Fan the Flame

Picture this. It's your birthday, and you sit surrounded by a pile of presents. You reach for the first one, and it's that movie you've been dying to see since it was in theaters. You immediately put it in the DVD player. You reach for the second and tear into it. It's a book that's been on your reading list for quite some time now. By the time you've reached the bottom of the pile, you've got quite a collection going. All from people who care about you.

Based on my experience, you're going to do one of three things with those gifts. 

1. Use it as often as possible
2. Put it on a shelf or in the back of the closet and forget about it.
3. Run to every store in town and hope one of them will give you a refund or trade it without a receipt

Ever had one of those gifts that you wanted to take back and couldn't? I have. I remember one particular year, I received a purse for Christmas. Nowadays, I'd probably be glad to have a new purse, but back then, I hated it. I was not into anything a typical preteen girl would be into, and wondered why some of my family members hadn't figured that out quite yet.

What about those gifts that get forgotten? I own books from five or more years ago that are still on my reading list because I found a new book that seemed more interesting.

Now stop and think about this. What gifts has God given to you? It could be one of the spiritual gifts specifically listed in the New Testament. It could be a talent or skill. It could be an education. It could be a job or people in your life. It could be a relationship - or even the lack of one. 

With each of those gifts, you have a choice of what to do with it. 

1. You can develop it, make it stronger and use it for His glory.
2. You can neglect it, forget to practice it and let it slowly die.
3. Or you can try to give it back.

Recently, God has been challenging me to use all the gifts He's given me. And I say challenge because that's exactly what it is. I have at least one gift He's been holding out for years, and I keep pointing at the gifts He's given other people, asking for those instead. But now I'm trying to learn how to not only receive it, but use it.

I also have gifts He's asked me to take off the shelf. My writing is one of those gifts. Writing this post is a means of holding myself accountable. My goal is to share at least two posts per month, and if you notice that's not happening, feel free to call me on it. Also, if there are any topics you would like for me to address, please share, and I'll see what I can do. I'm not an expert on much of anything, but I can always share what God is teaching me.

By the way, that purse I so desperately wanted a refund for, I ended up using about five years later. Every day for months, and I liked it. Those old books, I'm reading them now, and they're life-changing. And I get the feeling that accepting, using and developing the gifts God has given me is going to be even better.

So join me in this challenge. Share with me and others:

• What gifts has God given you?
• What have you been doing with them up to this point?
• What are you going to do now to develop them and use them for His glory?

"For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gif of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands." - 2 Timothy 1:6 (NIV)