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Fanning The Flame

                 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. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. (II Timothy 1:6-7)

 

 

        Yesterday we discussed the nature of the gift that Paul described, so today we’re going to consider Paul’s instruction to Timothy: fanning the flame of that gift in a way that produces power, love, and self-discipline.

            Power is “the ability to do something or act in a particular way, especially as a faculty or quality.” We tend to think of power as power over or control over others. Presidents and dictators have power. But that’s grandiose thinking. Instead, consider what you have the power to do. You may have the power to read, write, vote, express your opinion, do the dishes, or stand in front of a group of people and speak or sing. You likely have the power to get out of bed in the morning or order a pizza delivered. For God to give you power likely has nothing to do with your whim being the command of the nations and everything to do with your being able to pray for someone.

            The second characteristic of the gift is love. God’s gift to you involves your spending time with others, encouraging others, giving gifts to others, serving others, hugging them, or putting a hand on their shoulder. The gift involves your seeking what is in their best interests.

            The third piece of the gift that God gives through His Spirit is self-discipline. I have two ideas to illustrate it. The first is that it’s the opposite of power. Power is the ability TO DO. Self-discipline is the ability NOT TO DO. The other idea is that of potty training, the goal of which is to teach the child what to do instead of messing his/her pants, and (to a less obvious extent, perhaps) how to respond when one does mess one’s pants.

            Putting that together, the Spirit God gives us makes us able to do and not do, centered on the motivation for both doing and not doing: the best interest of all concerned. So, how do we fan the flames of that gift? What does “fan the flames” even mean?

            According to the University of Washington, fire requires four components: something to burn (fuel), an oxidizing agent (oxygen), heat (the spark to start the fire), and propagation (something beyond the initial fuel to keep it going. Without this, the fire goes out. The Spirit is the flame or spark that starts the fire, but the Spirit is also the fire. Fanning the Spirit then would involve providing it with the “oxygen” it needs.

            Again, ideas come to mind. Since Paul mentions the ability to do, love, and ability not to do, willingness to do, to love, and to not do could be fanning the flame. Another way to say that is that obedience is fanning the flame. Obedience is an act of love, faith, and hope, so they could be what fans the flame. I could be entirely off base, but it is at least food for thought.

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