Imagine a city without a church. That is something hard for us to believe when we feel there is a church on every street corner. However, the city of Philippi did not have a church. Though Philippi was a leading city known for its agricultural industry, gold mines, and its famous school of medicine, a synagogue had not been established. To do so required ten Jewish males living there, and Philippi did not have that. On the Sabbath, the people, mostly women, met outside the city gates by the river. It was there Paul and his group of missionary friends met a group of women gathering for prayer.

As Paul, Timothy and the others joined the women, Paul began to share about Jesus. While all of the Jewish women listened intently, there was one woman Paul especially noticed. She was unlike the others. It was apparent she was a prominent woman in the town.

Lydia originally came from the city of Thyatira. She was a Gentile businesswoman, who sold purple goods. Her own garments suggested business had been prosperous. The luxurious cloth she sold was dyed a beautiful purple. She had learned the difficult art of extracting this dye from small shellfish found in the Aegean Sea. Moving from Thyatira, Lydia reestablished her business in Philippi, where she sold her garments of royal color to the wealthy, enabling her to build her business and household. Yet even in all her financial success, Lydia felt something was missing. Leaving worship of false gods, she turned to worship of the living God.

Lydia’s search for God led her to the river that Sabbath, where she intently listened to Paul. As the gospel message was presented, “the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.” (Acts 16:14) Lydia accepted Jesus as her Savior that day. While God used Paul to share His message, Lydia’s salvation was not the result of his persuasive words. The Lord opened her spiritual eyes, so she could see her need for Him. Jesus filled her emptiness, and her searching came to an end.

Following her salvation, Lydia was baptized. In fact, her whole household came to love and follow Jesus as their Lord and Savior. With her newfound faith, Lydia longed to use what she had to serve Him.

“And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.” (Acts 16:15)

Though Lydia had wealth and influence in her community, it was her willingness to share all she had that made a difference in the city of Philippi. Lydia offered her home, not only as a place for the missionaries to lodge but also as a place to meet. The believers of Philippi used her home as a center for worship, helping to establish Christianity in Philippi. In her willingness to share her home, she helped pave the way for many more people to follow and serve Jesus.

While we may not have the wealth of Lydia, God has blessed each of us with talents and resources. With your willingness to use what He has given you, God will do great things. Maybe the results will not be the start of a church, however you will plant seeds pointing people to follow Jesus. Using what God has given brings glory to Him. Your willingness may pave the way!

“God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ.” (1Peter 4:10-11 NLT)