Motherhood Through Your Redeemer - 2025 Mother's Day Sermon

Motherhood Through Your Redeemer

A Second Serving Article Based on the 2025 Mother’s Day Sermon

Mother’s Day is a modern tradition dedicated to recognizing and honoring women who have had children. While it is often seen as a day of celebration, it can also bring deep pain. That pain might come from the loss of a child or mother, the difficulty of conceiving, or the absence of a biological child entirely. These experiences are real and often unspoken, and no amount of words can erase that grief.

But if I may offer something through the lens of Scripture: In Christ, the status of “mother” can be embraced by all women who belong to Him. In the body of Christ, motherhood is not limited to biology—it is expressed through covenant, care, nurture, and faithful obedience. In that way, spiritual motherhood is not secondary—it is sacred.

1. Naomi’s Story

The Old Testament gives us a glimpse of this kind of motherhood in the story of Naomi. Her life, at one point, was marked by profound loss. She had left Bethlehem with a husband and two sons; she returned a widow with no children (Ruth 1:4–5). In her grief, she asked to be renamed "Mara"—which means "bitter"—because she felt the hand of God was against her (Ruth 1:20–21).

She had no earthly hope. Her age meant she could not bear more children (Ruth 1:11–13). But God was working in ways she could not yet see. Through the faithful loyalty of Ruth and the provision of a redeemer named Boaz, Naomi would be given a grandson—not by her own womb, but by covenant love and God’s redemptive law.

“Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse” (Ruth 4:16).

“A son has been born to Naomi” (Ruth 4:17).

That child—Obed—would become the grandfather of David and part of the lineage of Jesus (Ruth 4:13–17). Naomi’s motherhood was not biological, but it was still legal, redemptive, and covenantal. It reminds us that in God’s kingdom, motherhood is not always defined the way we might expect—but it is never diminished when rooted in redemption.

2. Family in the Kingdom of God

Through Naomi’s line, the promise made to Abraham was fulfilled (Matthew 1:2–6). But Jesus later clarified that the true family of God would no longer be limited to flesh and blood.

“Who is my mother, and who are my brothers? … Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother” (Matthew 12:48–50).

This is where many in the church today must challenge a cultural assumption. In the modern West, we tend to view family as individualistic and biological. But Jesus reorients us: our truest and most enduring family is the family of faith.

This does not erase the importance of biological family, but it places a greater emphasis on eternal identity. Even the institution of marriage does not carry over in the same way in the kingdom to come (Matthew 22:30). The relationships we build now in Christ are the ones that last forever.

If Mother’s Day makes us mourn what we don’t have, let us also consider what we do have: an invitation into spiritual family, forged by the blood of Christ and bound by love.

3. Spiritual Parenthood

The Bible shows that parenthood in the church is not limited to physical children.

Paul refers to Timothy and Titus as “true children in the faith” (1 Timothy 1:2; Titus 1:4). He speaks of Rufus’ mother as “a mother to me as well” (Romans 16:13). And in his instructions to Timothy, he writes that older women should be treated as mothers, and younger women as sisters (1 Timothy 5:1–2).

This is not poetic metaphor. It is covenant reality.

Your relationships in the church are not defined by passed-down genetics, but by your shared standing in Christ. These are your brothers, sisters, sons, daughters—and yes, your mothers.

“You shall teach them diligently to your children” (Deuteronomy 6:6–7; 11:19).

“From childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings…” (2 Timothy 1:5; 3:15).

To be a spiritual mother is to help someone else grow in Christ. Whether that happens in a classroom, a kitchen, a hospital room, or a pew—it matters. It’s holy work.

4. The Household of God

All of this becomes clearer when we see the church for what it truly is: a household.

“So then you are no longer strangers… but members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:18–19).

“We might receive adoption as sons [and daughters]” (Galatians 4:4–7).

“Do good… especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10).

In this household, motherhood is not a spiritual gift—it is a redeemed identity. Just like being a father in the faith, being a mother in the body of Christ is not based on skill, status, or biology. It’s based on covenant love, family belonging, and gospel faithfulness.

This means:

• Motherhood in the church is not honorary; it is foundational.
• All women united to Christ and participating in His work are entrusted with the nurturing, strengthening, and discipling of others.
• While the degree may vary, the calling is shared by all.

So if you're a woman who belongs to Jesus, this role is yours. You don’t need a certificate. You don’t need a biological child. You need only the Redeemer who gives new identity and eternal purpose.

Final Encouragement

Everything hinges on Jesus.
He reversed Naomi’s bitterness.
He redefined what it means to be family.
He secured a household where you belong—forever.

“He is the firstborn among many brothers” (Romans 8:29).
“In Him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17).

Final Points

• Motherhood and fatherhood in the Church are not restricted to biology but are part of our calling in the household of God.
• Compassionate acts of nurture and discipleship reflect true spiritual parenthood.
• Let your relationships be shaped by the redeeming work of Christ, not by what the world defines as success.