1 Timothy 1:3-5

In one way I am like Timothy. I had a godly grandmother and a godly mother. I do not have, and will never have, the words to adequately describe the their powerful impact on my life. It was from my grandmother that I first learned what it meant to trust God. She trusted God for everything, but in particular she trusted him in money matters. Growing up, we were not middle-class. My grandmother had to work each month to figure out how to pay the bills. Medical expenses had a large part to do with her difficulty making ends meet. In spite of that she always trusted God to help her find a way to support the work of the church. My mother taught me what it meant to be patient. Quite often I provided the need for her patience.

Most Christians recognize that we do not inherit our salvation, however they do not always appreciate the degree to which we do semi-inherit our faith. Salvation comes by faith in Jesus Christ, and someone else’s faith cannot substitute for our own. However, as Paul understood, faith in Christ is always easier when we been raised by those who have practiced that faith. Paul told Timothy that it was the same faith that his grandmother and mother had that was now living in him. Timothy did not inherit it, but he did most definitely learn it. If faith is a leap to believe in that which cannot be proven, then how can we learn to have faith? The answer is perhaps simplistic, but it is nevertheless true. We learn faith from the example others. When my grandmother placed faith in God, and testified to that fact by what she said and what she did, I witnessed it. If God had failed to be faithful I would have known it.

When Christians have faith in God, it reveals God’s faithfulness. As Christians our faith is inspired by others, and our faith should also to be inspiring to others.