The High Calling of Motherhood

Published by Joshua Bontrager on May 14, 2019May 14, 2019

“The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.” These seasoned words from William Ross Wallace remind us that that motherhood is indeed a high and noble calling.

Over the years, my mother’s godly influence shaped me into the man I am today. She taught me discipline, inspired me with purpose, and bathed me in prayer.

We all need mothers to bring us into the world, to nurture us through childhood, and more importantly, to ennoble our spirits with their words and example.

But, what does it really mean to be a mother? Consider the following timeless wisdom from three of history’s great thinkers.

Alexis De Tocqueville: The Secret of American Success

Over 150 years ago, Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) made a striking observation about American women, in his book, Democracy in America.

As for myself, I do not hesitate to avow that although the women of the United States are confined within the narrow circle of domestic life, and their situation is in some respects one of extreme dependence, I have nowhere seen woman occupying a loftier position; and if I were asked, now that I am drawing to the close of this work, in which I have spoken of so many important things done by the Americans, to what the singular prosperity and growing strength of their people ought mainly to be attributed, I should reply: To the superiority of their women.

Peter Marshall: Keepers of the Springs

Peter Marshall’s (1902-1946) sermon, “Keepers of the Springs,” extols the virtues of true motherhood. Here’s an excerpt:

The challenge of the twentieth-century motherhood is as old as motherhood itself. Although the average American mother has advantages that pioneer women never knew—material advantages: education, culture, advances made by science and medicine; although the modern mother knows a great deal more about sterilization, diets, health, calories, germs, drugs, medicines and vitamins, than her mother did, there is one subject about which she does not know as much—and that is God.

The modern challenge to motherhood is the eternal challenge—that of being a godly woman. The very phrase sounds strange in our ears. We never hear it now. We hear about every other kind of women—beautiful women, smart women, sophisticated women, career woman, talented women, divorced women, but so seldom do we hear of a godly woman—or of a godly man either, for that matter.

I believe women come nearer to fulfilling their God-given function in the home than anywhere else. It is a much nobler thing to be a good wife than to be Miss America. It is a greater achievement to establish a Christian home than it is to produce a second-rate novel filled with filth. It is a far, far better thing in the realm of morals to be old-fashioned than to be ultramodern. The world has enough women who know how to hold their cocktails, who have lost all their illusions and their faith. The world has enough women who know how to be smart.

It needs women who are willing to be simple. The world has enough women who know how to be brilliant. It needs some who will be brave. The world has enough women who are popular. It needs more who are pure. We need woman, and men, too, who would rather be morally right that socially correct.

JR Miller: A Vision for Mothers

In his 1882 work, JR Miller (1840-1912) masterfully described the beauty of the Christian family, especially motherhood. Contemplate the following quotations.

No wife can ever over estimate the influence she wields over her husband or the measure in which his character, his career and his very destiny are laid in her hands for shaping...

Oh that God would give every mother a vision of the glory and splendor of the work that is given to her when a babe is placed in her bosom to be nursed and trained! Could she have but one glimpse into the future of that long life as it reaches on into eternity; could she be made to understand her own personal responsibility for the training of the child, for the development of its life, and for its destiny,—— she would see that in all God’s world there’s is no other work so noble and so worthy of her best powers, and she would commit to no other hands the sacred and holy trust given her.

Honor and Duty

Children, be grateful that God gave you a mother. Love her, treasure her, honor her (Exodus 20:12), and heed her wisdom (Proverbs 31:1-9).

Mothers, be encouraged. Your work is not in vain. Do you realize what a lofty calling you’ve been given?

Hannah Whitehall Smith once observed, “To be a mother is the grandest vocation in the world. No one being has a position of such power and influence. She holds in her hands the destiny of nations; for to her is necessarily committed the making of the nations’ citizens.”

Question: Why is motherhood so powerful?