SERMON: QUIETLY BLOOMING

 

Naylor Community Christian Church

Naylor, Georgia

 

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to 2 Timothy 1:1-5

 

2 Timothy 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,

 

2 To Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

3 I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. 4 Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.

 

            -- on Wednesday of this past week, I had a little time to get some things done – we had cancelled Bible study because Kim was having chemo and wouldn’t be home until late – so, I took advantage of the moment to try to catch up on some yard work that I had neglected

            -- when we moved into the trailer following the hurricane, we had nothing but bare ground around our home – before, our house had been completely surrounded by trees – and our yard was covered mostly in leaves – but now, with no trees and direct sunlight, we knew we had to do something to put groundcover in place around our home

            -- neither of us really wanted grass, so we had this plan to establish a landscape of native vegetation, with lots of native wildflowers – but that’s easier said than done – we scarified the ground – we put out seed – we covered it and watered and fertilized it – but nothing came up

            -- and then when the rains started, the bare ground began eroding – so, I knew something had to be done – I went out and got a grass seed mixture and put it out – I thought it would be a temporary measure until we could get the native vegetation going – but the grass spread out and covered the front of the house – and now I find myself having to mow my yard for the first time in 28 years

            -- well, I was out there Wednesday doing just that, when I noticed something – a little stem with bright red flowers was poking its head up above the grass – if you look at the picture on our Facebook page announcing today’s message, you can see the picture of it

            -- I mowed around the flower – there was no way I was going to mow it down – but it got me thinking – about life and about faith and about a life well lived

            -- in the middle of a sea of grass, this one lone red flower stood up and proudly bloomed where it was planted – it was doing what it was called to do – it was becoming what it was created to be

            -- it didn’t matter what was going on around it – it didn’t matter that it was the only red flower blooming in our yard – it was created by God and planted in this location and it had a job to do – and there it stood – faithfully blooming beautifully, as it was intended to do

 

            -- our chaplain at work this week sent out a message that spoke to this – in it he wrote, and I’m quoting here:

 

Maybe the most important thing is this:

to continue doing what is right,

to faithfully live out our calling,

and to keep becoming the person we are meant to be

even when nobody notices.

 

Not every faithful life receives applause.

Not every sacrifice receives recognition.

But that does not make those things less valuable.

-- just like that little red flower blooming quietly in my yard, there is beauty in simply living faithfully where you are and doing what you were called to do and being who you were called to be – whether anyone sees it or not

-- history is filled with individuals who did just that – unnamed and unremembered people who lived faithful and beautiful lives for Christ without anyone noticing – without anyone giving them laud or decoration

-- people whose lives touched others in a myriad of ways – sometimes changing the direction of a life by simply being who they were and who God made them to be

 

-- this morning – on this Mother’s Day – I want us to consider two women who did just that – two women who quietly bloomed where they lived and who faithfully shared their lives and their beliefs with others

-- in this case, we do know their names – Lois and Eunice – but 2 Timothy 1:5 is the only place in the entire Bible where they are mentioned by name – there are a couple of other passages that allude to them, but not by name and not in any great detail

-- other than these two instances and this verse here in 2 Timothy, we know nothing about them – about who they were – how they lived – what they did – whether Eunice was a single mother or remained married during Timothy’s life

-- we don’t know if Lois lived with her or, if she did, why she did so – we don’t know anything about them – other than they were instrumental in bringing Timothy to faith and that their faithfulness rippled throughout history to this very moment

-- so, with that, let’s take a few moments to consider the lives of the unsung heroes of the faith – men and women like Lois and Eunice – and how we can live lives of meaning and purpose like them just by blooming quietly and faithfully where we are planted

 

II.  Lois and Eunice

            -- to begin the story of Lois and Eunice, we have to start at the beginning – at the moment when Paul first came into their acquaintance and the acquaintance of Timothy, who would become his dearly beloved son in the faith

            -- in Acts 16:1-3, we read about this initial meeting with Paul

 

Acts 16:1 Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek. 2 The believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. 3 Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

 

            -- so, during his second missionary journey, Paul came to the region of Lystra – an ancient Roman colony located about 25 miles south-southwest of Iconium – it is in modern-day Turkey

            -- it was along an established Roman road that ran from Ephesus through towns such as Sardis, Pisidian Antioch, Iconium to its terminus in Syrian Antioch – right in the middle, lay the little town of Lystra – so, this was a road that Paul followed during his ministry journeys

– at every town along the way, he would stop and try to find believers and preach the gospel to them or leave them with an encouraging word in an attempt to strengthen the churches there in this pagan land

            -- on this second missionary journey, Paul came into Lystra and was introduced to Timothy – a Christian who was highly spoken of by the believers both in Lystra and Iconium

            -- we learn that Timothy was of mixed heritage – his mother was Jewish, but his father was Greek – which explains why Timothy had not been circumcised as a child, because this was a Jewish tradition that would have been carried out by the father – since Paul was so impressed by Timothy that he wanted to take him on his journeys, he had Timothy circumcised, so this would not be a stumbling block to any Jews or Jewish believers they met

            -- so, from this passage in Acts 16, we learn that Timothy’s mother was a Jew – she would have been raised in the Jewish faith – but was probably not a devout follower of Judaism, since she ended up marrying outside the faith and did not press her husband to have Timothy circumcised on the eighth day, as Jewish law required

            -- at some point – probably through the teaching and evangelism of Paul – Timothy’s mother became a Christian – and apparently a very devout and faithful Christian -- she joined with the believers in Lystra to form the church there, and it was during Paul’s visit with that church that he first met her and Timothy, who would go on with him on the rest of his missionary journey

 

            -- look back over at 2 Timothy 1

 

2 Timothy 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,

 

2 To Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

3 I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. 4 Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.

 

            -- Timothy made an impression on Paul, from the very first moment – not only was Timothy’s faith and belief in Jesus so strong that Paul wanted him to join in the ministry, but Timothy became like a son to him during that trip

            -- we see that in both of these epistles to Timothy, which are the most personal letters that Paul wrote – in 1 Timothy, he calls Timothy his true son in the faith – and here in 2 Timothy 1:2, he says that Timothy is his “dear son” or “beloved son”

            -- he talks about how often he remembers Timothy in his prayers and how he gives thanks for him and how he longs to see him, so that he might be filled with joy

            -- in a very real sense, Timothy was a son to Paul – who, as best we can tell, never married or had children of his own

 

            -- but Paul’s relationship with Timothy was more than just a father to a son – there was a spiritual kindred there – a shared sense of faith and ministry and calling

            -- in verse 5, Paul says that he is reminded of Timothy’s sincere faith – his real faith – faith that was honest and genuine – not manufactured – not practiced only on Sundays – but a faith that defined him as a person

            -- this faith, Paul says, first lived in his grandmother Lois and in his mother Eunice – and now had been brought to life in him

            -- Paul is saying a lot with that statement – and this goes back to my thoughts on quietly blooming where you are planted – on being faithful to who you are and what God has called you to, no matter how big or small that calling might be regarded by others

 

            -- Timothy apparently began life in a home that did not value religion to any great extent – with a Greek father and Jewish mother, he probably was not raised in the Jewish faith and probably didn’t go to synagogue to be taught the scriptures or the traditions of his Jewish heritage

            -- I think it would be safe to say that Timothy’s family was probably like a lot of our families – they were nominal religious people, at best – and we understand that – for a lot of us, religion was nothing more than going to church at Christmas and Easter – maybe a Vacation Bible School, here or there – maybe attending a few Sundays during the year -- but nothing more

            -- if asked, we would say we were Christians because we were part of a church – but, in reality, true faith was not there – as Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:5, a lot of us had a form of godliness, but we denied its power – in other words, we appeared to be Christians, but only nominally – not really accepting or living out the calling of Christ in our lives

            -- this is how I believe Lois and Eunice lived – this was their how their household functioned – and when Timothy came along, not much changed, as evidenced by their failure to have Timothy circumcised

-- but at some point, something changed for Lois and Eunice – we don’t know for sure what happened, but we see Lois and Eunice mentioned as being women of faith – women known as part of the church – an integral part of the body of believers in the Lystra community

            -- and where she had failed to pass on her Jewish heritage to Timothy at the beginning, Eunice and her mother Lois exceeded expectations and impressed on Timothy the truth of the gospel of Christ – teaching him from the scriptures from the time he was a little boy – as Paul says here in verse 5, this sincere and genuine faith in Christ that he sees in Timothy first lived in Lois and Eunice – and they were the ones who passed it on to him

 

            -- turn over to Chapter 3:14-15

 

2 Timothy 3:14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

 

            -- as Paul begins to conclude this letter to Timothy, he urges him to continue in what he had learned and become convinced of – in other words, the truths of the gospel that Timothy had accepted and put his sincere faith in – living, not as a nominal Christian, but as a Christian who lived out his faith daily

            -- Paul says, continue in your faith, because you know those from whom you learned it – and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus

            -- when Lois and Eunice became believers, their lives changed – they accepted the religion and faith of Christ wholeheartedly – and they were intentional in passing their faith on to Timothy – teaching him from the scriptures themselves – telling him about Jesus – and sharing the traditions of their faith

            -- Paul certainly had a hand in helping Timothy grow in the faith, but he simply built on the foundation of faith that Lois and Eunice had poured into Timothy as a child

            -- it was their faith – blooming quietly there in Lystra and demonstrated through their lives in that community – that turned Timothy into the man of faith that Paul celebrates in these two epistles

            -- Lois and Eunice show how little red flowers blooming quietly all by themselves can change the world simply by being faithful to their calling

 

III.  Closing

            -- I want to close by sharing with you the story of how living like Lois and Eunice can impact people even today

            -- several years ago, there was a young grade school teacher named Mrs. Thompson – Mrs. Thompson taught in the fifth grade in a small school in Iowa – and even though she tried to be a good teacher and show love to all her students the same, there was one student she just didn’t like – a little boy named Teddy Stoddard

            -- Teddy was one of those boys who was on the outside of social settings – he didn’t play well with the other children – he was frequently alone on the playground – his clothes were messy – and he constantly needed a bath – on top of all of that, he was unpleasant – in speech and in his attitude towards Mrs. Thompson and his classmates

            -- and so, Mrs. Thompon just didn’t like him – in fact, even though it felt wrong, she found delight in marking his papers with a broad red pen – making bold Xs and then putting a big “F” on the top of most of his papers – she thought he deserved it for the way he lived and the way he treated everyone around him

            -- At the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, the teachers were required to review each child’s past records, and she put Teddy’s off until last. However, when she reviewed his file, she was in for a surprise.

            -- Teddy’s first grade teacher wrote, “Teddy is a bright child with a ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners… he is a joy to be around..”

            -- His second-grade teacher wrote, “Teddy is an excellent student, well-liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle.”

            -- Mrs. Thompson was confused – this didn’t sound like the Teddy she knew at all – she turned to his third grade report

-- His third grade teacher wrote, “His mother’s death has been hard on him. He tries to do his best, but his father doesn’t show much interest and his home life will soon affect him if some steps aren’t taken.”

            -- Teddy’s fourth grade teacher wrote, “Teddy is withdrawn and doesn’t show much interest in school. He doesn’t have many friends and he sometimes sleeps in class.”

            -- By now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself.

 

-- On that very day, she quit teaching reading, writing and arithmetic -- Instead, she began to teach children.

-- Mrs. Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy -- As she worked with him, his mind seemed to come alive -- The more she encouraged him, the faster he responded. By the end of the year, Teddy had become one of the smartest children in the class and, despite her lie that she would love all the children the same, Teddy became one of her “teacher’s pets..”

            -- at the end of the year, she found a note under her door from Teddy, telling her that she was the best teacher he ever had in his whole life

 

-- Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy. He then wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still the best teacher he ever had in life.

 

-- Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been tough at times, he’d stayed in school, had stuck with it, and would soon graduate from college with the highest of honors -- He assured Mrs. Thompson that she was still the best and favorite teacher he had ever had in his whole life.

 

-- Then four more years passed and yet another letter came. This time he explained that after he got his bachelor’s degree, he decided to go a little further. The letter explained that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had. But now his name was a little longer…. The letter was signed, Theodore F. Stoddard, MD.

 

-- The story does not end there. You see, there was yet another letter that spring. Teddy said he had met this girl and was going to be married. He explained that his father had died a couple of years ago and he was wondering if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit at the wedding in the place that was usually reserved for the mother of the groom. -- Of course, Mrs. Thompson did.

-- after the ceremony, Teddy hugged Mrs. Thompson and whispered in her ear, “Thank you Mrs. Thompson for believing in me. Thank you so much for making me feel important and showing me that I could make a difference.”

            -- Mrs. Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back. She said, “Teddy, you have it all wrong. You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference. I didn’t know how to teach until I met you.”¹

 

            -- Mrs. Thompson had a profound impact on Dr. Stoddard because she began to pour out her love into his life – Lois and Eunice did the same with Timothy – and all of us can do the same with those that God places into our paths

            -- all of us can bloom faithfully where we are as we share God’s love and His message of hope with those around us – all of us have the ability to change another person’s life by sharing with them the faith and love we have

           

            -- I want to leave you with an excerpt from a poem by Mary Rita Schilke Korzan that speaks to the power a person can have on the life of another – especially the power that a mother or grandmother can have on their children  

            -- it's called, "When You Thought I Wasn't Looking"

 

            -- “When you thought I wasn't looking, you hung my first painting on the refrigerator and I wanted to paint another one.

 

            -- When you thought I wasn't looking, you fed a stray cat, And I thought it was good to be kind to animals.

 

            -- When you thought I wasn't looking, you baked a birthday cake just for me, And I knew that little things were special things.

 

            -- When you thought I wasn't looking, you said a prayer, And I believed there is a God I could always talk to.

 

            -- When you thought I wasn't looking, you kissed me good-night And I felt loved.

 

            -- When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw tears come from your eyes, And I learned that sometimes things hurt-- But it's all right to cry.

 

            When you thought I wasn't looking, you smiled And it made me want to look that pretty too.

 

            -- When you thought I wasn't looking, you cared, And I wanted to be everything I could be.

 

            -- When you thought I wasn't looking, I looked... And I wanted to say “thanks" for all those things you did When you thought I wasn't looking.”

 

            -- let me ask you this -- who is looking at you today? – who’s life are you influencing just by being you? – Lois and Eunice changed Timothy’s life forever even through their love and faith -- and you are changing someone else's life even though you might not know they are looking

            -- as we close now, let me remind you of the power you have to change lives for better or worse -- and let me encourage you to always consider what your actions and your words can do to those around you

            -- may God bless you today and keep you in His grace as you seek to live out His example for others

            -- let us pray

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1 An Inspirational Story of Leadership Influence by Leading with Honor | Feb 11, 2020 | Quotes/Wisdom; https://www.leadingwithhonor.com/an-inspirational-story-of-leadership-influence/