Scripture Notes: On Fire (2 Timothy 1)

St. Paul likely wrote his second letter to Timothy at the very end of his life. Scholars think that Paul was probably in prison in Rome for a second time, facing charges that would lead to his martyrdom not long after this letter was sent. So this letter serves as something like Paul’s last will and testament to the younger man who had served him so well throughout his missionary years and who was now the bishop of the Church at Ephesus.

Paul tells Timothy many important things about the Christian life, and he begins by exhorting Timothy to “rekindle the gift of God that is within you...for God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power and love and self-control” (2 Tim 1:6-7). In other words, Timothy must be on fire for God. He must allow the Holy Spirit to set him ablaze and to fill him with His own power and love and self-control. Timothy must open himself up to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and he must have the courage to embrace those gifts and allow them to change him from the inside out.

Fire warms and cheers the heart, but it also purifies and even destroys. The fire of the Holy Spirit burns off our imperfections and destroys our sins. And this can hurt, especially when we hold tightly to those imperfections and sins. But the Spirit can also inflame our love and devotion. He can spur us to reach out to others so that they can see His brilliant light within us and be drawn to Him.

So let us follow Paul’s advice and allow the Holy Spirit to kindle His fire in us so that we may experience His healing love and shine that brilliance to others.