I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. 2 Timothy 1:5
Can a grandmother’s faith change a life decades later? One grandmother’s Bible reached farther than she ever imagined.
The Apostle Paul wrote to a young man named Timothy, “I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice” (2 Timothy 1:5). Roughly 2,000 years later, another young man was influenced by a grandmother’s open Bible.
Farrukh read his grandmother’s Bible as a child, and those words never left him—not even as he grew up in the middle of Uzbekistan, in a radically Muslim family. When he stumbled upon gospel videos in his native language on social media, Farrukh was amazed! “This was what I read about when I was a boy!” he shared. The same longing to know the love of God reawakened in his heart after all those years. He couldn’t stop watching even though he had to hide from his family while he watched.
Today, Farrukh has put his faith in Jesus. His challenges have only just begun, as his devoutly Muslim parents refuse to allow him to go to church. But Farrukh’s excitement hasn’t been dampened. He now writes regularly to the ministry that shares these videos on social media. He loves talking with the counselors about Jesus, his growing faith and what he’s reading in the Bible.
For Farrukh, social media isn’t entertainment. It’s church, discipleship, Christian community. But Farrukh will have to pay a high price for following Jesus. It may ultimately separate him from the people he loves most. That’s why media messages of hope in people’s own languages matter so deeply.
From wherever you are in the world, you can help others encounter Jesus. Your gift helps place the hope of Jesus into the hands—and onto the phones—of people like Farrukh, in their own language. Give a gift today at guidelines.org.
