“I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you.” 2 Timothy 1:5 NLT
God is purposeful, not only about our individual calling and gifts in this life but also in the generation He sets us in. We are not only called to leave a mark on our own generation but to glean wisdom from those who are going and have gone before us and to lead, guide, and disciple the generations coming up behind us. “Remembering the character of your godly mother is a great incentive to holding fast to the scriptures she taught you,” Pastor John Piper notes. Lois and Eunice give us a fantastic example of what it means to love Christ sincerely, which in turn resulted in the passing of their faith in Him to the next generation!
Who Were Lois and Eunice?
“Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek.” Acts 16:1 NIV
Lois and Eunice were Timothy’s mother and grandmother. So sincere was their faith in Christ, they are made mention of in the Bible, not just for who they were, but for the impact they had by the way they chose to live their everyday lives! Under the care of his mother and grandmother, Timothy became a Christ follower. “Timothy’s mother was a Jewish Christian,” NIV Study Bible explains, “Here we learn that his grandmother too was a Christian. Timothy’s father, however, was a Greek and apparently an unbeliever.”
Timothy was discipled by Paul, who wrote a majority of the New Testament! Paul wrote, “To Timothy my true son in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.” 1 Timothy 1:2 NIV
Paul invested in Timothy. He was his spiritual son. Investing in the next generation isn’t only familial but also important to foster within the people God places in our lives, communities, workplaces, and circle of friends. Timothy and Paul bonded together in and through Christ Jesus. Timothy’s mother and grandmother taught him from home. Though church on Sunday is important, the Church of God grows outside of the walls of the church building. It’s in our everyday lives we learn to follow Christ sincerely and wholeheartedly, often from the people in our families and communities. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Start children off the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”
Lois and Eunice would have been familiar with this Old Testament Proverb, and the New Testament implications of it! They were able to filter the entirety of Scripture through their faith in Christ Jesus. Our faith requires obedient action, and they, to the best of their ability, obeyed the Word of God.
What Are They Known for in the Bible?
“Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well, holding on to faith and good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith.” 1 Timothy 1:18-19
These two powerhouse mothers were known for their sincere faith. “Faithfulness in motherhood begins with sincere faith in Jesus, because without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6),” Beverly Chao Berrus writes, “In his Word, God gives us shining examples of such faith.” Sincerity can be difficult to detect, especially when our daily lives are marinated in social media feeds and stories. But Scripture is clear, the evidence of sincere faith is the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of our lives is good when we are obedient and submissive to follow the Lord.
The definition of sincerity is “freedom from deceit, hypocrisy, or duplicity; honesty in intention or in communicating; earnestness.” The fruit of our faith is sincerity. Lois and Eunice followed Christ Jesus, and their lives illustrated their faithfulness. Through the daily pursuit of God in His Word and through prayer, we develop a sincere faith which can be passed down to generations. 2 Timothy 3:14-15 says:
“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”
What Can We Learn from Lois and Eunice?
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20
Lois and Eunice model the importance of Jesus’ words recorded by the apostle, Matthew. He is with us, always, and commands us to go and make disciples. God places people in our lives purposefully. Sometimes to disciple us, and others for us to disciple them. “As we see, Lois and Eunice were sincere in their faith and they were able to pass this down to Timothy,” Clarence L. Haynes Jr. explains, “If you simply follow what was written here, it would imply that Lois was the first one to be converted. She was then responsible for the faith in Eunice and that was eventually passed down to Timothy.” We can be sure God is not coincidental about the circles of people He sets in our lives.
Timothy’s mother and grandmother lived every day in love with the Lord. The details of their days were outlined in their sincere faithfulness in Christ Jesus. When our daily lives are anchored in the pursuit of Christ Jesus, the Living Word of God, we will experience the same fruit as Lois Eunice “We have this same opportunity, to learn from Lois, and those who came before us,” Stacy Monaco write, “to continue in what we have learned in a faith-filled and life-changing manner.”
Deuteronomy 6:5 says, “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. (NIV)
A Prayer for Sincere Faith
Father,
Praise You for our lives, and Your purpose for them. Father, we want to do Your will and are grateful for the way Jesus made for us to come to You through Him, freely. We confess any hesitation in obedience and submission to Your will for our lives and the Holy Spirit’s conviction mature in our faith. We pray, when the people in our lives look to us or remember us, they see You through our sincere faith in You, Lord. You are good, all of the time. You are our Healer, Provider, Creator …Yahweh, Abba, and Jireh. We pray our lives bring glory and honor to You, Lord, just like Lois and Eunice, Paul, and Timothy. Search our hearts, renew and restore an obedient and willing spirit within us, and expand our territory, according to Your will, Father God. Let the Light of the World shine through our lives, each day we are blessed to breathe on this earth.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
“For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.” 1 Corinthians 4:17
When we witness the lives of faithful Christ followers, we’re reminded of the importance of our own. It begins in an everyday seeking of Him. Perhaps the most important lesson we can glean from Lois and Eunice is cultivating a sincere faith in our lives. “The most necessary thing as a Christian Parent is the Christian Parent’s own life in Christ,” Jason Helopoulos explains, “That may seem simplistic, but it is fundamental.” The more our children, and the people God has purposefully placed around us, witness our sincere faith in Christ, the more our lives bring honor and glory to Him.
Photo credit: ©GettyImages/Grace Cary
