Paul is writing to Timothy from prison. He is desiring to inspire this young man that he spiritually adopted, with nothing held back...he loves Timothy. Timothy's world has seen the increased persecution of an unfriendly world and Paul wants him to survive this test.
2 Timothy 6,7 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 God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
What is it that will sustain Timothy in the increasingly hostile world of Nero. I think it is love...Paul is communicating that isn't he. He is reminding Timothy of the moment he layed his hands on him and shared the ministry of Christ with him.
What kind of love is that? It Family love. We can go back to Romans chapter 12 vs 9-11, and find this blazing flame here, "Love must be without hypocrisy. Detest evil; cling to what is good. Show family affection to one another with brotherly love. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lack diligence; be fervent in spirit; serve the Lord." Isn't this saying the same thing, Paul is encouraging family affection, brotherly love, showing of honer, diligence, and fervency of Spirit in serving the Lord.
I have heard so many times people use the excuse that they can "worship anywhere." Yes, that is definitely true, but, and this is a big "but" here, we have to be together to fan the flames of the Spirit in one another. This cannot be replaced with anything else, not a TV preacher, not a weekend on the river reading the Bible, or 40 days in the desert seeking God. All of those things have there place. But we cannot fan the flames alone, it takes the Family of God around us to keep us honest, uplifted, accountable and strengthened.
For us to thing we can make it without each other is ignorance of the worst nature, and allows Satan to attack a lone Christian with no protection. If you go back to vs 1 Paul addresses Timothy as his dearly loved son. Was he Timothy's natural father? No, he was his spiritual father, and we have this same kind of relationship with each other in the family of God. We are meant to be together, we make each other better and we can't do that unless we are acting like family.
One of my first early memories of church was of the fans that used to be on the pews. If everyone was fanning while the word was being taught it moved a lot of air in that room. I can remember sitting next to others that would make a wide swing with their fan to the benefit of those next to them, a young child, or an elderly person next to them. That's what I'm talking about, you need the fans of others to avoid overheating in this spiritual journey...you need the Family of God.
In His Grip
Pastor William
“The next best thing to being wise oneself is to live in a circle of those who are.”
― C.S. Lewis
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