A teacher gave her class of second graders a lesson on the magnet and what it does. The next day in a written test, she included this question: "My full name has six letters. The first one is M. I pick up things. What am I?" When the test papers were turned in, the teacher was astonished to find that almost 50 percent of the students answered the question with the word "Mother".

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A woman had quit work to stay home and take care of her new baby daughter. Countless hours of peekaboo and other games slowly took their toll. One evening she smacked her bare toes on the corner of a dresser and, grabbing her foot, sank to the floor. Her husband rushed to her side and asked where it hurt. She looked at her husband through her tear-filled eyes and managed to moan, "It's the piggy that ate the roast beef."

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I wrote in yesterday's thought that mothers have a powerful influence, not only over their children, but over the very course of history. You may have thought that was an exaggeration. But, think for just a moment about Jochebed.

Jochebed is not one of the better known characters in the Bible. In fact, when I mention her name, you probably have to think for a moment about who she was. But Jochebed was the mother of Moses. And here was a woman who made a vast difference in what Moses became. Her faith and her courage led to a plan of action whereby Moses was saved instead of being killed as a baby. Though Jochebed served only as Moses' nursemaid, she used that opportunity to teach Moses about God, about truth, about righteousness. She taught him about what his heritage was, what it meant to be a Hebrew. Imagine what this world would be like if there had been no Jochebed. Her influence set the course for Moses' life and, in turn, influenced the entire course of history. She made a tremendous difference in this world.

Like Jochebed, many righteous mothers have made a difference by their good example and their powerful teaching. Unfortunately, the opposite is also true. Many mothers have made a difference in the wrong direction by their bad example and inadequate teaching. One of the most tragic passages in all the Bible is found in II Chronicles 22:3-4: "He [Ahaziah, one of the kings of Israel] also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother advised him to do wickedly. Therefore he did evil in the sight of the LORD, like the house of Ahab; for they were his counselors after the death of his father, to his destruction."

I wonder how things would have been different if Ahaziah had had a mother like Jochebed. But Athaliah, his ungodly mother, made a difference that was tragic. Her mothering led to her son's destruction and the decline of the whole nation of Israel.

Mothers make a tremendous difference. The church needs to make every effort to train and develop godly mothers who will make a difference in their homes and in this world in the direction of righteousness. Thank you for those of you mothers who do. Though you may not realize it at the moment and you get frustrated as you wonder what good it does to chase down children all day, cleaning up messes and changing dirty diapers, never forget that you make a difference. A bigger difference than you will ever know. May God strengthen you and bless you!

"Listen, my child, to what your father teaches you. Don't neglect your mother's teaching. What you learn from them will crown you with grace and clothe you with honor."
(Proverbs 1:8-9, New Living Translation)