CARRYING ON THE FAITH OF YOUR ANCESTORS

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,

To Timothy, my dear son:

Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.

2 Timothy 1:1-5

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Many Christian believers today can attribute their faith to those who raised them up and influenced them in childhood. Maybe you are counted in that number.

I can say I am. For in my youth, my mother made sure I was going to church with her and learning about God, Jesus, and the scriptures. As I grew up in a small western Pennsylvania town and attended the local Presbyterian church, she had me in a Sunday school class early on and I would work my way up to Communicant’s class which led to my formal membership in the class. I still have the special Bible I received after graduating which had my name embossed on it, a wonderful keepsake for sure.

Once a member, I continued to serve in ways that were available to me as a youth. I was an acolyte and also accompanied the choir on several occasions with my trumpet. All and all, my mother helped ensure I had a faith life and connection to Christ and for that, I am forever grateful. It has allowed me to carry on her faith legacy as an adult through teaching and preaching the word of God to others.

As we start our study of 2 Timothy today, we find both the letter writer, the Apostle Paul, and the intended recipient, Timothy, having carried on the faith of their ancestors.

First, Paul confesses his dedication to carry on the service of those believers who had gone before him and shaped his life. Like them, Paul proclaims that he went about his Gospel ministry business “with a clear conscience” as he remembered Timothy constantly with his prayers and a longing to see his beloved “son”, an allusion to the way he mentored Timothy into the pastoral ministry he was carrying out in Ephesus.  

And then we find Paul remembering how Timothy gained his faith. He wrote:

I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. v.5

Here we find that Timothy didn’t just come to believe in Christ on his own but had great support from his female family members. Now, we don’t know for sure if Eunice first believed and then influenced Lois, Timothy’s mother, who in turn brought faith to her son. The scriptures don’t break it down that far and frankly, it’s not really of importance in the big scheme of things. The important takeaway is that Timothy had chosen to embrace and carry on the faith of his family who had to be very proud of his commitment to the Lord they believed in and served.

Hopefully as you read this today, you are remembering people in your own family who were strong in their faith as you were growing up, acting as a positive faith influence for you. Now, you get to do the same. You get to be an influencer for the future generations so that one day they might look back and testify to how you helped reveal the Lord and His word to them.

My prayer is that this will come to be for every person who has placed their belief in Jesus as Savior. 

AUTHOR'S NOTE: If you have a testimony of how your family members helped shape your faith, leave a comment to this message and share with others.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.