Whilst this mixed background must have equipped Timothy perfectly for helping Paul in a mission to both Jews and Gentiles, it can't have been easy for his believing mother to persevere in her new found faith. She probably had to resist pressure from both directions - from her unbelieving Gentile husband on the one hand, and from her unbelieving Jewish friends and relatives on the other. Yet both she and Timothy's grandmother managed not only to cling to their own faith, but to pass it on to Timothy. Not put on but genuine. Not feigned, but from the heart.
Faith is more than mere intellectual belief.
It must be life-changing. But whether this is so or not, Timothy owes much of the strength of his Christian faith to these two women, Lois and Eunice, passing on the faith to him. And Paul seems to see a real parallel between their ministry to Timothy and what he is passing on to him now, namely the ministry of the gospel to the churches that Paul has established. The gift Paul is talking about there is the work of gospel ministry and evangelism and teaching and preaching that he has shared with the apostle. So these words have a very direct and primary application for Christian elders and preachers, but it doesn't stop there.