Already in this world of the Family of God, we have been given wonderful titles by our Lord:
- Chosen
- The Lord’s Handiwork
- Beloved
- Friends
- Children of God
- Christ’s Ambassadors
- The Sheep of His Flock
- Disciples of Christ
- Branches of His Vine
- Fishers of Men
None of these beautiful titles was earned.
No, they were freely given by Jesus, who alone has the authority to set us apart by his grace, as we trust in him. We are not worthy of any of them, but wear them proudly.
As we serve in this world, in our home country or overseas, there are those brief moments in time when those we love give us a title that, like those above, humble us and cause us to raise a prayer of thanksgiving.
When we lived in Tunisia, our house was always open and was blessed to be the place many of those early believers in Christ came for worship and teaching in the ways of the faith. It was not the church, but the place that hosted the church, the Body of Christ.
I served a lot of tea, coffee and food in that place. I had the privilege of discipling several women there as well. I tried to keep order among the chaos of constant visitors, while raising two young, rowdy boys.
By the end of our four years, a dear local believer called me “Mother of the Believers.” While I did indeed “mother” a lot of them, I was so undeserving and humbled by this title, but I treasure the memory of it being shared.
Move forward twenty years, and I am re-reading a very sweet card given to me by a dear woman, who has been in our lives since my eldest began college over eight years ago. She was congratulating me on my youngest son’s recent marriage and blessing me with kind words. I didn’t notice it at the time, but today, as I read her words, she closed with:
“You will always be the Jere Whitson Mom, as you have poured into so many of us.”
Jere Whitson refers to the street on which the house where my boys both lived throughout their college years is located. This young woman also lived there before the girls moved out and the boys took over. For over twelve years it was continuously occupied by students who were also part of the Baptist Collegiate Ministry.
They were an easy group to love, and I was privileged to be in on some of their most precious moments (along with a few crazy ones), including when they gathered together, after the engagement of my eldest to his beloved in that same house, to pray over them. How many moms would love to have been present for that time?
So, though I am far from deserving of these titles, they are precious to me.
As we serve and love others, whether we’re given a title or not by those among whom we work, there is one title we will all receive in the end as we enter into the Kingdom:
Well done, Good and Faithful Servant.
May that be the title for which we all strive.
Grace and Peace