Rekindled Faith

Scripture:
"For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline." 1 Timothy 1:6-7

Observation:Timothy was living in a really tough time. Nero had burned Rome and blamed the Christians for it. Romans already were not so fond of Christians. Christian beliefs condemned the immoral lifestyle that the Romans are so well known to have possessed, so they were already looking for an excuse to go after them. Nero's deception provided that excuse. It was not uncommon for a crowd of Roman citizens to patrol the streets looking for a Christian. Many followers of Christ were persecuted, beaten and martyred at the hands of the Romans and Jewish leaders. This list included the 10 remaining disciples of Jesus. All, except for John, died at the hands of persecutors. Paul was sitting in prison while writing this letter to Timothy and he himself would soon join the list of martyrs. Needless to say, Timothy did not have to look very far to find reason to lose his heart for his mission.

Application:
Times have changed. I have never faced persecution the like of which the early church faced nor the likes of which some Christians face today in places such as China. Be that as it may, I still grow tired and it is easy to lose my zeal. This scripture reminds me of just how important it is to pay attention to what is taking place in my life. Paul gives three warning signs that my faith has lost its flame; I become timid, I lose my love, and I lose power and discipline. I need to learn to pay attention to these things. When I see them in my life, they serve as a warning that I need to tend to the flame of my faith. So how do I go about doing this?

One thing I loved to do on winter mornings was restart the fire. I would open the doors on the fireplace and dig through the ashes until I found some hot embers. They were buried, but still glowed red. I would blow on them and get them crackling again. Once this was done, I had a good place to start in rebuilding my fire. The same is true of rekindling my faith. The best place to start is by finding the remnant of what once burned hot in my soul. Maybe this means I read back through some old journals or I go visit with an old friend who inspires me or I read a book that really touches my heart. The method does not really matter. The important thing is that I need to return to a place where I once felt alive for Christ and dwell on that and reconnect to the reality of that moment.

Back to the fire. Once I had a bed of hot embers I would get some kindling. The embers could not provide enough heat to warm a room nor did they have enough energy to ignite a log, but they could spark a flame on kindling. I would throw the kindling down and once again blow on the embers. This time, a flame was sparked and the kindling would begin to burn. The same process applies to rekindling my faith. I can't live on the past. There is not enough energy there to carry a flame by itself. But memories can provide enough fuel to reignite the kindling of worship, prayer and Bible study. The moment I feel reconnected to God, I should thank Him for it, open the Word and seek Him in prayer. Before long a flame starts burning.

Last look at the fire. Kindling burns hot, but it can't be relied on for warming a house. It burns too quickly. You need wood with some substance to it. Once I would get the kindling burning good, I would begin layering wood on top of it. If I dumped too much too fast, the flame would die. But if I layered it on, I could get the fire burning hot. Really hot. My goal was to turn the black metal doors of the fireplace white from the heat. I normally achieved this goal. What is true of building fires is true of igniting my faith. My personal quiet time is very important just as kindling is important to building a fire. But God does not gift me with His presence and power just to warm my heart in the quietness of my home. He gifts me to serve out in the world. Good works are the logs that sustain the fire of my faith. I can try to do too much too fast and quickly burn out. I have done that many times. The trick is to start small and gradually add to what God is doing. The size of the task does not matter. The important thing is to find something that is in alignment with God's word and in service of another person and to then to go do that thing.

Prayer:
Burn out is the worst. It is so easy to get there. I often get frustrated at the constant work required in keeping my faith fresh and staying energized. I pray that you allow me to learn to enjoy that process just as I enjoy the process of keeping a fire lit at home. Guide me as I go. Help me to find fresh encounters with You. Open Your word to my heart. Open my eyes to the work going on around me. I do not want to miss out on truly living the life You have given me. If Timothy can find the strength to relight his faith in his circumstance, I know I can find zeal to live in the comfort of the life You have given to me.