The Influence of a Godly Grandmother and Mother on Timothy

“When I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also. Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” –II Timothy 2:5-7 (NKJV). “But as for you, continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” –II Timothy 3:14-15 (NKJV).

Timothy’s mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois are mentioned by name only once in the Bible, in II Timothy 3:14. Luke, in writing the Acts of the Apostles, records the story of Timothy’s call and going with Paul and Silas when they were in Lystra. We read: “And behold, a certain disciple was there, name Timothy, the son of a certain Jewish woman who believed, but his father was Greek. He was well spoken of by the brethren who were at Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted to have him go on with him. And he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in that region, for they all knew that his father was Greek” (Acts 16:1-3). Timothy and his mother and grandmother were likely converted to Christianity on Paul’s first missionary journey to Lystra. By the time Paul returned on his second missionary journey, Timothy was already an outstanding Christian there. Lois and Eunice were Jews by birth, but Timothy’s father (unnamed) was Greek. That is why Paul thought it best to circumcise Timothy so that no criticism would be forthcoming from Jewish Christians they might meet. Eunice and Lois’s influence on Timothy made such an impact that Paul felt it worthy of noting in the epistle to Timothy.

Family influence can be a strong factor in helping children to become a Christian and to develop in Christ-like graces. Paul commended Timothy that his faith had first lived in his mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois. They had prepared Timothy with a solid education in the Jewish Scriptures, had taught him responsibility and trained him in strong character traits. Paul called Timothy his “son in the gospel.” He could trust him to be sent on important missions and assigned him to hard places to assist struggling congregations with problems of doctrine and Christian discipline.

Paul wrote in I Timothy 6:11-12: “But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godloiness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (NKJV)

What Paul was telling Timothy (and us) to flee was the love of money. He was to embrace instead the fruits of the Spirit which included godliness, faith, love, patience and gentleness. Timothy had been taught these characteristics from his youth up, both by precept and example, by his mother and grandmother. “I’d rather see a sermon any day than to hear one” is an oft-quoted adage about Christian example. In the home, we learn by seeing a sermon lived out in the lives of godly elders. Timothy had that example. Let us pray that we ourselves can be more like Eunice and Lois.

Time in Perspective

“But I trust in You, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God;’ my times are in Your hand.” –Psalm 31:14-15a (ESV). “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” – Ephesians 5:13-14 (ESV).

Twice per year under our Daylight Savings Time method of chronicling time, we must get used to “losing” an hour the second Sunday in March and “gaining” an hour the first Sunday in November each year. This twice-per year time change poses some problems for getting used to a new schedule for sleeping, waking and feeling adequately rested until we adjust again to the clock. We are just now in that “spring forward” period adjusting to setting our clocks ahead an hour. We “lost” an hour and its loss has left our bodies sleep-deprived and tired. We might be prone to complain of these adjustments to time, concerned about our inabilities to get used to the new schedule. We might even contend that those who make the rules about Daylight Savings Time have ignored God’s Word in Psalm 31:14: “My times are in Your hand.”

Two Greek words are used to denote time. Chronos registers chronological time, a “space of time”—whether short or long. Kairos denotes a season or an opportune time, or even a significant event in salvation history. The most significant of these which has already happened was in “the fullness of time” when Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judaea. One yet to come, promised but unfulfilled, is the kairos—the time of the Second Coming of Christ for which we are to watch diligently and keep the faith until that significant event occurs: “to keep the commandment unstrained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which He will display at the proper time…” (I Timothy 6:14-15, ESV).

Paul had excellent advice for us on how to use our time. In Ephesians 5:13-14, he admonished Christians to “look carefully how you walk” and to ‘make the best use of time.” We who are familiar with the King James Version probably remember well that rendering of these familiar verses: “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” In a devotional at an encampment for our youth at Epworth during the time my husband was pastor of First Baptist Church there, we were teaching on the very serious and probative subject of “Jesus Is Lord.” These verses came under the important point of “Jesus Is Lord of My Time.” Walk—your manner of life—circumspectly (with care and diligence, wisely)—redeeming the time (making every opportunity to use your time well). And the reason for “redeeming” the time? The days are evil. Even with all diligence to good use of our time, we will be tempted to pander and waste it for that which is not beneficial, holy and God-honoring. It may not be too late for us to “redeem the time,” and to remember with all diligence that “my times are in God's hands.”

Laying Up Treasure

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” –Matthew 6:19-21 (NKJV).

What do you treasure? Where are you laying away treasures? What consumes your time in amassing treasure and making sure it is safe from theft, loss or diminishing returns?

Why are we considering a devotional on treasure? Defined treasure is that which one values, whether it be silver, gold, possessions, houses and lands, any sort of wealth or something more intangible that is held dear. We consider treasure because Jesus made a very cogent statement about it: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” He always went directly to the heart of our human situation, pinpointing an area needing attention. For those who have undue stress over or covetousness for wealth, He is able to cut to the quick and offer workable solutions.

He told us to “lay up treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” Did he give us clues in the Sermon on the Mount, within which context His discourse on treasures lies, about how to lay up heavenly treasure? He said we are to give alms (Mt. 6:2), pray (Mt. 6:5), fast (Mt. 6:16) and seek to please God and be content (Mt. 6:6). Not only are we to follow these spiritual disciplines but we are to use any wealth we may have not for selfish purposes but for God’s glory, and not wealth only but we are to use talents and opportunities for the good of others. We furthermore refuse to be filled with anxiety: “Your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Mt. 6:32b-33). Additional instruction about the Christian’s attitude toward wealth is found in I Timothy 6:10 and following: “For the love of money is the root of aqll kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love patience and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses…Let them do good, that they may be rick in go9od works, reaqdy to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.” (I Timothy 6:10-12, 18-19 (NKJV). And within these instructive verses in Matthew and I Timothy, we have the foundational teachings we need to help us know how to lay up treasures in heaven. Let us pray that we will be obedient, make right personal choices and show the diligence that will help us to become rich in heavenly treasures.