The Maker of Purple: When Faith, Work, and Hospitality Intersect

Today’s post is a little different…it was inspired unexpectedly by watching a YouTube video that happened to show up in my feed. Not in a sanctuary, not in a Bible study, but on YouTube, watching someone catching a ride in an Uber.

The video was titled:
“I Think I Picked Up an Angel?”

An Uber driver captured a video recording of her conversation with a disabled passenger. Their dialogue was simple, unhurried, and deeply spiritual. He talked about his faith, his relationship with Jesus, and how he saw the goodness of God around him. She listened with patience, kindness, and genuine warmth.

As they arrived at his destination, he asked her name.

She smiled and said, “Lydia.” Then she added, casually, “It’s a biblical name. Lydia was a maker of purple, and one of Paul’s first converts.”

Her passenger replied that he didn’t know that and would have to look her up in the Bible. He thanked her for her kindness and said that he would love to ride with her again.

Although I knew the name Lydia from Scripture…I didn’t know her story. So, I had the same thought as the passenger — I would have to look her up, and what I found was so interesting and valuable.

Lydia: The Maker of Purple

Lydia’s story is short and brief; it can be found in Acts 16, but her influence is great and lasting. She was an entrepreneur, the maker of Purple, which was expensive, lavish, and reserved for rulers and nobles. God used this woman to usher in the Gospel to a continent.

Here are the highlights of her influence:

• She is the first recorded convert in Europe

• She is a merchant of purple cloth, which is a luxury product associated with royalty, status, wealth, and influence

• She is a financially successful entrepreneur

• She meets Paul during a prayer gathering by a river

• Scripture says, “The Lord opened her heart to listen.”

• She immediately opened her home to Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke

• Her house became a ministry base

Lydia’s life, in this case, shows how business and ministry can intersect. It wasn’t a choice of one or the other; she was able to serve God through her work. She used her home, her resources, and her relationships to build the early church.

Hospitality became discipleship.
Business became ministry.
Prosperity became generosity.

Faith in the Marketplace

Lydia didn’t meet God in a “temple” or in church, as we might say today. She met Him in the middle of her workday…down by the river, where business and prayer connected.

It reminds me of that Uber driver. Her listening ear became hospitality. Her car became a sanctuary to her passenger, and it became a place for ministry. There was no microphone, no pulpit…just an open heart to listen.

The Power of Hospitality

When Lydia heard Paul’s message, she responded with faith and then with action. She used her home as a gathering place. She was able to feed, shelter, and support the early missionaries. Some Scholars believe she may have hosted the first house church in Philippi.

Each of us plays a role in the ministry, and our roles are different. Lydia didn’t preach a sermon, but she opened her home. Sometimes it’s small things that God asks us to do. Maybe it’s opening our home, maybe it’s opening our schedule to make time for someone, maybe it’s opening our hearts and being kind when someone needs to be uplifted.

Hospitality isn’t just an event in our lives; it's how we carry ourselves and how we interact with others.

The Lydia of Then and Now

The interesting thing about these two women is that neither one needed a platform to be influential. Neither waited for a title; Neither waited for permission.

Both used what they had:

• a home / a vehicle

• financial provision

• faith

• generosity

• a responsive heart

They both model attributes we see in some people today:

Women are running businesses, they’re raising families, they’re encouraging communities, they’re leading ministries — and sometimes doing these things all at once.

Lydia, the Uber driver, is an example of this.

She was earning income, serving others, and still present enough to minister to a stranger — without even knowing she was doing ministry.

She was entrepreneurial, spiritual, influential, hospitable, and had a listening heart.

We can see the similarities between the two Lydias.    

 Business + Faith + Generosity

Lydia shows us that our work may not be separate from our calling. Our faith doesn’t have to be confined to Sunday or Sabbath mornings. Our job, our home, our business…all of it belongs to God.

The video is an example of how God can use our rideshare conversations, office cubicles, classrooms, homes, Zoom meetings, and small businesses.

These two women are from different centuries, but they share the same God and the same heart.

The Maker of Purple

Learning about these, too, Lydia’s shows me that there are many quiet, faithful women out there today who have influence, and they have ministries in ordinary places, maybe during a business deal, at a dinner table, during an Uber ride, or at a school pickup. They propel influence without a platform.

So, a simple click of a YouTube video led me to a scripture study. I learned from a woman named Lydia of today, who piqued my curiosity about the biblical Lydia, the maker of purple.

If you would like to see the video reference, here is the link: https://youtu.be/exrZOhj8O_M?si=LiaeKCmxtiXcpKe3

   

Here is a Scripture block to go with this post.

A Scripture Meditation

Acts 16:13–15 (ESV)

And on the Sabbath day, we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together.
One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God.
The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.
And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying,
“If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.”
And she prevailed upon us.

Acts 16:40 (ESV)

So, they went out of the prison and visited Lydia.
And when they had seen the brothers, they encouraged them and departed.

Reflection Questions

• Where might God be moving in the ordinary places of my life?

• How can I open my home, car, schedule, or heart in hospitality?

• What resources has God given me that I can use for Kingdom purposes?

• Who is God bringing across my path today?