Stir Up the Gift Baby!!!

What an awesome passage!

2 Timothy 1:6-7(NKJV)

6Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 

7For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

The first thing I get from this Scripture is that our gift from God is not a passive thing.  We are instructed to stir it up!  What does that mean?  Not sure but here is what it means to me.

To me it means to actively seek and build your relationship with God.  We are told in other parts of Scripture to diligently seek Him.  All of these things point to the fact that we need to take action to build and strengthen our relationship with God.  It isn't a passive thing 

Along those same lines I think it means we need to take life by the horns.  Live life on purpose and live it to the fullest.  Don't sit back and passively experience life. 

One of my favorite sayings is that I would rather wear out than rust out!

If you look to the Parable of the Talents, it was the one who played it safe who had the worst outcome.  The only one of the three who was penalized was the guy who played it safe.  I think the message is pretty clear there.

Why do so many play it safe?  I think it is because they live in fear.  Fear of failure or whatever.  As I have written before, how can you expect God to bless you when you live in fear, which demonstrates to God a concrete lack of faith?

Verse 7 tells us what type of spirit God has given us.  It's not a spirit of fear.  God gave us each a spirit of power, a spirit of love, and a spirit of sound mind.  Now it is up to us to use that spirit in the may God intended.

Let's stir up the Gift!