Lydia

Lydia is mentioned just once in the Bible in Acts 16.  She is an amazing woman that I think we need to get to know better.  First of all, Lydia's conversion (accepting Christ) is historical because she is considered the first person recorded to have accepted Christ in Europe!  Now that is big! Up to this point, the gospel had not gone further west than Asia minor.  The Apostle Paul originally was planning on staying in Asia but God sent him a vision calling him to go west across the Aegean Sea and into Macedonia. This is where we see Paul meet Lydia.

Another interesting aspect to this passage is that it is being narrated in the first-person plural. Much of Acts is narrated in the third-person plural so this may indicate that whoever recorded her story was with Paul in Philippi, an eyewitness, and met Lydia personally. The narrator may be Luke himself, or Luke wishing to use a first-person source.

Let read Acts 16:13-15

13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. 14 One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. 15 When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

We see here that Luke (the author of Acts) calls her a dealer in purple cloth and a worshiper of God.  Let’s dig into these 2 things.  In this time, only the wealthy wore garments dyed in purple or had purple curtains for furnishings in their home.  The fact that Lydia dealt with this purple textile tells us she is a successful businesswoman.  We don’t see that a lot of women in the Bible. For me this really hit home on a personal level.  I am a businesswomen and became a leader in the early 90s.  Things were slightly different for women in those days and it was not the norm to be a strong business women and taking care of a family.  Lydia’s independence made an impression on me.  As a woman, if it is what you want and what God has planned in your life, you can be a businesswoman and raise a family. Second, she is a worshiper of God. We know Lydia is Greek so how is she a worshiper of God?  She’s not Jewish or raised Jewish.  In this time there were people who believed and behaved as a Jew without becoming a Jew, they were called polytheists.  So she believed in God, she just did not know the Gospel and specifically did not know the story of Christ.

After listening to Paul, Lydia and her household were baptized. Another interesting fact about this passage is that very few women in Luke’s writings actually spoke or it was recorded of what they say.  Here Luke gives her a voice.  She says to Paul and his companions, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my home.” Luke adds that “she prevailed on us.” 

This woman immediately opened up her heart and her home to these missionaries. We see another form of her wealth when it says, “When she and her household were baptized” makes it clear that it was her household. There is no mention of a husband or a father in her story. This was unusual in Bible times as women were identified by their relationship to a man (father, husband, adult son, or brother). It is likely that Lydia had no surviving adult male relatives or that she was widowed or divorced. Divorce was easier under Roman law and in most cases, bore no stigma. Whatever her marital status, Lydia’s home was spacious. It was large enough to accommodate Paul and his fellow missionaries (who included Silas, probably Timothy, and perhaps Luke and others) as well as her own household. Her home was also large enough to hold church meetings. It was in Lydia’s home that the church at Philippi first gathered in Acts 16:40.Lydia’s encounter with Paul and her hospitality showed courage. Having a group of foreign men stay in her house could have caused scandal. Hosting meetings where a new Jewish messiah was worshiped, rather than an emperor or an ancient pagan god, could have ruined her reputation and her business. She received Paul and Silas into her home. 

What can we learn from Lydia?

She clearly already had money and wealth.  As we all know, money and materialistic things cannot bring you the happiness or fulfillment that knowing and accepting Jesus Christ can bring.  She was open minded, she listened and after she believed she was welcoming and generous and then best of all became an Evangelist for Christ.  

We should all be more like Lydia!  Is there someone you know that might need some help or some guidance?  It does not always have to be financial help.  Lydia opened her heart and her home for others and was focused on spreading the word of Christ.