18. Femininity and the Raising of Children (Prov. 31:15) (Titus 2:4)

According to Oxford Languages, the primary definition of the verb "mother" is to "bring up a child with care and affection." It is those adjectives "care" and "affection" that distinguish motherhood and make it more than just a title, but an esteemed calling.

The ability to bear children is inherent to a woman's biology, despite the fact that medical conditions or trauma preclude some women from experiencing birth themselves. But for those that do, they surrender their bodies for nine months as their baby grows, surrender their lives as they bring their baby into the world, and then, for the rest of their time on earth, they surrender their hearts, which have been utterly and irrevocably altered forever by the mantle of motherhood.

Whether a mother raises her own biological child, an adopted child, or a foster child, her ability to love and nurture is intrinsic to her femininity. And that aspect of femininity is a good gift from God.

Proverbs 31 details the life of "The Virtuous Woman:" a woman who is dedicated to her family, to her work, and to the Lord. In this passage, we are invited into a day in the life of this respected woman, and we can learn from the specific ways in which she cares for her home and her loved ones.

Though our culture often sneers at traditional femininity, it is clear that there is nothing weak, nothing subservient, and nothing mundane about the woman depicted in Proverbs 31:10-31.

Verses 15 and 21 reveal a woman who tends to the physical needs of her children. In today's society, this woman would not hit the snooze button on her alarm ten times or waste hours scrolling through social media on her phone. Instead, this woman's mind is always set on the betterment and care of her children—particularly, their nourishment and their safety.

She rises to the challenge of being the nurturer of her children—the mother of her children—and she exercises preparedness, wisdom, and grace as she considers the well-being of her family. But it is not only the physical needs of her children that a mother tends to, but also their spiritual and emotional needs. In fact, in Titus 2, Paul encourages older women in the church to train the younger women about how to love their husbands and their children.

To raise a family is a calling worthy of being taught from generation to generation. Older women were instructed to model lives of humility and dedication for younger women in the Church. The call to love a husband and children is a weighty one—it is a daily sacrifice of time and energy for the good of the family, and God has equipped women in particular with the nurturing hearts necessary to be more than just a caretaker, but to be a mother.

The ability to nurture and care for children is a beautiful facet of femininity exclusively given to women by God. A mother's propensity for affection and tenderness towards her child is an endless well unaltered by word or deed, and it is a shadow of the affection shown to us by the Lord.

Just as men play a crucial role in the lives of their children thanks to the uniqueness of their masculinity, women play an equally essential and complimentary role due to the uniqueness of their femininity.

God's design for masculinity and femininity in parenthood is for each to be an inimitable reflection of His own character. To intentionally mother in today's society—a society that more often than not champions the 'self' as the highest good—is an act of radical obedience to God and an embrace of the beauty of femininity.

________________________________________________________________________

Works Cited

The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version ®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.