Stir Up the Gift

“Stir into flame the gift of God bestowed on you when I laid my hands on you." 2 Timothy 1:6

Today, January 26, is the Feast day of Saint Timothy, and this verse is part of a letter written by Saint Paul to him. I do not know how old Saint Timothy was when he accompanied Saint Paul in his travels but I like to think of him as a young man when he converted to Christianity. Saint Paul baptized and circumcised him.

"Stir into flame the gift of God" can be compared to the Star Wars greeting, "May the Force be with you". Luke Skywalker was told by his mentor, the Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, "The Force will be with you. Always." What was the Force in these popular movies? Obi-Wan explained to Luke that the Force was what gives the Jedi his power. It's an energy field that surrounded them and penetrated them. It held the galaxy together. I'm not an expert on Star Wars but the way I see it, when Luke Skywalker was sensitive to the Force, he was able to fight the Dark Side successfully.

We have the Holy Spirit within us. We should be in training like the young Jedis to sense God's presence, movement and guidance in our every day life. There are many dark forces, enemies that seek to turn us away from God. Even our busy schedule can keep us from praying and connecting with God. With the Jedis, the mightier the foe, the more the Jedi had to close their eyes, keep still and connect to the force before the battle. The same with us! The busier we are, the more we should find time to be still, talk to God and listen.

Looking at this gift God bestowed in another way, imagine having an inheritance, a valuable piece of commercial property in New York, a fabulous gem-studded clock by Faberge, or a magnificent painting by Michelangelo. The only thing is we have absolutely no knowledge of it. We did not know about it because we did not bother to read the will outlining our bequest and what we had to do to attain it. 

The gift of the Holy Spirit, which Paul talks about in his letter to Timothy, is a gift Jesus died to give us. It is an amazing legacy, much more precious than anything money can buy. And it is available for anyone! Young, old, rich, poor, someone with a PhD or with no education at all. It is absolutely crazy not to find out how to have this gift for ourselves, or if we have it, to stir it into flame!