Seller of Purple: A Biblical Study of Wild Generosity

Today’s Friday of Preparation focuses on Lydia, a Seller of Purple: A mini Biblical study of selfless hospitality and wild generosity.

 

One sleepover weekend, the glittles dug through my fabric stash and some glittery knits I bought to make tablecloths caught their eyes. They draped themselves like mermaids, with a wrap here, and a tuck there, and a big pin to hold it all together. Sometimes the fabric trailed off behind them like a bride’s train or a mermaid’s tail. Some wrap styles made them look like runway models ready to grace the covers of a fashion magazine. Others made me imagine darker skin and a caste spot on their foreheads.

The pieces of fabric occupied their imaginations for most of the weekend. They asked to take the fabric home to prolong the magic.

 

 

Women, Fabric and Fine Linen

There’s just something magic about women and beautiful fabric.

Most men make fun of it, complaining that trips to the fabric store are the ultimate in boredom. And an exercise in patience and endurance.

Yet there is no objection when their “women” are draped in beautiful fabric, albeit cut and stitched into patterns befitting local public appearances.

 

Currently, linen is one such beautiful fabric seen oftener than in these recent years that focused practically exclusively on knits.

Linen is so much more natural than knit. It is cool and breathable, unlike certain knits that rubbers to your skin in hot weather. Linen is produced safely and without chemicals; naturally organic and antimicrobial.

Linen is a Biblical symbol of purity.

And linen dyes gorgeously, into any color you wish.

For instance, the color purple.

Purple color was worn only by the rich and famous in Bible times, because the dye was very difficult to acquire.

 

 

Lydia of Thyatira: Seller of Purple and Fine Linen

Lydia of Thyatira was a seller of purple. This could mean she dyed fabric and sold it, or it could mean she sourced and sold purple dye. Or both, perhaps.

Either one would have made her a member of the elite. The fact that she had a house large enough to house Paul and the rest of his group of missionaries also means she was a person of means.

Because a seller of purple had to have means. It took 10,000 snails to create one gram of Tyrian purple dye! The process of extracting the dye from the snails was a three day lesson in persistence.

Lydia was diligent, strong, hardworking, rich in money and rich in spirit. She worshipped God even before Paul and his group of 10 came to her town. And when she met them by the river, it wasn’t long before Paul recognized her spirit, and she – and her entire household – was baptized.

Philippi, Lydia’s hometown, had a proclamation on the city gates allowing no unknown or unrecognized religions inside the city. Paul’s religion was unknown, and therefore, banned from the city. Yet Lydia insisted the group stay at her house. She persuaded them to make it their home base, and then funded their preaching excursions to nearby places. She, along with the men, could have been punished by the law for her actions. There could have been severe consequences – a loss of her livelihood, her wealth, her household – if the authorities discovered her disregard for local law. She threw caution to the wind to follow her convictions.

 

 

Lydia’s Christian Love 

Selfless Hospitality and Wild Generosity

Besides her love of fine fabric and rich color, women today should emulate Lydia of Thyatira.

To summarize, Lydia was

• spiritual
• diligent and hardworking
• recognized quality and strove to make it available to others, both naturally (purple dye) and spiritually (funding the missionaries of Jesus)
• generous and hospitable
• cared deeply for her own (her entire household converted to Christianity, which they would only do if they loved and admired her)

Lydia is worthy of emulation.

Take time this weekend to dig into the Word and learn what God has for you in her story.

Find the story Lydia’s Christian Love in Acts 16:13-15 and 40.

 

 

You don’t have to be a

Seller of Purple

to become a person with the selfless hospitality and wild generosity of Lydia of Thyatira.

Do not love simply to be loved back. Give not to be showered with fine gifts in return.

Give with wild abandon. Love without boundaries. Break the rules. Invite the poor. Take in the hurting.

Jesus walked the dusty road. Spoke to strangers. Slept in hovels. Allowed the unclean to touch His hem.

Opened His heart to the masses by the sea. On the land. In the deserts. In fine palaces.

Show Spirit-moved love. Selfless hospitality. Wild generosity.