My dad has had a rough year and a half. Mom died, then dad suffered a heart attack, and then he was hospitalized for flu/pneumonia. All of this has left him quite weak and frail. A few days ago we talked about Mother's Day being upon us. Dad said to me: "Being a mother is the most important job in the world." Dad was making a very practical statement, not necessarily a theological one. I think on judgment day as God evaluates our life, at that moment, the most important job in the world will be the one that was assigned to us. Paul instructed Archippus, "Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it." (Col. 4:17)

But practically speaking, a mother's "job" is of utmost importance. Who can calculate the importance of a mother's influence? I can say that no one had more of an impact on my life in my formative years than my mother. The old saying that "the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world" is not far from the truth. When Paul says that a woman "will be saved in childbearing" he is saying something very significant about the role of being a mother (cf. 1 Tim. 2:15). Paul is speaking in terms related to women generally, as not all women marry, and not all women bear children. He is not talking about salvation from the penalty of sin (we are not saved by works), but rather about a woman being preserved in her God-ordained purpose as a woman. In this she fulfills the will of God for her life and is saved from error (cf. Gen. 3:16).

Many women today kick against the truth of their God-ordained role which revolves around their husband, children, and home. And in doing so they are really missing out on the "salvation" Paul speaks of in 1 Timothy 2:15. They fall into the very error and deception that Paul warns about in the previous verses. In a sense they end up selling their "birthright" for a cup of soup. They exchange the eternal for the temporary. They exchange the wisdom of God for the wisdom of the world.

The "Proverbs 31 Woman" was a woman of many activities - some of which took her beyond the walls of her home. But the spirit of things is that in all of her activities she is doing it for the well-being and good of her family. She lives by the motto: "For the glory of God and the good of the family!" She is not a woman who is self-centered and focused on what she can achieve for herself! Note a few things about her as spelled out in Proverbs 31:10-31.

* She is of great value - v. 10
* Her husband can TRUST her - v. 11
* She does her husband good all the days of her life - v. 12
*She works hard and is industrious -v. 13-19
*She is a woman of compassion - v. 20
*She works for the good of her household - v. 21-27
*She speaks wisdom in love - v. 26

These are the fruits of living a godly life as seen in verse 30. Such a woman is "saved" from a life vanity. Her life is truly spent on what honors and glorifies God! And what is her reward?

Proverbs 31:28–31 (NKJV)
28 Her children rise up and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many daughters have done well, But you excel them all.”
30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands, And let her own works praise her in the gates.