Generosity of Home
by Debbie Poer
Throughout Scripture we read of women who are a part of God’s story. From the beginning, women have been used by God to further his work in our world. Whether it was Eve, who walked personally with God and yet was so disobedient that it changed mankind’s life forever or Ruth, who taught us of being redeemed, or Mary, the mother of Jesus, women have played a huge role in our relationship with God.
Tucked throughout Scripture there are also snippets of the lives of other women we often recognize as part of the story, but at the same time we fail to acknowledge them as important parts of God’s plan for the church. Lydia is such a woman.
We are introduced to Lydia in Acts 16, and she appears only in verses 11-15 and again in verse 40. While not a lot is known about her, we know she was from Thyatira, a dealer in purple, and she worshipped God. From those few facts we can paint a picture of who she might have been. Being from Thyatira, which was a province in Asia and modern-day Turkey, she would have been a Gentile. But somehow, she had met the Jewish God, and she worshipped Him. Thyatira was a region known for its dyes. She was a dealer in purple and whether it was the dye itself or purple cloth, her occupation had taken her to Philippi, where she settled and conducted business. Whether it was purple dye or purple cloth, both were expensive and affordable only for the wealthiest of people. That in turn meant Lydia herself was probably a woman of wealth. With that wealth probably came privileges not available to the ordinary woman. Lydia probably had a large home and perhaps slaves or freedmen and women in her employ. She probably had a standing in the small Jewish population of Philippi and perhaps a leadership role within that small community.
When we meet Lydia in Acts 16, Paul had just arrived in Philippi during his second missionary journey (his first journey to Europe). On the Sabbath we notice he did not go to the synagogue, as was his normal practice when he arrived in a town, because there was no synagogue there. Instead, he went to the riverside where he thought a prayer meeting might be taking place. There he found a group of women. Paul and his companions sat down and began talking with the women.
Immediately after we learn Paul began talking with the women, we read in verse 14 of Acts 16, “The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul.” What she hears and takes in is so profound that she and her entire household are baptized. She then says to Paul, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay” (Acts 16:15). And they did for a period of time.
From the beginning of her newfound faith and baptism into her new life in Jesus we find Lydia to be a woman of great generosity. She immediately opened her home to Paul and his companions, inviting them to stay for an indefinite period. In her book Women Who Do: Female Disciples in the Gospels, Holly J. Carey offers this insight into Lydia’s invitation to Paul, “What we do know is that Lydia regards her offer of hospitality as an outpouring of her newfound faith; she explicitly connects her invitation to what God is doing in her heart. Lydia’s hospitality is emphasized even further by the fact that her offer is clearly not a feeble one. Not only does she connect their acceptance to her own faithfulness, but also she insists that they stay with her (parebiasato) suggesting the passion of her heart and her recognition of the urgency of the mission in the region.
Lydia became the first convert to Christianity in Europe. She showed her generous spirit by inviting Paul to stay with her. In doing so, she became his student learning more and more about Jesus and her new life in Him, preparing her to share the gospel with her circle of influence. In Acts 16:40, we read that after their release from prison, Paul and Silas return to Lydia’s home where they visited with other believers. Her generosity of opening her home built the church not only in Philippi, but wherever her business took her.
It makes me stop and think – am I being generous with my home? Do I open it to others, to learn more about Jesus myself and to become better prepared to share Him outside of my home? I pray the answer is a resounding “Yes,” but also pray I become even better at it. What about you? Are you being as generous with your home as God is calling you to be?
