A Lady in the Wilderness

Hello Dear Brothers,

It is that time again, it is Mother's Day coming this Sunday. We are thankful for the moms who faithfully seek to raise their children in the instruction and admonishing of the Lord. The question is what is a mother? She is a lady in the wilderness who is nourished and kept by faith by God through Jesus Christ her Lord and Savior.

All women, men and children, are to live by faith in Christ but what does that mean? Furthermore, why is that so? Mothers are to live by faith and not by sight. That faith causes them to be fruitful for God, submitted to God, rejoicing in God and eagerly waiting for God.

We cannot talk about mothers without mentioning Eve. She is after all called, "the mother of all living" (Genesis 3:20). She is often remembered for her contribution to the fall of mankind.

Eve lived in a sinless world and had holy uninterrupted fellowship with God and her husband. However, she was deceived by the serpent that if she and her husband ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they would become like God and not die, even though God said they would die if they partook of the tree.

Eve lived by sight and not by faith and ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and gave that fruit to her husband and he also ate. From that point on all of mankind was plunged into sin, death and darkness. Adam and Eve were exiled from the Garden of Eden into the wilderness.

Praise be to God that was not the end of the story! Eve received the Gospel from God that there would be a seed to come who would crush the serpent and undo sin and death. Eve lived by faith in the one to come. We see this to be true after Cain kills Abel, both of whom were her sons, she by faith gives herself to her husband and they conceived Seth who was a godly seed (Genesis 4:25-26).

In a perfect world Eve lived by sight and sinned. Now, Eve lives in a broken world and lives by faith and is blessed by God. Even though Cain killed Abel, she had faith in God's promise, in the one who was to come. Eve was fruitful for God, submitted to God, rejoicing in God and eagerly waiting for God all by faith in Jesus Christ, her Savior and Lord.

She is a picture of the Church who is the lady in the wilderness (Rev. 12:13-17) who is pursued by the dragon but is nourished by God during her time of exile. Until Christ returns, the Church is to be fruitful for God, submitted to God, rejoicing in God and eagerly waiting for God by faith in Jesus Christ, her Savior and Lord (1 Peter 1:3-9). She, the Church, is the mother of all living (Revelation 12).

To all the mothers in Christ in our congregations, they represent and picture the great Gospel truth that the promised Child has come, ascended and will soon return. May our individual mothers, along with our corporate Mother-the Church, be encouraged to continue to be fruitful for God, submitted to God, rejoicing in God and eagerly waiting for God by faith in Jesus Christ, her Savior and Lord.

Happy Mother's Day,

Pastor Sterling Brown

Westminster Presbytery Stated Clerk