Leaving Your Mom Legacy

Being a mom is really, really hard. And when our background or history isn’t picture perfect, it’s easy to feel inadequate, not good enough, and like the challenges of being a mom are even harder than they are for all of the other mommas who have it together. You might be thinking that any kind of ‘mom legacy’ you leave your children will be something they want to hide. Enter God’s word:

Matthew 1: 1-17

1 This is the genealogy[a] of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:

2 Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,
Perez the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
4 Ram the father of Amminadab,
Amminadab the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,
Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,
Obed the father of Jesse,
6 and Jesse the father of King David.
David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,
7 Solomon the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of Asa,
8 Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,
Jehoram the father of Uzziah,
9 Uzziah the father of Jotham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,
10 Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amon,
Amon the father of Josiah,
11 and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.
12 After the exile to Babylon:
Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
13 Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,
Abihud the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
14 Azor the father of Zadok,
Zadok the father of Akim,
Akim the father of Elihud,
15 Elihud the father of Eleazar,
Eleazar the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob,
16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.
17 Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.

Lineages are super boring to read. I usually skim, or completely skip over them, in my Bible reading. And they aren’t practical to our everyday life. So why is that our reading for today? Because God included them in his Word for a reason, they are practical and we mommas need to pay close attention.

The lineage of Jesus is extremely important for multiple reasons, but the biggies are it fulfills several prophecies (Genesis 3:15, 21:12, 18, 49:10; Numbers 24:17, Isaiah 11:1,10; Jeremiah 23:5; Psalm 132:11) and proves he was a real person (fully man) that actually existed. Did you notice anything else about his lineage? There are mommas included in it! Women didn’t have much standing in ancient society like they do today, so it’s quite remarkable that a few blessed women made it into the lineage. What’s even more inspiring is they made it in despite their backgrounds. Talk about an awesome mom legacy!

Five Women Who Left An Amazing ‘Mom Legacy’

There are five mommas in Jesus’ lineage found in the book of Matthew: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Uriah’s wife, and Mary. These five women left a ‘mom legacy’ worthy of connecting them with Jesus and to be remembered in scripture forever. What a wonderful example these women have left us, to be mothers held in such high esteem!

But, wait. These women have stories that would make for a good prime time drama on Monday nights. Sex, scandal, betrayal. It’s all there. Let’s quickly review each story:

Tamar: (Genesis 38) Things were certainly different in Tamar’s time. Her hubby dies and it’s the obligation of her brother-in-law to produce an heir through her (referred to as the Kinsman Redeemer law). He takes birth control into his own hands so that doesn’t happen. The other brother-in-law wasn’t given to her in marriage, so she becomes desperate. She disguises herself as a prostitute to sleep with her father-in-law. She becomes pregnant, is ordered to be put to death until she proves it is her father-in-law’s child. Death, deception, and prostitution are all a part of her story.

Rahab: (Joshua 2; Hebrews 11:31) Rahab was a prostitute, plain and simple. She lied to the authorities about harboring enemies of her city in her home. Prostitution and treason are a part of her story.

Ruth: (Book of Ruth) Her husband died and she clings to her mother-in-law in a land that is not her home. She works hard as a poor widow, gleaning the leftovers from someone else’s field, which was customary at the time. According to Kinsman Redeemer (same as with Tamar), the field owner Boaz is required to give her a child since he is the closest living relative. She approaches him with the request for marriage. After some investigating, he honors the law and her request. Heartbreak, moving away from home, and poverty are a part of her story.

Uriah’s wife: (2 Samuel 11-12) Her name was Bathsheba and she committed adultery with King David while her husband was off to war. When her husband returned from battle, neither she or David told Uriah what had happened. He died in battle shortly afterwards, which was planned by David to cover their tracks. Adultery, lies of omission, and heartbreak are a part of her story.

Mary: (Matthew 1:18-25) While she was engaged to Joseph, she became pregnant with Jesus. Even though she was a virgin, we are told that Joseph was going to divorce her. For a short time, before the angel of the Lord spoke to him the truth of what was happening, Mary was labeled as unfaithful in Joseph’s mind. Her story is marked with lack of control over her circumstances and unfair judgement.

Your ‘Mom Legacy’

I hope that after reading these women’s stories you are empowered by your own story. None of these women had it easy. And while Mary doesn’t have a sin recorded in the Bible (everyone sins – Romans 3:23), the other women had very obvious mistakes written down as part of their story. And yet they were exactly the kind of mother’s that God wanted to be associated with Jesus’ lineage. They mattered, big time, just like you.

We have no idea where our lineage will end up. You might be the great-great grandmother of a future world leader or the inventor of our future’s equivalent of sliced bread. But no matter where it goes, your story is a part of their backstory. All of your mistakes and failures as a mother don’t write you out of an amazing legacy for your children and great (great-great-great) grandchildren. God uses us just as we are, warts and all. Thank you, Jesus!

READ MORE DEVOTIONALS ABOUT LEAVING YOUR MOM LEGACY

This is a devotional except from Leaving Your Mom Legacy: A 30-Day Devotional On Reflecting Christ In Motherhood, available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle. Order yours today! 

This is also a part of a series called The “Being a Mom is Awesome (& Hard)”. Click here to read more from the series.To learn more about these devotionals for Christian moms, click here.