DAY 2: “FOR THIS REASON…”
Read 2 Timothy 1:5-7.
Paul leaves verse 5 remembering Timothy’s genuine faith which first began in his mother and grandmother. He begins his next thought: “And for this reason…” In other words, Paul says, “Because of your genuine faith…” and then proceeds to instruct Timothy in the exercise of that faith. His faith is said to be genuine, and as we learned last week, it means his faith was sincere, not hypocritical. And because his faith was sincere, Paul tells him he is not to let that faith set dormant, but to exercise that faith by “fanning into flame the gift of God.”
What was that gift? As Pastor Craig shared last Sunday, every believer is given spiritual gifts to serve the Family of God. Those gifts vary from to person, and for Timothy it is not identified specifically in Scripture. We can surmise from Timothy’s work, however, that it could have been evangelism (2Tim. 4:5) or leadership (he went on to help lead the church at Ephesus) or teaching/preaching (2Tim. 4:1-2). Whatever that gift was, he was to put it to use because that is what genuine faith is supposed to look like.
When Timothy was told to “fan into flame the gift of God”, it means that he was to grow or develop that gift – exercise it in such a way that his gift would become stronger and “hotter”.
To consider: As followers of Christ we are to exercise our genuine faith by using our gifts to serve others. How else do we prove our faith unless we continually develop and exercise our spiritual gifts? For some, developing spiritual gifts is difficult because they may not know what their gifts are. Many churches use spiritual gifts assessments to help individuals determine their gifts. One of the difficulties with that approach is that sometimes people don’t know themselves well enough to assess themselves accurately. They may think they aren’t good at something or maybe they think they are good at something, when in fact they are either being too hard on themselves or they are a little delusional. Perhaps one of the best ways to learn and develop our gifts is to simply ask those who know us and have seen us work with others. They have an outsider’s view that can take our own inaccurate perceptions and shed a little light on reality. So here is your assignment this week: ask some people what they think you are particularly good at – it doesn’t have to be a skill; it can be a matter of the heart as well (e.g. compassion, mercy, etc.). Where have they seen God use you time and time again? And once you have a sense of how God might want to use you in the Family of God (or if you already know), find a way to “fan it into flame” – find a place to use it and develop it. Talk to me (Pastor Mike) if you need a place to nurture your gifts, because to be honest, if we aren’t developing and using our gifts, we are in essence saying to God, “Thanks for the gifts, but no thanks” and somehow I don’t think that’s what God had in mind when He gave us gifts!
