Hope for the Spiritually Alone Mother
Eunice and Lois
I honestly can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard it—it’s a familiar refrain among women in the church: “My husband wants nothing to do with the church,” or “He’s not a believer at all.”
To the men who might be reading this: this is not an excuse for you to neglect your God-given responsibility to “bring [your children] up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). You are called to lead your family in the faith, and if you’re not doing that, the call is simple: repent and return to what God has entrusted to you.
But to the mothers in spiritually unequal or broken homes—I want you to know there is hope. Real hope.
God Still Works in Spiritually Divided Families
Scripture is clear: God calls His people to marry other believers. The instruction against being unequally yoked stretches far beyond marriage, but it certainly includes it. In both the Old and New Testaments, God warns that marrying outside the faith can have devastating effects on generational discipleship and on the spiritual unity of the home. The practical challenges are also obvious—how do you raise your children in the Lord when one parent opposes it?
And yet, we meet Eunice.
Eunice’s Family Was Spiritually Broken
Eunice was a Jewish woman living in the first-century city of Lystra (modern-day Turkey). Though the Old Testament was clear that God’s people were not to intermarry with those of other faiths (Deut. 7:3), it appears Eunice married a Greek man who did not share her faith. This was disobedience to God's command, and Scripture gives no indication that her husband ever came to faith in Christ.
But something remarkable happened. While in Lystra, Eunice and her mother Lois encountered the apostle Paul, who preached the gospel to them (Acts 14). They believed. And though her marriage remained spiritually divided, Eunice’s life took a new trajectory—one marked by sincere faith.
Paul later writes to Timothy, Eunice’s son, saying: “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well” (2 Timothy 1:5). Despite the brokenness in her marriage, Eunice is held up as a woman of genuine, living faith. That’s no small thing.
A Mother Can—and Should—Teach Her Children God’s Word
Yes, fathers are called to lead the spiritual formation of the family. And yes, studies show that when a man leads spiritually, the likelihood of the entire family coming to Christ rises dramatically. But that doesn't mean God cannot work powerfully through a faithful mother.
Paul tells Timothy, “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:14–15).
Who taught Timothy the Scriptures? It wasn’t his father—it was Eunice. She passed down the Old Testament truths and the hope of the coming Messiah. And when she met Jesus, she passed that truth on to her son. That’s faithful motherhood: pointing your children to the risen Savior, even when you're doing it alone.
God’s Word Will Not Return Void
If you're reading this and your husband isn’t spiritually leading your family, let that be the cry of your heart—that God would move him to repentance and faith. But in the meantime, take heart. God is not limited by your circumstances. His Word is never wasted.
Isaiah 55:11 reminds us:
“So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”
So keep going. Keep praying. Keep reading Scripture with your children. Keep bringing them to church. Keep trusting that the Word of God will do its work—because it will.
God used Eunice to raise up a young man who would one day pastor churches, travel with Paul, and help write and preserve the New Testament. He can work through you, too.