For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 2 Timothy 1:6
God spoke this verse to Allana and I back in 2003. We had only been together a couple of years. These were difficult years. Allana had to adjust to being married, having two sons and caring for our little Sami. Chayla was born in April and to top it off I was working crazy hours. In the midst of all of that God was doing incredible things in our lives. Fan Into Flame Ministries was born out of that crucible. The idea would grow and be tempered over the years by moments of spirit led engagement and by intense personal suffering. For Allana these days bore the fruit of True Beauty. For me the focus became Hupomone (because I am a geek and Greek is cool) or Patience, Endurance, Perseverance. Yet still, it continued to be at the core, the call to Fan Into Flame that gift, in ourselves and in others.
Let’s back track a little.
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life in Christ Jesus, 2 To Timothy, my beloved son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 3 I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience the way my forefathers did, as I constantly remember * you in my prayers night and day, 4 longing to see you, even as I recall your tears, so that I may be filled with joy. 5 For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well.
Paul takes Timothy down memory lane for a minute. He reminds him that he is Paul’s son in the faith. Why does Paul do this? He wants Timothy to remember a very special moment in his life, the moment that he received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The moment that God’s Gift was so graciously bestowed on a young man. I have to wonder if Timothy didn’t tear up a little, thinking of his father in the faith facing death in Rome. Perhaps he felt a little shame that the difficulties of ministry in Ephesus had worn him down. Yet Paul tears all that away. Striking to the core of Hupomone, without using the word, “Fan into flame the gift of God…” There is nothing else that we can do to endure as children of God.
I have actually heard this verse taught as a call to utilize those very special and individual gifts that God has bestowed on each one of us. However the context of the verses that follow this verse (not that He doesn’t desire each of us to serve him with all our gifts) make it clear that Paul is talking about one gift. I will designate it the Gift. The cool thing is that this Gift is the same for us all and yet manifests itself very differently in each of us.
7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.
There it is, the Gift. It is nothing less than God Himself given to each of us that believe and confess. It is this Gift that makes us bold endowing us with power, love and self-discipline. It is a special power available only through Jesus Christ. It is power not as the world gives, or recognizes power. It is the power to testify of Jesus and to stand with our brothers and sisters in Christ. It is power that is inextricably joined to love. Indeed 1 Corinthians 13 tells us that power without love is vain and useless.
8 So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God.
This Gift is one that empowers without limit, motivates in love and operates with self-discipline even as Christ Himself cried out in Gethsemane, “39 And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” Matthew 26:39 In a moment that the whole world around Him saw as the greatest weakness, Jesus exploded the chains of sin and death with the greatest demonstration of power, motivated by love and operating in Self-discipline as only God himself could.
9 He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
HE HAS SAVED US! And called us by grace, a grace that is eternal. But he did not just call us to a holy life and leave us to our own pitiful attempts. He provided the Gift. It is the Gift of revealed Grace. It is the Gift of revealed Life Eternal. It is the Gift of the Truth, the Gift of the Good News and Great Joy which shall be to all People. It is the Gift that endows us with the same power that confounded the law and threw the world into confusion. How foolish would we be not to fan THAT GIFT into flame in our lives.
Fan Into Flame Ministries 