Her Children Rise Up and Call Her Blessed: The Kingdom Work of Proverbs 31:28

Her Children Rise Up and Call Her Blessed

Wow. There were some days, when my children were growing up, that I couldn’t imagine them calling me blessed. Some days they were rotten little stinkers and had me near pulling my hair out. Motherhood, especially Christian motherhood, is not without challenges, as I’m sure you know and have experienced.

Most days, we are so wrapped up in the daily minutia of living – the laundry, the cooking, the shopping, the discipline, that we don’t stop to think about how it is all Kingdom work. Yes, laundry and discipline are Kingdom work.

In this verse, the Hebrew word for arise or “rise up” (קָ֣מוּ ka·mu) is translated “as “to accomplish, to endure, to build or establish, to strengthen, to succeed.” What a beautiful word picture! We are building, establishing, and strengthening children for the Lord!

We are tasked with raising sons and daughters of the King. We are charged with influencing their hearts and lives. I’m not going to lie. Many days, it will seem like thankless work and, honestly, the goal is NOT to have your children rise up and call you blessed. Nope, it’s to raise disciples of Christ. If we do that effectively, one day they will dance with Jesus and THEN they will call you blessed for having led them to Christ.

Let’s pull apart each section of this verse for closer examination.

“Her children…”

While there is a context for the woman who chooses singleness and childlessness (1 Corinthians 7:8), it doesn’t seem to be at all common in Proverb’s time. Most women want children with their husband or partners-to-be.

“rise up and call her blessed;”

Children sometimes call their parents names, and it is not always a nice name like “blessed.” But if children see the fruit of godliness in their mothers, they will know that these wonderful people are indeed blessed by God

As parents, we are called to live out the example of a godly life before our children as they grow up and learn what it means for them. We want this teaching not only through examples in front of you or us (which is important), but also by modeling how God expects his people should act when leading others on earth just like Jesus would do if He were with us today!

In the meantime, we have this earthly mothering business to take care of.

Little ones may not be able to articulate their thanks but may show it in other ways: snuggles, kisses and those smiles that melt our hearts. When my youngest was small and we were teaching him to say, “thank you”, it always came out as “thankee”. The words may have been off, but the sentiment wasn’t. He was learning to give thanks even if it was simply for his bottle or a cookie. He was beginning to cultivate a heart of gratitude.

As my children grew, they probably said “thank you” a whole lot less until…. they became men. Now that my children are grown, I hear, almost daily, “thank you, mom”. But now the thank yous aren’t for milk or treats, they are for life skills, love and lessons taught.Most days, we are so wrapped up in the daily minutia of living – the laundry, the cooking, the shopping, the discipline, that we don’t stop to think about how it is all Kingdom work. Yes, laundry and discipline are Kingdom work.CLICK TO TWEET

Recently, my youngest, who has a toddler of his own, texted me. He wanted to thank me for loving him and disciplining him. He said that until he became a parent, he had no idea how tough the job really was. His daughter, I’m sure, is the product of my saying, in my head, many times “I hope you have a child just like you”. She is as precocious and active as he was at that age. Now, he gets it.

So back to Kingdom work. Every action and every chore that you do, every word that you utter in the journey of Christian motherhood, you are doing to raise disciples of God. By providing clean clothes, feeding hungry bellies, saying grace before meals, reading your Bible, demonstrating compassion to strangers, attending worship and Bible Study – all are part of the job of Christian motherhood. All are daily demonstrations of loving others as God loves us. All are tasks that help you see that one day “her children rise up and call her blessed”!

In Colossians 3:23, we find:

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,

Colossians 3:23 (ESV)

The laundry, the cooking, the cleaning, the nose wiping, the reprimanding, all of it, do it as working for the Lord, not for human masters – not even your husbands and little human masters, your children.

The next time you are frustrated by tripping over toys or stepping on Legos (those things hurt!) or spilled milk or even mounds of laundry, thank God for giving you your children, your husband, your salvation. You are raising children for the Kingdom of God and that is important work! Her children rise up and call her blessed.

 “…her husband also, and he praises her.”

The last part of this verse, “her husband also and he praises her” should not be overlooked here. How proud of his wife when she works diligently without complaint to raise disciples, manage her home, and live an exemplary life for Christ! (For more on this, see this post Her Husband is Respected at the City Gate).

Many readers today mistakenly read the many accomplishments of the Proverbs 31 woman and see a modern businesswoman, rising the corporate ladder and being, in some ways, a feminist. But for a husband to see his wife as “blessed” and a blessing and to truly praise her, she will show grace and submission to his spiritual and physical leadership, even as she serves her family by making an income in or out of the home.

This virtuous woman does neglect the “keeping of her home” (Titus 2:4-5), but somehow balances it all. (not an easy task, I know)!

The most wonderful demonstration of a virtuous woman may be when her children rise up and call her blessed. Her husband also praises her. When a woman’s own children can see their mother’s outstanding qualities and virtue and tell her so, or when a husband praises his wife and celebrates that she is his gift from God, his helpmeet, I don’t think there is a greater joy.

When a man or woman of God dies to themselves, lives for Christ, and conducts not just their public life, but their private life, as well, with kindness and love toward others they not only command the love from those around them but also bring glory onto our Heavenly Father.

Prayer for Her Children Call Her Blessed and Her husband also, he praises her:

Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us the tools to live a virtuous Christian life. May we seek always apply what Scripture teaches on godly living so that Your name may be glorified through our lives in Jesus’ Name we pray Amen

If you still have little ones at home, I highly recommend these books on Christian parenting. We can never have too much help in raising godly children.

Grace Based Parenting: Set Your Family Free by Tim Kimmel (Author),‎ Max Lucado (Foreword)

Don’t Make Me Count to Three by Ginger Hubbard (Author)

Gospel-Powered Parenting: How the Gospel Shapes and Transforms Parenting by William P. Farley (Author)

Do you see Christian motherhood as Kingdom work? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

If you want to dig deeper, check out my book, The Complete Proverbs 31 Woman:  A Verse-by-Verse Exploration of What it Means to Be a Proverbs 31 Woman in Today’s World.

You may enjoy this sermon by Alex Kendrick titled “Her Children Rise Up and Call Her Blessed”:https://www.youtube.com/embed/QISv2lIS_-A?feature=oembed

What comes to mind for you when you think “her children rise up and call her blessed”? Do you struggle and wonder if you’ll ever hear this? Hang in there mama, your children will look back and realize all of the lessons and virtues you’ve taught them.

Because He Lives,