MOTHERS – INSTRUMENTS OF GOD’S WORK

Mothers are special people whom God our LORD uses for the work of His kingdom. Many a mother was used by God to raise up godly children. Many a mother was used by our LORD to raise mighty men and women of God. Monica, the devoted and prayerful mother of Augustine of Hippo is one such example. Susanna Wesley, the mother of John Wesley and his brother Charles Wesley is another fine example.

Today, 13 November is the day Monica the mother of Augustine of Hippo died in 387 AD in Ostia, Italy. Today, 13 November also happens to be the birthday of Augustine of Hippo, born in 354 AD. Augustine is the greatest of the Early Latin Church Fathers. Among all of his writings, two have endured – “Confessions” which give us a glimpse into the circumstances leading to his conversion to the Christian faith, and “The City of God” which is a Christian perspective of the destruction of the city of Rome by Visigoths in 410.

Monica and Susanna Wesley are mothers in the long list of godly women used by God for raising great and mighty servants of God, for the glory of God, for the benefit of the Kingdom of God, and for the blessing of His people. A glimpse at the influence that Monica the mother of Augustine had on his life and ministry is worth looking at. She is an example of passionate and persistent prayer, often filled with anguish filled tears for the spiritual welfare of her son Augustine.

Here is an assorted insights from various sources, into the “Influence of Monica, the mother of Augustine, on his Life and his Conversion.
– Persistent Prayer and Tears: Monica prayed, fasted, and wept for Augustine for 17 years while he lived a hedonistic lifestyle, had a child out of wedlock, and followed Manichaeism (a dualistic religion that rejected Christ’s full divinity).
– Spiritual Pursuit: When Augustine tried to slip away from her in the dark of night in Carthage, she tracked him down and travelled across the Mediterranean Sea to Rome and Milan to remain close to him.
– Counsel from Church Leadership: She sought the help of local clergy and bishops, famously receiving reassurance from a bishop that “it is not possible that the son of so many tears should perish.”
– The Milan Conversion: Her presence in Milan coincided with Augustine hearing the preaching of Bishop Ambrose. This eventually culminated in Augustine’s dramatic conversion in a garden and his baptism at Easter in the year 387, an event that brought Monica immense joy.

Dear brothers and sisters, the Church greatly needs such unrelenting passionate, persistent and prayerful mothers. There is a dearth of such mighty women and mothers in the Kingdom of God, today. Dear mothers and fathers, can we think about it seriously? Can we pray that the LORD would yet again raise such passionate and persistent women and mothers, who would seek the face of God our Father unrelentingly, with tears for the salvation of their own children? Even so, the LORD Jesus help us.