Mothering in Christ’s Righteousness with Abbey Wedgeworth
Today we’re sharing a conversation with our friend Abbey Wedgeworth about how the gospel—and specifically Christ’s righteousness—meets you in every part of life, even in the mundane and even shame-filled moments of motherhood. And while we’ll focus on the everyday realities mothers experience, this conversation isn’t just for moms; whether you’re in a season of motherhood or not, this episode will deeply encourage you as you seek to apply the gospel to the ordinary moments of your own life.
NOTES & QUOTES
“Jesus cannot be our example until he is our Savior.”
“The gospel is the remedy for shame. It gives us a new identity to live out of, a new reality to live into. This is who Jesus says I am.”
“It’s really hard to love your children as your neighbors when you’re using them as a source for justification.”
“That’s why we have to start with the gospel. Our motivation can’t be looking good in front of others or feeling good about ourselves. It has to be the glory of God for true and lasting change to take place.”
“When we’re resting in the gospel, we’re freed up to love our kids instead of using them.”
“When we blow it and we run to Jesus, we’re reminded of who we are in him. And we had nothing to do with it. You know, why did he predestine us in love? You know, he weighed down his life for us because he set his love on us before the foundations of the world. I hadn't taken a breath or done anything and he set his love on me. And so it just takes performance out of it. Does what we do matter? Yes. But what matters the most is hearing who we are in Christ and believing it because the most important work Jesus says is believing.”
“Lord, help me to rest in the perfect performance of your son.” -Hunter
“We sometimes make things issues of morality that are actually just matters of humanity.”
“Jesus was perfect for us in matters of morality that separate us from God, but his perfect performance also delivers us from all the ways we try to justify ourselves that cause us to feel shame in things that aren't really shameful.”
“God’s Word works in the hearts of his people.” -Hunter
“When we turn and share scripture with others, the beauty of needing it and knowing it, knowing it through your need is that you're protected from throwing Bible verses at people as trite platitudes. And instead you're sharing with compassion, you know, and that builds community.”
“Prayer is one of the ways God changes us.”
“A lack of prayer is a lack of dependence. If we think we don’t have time to pray, we are turning prayer into performance.”
“These are the reasons we can actually praise God that mothering is so hard because it has pushed me to my desperate point in which I have to have an ongoing conversation. There's no other way to do it.” -Hunter
“Aiming for perfect motherhood is an enemy to faithful motherhood because we cannot possibly depend on God more when we are trying to need him less.”
“I think we need to reframe what it means to make progress in the Christian life. Will that come with fruit? Yes. Will it be marked by perfection? No.”
“God has given us a very clear roadmap in his word for how biblical change happens. It begins with justification, his act where he declares his righteous by the blood of his son. And then there's sanctification, which is an ongoing work of the spirit by which we are transformed more into the likeness of his son. And then glorification where it's over. We are made like him. And the problem is we expect this day to be that day. And the beauty of that day isn’t even that we’re perfect. It’s that he is. And we can see him as he is. So that’s the goal of the Christian life. As we’re sanctified, we are beholding him more as he is. It’s less about performance and more about that relationship and dependence because that will be the best part of heaven.”
“If the chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy him, that is also the chief end of motherhood.”
“Our suffering is really compounded when we look at our lives and say, this is not what I thought it would be.”
“Instead of thinking, ‘How can this serve me?’ we can think “How can I serve you and experience your service of me as I do this task?’”
“We’re free to love our kids because we don’t need them to offer us what only God can give.”
RESOURCES
Training Young Hearts Series by Abbey Wedgeworth
Help! I’m Ruining My Kids: A Gospel Guide for the Mom Who’s Desperate for Change by Abbey Wedgeworth
Hebrews Commentary, Michael Kruger
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
1 Peter 5:6–11
“I am” statements: John 6:35, 48, 51; John 8:12, 9:5; John 10:7, 9; John 10:11, 14; John 11:25; John 14:6; John 15:1
2 Corinthians 12:9–10
Psalm 23
2 Corinthians 4:16–18
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Why is it so important to start with the gospel when we think through our mothering and discipleship?
What is a “fig leaf covering” that you find in your own mothering? What do you use to make you feel better about yourself that isn’t Jesus?
What could it practically look like for you to clothe yourself in the righteousness of Jesus? Especially in the context of motherhood or discipleship?
Where are some areas or issues in your life that you’re making a morality issue that’s really just a humanity issue?
What might you do or implement based on what you learned in this week’s episode?
RECENT CONVERSATIONS
IMPORTANT NOTE
Journeywomen interviews are intended to serve as a springboard for continued study in the context of your local church. While we carefully select guests each week, interviews do not imply Journeywomen's endorsement of all writings and positions of the interviewee or any other resources mentioned.
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