Lois and Eunice
2 Timothy 1:5 (CEB) · Passing the Flame
“I’m reminded of your authentic faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice. I’m sure that this faith is also inside you.” — 2 Timothy 1:5 (CEB)
Two names. Lois and Eunice. Grandmother and mother. Paul says them out loud in a letter that will be read aloud in churches. He wants Timothy to know that the authentic faith he carries first lived in these two women.
Paul doesn’t explain what they did. He doesn’t list their teachings or their miracles. He just says: the faith first lived in them.
Faith, like fire, is caught more often than taught. Children watch where their parents look when they are afraid. They notice whose name is whispered in the kitchen before dinner, whether the Bible on the nightstand is read or just dusted. The patterns stick long before the words are explained.
We tend to remember spiritual heroes in the abstract. Paul remembers Lois and Eunice by name.
Who in your life first lived the faith in front of you?
God of every generation, thank you for the ones who lived faith where we could see it before we could name it. Help us live it in front of the ones who are watching us now. Amen.