Same Faith Continues

Day 295: 2 Timothy 1:1-18

“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. This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you.” - 2 Timothy 1:5-6

I think many times we downplay the significance of one interaction and what God can set it in motion as a result of it.

Do you think Grandma Lois knew what would become of Timothy as she prayed over him while changing his diapers? Do you think Momma Eunice knew of her son's future when she had to discipline him as a pre-teen or make him attend worship (at someone's home) when he didn't want to?

Probably not. Yet these women invested into Timothy's life, and that investment compounded into a "genuine" faith. The word for genuine can also be translated as without hypocrisy. This kind of faith is only reproduced by seeing other Christians who are the real deal.

By the time Paul ends up on the scene, his job was relatively easy. He was laying his hands on a young man who was readied by strong women of faith. All that was left for was for Paul to equip and encourage Timothy into a great leader and successor.

Let’s let Donald Guthrie take us out with his comments on this passage:

”The apostle was not only deeply conscious of the powerful home influences which had shaped his own career, but was impressed by the saintly atmosphere of Timothy’s home.”