You may not be aware of it (unless you’ve been in a greeting card shop lately!), but tomorrow is Grandparents’ Day across our nation. If any of your grandparents are still living, I hope you’ll make a special effort to call or visit them, and let them know how much they have meant to you.

Whenever I think of grandparents and the impact they can make on their grandchildren, I think of a young man in the Bible named Timothy. He was a close companion of the Apostle Paul, and was greatly used of God to help Paul on his missionary journeys. Later he became the pastor of the Christians in the city of Ephesus – a difficult assignment, since Ephesus was a major center of pagan worship in the ancient world. Timothy obviously was a young man of strong faith and deep conviction.

But where did Timothy get his faith? The seeds were sowed by his mother – and especially his grandmother. As Paul wrote in one of his letters to Timothy, “I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois” (2 Timothy 1:5). Paul also recalled that “from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15).

Thank God for the privilege of being grandparents, and ask Him to help you be the best grandparents you can be. May your grandson remember not only the good times you’ll give him, but especially your example of faith and love in Christ.