In Acts 14, Paul and Barnabas came to Lystra and preached the gospel. There in that city lived a man who had never walked, and Paul brought healing to him through the power of the living God. The immediate response of the people, though, was to honor the mythological gods of the Greek pantheon. Believing that Zeus and Hermes were in their midst, they were only scarcely prevented from sacrificing oxen to Paul and Barnabas (vv. 6–13). What a place Lystra must have been, where false deities and ideologies governed the daily thoughts of the people!

But somewhere in that region lived a woman named Lois. She and her daughter Eunice were devoted not to the gods of mythology but to the God of Abraham. In their family the Holy Scriptures had a prominent place; and no doubt the preaching of Paul and Barnabas stirred up a response of faith not only in them but also in Eunice’s son, a young man named Timothy. And two or three years later, when Paul returned, he found that Timothy had been well grounded in the Christian faith (2 Tim. 1:5, 3:15; Acts 16:1–2).

In our days, some Christians make it their aim to decry the increasing godlessness of our cities, schools, and workplaces. Doubtless there is truth in what is said; but do we think that the Christian life is more difficult now than it was in first-century Lystra? Surrounded by falsehood, Lois and Eunice made their home an oasis of faith. In such a home Timothy prospered spiritually, despite the active idolatry of his peers. As Christian parents, we can take heart! And as Christians in our cities, let us keep our priorities in order. We do not have to Christianize the city of Lystra, so to speak, in order to maintain our witness for Christ.