Fan the Flame

My freshman year, the egg in a bottle experiment was banned from the science fair. Overused and unoriginal were descriptors my teacher chose even though no one in my grade had seen it barring those with older sibling. That may have been when I first learned that a fire needs oxygen to burn because the class spent the rest of that period whispering about how the egg experiment worked when we were supposed to be working. You blow out candles on a birthday cake but a blacksmith uses bellows to intensify a flame.

When Paul wrote to Timothy, he likened the faith they shared to a fire. This was not a new idea. When God’s Spirit traveled with the Israelites through the wilderness, He appeared as a great cloud during the day and a fire at night. (Exodus 13:22) When the Holy Spirit came to the believers gathered at Pentecost, what looked like flames settled on each one. (Acts 2:3) Paul calls for Timothy to fan the flame of faith in our God, who is an all-consuming fire. (Hebrews 12:29)

I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice.

And I know that same faith continues strong in you.

This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”

2 Timothy 1:5-7 NLT

https://bible.com/bible/116/2ti.1.5-7.NLT

“Never restrain or put out the fire of the Holy Spirit.”

1 Thessalonians 5:19 TPT

https://bible.com/bible/1849/1th.5.19.TPT

“Don’t try to stop what the Holy Spirit is doing.”

1 Thessalonians 5:19 NIRV

https://bible.com/bible/110/1th.5.19.NIRV

“Do not stifle the Holy Spirit.”

1 Thessalonians 5:19 NLT

https://bible.com/bible/116/1th.5.19.NLT

“And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.”

Ephesians 4:30 NLT

https://bible.com/bible/116/eph.4.30.NLT

Paul’s letters encourage me to fan the flame. Like the whispers that circled my classroom after the ban on the old experiment ignited new interest, so each generation has the opportunity to tell the “old, old story” anew. In his inaugural address given on January 5, 1967, Ronald Reagan said, “Freedom is a fragile thing and it’s never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people.”

The same can be said of faith, without which there can be no real freedom. Faith is never more than one generation away from extinction. Moses reminded the Israelites to teach God’s laws to their children everyday all day long and to post them around their homes in plain sight. “Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.” (Deuteronomy 11:19)

A legacy of faith is the richest blessing I can offer my own children and their children, but in order for my witness to flourish, I need not only heed Paul’s advice to young Timothy and fan the flame, I must trust God completely. In His Sovereignty, God sees and knows every heart and He is patiently waiting for each one who will to repent.

“The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think.

No, he is being patient for your sake.

He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.”

2 Peter 3:9 NLT

https://bible.com/bible/116/2pe.3.9.NLT

We are His storytellers. Our lives speak of His faithfulness, His mercy, and His grace. Our words and actions portray His love to this generation in whatever place we’re planted. Obedience to Christ’s command to “go and make disciples,” is my part, from the time I wake up until I close my eyes to sleep. God will take care of the rest.

“Then he said to the disciples, “Anyone who accepts your message is also accepting me. And anyone who rejects you is rejecting me. And anyone who rejects me is rejecting God, who sent me.””

Luke 10:16 NLT

https://bible.com/bible/116/luk.10.16.NLT

So I’ll keep trusting, I’ll keep praying, and I’ll keep adding fuel to the fire by studying God’s Word each day until Jesus returns.

“As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God.

I thirst for God, the living God.

When can I go and stand before him?

But each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing his songs, praying to God who gives me life.”

Psalms 42:1-2, 8 NLT

https://bible.com/bible/116/psa.42.8.NLT