My small group is currently working its way through 2 Timothy, something that I thought wasn’t going to be very fun. Not because its not an interesting book, I love all of Paul’s writings, but because I thought that what the book had to say didn’t apply to where I am right now on life’s race track.
The first week our homework assignment was to read through the first chapter of 2 Timothy five separate times throughout the week, praying that God would open our eyes and ears to what He had to say, showing us what it is He wanted us to think about that particular day.
Day one, I open my bible and before I could get out of Paul’s initial opening greeting, I was bowled over by the words in 2 Timothy 1:6:
“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you…”
Fan into flame.
Even after I’d read through the designated chapter once, twice, I kept coming back to ‘fan into flame’. Its a command that requires action and not just any action, but repetitive, unrelenting, "until you see a return," action.
Using one of my favorite writer’s resources, I went to thesaurus.com to check out synonyms for ‘fan’. I found some good ones, agitate, expand, extend, arouse, enkindle, excite. The one word I honed in on was ‘agitate’. When something is agitated, it provokes a response. Washing machines agitate dirty clothes, the clothes come out clean. A child agitates his/her sibling, the sibling responds. A speaker agitates his audience through his words, the audience reacts.
Agitate + Act on = the results of the agitation.
Paul says to agitate the gifts God has entrusted me with. No more basking in my own creativity, satisfied to stay within the confines of what I enjoy doing. No. He’s telling me to get up and get going, to ‘disturb’ my gifts, move ‘em, use ‘em.
That in itself disturbs me, agitates me, because I’m not good at being uncomfortable. I go to great lengths to do whatever it takes to ensure that the level of comfort I am accustomed to is not disturbed nor lowered…yet, I’m being told to think about, consider, ponder, agitate on, “fanning into flame”.
This isn’t a task, I can source out to someone who is more qualified or doesn’t mind the inconvenience of the work it takes to fan a smoldering fire into an all-consuming, bone warming fire. I’ve gotta do it myself.
My gift, my fanning.
As a sprinter in high school I was given a poster that read:
“Motivation is a fire from within. If someone else tries to light that fire under you, chances are it will burn very briefly.”
No one can light a fire within me (outside of my Savior). It’s something that I’ve gotta do, I’ve gotta work out, I’ve gotta fan.
So what is it that I have to fan?
Remember this?
Yup, my mind may be blank, but I've gotta fan the smoldering embers anyway.
So fair reader, guess you get to be hearing more from me on a daily basis…good, bad, boring…but cheer up, fanning isn’t always fun…hold fast to the hope that eventually it’ll turn into a flame that warms your souls!
