THE home in which Timothy grew up was not actually Christian, as the gospel did not came to his mother and grandmother until after he was well-grown, and his father is not said to have been even a proselyte to Judaism. But it was a pious, Jewish home, nevertheless, where the sacred Scriptures were read and loved, and so the heart of the lad was ready for the message of the grace of God in Christ, when Paul and Barnabas came to Lystra and Derbe. Timothy’s early training bore rich fruit in future years, and led to his becoming an earnest servant of the Lord Jesus after he was converted through Paul’s ministry.
“O happy home whose little ones are given
Early to Thee, in humble faith and prayer,
To Thee, their Friend, who from the heights of heaven
Guides them, and guards with more than mother’s care!
O happy home where each one serves Thee, lowly,
Whatever his appointed work may be,
Till every common task seems great and holy.
When it is done, O Lord, as unto Thee!”
—Carl Johann Philipp Spitta.