2 Timothy 1:6 Why I put you in remembrance that you stir up the gift of God, which is in you by the putting on of my hands. What Timothy seems to have wanted most was fire. St. Paul could have no doubt as to his gifts, nor of the fidelity with which he would use them. But the work and the times demanded something more than talent and conscientiousness; they required enthusiasm. Hence the apostle urges his friend to "stir up the gift that was in him," or, as his words might be better rendered, "kindle the gift that is in thee into flame." For the want of this enthusiasm men of splendid parts prove splendid failures, and, although otherwise qualified to fill the highest places and to lead the grandest enterprises, are never heard of, from sheer inability to push their way. But our subject is not enthusiasm in general, hut Christian enthusiasm in particular; and our text, with its context, supplies us with some useful hints respecting its subject, its nature, and its motive. I. ITS SUBJECT. To be enthusiastic it is obvious that we must have something to be enthusiastic about, and something worthy of our enthusiasm. The enthusiasm of the Christian worker, like that of the poet, may be "fine frenzy," but, like the poet's, again, it is not aimless frenzy. It gathers round a definite object, which has sufficient force o! attraction to draw towards it the whole interest and strength of the man over whom it throws its spell. In Timothy's case this subject was a gift for the office of bishop and evangelist. Notice, then, that this capacity is — 1. "The gift of God." We take the greatest pride in the products of our independent genius and industry, or in the purchases of our wealth. But here we have, as the bestowment of a generous benefactor, what all our money could not buy, and what all our skill could not fabricate. We serve God just because God has given us the ability to serve Him. In Christian work, therefore, boasting is shameful, and vanity ridiculous. 2. A constitutional gift. God has invested us with two classes of gifts — gifts external and gifts internal — gifts which go to make up what a man has; gifts which constitute him what he is. Our capacity for Divine service is one of the latter class. It is "in" us. It is a soul faculty. It entered into the original plan of our being. Further, this capacity — 3. Assumes different forms. It is a common gift, but the idiosyncrasies of the individuals to whom it is given invest it, in each case, with a peculiar shape. Thus painting and architecture, music and science, philosophy and poetry, statesmanship and wealth; that subtle thing called influence, and that dreadful thing called war, that prosaic thing called trade, and that humble thing called home, have each and all been pressed into the service of illustrating our text. And so Raffaelle in the Cartoons, Wren in St. Paul's, Handel in the "Messiah," Newton in the "Principia," Bacon in the "Novum Organum," Milton in the "Paradise Lost," Wilberforce in his Parliamentary achievements, Peabody in his munificent benefactions, Shaftesbury in the example he set before society, Gordon in the heroism with which he defended Khartoum, Moore in his work in the London warehouse, Susannah Wesley in hers in the Epworth rectory, and others in what they have done in the house, in the shop, or in the field, all seem to say, "There, that is what I mean by the gift that is in me." And that we should ascertain what our special talent is, and in what our capacity should be employed, is of the utmost importance for many reasons. How often do we hear the remark applied to some social failure — and true it is — "he has missed his calling." A man who might have made something out in a walk in life for which he was suitably endowed, makes nothing out, because he has chosen one for which he is totally unqualified. Once more, this capacity — 4. Is intended for and must find employment in the service of the Church. St. Paul's injunction carries with it the broad principle just laid down, but we must remember that the apostle had in view the interests of Christ's Church, and urged Timothy to promote those interests in the way for which he was Divinely qualified. II. ITS NATURE. We have the gift; with what shall we kindle it? 1. Like the capacity it has to kindle into flame, Christian enthusiasm is the gift of God. No man ever purchased it; no man ever created it. It is not from beneath and human, it is from above, and Divine; "God hath given us the spirit... of power, of love, and of a sound mind." And that a Divine person should provide the materials for the kindling of a Divine gift arises out of the necessities of the case. Like produces like, and fire kindles fire. You have in your grates blocks of a cold black mineral, the last things in the world, as far as appearances go, from which you would expect light and heat. But you know that fire lies imprisoned and slumbering there. And you know, also, that neither the most careful arrangement of the coals, nor the most vigorous use of the fire irons, will be of the least service in awakening the element and setting it free. What you do, however, is to apply a light, and then the cold black mineral becomes fervent and radiant heat. Eighteen hundred years ago a few weak and unlettered peasants formed all that there was of the Christian Church. Who would have given them credit for a world-converting capacity? But within them lay dormant the Divine gift. They formed no elaborate organisation; they made no violent stir. They simply waited and prayed; and by: and by fire from without met its counterpart within. The Holy Ghost fell upon them, made them enthusiasts for Christ, and thus enabled them to kindle their gift into flame. 2. Christian enthusiasm is not "the spirit of fear." This is obvious. Until that spirit is laid there can be no enthusiasm. It can only be conquered by the Divine Spirit, who, as He subdues the craven or the diffident temper, will make us instinct with that Christian enthusiasm which is — (1) The spirit of power. And being this, it is distinguished from excite. merit, which is the spirit of weakness. The two may, indeed, be confounded for a time, just as a meteor may, at first, be mistaken for a star. No; Christian enthusiasm is not a transient spasm of excitement; it is power, and that means stability, persistence, inexhaustible resources, unwearied and inextinguishable force. The spirit of power, however, although the first and basal element in Christian enthusiasm, is not the only one. For power, by itself, will make a man not an enthusiast, but a fanatic. Fanaticism is by no means weakness, it is force, often of the most vigorous kind, but force without regulation and control. Christian enthusiasm is, therefore — (2) The spirit of love. We all know the mighty part that love has sustained in the purest human enthusiasms. Love of children; for what heroisms has that not qualified the weakest of mothers? Love of country; what flames has that not kindled in the most phlegmatic of citizens? Love of man; for what endurance and what effort has that not nerved some of the feeblest of our race? Analyse any given case of noble enthusiasm, and you will find the very life of it to be love; either the love which manifests itself in devotion to a person, or the love which finds expression in consecration to a cause. In Christian enthusiasm both of these loves find play, for it is first devotion to a person. Christian love is love to God, and if I love God I must cling to Him. But Christian enthusiasm is also(3) The spirit of a sound mind — A fact that is most frequently overlooked. Hence, by many, it is regarded as a symptom of goodness of heart, possibly, but certainly of weakness of head. In the world the enthusiast is not a mad speculator or simple dreamer; he is the man who, by the sagacity with which he lays his plans, the common sense lines on which he works them, the alertness with which he seizes every opportunity, and the tenacity with which he retains his hold on every advantage, builds up a colossal business and amasses a vast fortune. And we refuse to recognise as a Christian enthusiast the man who, by his wild vagaries neutralises the good of which he might have been otherwise capable, or the man whose sanguine temperament is imposed upon by impossible ideals. We claim for Christian enthusiasm rational as well as emotional qualities. It demands the consecration of the intellect at its freshest and its best, that it may help the body to render "a reasonable service." And what is this sound-mindedness? It is the self-control which conserves its energies, the patience which bides its time, the discernment which perceives that its time has come; it is the knowledge that understands its work, the judgment that determines where the work can be best done, the wisdom that suggests how to do it in the best way; it is the prudence which prepares for difficulties, the resolution which faces them, the tact which threads its way through them, or turns them to its own account. In one word, it is the mind in full health, in the health which consists of the wholeness, vigour, and harmonious activity of all the rational faculties; the intellect filled with the Holy Spirit of God. III. ITS MOTIVES. We have the gift; by what considerations are we urged and encouraged to kindle it? 1. Timothy was reminded of his responsibility in the very terms of our text. 2. Timothy was reminded of his ancestral traditions. Men of noble lineage are supposed to have stronger motives to do nobly than those of meaner origin. They have a family as well as a personal reputation to sustain. 3. Timothy was reminded of his share in the great salvation. That we might kindle our gift, God, if I may so say, kindled His. 4. Lastly, Timothy was reminded that he had been honoured with a Divine call to stir up his gift. He was "called with a holy calling." There was nothing meritorious in him, as the apostle is careful to remind him, to occasion this call. It was of God's grace, and God, who had entrusted him with the gift, now laid formal claim to the use of His own. (J. W. Burn.) Parallel Verses KJV: Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. |
    |