"For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands..." - Paul, 2 Timothy 1:6
Whether Paul is referring here to Timothy's baptism or to his ordination, he puts his finger on a spiritual phenomenon which is common to most of us who have known the Lord a long time. Sooner or later, our faith can grow cold and stale. We no longer have that flush of first love (Rev. 2:4); we no longer thrill to open God's Word or to gather with God's people to receive His body and blood or to pray together. There can be several causes for this kind of spiritual doldrums. One is simply the distance in time between now and our first realization of God's mercy "for me." Another is that we become disappointed that God does not respond to our prayers in the ways we wish. We sometimes become angry with God for the bad things that happen to us and our loved ones in this life. Paul himself suffered for the gospel and this may have been a source of shame to both Paul and his followers. Why wasn't the gospel always going onwards and upwards? Finally, Paul's letters to Timothy also present another kind of spiritual discouragement: many people in the name of religion or Christianity are preaching and teaching heresy, teaching not "sound doctrine" (2 Tim 1:13), but instead "myths," "doctrines that soothe itching ears," (2 Tim 4:3) and the "teachings of demons." (1 Tim 4:10)
What is the cure for spiritual discouragement? On the one hand, Paul assumes that we can do something about it: "rekindle the gift of God." He recommends "self-discipline." (2 Tim 1:7) However repugnant it might seem to us at a particular time, we ought to continue to expose ourselves to God's Word - to read the Bible daily and hear it preached at least weekly; we ought not give up on meeting with other Christians (Heb 10:25); we ought to continue to share in the Lord's Supper; and we ought to pray for the fire of Christ to grow again deep in our hearts. On the other hand, what Paul prescribes is not about you. Regardless of your feelings and experiences, your failures and questions and doubts, there is a God who loves you enough to send His Son to die on your behalf. (Jn 3:16) Let us not gauge the quality of God's love by our varying and vacillating receptions of it. Instead, let us recognize that the God who has called us to the Christian life has done so by His grace and purpose (2 Tim 1:9) and He will complete His work. (Phil 1:6) Amen.
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