I thank God, whom I serve from my elders with a clear conscience, that without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day; Desiring to see you, remembering your tears, to fill me with joy; bringing to mind the unfeigned faith that is in you, which lived first in your grandmother Loida, and in your mother Eunice, and I am sure that in you too.
2 Timothy 1: 3 - 5
It is impossible not to recognize that parents leave a mark on our children; our virtues or defects, our good or bad personal and family decisions will inevitably be reflected in them, their future will be affected.
God the Creator placed in our hands the upbringing of the children He gave us, and we must do well, is an important area of our relationship with the Lord that we will have to account for. Our influence can be so valuable that the Word of God tells us that we can still safely lead our children to salvation: "He instructs the child in his way, and even when he is old he will not turn away from him", Proverbs 22: 6 It is undeniable that this advice is addressed to parents, but we must regret that there are many who do not follow it; someone said that the best preaching of the gospel is that which is done with the mouth closed, how true! The example, the testimony, often determines the eternal life of some. The instruction must be an inseparable friend of the testimony. This is a weighty reason that will determine the decision by Christ of our children.
The apostle Paul must have recognized that in Timothy there was a special type of faith that had been handed down from generation to generation, it was so evident that he could see reflected in the Christian character of the young man two people, his grandmother Loida, and his mother Eunice. In the formation of Timothy as a member of the Body of Christ, both influenced; but without doubt the role of the mother was vital. Loida had effectively prepared her daughter for the ways of the Lord, and departed to heaven with the task accomplished. And by the result, we observed that Eunice was diligently concerned to convey to her son the values and principles that would make him a very good Christian.
We said that not only the instruction, but the testimony of the parents is essential to guide our children and daughters in the ways of the Lord. The apostle noticed in Timothy this quality, which had also been in his grandmother, and more directly in his mother Eunice, and what is this quality ?, "the unfeigned faith that is in you", in other words, faith does not hypocrite.
Eunice, as a mother, put all her efforts so that the faith of her son Timothy was honest, and we deduce that the greatest motivation the boy had to believe in Jesus Christ with sincerity, was to see his mother follow the steps of the Master with fidelity and devotion. He was led by her gently but firmly by the paths of faith in God, following the example given in life by his own mother Loida, obtaining both the recognition of the Lord including them no less than in the Sacred Scripture.
Eunice as a mother is an example to follow at any time. His unfeigned faith led his son Timothy to the plants of Christ. Since he was a little boy he witnessed the way his mother practiced faith, was the same everywhere, without folds, without sweet or bitter water coming out together, and wanted to be like her.
The alarms must sound loud, stridently, in the ears of the hearts of those mothers who have sons or daughters without following the ways of Jesus, without a doubt something has failed or is failing to make it happen that way. It should not be. An exemplary mother, Eunice, tells us that it is indeed possible, through unfeigned faith, to lead our children along the paths of faith in God.
