I Thessalonians 3:12 ” May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.”

Paul and Silas had only a few times to teach in Thessalonica before they were forced to leave.  And after they left, the early Church there came under great persecution, thus Paul feared he had not had enough time to firmly ground them in the Gospel…so he sent Timothy to complete the work he had started.  In this letter, Timothy has returned with the good news of the Believer’s faith and love and Paul is praising God for it.  Earlier in this letter Paul wrote, “We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” (I Thessalonians 1:3)  What Paul was talking about here is the agape love we have for each other is an expression of our faith, and hopefully both our love and faith are growing and increasing together each day.

II Timothy 1:5 ” I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.”

Paul was a “spiritual” father to Timothy, but it was at his mother’s knee as a toddler he truly learned about Jesus. (II Timothy 3:15)  It was the consistent teaching of both his grandmother and mother that established Timothy’s firm and confident belief in Jesus Christ and His Gospel…which gives all Christian women hope for their children regardless of the family dynamics.