[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"\u002Farticles\u002Fa-mother-to-me":3,"\u002Farticles\u002Fa-mother-to-me-surround":65},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bibleBooks":8,"body":12,"columnName":47,"date":48,"description":18,"extension":49,"image":50,"meta":51,"minRead":52,"navigation":53,"path":54,"postType":55,"publication":56,"publicationUrl":50,"seo":57,"stem":58,"topics":59,"__hash__":64},"blog\u002Farticles\u002Fa-mother-to-me.md","A Mother to Me",{"name":7},"Dave Faust",[9,10,11],"Mark","Luke","1 Timothy",{"type":13,"value":14,"toc":43},"minimark",[15,19,22,25,28,31,34,37,40],[16,17,18],"p",{},"Rarely will you hear anyone preach a sermon based on Romans chapter 16. At first glance, this concluding chapter seems a bit trivial compared to the rest of the book. After dealing with profound themes like sin, salvation, and the grace of God, why does the apostle Paul take time to send greetings to his friends and coworkers in Rome? Why mention nearly three dozen rather boring-sounding names?",[16,20,21],{},"Actually, I'm glad verses like these appear in the Bible, because they show that even deep theological truths are meant for ordinary people with real names, real problems, and real faith. Paul's greetings put a human face on the doctrine of grace. Romans 16 certainly wouldn't have been boring if you had been there in Rome with those early Christians who first received Paul's letter!",[16,23,24],{},"Imagine sitting in the congregation and hearing your name read by the preacher: \"Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia\" (v. 5). (Every convert is special, but Paul must have felt a special fondness for the first person who dared to accept the Lord in a large region where thousands eventually came to Christ.)",[16,26,27],{},"It's also noteworthy that Paul's list of names includes quite a few women. There's Phoebe, \"a servant of the church\" who \"has been a great help to many people\" (vv. 1, 2). And Priscilla, who along with her husband Aquila risked her life for the gospel and hosted church gatherings in her house (vv. 3, 4). There are Tryphena and Tryphosa (twin sisters, perhaps?), \"those women who work hard in the Lord\" (v. 12).",[16,29,30],{},"But one of the most interesting greetings appears in verse 13 where Paul writes, \"Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too.\" Was this Rufus the son of Simon of Cyrene, who carried Jesus' cross? Perhaps, for Mark 15:21 tells us Simon had a son by that name. But notice what Paul says about Rufus' mother: she \"has been a mother to me, too.\"",[16,32,33],{},"How did this Christian woman \"mother\" Paul? (\"Mother\" can be a verb as well as a noun, you know.) When the apostle came to visit, did she prepare meals for him, wash his clothes, and take care of him when he was sick? Did she and Rufus stay up late listening when Paul needed to talk? Did she pray for him, write to him, and send him \"care packages\" when he was in prison? Did she tearfully hug him good-bye when he set sail on his mission trips? Did she support him out of her own means, as other faithful women had done for Jesus and his disciples (Luke 8:3)? When his adversaries criticized and persecuted him, did Paul find comfort in the knowledge that this dear woman was pulling for him no matter what?",[16,35,36],{},"Elsewhere Paul wrote, \"Treat . . . older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity\" (1 Timothy 5:2). That's the attitude you would expect to find in the family of God. After all, Jesus said, \"Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother\" (Mark 3:35).",[16,38,39],{},"If you've been blessed with a godly mother, as I have, you know the difference a faithful woman's love and service can make. Other Christian women (old and young, married and single) deserve our honor and kindness as well. Perhaps one of them has been \"a mother to you.\"",[16,41,42],{},"Praise God for women who draw us closer to Jesus! After all, the most important name mentioned in Romans 16 is his. \"To the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen\" (v. 27).",{"title":44,"searchDepth":45,"depth":45,"links":46},"",2,[],"From the Editor's Desk","1999-05-09","md",null,{},4,true,"\u002Farticles\u002Fa-mother-to-me","column","The Lookout",{"title":5,"description":18},"articles\u002Fa-mother-to-me",[60,61,62,63],"Biblical Theology","Church Leadership","Intergenerational Ministry","Spiritual Formation","xGobn4eeUlVZmIsXCDkuyZZb1HkkItCMrelLQpPhzjg",[66,71],{"title":67,"path":68,"stem":69,"description":70,"children":-1},"A Minor Miracle?","\u002Farticles\u002Fa-minor-miracle","articles\u002Fa-minor-miracle","There is no such thing as minor surgery. If you are the patient on whom the operation is performed, every procedure seems major to you.",{"title":72,"path":73,"stem":74,"description":75,"children":-1},"A New Day Down Under","\u002Farticles\u002Fa-new-day-down-under","articles\u002Fa-new-day-down-under","I met Oskar on a plane a few weeks ago. He sat next to me during a flight from Los Angeles to Auckland, New Zealand. A native of India and a pediatric surgeon, Oskar was moving his family to New Zealand. I was starting a two-week mission trip."]