There is a grandmother in the New Testament, Lois, who easily could have taken the “give-up approach” with her grandson, Timothy. She could have said, “The Romans run the world. They are pagans. Caesar is a tyrant, a terrible ruler. Our children are being deluded. The faith of our fathers is being lost. They don’t keep the feasts. Moses is getting rebranded. No one knows the Ten Commandments anymore, and our priests are all self-centered, two-faced, and sanctimonious. Why bother anyway?” She could have totally given up. She had at least as many reasons as we do. However, she didn’t give up…and neither should we.
Who was this woman? We don’t know a lot about her, but we can make some pretty good guesses.
Her grandson, Timothy, was the recipient of two of the New Testament letters from the Apostle Paul, his mentor and father in the faith. The second letter, where Lois is mentioned by name, was probably written shortly before Paul was put to death in the mid-sixties. Timothy was a young leader at that time who was discipled in the faith by his grandmother, Lois, and his mother, Eunice. This would indicate that Lois was among the first generation of disciples, probably a little older than Paul.
Regardless of her background, she was a key player in her grandson’s life. She was the right person, at the right time, in the right role. Like many in the early church, she knew the scriptures — what we call the Old Testament — and taught them to Timothy. Much of what the early church believed was how the whole of the Old Testament pointed to a Messiah and that Messiah was Jesus.
Lois is a perfect example for today’s grandparents to emulate.
The times we live in may be stressful, bleak, discouraging, and even frightening. Despite our circumstances, we are tasked with accomplishing a mission just as Lois was. She was called to pass on her faith without getting distracted by the difficulties happening in the world around her. She kept her focus on her purpose and did the right thing. That is exactly what we need to do!
Michael Shaughnessy is the founder of Grandly. His most recent book, The Strategic Grandparent, is available at The Word Among Us and Amazon.
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