The Better Way

"A woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth, a worshiper of God, listened, and the Lord opened her heart..." Acts 16:14

I can imagine Lydia listening to Paul eagerly, drinking in his words. She was already a worshiper of the true God, and He opened her heart to receive Paul's words, to accept them, to respond to them. The message found a place in her heart.

It's easy to see how Lydia would open her heart and follow Jesus after Paul spoke to her. He was obviously a charismatic speaker. But how about others? Why did they decide to follow?

How did Christianity grow from Lydia, the first Christian convert in Europe, living a clandestine, persecuted way of life, to being the legal religion under Constantine the Great? A miracle? Most certainly. There are always miracles for those who believe.

But in sociologist Rodney Stark's book, The Rise of Christianity, he proposes that "the way" provided a better life for its followers. There were more women followers because women were honored and respected, unlike their low status in the pagan world. He cites that "loving one another" and helping each other attracted many followers.

"Amidst the epidemics and fires, and other disasters that beleaguered

the Greco-Roman cities, Christian communities were a stronghold of mutual aid, which resulted in a survival rate far greater than that

of the pagans. In the meantime, voluntary martyrdom, especially a generation 

after the death of Christ, reinforced the commitment of the Christian rank and file." Rodney Stark

Do our actions attract others to our way of life as Christians, the way the first Christians did?