Fan into Flame

Fan into Flame

The image I will be meditating upon today is contained in 2 Timothy1:6, but for the sake of context, we will read together from v6 through to v10.

“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. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (ESV)

Paul is encouraging Timothy, and says, just prior to this passage, that he is mindful of Timothy’s sincere faith and it is for that reason that he is writing these words of encouragement. We should take these words as encouragement for each of us, who have a sincere faith, who believe that the what is contained in the Word is for every believer and who want to serve God in complete surrender to His will for us.

I would like to unpack the idea of “fanning into flame the gift of God which is in you”.

Primarily, the gift of God is the salvation we receive from God through His Son Jesus Christ, the gift of the Holy Spirit and the gift of eternal life which is offered as a result of our surrender to the will and salvation of God – the three in one package which is offered freely for us to take and to accept. It is important to remember that a gift is only a gift once we take it from the giver and accept it as our own. In many passages throughout the new testament, we are encouraged to pursue the spiritual gifts which are listed in 1 Corinthians 12 as wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, speaking in tongues, and interpretation of tongues and in Galatians 5 the fruit that comes as a result of the gift of the Holy Spirit are listed as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.. You can search the scriptures in Romans 12, Ephesians 4, and even others for more comprehensive lists of gifts of the spirit, which according to 1 Peter 4:10-11 are given to us to use to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, … as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, … as one who serves by the strength that God supplies – in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.

Let us now consider the flame – when would one fan something into flame and why would it be necessary? Of course, in this image, one would imagine Paul was thinking of fire rather than of a candle. A flame that is faltering or which has not yet taken full hold of its fuel would need assistance. That is when we would use something to fan it into action, or we would blow onto it. The idea behind this action is to feed the flame with a larger amount of oxygen, since oxygen is the fuel needed for a fire to remain alight. So, what could Paul be trying to say to us regarding the gift of God – which is given to each of us when we surrender ourselves to live according to the salvation He has given us through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus, upon the cross?

When building a fire, one would start with tinder first, then add thinner chunks of wood before putting on the thicker and then the really big logs of wood – the reason for this would be to make sure the fire is well established before trying to get it to roaring status. Often, if we place too much wood on the fire before it has taken well, we smother it and it is unable to burn the way it should do.

This principle would be the same when embracing the kingdom of God and learning to live as new creatures, born again of His Spirit. Often the flame roars at the initial encounter and then it slowly, or even quickly, starts to burn out. We need to learn how to fan that flame to get it burning again – this is achieved through daily confession and repentance, studying the word of God and spending time in communion with God through prayer and in community with fellow believers. Another very important fan is that of testimony – remembering to recognize and acknowledge the hand of God at work in your life every day. As we grow in these habit-forming growth-behaviours, so we will become more aware of the spiritual gifts He bestows upon each of us. We each receive at least one gift – with which He expects us to serve Him and each other without shame or embarrassment. We need to overcome any form of shame or embarrassment we may feel for having turned to Christ as our Lord and Saviour, as well as being part of a new community of like-minded believers. The more we testify and serve … the greater becomes that power, love and self-discipline that comes with our living in obedience to His Word and His way. In the same way we wait for the tinder to light the flame for longer lasting chunks of wood, so our response to our gifting starts small and grows deeper as we faithfully “fan the flame” into more meaningful action.

God does not expect us to begin our walk with Him, whether it be as newbies in the faith or whether it be as old-timers starting something new, with the energy and drive of a roaring fire. It will always start as a spark which He then expects us to fan into flame and then to feed with more and more fuel until such time as the fire serves many more than just one. Why does he want us to fan the flame?

Because, Paul says, 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, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Saviour, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. In response then to this grace, we fan our flames so that we bring glory to the One who gave His life for us and to see His will done in having every soul reached with the gospel of Truth in Jesus Christ.

So, the question now begs to be asked…. What spark are you needing to fan into flame? What is it in your walk with the Lord that you have been neglecting? What new ministry is he calling you to fulfil? What recommitment do you need to make? What relationship do you need to mend? What flame have you been neglecting and now need to once again lift and put into use?