And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. Acts 16:14
Although Lydia was not the first European to be saved – that honour apparently goes to Cornelius the centurion (Acts 10) – she was the first Christian convert in Europe. The story of her conversion as related in our text is interesting, although brief, but it is a story that each of us can related to because it contains elements of our conversion, too.
As a Jewess, Lydia had a knowledge of God and was at least somewhat familiar with His Word. And her practice of meeting with other Jewish women regularly shows her to be interested in spiritual things. We can relate to that, in that most of us were raised in Christian homes and spent time in Sunday School and attending Assembly meetings and conferences, in addition to all the Bible reading and prayers in our homes. Although we did not fully appreciate it at the time, we should not minimize this great background of familiarity with the Bible and the Gospel. Although it probably took us years longer than it should for us to respond to the Gospel and be saved, those early years of being in a godly environment preserved us from much of the evil of the world around us and prepared our hearts for the Lord to continue dealing with us.
When our text relates that Lydia heard the missionaries, it reminds us of the first time when we took the message of the Gospel seriously. Despite all of the earlier background in the Gospel, we were never going to be saved until we took to heart the truth of our lost condition and need of a Saviour. It was only then that the Lord could open our heart, as we note that the Lord opened Lydia’s heart. Although you and I had a personal responsibility to respond to the Gospel because God will never force His salvation on any, we can never be saved unless the Lord opens our hearts. Closed by sin, rebellion, and disobedience, our hearts are deceitful and opposed to God. But in His mercy, He opens our hearts.
What is meant by the phrase that Lydia attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul? It obviously means more than that she paid attention to the preaching, although that is included. The word ‘attended’ indicates that she fully embraced or accepted the message. She accepted by faith the message of the Gospel and the Saviour that it presents. Simply put, Lydia was saved. And she went on to prove her salvation. We read of her baptism, the conversion of others in her home, and her hospitality toward the Lord’s people. A trophy of God’s grace, she went on to become a faithful servant of her Lord.
It’s always good to hear how someone else is saved; it causes us to look back and appreciate God’s dealings with us to bring us to Himself. -Jim MacIntosh