2 Timothy 1:6 Fanning Embers

2 Timothy 1:6 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.

After a brief introduction, Paul begins his second letter to Timothy by giving thanks for Timothy, who he regularly remembers in prayer. He longs to see Timothy again and remembers his tears and his sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. It is in the light of these things then - his own love for Timothy and the godly heritage that belongs to Timothy - that he gives the exhortation he gives, which is for Timothy to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. When Paul laid hands on Timothy at his ordination it was not simply a symbolic act. As an apostle he was able to impart the gift of God, the gift to be a minister. Timothy now had that gift from God. He also had a responsibility, however, to fan into flame that gift. When a fire is burning it can begin to burn low and be in danger of going out. Fire lives on oxygen and so one obvious way to get the flame to rise again is to fan it. In a similar way, ministerial gifts can begin to fade if the minister is not careful to fan it into flame by giving it the oxygen of his prayers and his efforts. The work of fanning into flame is chiefly a private work but its effects are seen far and wide.