Eunice: A Godly Grandmother
Dane Felicien
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your
heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
… You shall teach them diligently to your children,
and shall talk of them when you sit in your house,
when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and
when you rise up” (Deut 6:5 – 7). These instructions
were for the Lord’s people to recognize His
desire that they develop a genuine, perpetuating
faith. Throughout the Bible there are a number of
illustrations where the Lord’s people have demonstrated
such zeal towards Him. In insuring that the
next generations are indeed faithful to the Lord
typically men have been singled out as the example
to be followed. However, it is by ignorance
of the whole counsel of God that many today have
misrepresented the Holy Scriptures as being male
chauvinistic. Many a woman has been commended
in scripture for her role in raising children
according to the instructions of the Lord, furthering
His kingdom. When I think of such women’s role
for such perpetuation I recall Mordecai’s words
when he spoke to Queen Esther: “…Yet who
knows whether you have come to the kingdom for
such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14).
Some of the memorable mothers of the Bible
are Sarah, the wife of Abraham, mother of the son
of promise, Gen 21; Hannah, wife of Elkannah,
mother of Samuel the noteworthy prophet of God,
1 Samuel 1; Elizabeth, wife of Zacharias the priest,
mother of John the Baptist, Luke 1; Mary, wife of
Joseph, mother of Jesus the Christ, Luke 2. Then
there is the not so popular or well known Eunice.
She was the wife of a Greek (Acts 16:1), and the
mother of Timothy, the young and stalwart gospel
preacher.
Timothy is the young preacher that Paul writes
to with two epistles in his name. Paul, as he writes
to the Corinthian church, refers to Timothy as a
beloved and faithful son in the Lord able to continue
the same faith of Paul in Christ Jesus, even
in Paul’s absence (1 Corinthians 4:17). Several of
Paul’s epistles start with an endearing comment
about Timothy contending for the faith as zealously
as Paul. It is in Paul’s second epistle to
Timothy that he reminds Timothy of whom his faith
as been so established: by his grandmother Lois
and mother Eunice. “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” (2 Tim 1:5).
What is unique about commending Eunice is that
she, apparently, had to raise Timothy with an
unbelieving husband (Acts 16:1). Her only helper
in the faith seems to be another woman, her own
mother (2 Tim 1:5). The faith of Eunice and Lois
mentioned in 2 Timothy 1:5 is so genuine it stands
out in Paul’s memory. Eunice’s faith demonstrates
a maternal influence thus on par with that
of any memorable godly mother, though hers was
without the godly influence of a believing husband
and father.
In her contented, yet invaluable role of motherhood,
Eunice has demonstrated a quality precious
in the sight of God. Eunice took her place as a
worker in the kingdom of the Lord, raising and
teaching Timothy to love the Lord selflessly. Acts
16:2 illustrates how Timothy was well spoken of
even before Paul took him under his wing. Peter’s
admonition to wives of unbelieving husbands in 1
Peter 3:1 – 6 is thus so perfectly portrayed in the
character of Eunice. Her chaste conduct was
accompanied by fear and reverence of Almighty
God thus demonstrating the incorruptible beauty
of a gentle and quiet spirit. It is again such qualities
then that measure Eunice up to the holy women of
the Old Testament who trusted in God such as
Sarah with Abraham and other memorable mothers.
What an example to Christian single mothers
and wives of unbelieving husbands! Eunice is a
biblical character of obscurity, mentioned by name
in only one Bible verse. Nonetheless, what but the
Lord and Eunice’s sincere faith could have resulted
in such an impact? Instead of seeking
prominence or falling prey to erroneous conclusions
about male chauvinism, Eunice contended
for the faith, doing the will of God in His kingdom.
She raised a son that the scriptures hails as a fine
preacher of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. What
good she truly did!