Jesus promised many mothers in the Lord.

Romans 16:13 Greet Rufus, a choice man in the Lord, also his mother and mine. This Rufus may or may not be the same Rufus referred to in Mark 15:21. The setting was the day of Jesus’ crucifixion. He was carrying His cross to Golgotha. Mark wrote about the Roman soldiers. “They pressed into service a passer-by coming from the country, Simon of Cyrene (the father of Alexander and Rufus), to bear His cross.” Could this be the same Rufus? If it is, then being a “choice man in the Lord” might have significant meaning. Mark assumed his readers knew Alexander and Rufus, and therefore would know their father Simon. When Paul wrote to Rome, he assumed everyone knew Rufus and his mother. In fact, Rufus’ mother apparently had been like a mother to Paul. I’ll draw 2 encouragements from this verse. First, may we all love with such sincerity and devotion that our brothers and sisters would consider us to be favorites of the Lord, if that’s even possible. Saying someone is a “choice man” implies that he’s a favorite. If I ask, “What is your food of choice?” You would understand me to be asking about your favorite food. Paul’s greeting of Rufus as a choice man is to say, “Please say hello to Rufus. He’s one of my favorite people in Rome.” If we live to love with Jesus, hopefully, there will be some who will say about us that we are among their favorite brothers or sisters in Christ. Second, Rufus’ mother must have been one of those women who was a mother to many that she met. What a wonderful testimony from Paul that Rufus’ mother had “adopted” him as her own. If you are an older woman, this might be a good example for you. If you have a mothering instinct from the Lord, do it well! Jesus said that in the kingdom, we will have many mothers. Mark 10:29-30 “Jesus said, ‘Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life.’” As you are living to love with Jesus, God may give you to be a mother to someone who has lost their mother for the kingdom’s sake. You may be God’s means of fulfilling His word through His Son. What a privilege and encouragement to be a mother in Lord to the younger generation.