Low on the Go!

I've been taking a brief diversion from Jeremiah to look at characteristics of Biblical femininty by examining different godly women in the Bible and reading and listening to talks by Carolyn McCulley (all you single women out there, her blog is fantastic!). in reading through the Bible, i've never paid much attention to the character of Lydia in Acts 16. After all, this chapter is the only chapter in which she is mentioned and its easy to gloss over her ethos in focusing more on the "more important" characters such as Paul.
But during my date with God today i came to a deeper understanding of who this woman i was named after really was and how i can apply principles in her life to my own. Hopefully it will encourage other women who read this blog and guys too i suppose! if you make it through all of this..props!

i urge you to read Acts 16:11-40, but here's a brief synopsis (i hope i get it all right...) Paul had received a vision to preach in Macedonia and so immediately they "sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called [them] to preach the gospel to [the people in Macedonia]" (Acts 16:10). They proceeded to Philippi which was on the Macedonian plateau and was a region that was bustling with activity--a commercial meeting place, so to speak. "It dealt in agricultural produce of the rich plain and gold and silver mined from the surrounding mountains. Philippi had been made a Roman colony so it could serve as a home for retired army veterans after the decisive battle of the second civil war (42 B.C.) and the battle of Actium (31 B.C.). Bearing witness in Philippi was the closest thing to preaching in Rome without actually being there." (IVP New Testament Commentaries)

Knowing Paul, he followed the principle of "the Jew first" and would have expected and sought to speak to those in the synagogues first. However, they saw a group of women who had come together in the place of prayer and seized the opportunity to witness to the women.

One of the women in this group was Lydia and we are told in Acts that she was a "worshipper of God (v.14)" and that "the Lord had opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul." We are also told that she was from the "city of Thyatira [and was] a seller of purple goods." From this we can infer that Lydia was actually quite a successful business woman (during that time, purple dye was extremely expensive and a lucrative business endeavour). She hears what Paul preaches and the greek (this here is secondhand info...one day i'll learn to read biblical greek) in v. 14 does not only mean that she was listening--it is an imperfect verb meaning 'sustained attention'-- she hung on to each word and was baptized, becoming the first european believer! Not only that, but she had such influence (nothing is mentioned about a spouse, so usually the assumption is made that Lydia was a single woman) that her household was baptized as well!

Immediately after her baptism she then invites Paul and company to her house to stay! Presumably this was where the first Church in Philippi began!

There are numerous principles from this testimony that i would like to apply in my life.
Firstly, if i have the right attitude, and my heart is in the right place, He will speak.
Lydia was a worshipper of God and because of this, the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.

Secondly, i have the capability to influence those in my sphere, therefore i should take the opportunity to do so.
It is noteworthy that Lydia is baptized and then the rest of her household as well.
" In ancient Greco-Roman society the household was the basic social, economic and religious unit. The typical household was large, including nuclear and extended family, slaves and economic retainers. "Roman households were united in a common religious cult (the Lares) irrespective of age or personal beliefs" (Green 1970:210). The conversion of this female head of a household, who was either single or a widow, has necessary religious and spiritual implications for the other members. And today we must be ever mindful of the strategic importance of social networks for the rapid spread of the gospel, for multi-individual household conversions can snowball into people movements (see Hulbert 1978; 1979)." (IVP New Testament Commentaries)

Thirdly, hospitality is one of the qualities the Proverbs 31 woman has, and so does Lydia. She was ready to use her home to further the gospel. She not only asks Paul to come to her house--it is not merely a flippant invite. She URGES and PREVAILS them to come. Talk about being ready to offer her home to further the gospel--this becomes the place where the first church in Philippi began!!

To me, this is a beautiful picture of what God can and will do through me, as a single woman, but even more importantly as His obedient follower.