyes.  We don’t know what support Eve had from Adam.  I am sure he did his best, but he had never had to deal with sin and death before.  This was a new experience for him.

           So in Eve we see all the mothers of the world.  From Eve’s life I would just like to give you a couple of thoughts.

           Sin is real.  It stands behind the conflicts you have with your spouse and it stands behind the fiercely independent nature of your children. 

           A good mother needs to lean on God.  We cannot fully control other people.  We are to guide, instruct and be involved with our children, but they are independent and individuals.  You will need to lean on God to help you in areas over which you cannot control.

           Motherhood was the second task given to women.  The first task was to be a companion to their husband and the second was to nurture and care for their children.  Children are a gift from God.  Love them.  Enjoy them.  And grab on to the fact that your work with children is one of the most important tasks one can have.  Do your best.