“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” (Acts 16:1414And 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. (Acts 16:14)).
When we ponder the wonderful stories of the early believers, whose testimonies and witness are recorded for us, we can see why God has seen fit to put them in the Bible to build us up.
Dorcas, Peter’s wife’s mother, and Phebe are a few believing women whose lives will help us along, but Lydia — her hospitality and her willingness to help others — is an especially good example. We find Lydia’s life recorded in Acts 16:14,4014And 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. (Acts 16:14)
40And 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. (Acts 16:40). A seller of purple from Thyatira, Lydia lived in Philippi and worshipped God. She heard Paul and the others with him, perhaps notably Timothy and Silas, and “attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.” She was baptized, along with her household, and her very next action, as far as the Scriptures tell us, was to constrain the brethren to come into her house and stay there.
Lydia opened her house to the needs of the brethren; she had worked with her family so that they too were baptized and now besought visiting brethren to stay with her. We know that the Lord said, “The Son of Man hath not where to lay His head,” but Lydia was eager to see that Paul and the others had a place to stay.
It was in Philippi that Paul and Silas were thrown into prison for healing a woman afflicted with an evil spirit. While in jail, they were singing when the earth shook, the door to their cell flew open, and they had the opportunity to flee — but chose to remain and preach the gospel to their jailor. Afterward, Paul and the others left and went to Lydia’s house again.
It is a sweet thought that before their troubles, Lydia had the chance to serve them, and now, afterward, they went back to where they had felt welcomed and used this opportunity to comfort the brethren.
Lydia had a special privilege: She could look back in later years and remember entertaining Paul and Silas — two men that God had chosen for His work — sitting with them and hearing their ministry, and having the joy of offering them a room in her house. The results were lasting: Lydia was the first convert recorded from Thyatira and her hospitality and zeal for the things of God are written down for all of time.
We too need to be ready to open our homes and entertain the brethren when we can. The brethren are cared for, but, as with Lydia, we are the ones who profit.
H. Habeck