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This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you (2 Timothy 1:6, NLT).
Have you ever felt a relationship waning, your faith growing lukewarm, or hot becoming cold in a one-time favored pursuit?
It’s a natural response as our endurance often wanes, and we find ourselves propping up a once enthusiastic enterprise through increasing struggle.
This was happening to Paul’s disciple Timothy.
Paul led Timothy to the Lord, became his mentor, and laid hands on Timothy to release Him into ministry. But now Timothy, at that time the pastor of the Church of Ephesus, was told by the Apostle Paul to…
Fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you.
There is a movie reel clip involving a world-renowned chef who cooks dinner for a group of elite food critics. At the end of the dinner, one of those who had eaten the dinner stood and said…
I don’t like your food.
Chef: What did you say?
Diner: I said I don’t like your food, and I would like to send it back.
Chef: I’m sorry to hear that. What about my food is not to your liking?
Diner: For starters, you’ve taken the joy out of eating. Every dish that you have served tonight has been some sort of intellectual exercise rather than something you want to sit and enjoy. When I eat your food, it tastes like it was made with no love.
Chef: Oh, this is ridiculous. We always cook with love. Everyone knows love is the most important ingredient.
Diner: Then you’re kidding yourself. You cook with obsession, not love. Even your hot dishes are cold. You’re a chef. Your single purpose on this earth is to serve people food that they might actually like, and you have failed.
And you bored me.
And the worst part is that I’m still hungry.
Chef: What are you hungry for?
Diner: A cheeseburger. Not some fancy deconstructed garbage, a real cheeseburger.
Chef: We can make you a very good and very traditional cheeseburger.
Diner: I don’t think you can.
Chef: It will make you feel like you are eating the first cheeseburger you ever ate.
The movie is entitled The Menu. I’ve edited the dialogue a bit because it contains several offensive words, and at Interruptions, while we often offend, we don’t print offensive words.
I hope you get the point of this Interruption.
The chef had lost his love of cooking and even became resentful of his diners. His dishes represented more anger and frustration than love. He literally needed to fan into flame his gift!
How about us?
What is our calling? What are our gifts? What ministry do we have? How about our jobs or even our relationships? The Apostle Paul continues to encourage Timothy with the following words…
For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7).
Power, love, and self-discipline are the ingredients of a renewed relationship with Jesus.
I just bought a new grill. This summer, I’m on a quest to grill the perfect cheeseburger. I’ll keep you posted.