Lydia, a True Believer of the Lord

Acts 16:13-15

And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither. And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.

After Paul’s vision about a man pleading Paul to help them at Macedonia, he immediately tried to reach Macedonia understanding that the Lord wanted the gospel to be preached there. They reached from Troas to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia and dwelt there for a few days. On the Sabbath day, Paul and Silas went out the city gate to the river where they expected to pray and worship. They sat down and began to speak to the women gathered there.

What is noteworthy is that Paul addressed a group of women worshippers. These women gathered there had a desire to worship the Lord God and it appears that these women met regularly on every Sabbath to worship. Among the group of women worshippers was Lydia, seller of purple from the city of Thyatira. Purple dye or the purple cloth was very expensive. Lydia not only earned money by hard work but also had love for the Lord God and she was thirsting to hear more about God. She was just at the right place. The apostles were led by the Spirit of God there to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Lydia heard the gospel message delivered by Paul. She was convicted about this wonderful message and immediately acted upon it. The Lord God opened her heart to this wonderful truth. She was baptized and also her whole household was baptized. Lydia heard the message and did not just keep this message to herself. It is not clear whether her whole household was in that group but some how the gospel message reached them as well. The self same moment that she got baptized she must have led her whole family to this truth. Yes, a woman can impact her whole household and change the course of the entire family. Proverbs 31:27 says, “She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.” A virtuous woman takes good care of her entire household and eats not the bread of idleness. Here Lydia is that same type of virtuous woman spoken of by King Lemuel’s mother in Proverbs 31. She first took the right step in dedicating her Sabbath to worshipping the Lord God and now Lydia and her entire family was blessed with the truth about Jesus Christ the Savior, and were baptized.

Lydia did not just stop at that but she persuaded Paul and Silas to go to her house and abide there, if they judged her to be a true believer of the Lord. She was putting her faith to practice right away. Of course, Paul and Silas had no choice but to go to Lydia’s house for they were persuaded by her and her belief in Christ. James 1:23-24 says, “For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.” She heard the word of God and was doing what the divine Word said. She was ministering to the apostles by whom she was ministered. She received salvation through these men of God and now was serving them in ways she could. She invited them to her house and asked them to abide there. From Lydia’s house the apostles had a few more experiences preaching the good tidings and delivering a girl from an evil spirit. From there they were kept in prison and straightaway from prison they reached Lydia’s house to comfort the brethren there. It is clear that Lydia’s family entertained the other brethren in Christ who were crying and praying for the release of Paul and Silas. Acts 16:40 says, “And they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed.” The apostles did not take a second thought whether they should go to Lydia’s house or not because they were very well convinced how Lydia would like their presence in her house.

We too in this present generation can try and be like Lydia. We have to take time to go to the House of God to worship Him with fellow-Christians. God will have a special message that ministers to our heart every time we go and worship Him. He opens the eyes of our heart to the truth about Him as we seek Him. He will fill us with Holy Spirit and empower us to be a blessing to our household like Lydia was. This Spirit can and will transform us and our entire household. The whole family can be saved and be blessed immensely. We should also be doers of the Word like Lydia. Faith without deeds is dead and so our faith must be accompanied by actions like Lydia’s faith was. Let us seek God to help us be like Lydia, who was a true believer of Christ!

Tomorrow: Poor Widow and Her Two Mites