Identity: Lydia

I think the way that people remember us can be an indication of our purpose for God. How is Lydia remembered? In Acts 16, she only appears in a few verses, but we can see that she is a tradeswoman of fine cloth, as purple was expensive dye. We know that she has a whole household, but we know nothing of her family. Was she married? Did she have children? Was her household a maidservant and cook or were there more? Did ‘household’ include the workers and staff for her business? We don’t know.

What is important

I think we are given little information about Lydia because those details are not important. Lydia came to have a personal relationship with Jesus, just like we do. A personal relationship with Jesus, that is the key and He is who we lean on. He is our identity, not the business, the children, the husband, the status. All these things that we may wonder about are not the key, are not the foundation of hope and the center of our identity. Jesus and the choice to follow Him are our identity.

Lydia is baptized and given a new identity in Christ. Here we can make some pretty decent inferences: since her household was also baptized, she was likely well-respected in business and treated her household well. I am reminded of Joshua’s statement, ‘as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord,’ in Joshua 24:15. Solid choices and leadership are generally indicators of followers as well. I have wondered about the timeframe in this part of the story. Did Lydia jump into baptism immediately? Or was it several days before she understood what Paul was saying? That would also give some time to gather her household around her and for them to make a decision for Christ as well.

Woman of Virtue

Another point toward Lydia as a woman of virtue is the impression that she clearly made upon Paul. She convinced him and the others to stay at her house. I understand this was standard practice as inns were a bit salacious, but it is also interesting because as a woman she would not have been the ‘prestigious’ choice of hostess. But again, these things don’t matter to God, so why do they to us? The team must have spent some time her home because they go on about their business and another story is recounted in which the Paul ends up in prison.

Even then, even after prison and the likely stigma that could come from hosting these rabble-rousers, who were ‘advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice(Acts 16:21),’ Lydia welcomed the men back to her home after they were released from prison.

Lydia time and again demonstrates that who she was and what she did were intertwined with the Lord. She opened her home to these strangers, she had a house full of people who, at minimum respected her, but likely also loved her. She clearly demonstrated welcoming others and being a beacon of the community, even before knowing Christ and making Him savior. It was after her salvation that she stepped fully into her purpose, she demonstrated God’s love by welcoming others and serving them so they would find rest and know Him better, through her – who she was and how she reflected the light of our Savior. Lydia shared the love of God through her actions and welcoming spirit, despite the association with those who had been in prison.

God-given Purpose

I think we could say that Lydia’s purpose was to demonstrate God’s love through welcoming others and serving them so that they would know God and God’s peace and rest. What is your purpose?