Eunice was not alone in her beliefs, however. It appears that Timothy received his instruction in “the holy writings” both from his mother and from his maternal grandmother, Lois.a The apostle Paul exhorted Timothy: “Continue in the things that you learned and were persuaded to believe, knowing from what persons you learned them and that from infancy you have known the holy writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through the faith in connection with Christ Jesus.”—2 Timothy 3:14, 15.

Timothy had been “persuaded to believe” Scriptural truths. According to one Greek lexicon, the word Paul used here means “to be firmly persuaded of; to be assured of” something. No doubt, considerable time and effort were needed to root such firm conviction in Timothy’s heart, helping him to reason on God’s Word and exercise faith in it. Apparently, then, both Eunice and Lois worked hard to teach Timothy from the Scriptures. And what a reward those godly women reaped! Paul could write of Timothy: “I recollect the faith which is in you without any hypocrisy, and which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, but which I am confident is also in you.”—2 Timothy 1:5.

What a vital role Eunice and Lois played in Timothy’s life! In this regard, writer David Read states: “If the apostle believed that nothing mattered but Timothy’s own personal experience of conversion, he would have reminded him of it right away. But the first thing he has to say about Timothy’s faith was that it was already ‘alive in Lois . . . and Eunice.’” Paul’s statement regarding the faith of Lois, Eunice, and Timothy shows that often the early Scriptural education given at home by parents and even grandparents is fundamental in determining a young one’s future spiritual prospects. Should that not make family members think seriously about what they are doing to fulfill this responsibility toward both God and their children?

Perhaps Paul was also thinking about the kind of home environment Lois and Eunice had created. The apostle may have visited their home during his first stay in Lystra, about 47/48 C.E. The two women probably converted to Christianity at that time. (Acts 14:8-20) Perhaps warm, happy relations enjoyed in that household influenced Paul’s choice of words when referring to Lois as Timothy’s “grandmother.” According to scholar Ceslas Spicq, the Greek term he used (mamʹme, in contrast with the classical and respectful teʹthe) is “a child’s word of endearment” for his grandmother, which in this context conveys a “nuance of familiarity and affection.”