“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 1:6-7 NLT
The responsibility of every believer is to “fan the flame,” of their spiritual gifting. It is s a sad truth that a majority of believers have no idea what their spiritual gift is, let alone that they should cultivate that gift. The idea of fanning the flame, in a world with propane and electricity may not make sense but the idea that we need to make the flame grow by providing it a constant supply of oxygen is prescient. The opposite of this would be to close off that flame so that it cannot breathe. This is how many believers go about their gifting. They hide it from the world, and even the church and let it be a completely personal gift. This is not the point of these gifts. They only thrive when out in the open. Paul teaches us that the Spirit’s attitude is not timidity or fear. It is not based in anxiety. This keeps in line with his analogy of fire and air. To make our fire hot, we must expose it. When we expose it, we make it hot. This should be our mindset about our gifts.
JOSH McGARY. COM 