Timothy was quite young when he first met the apostle Paul. His father was Greek, a gentile. His mother was Jewish, an Israelite. Some think, based on comments in Paul's letters to him, that Timothy was timid. Yet a closer look tells a different story. He encountered persecution, faced it and weathered it well.

Timothy kept company behind bars with Paul. More than once he nearly died. He was a faithful courier for Paul. He served the church at Ephesus, in Asia Minor, where members were predominantly gentile. we can learn much from the young evangelist Timothy, a Greek to gentiles, a Jew to Jews.

Timothy's early years

It is encouraging to read about the faithful parents or grandparents of a saint. Such is the case with Timothy. Scripture contains little direct information about him, but we can catch glimpses through the thoughts and writings of others who knew and worked with him.

Timothy's grandmother was named Lois, his mother Eunice. God doesn't shirk from mentioning the names of people who set themselves against Him (as in Hyme-
naeus and Philetus, named in 2Timothy 2:17), so it is encouraging to see how often God mentions the names of some who honored Him, especially when He gives honor to a disciple's parents.

Paul speaks highly of both Lois and Eunice. He wrote to Timothy: "I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day, greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy, 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" (2Timothy 1:3-5, emphasis added throughout).

Read the full article at www.gnmagazine.org/issues/gn34/profilesfaithtimothy.htm