Have you stirred up the gift given to you? Stir up the gift is a phrase written by the apostle Paul to Timothy, his young disciple in the faith: “Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you . . . The Greek word translated “stir up” denotes the kindling of a fire, as by bellows. Anyone who has ever tended a campfire knows that stirring up the glowing embers of a dying fire can cause those embers to flame up again and burn more brightly. Timothy was to see to it that his spiritual gift did not grow cold through disuse; he was to “stir it up” and keep the fire going.
We conducted can do’ day at our church one Sunday. Basically, all the people who do various tasks at the church even including the preacher, Sunday school teachers, nursery workers, et al took the day off and others took their places. We had new musicians, singers, ushers, greeters, bus driver, and even the preacher was replaced by a layman taking a stab at preaching. Everyone had been encouraged to sign up for this, but I did not participate. My excuse was that the prior week I had to leave for Atlanta before daylight on Monday morning and did not get in until almost midnight Friday night and I knew I would be dead tired with just a little rest and then off to St. Louis on Monday for another long week on the road the following week.
As I sat there and watched everyone trying their best I was ashamed. I could have easily played the guitar and/or sang during this service and certainly could have offered my powerful testimony or taught a Sunday school class; I could have greeted others or helped take up the offering and on and on. I did nothing but watch and listen as others served their Lord.
Perhaps the most stirring thing I heard concerning those who worked on can do day was how a mother and her young daughter signed up to remove weeds from the church lawn. The pastor observed them working in the hot sun on Saturday afternoon. The moving thing about their stirring of the Spirit to their Lord is that the little girl was blind. She sat near a flower bed and felt the ground with her tiny little hands trying to find weeds as best she could. I could relate to this one because I’m almost totally blind now and I know how difficult that must have been.
I wonder if Jesus was smiling or weeping or maybe a little of both as He watched this sweet little angel trying to serve Him as best she could in total darkness. I know He was radiating love upon her, and I know He has blessings stored up for her that will far surpass the handicaps she must endure in this life. As for me, I do not think He was smiling as He watched me Sunday; how disappointed He must have been in me as He considered all the many gifts with which He has blessed me sitting there idle. No doubt He was sadly shaking His head.
When one thinks about it, Can do day should be every day for those who love the Lord, not just a novelty day once in a blue moon on leap year. I can offer my best to the Lord every day of the week if I commit to it. We can all produce excuses for not serving the Lord, but in the end it is just Satan trying to convince us not to use our talents for the service of the Lord. I’m determined to try much harder to use what talents the Lord has given me for serving Him. How about you?
1 Peter 4:10
God has given gifts to each of you from His great variety of spiritual gifts. Manage them well so that God’s generosity can flow through you. Are you called to be a speaker? Then speak as though God Himself were speaking through you.
Are you called to help others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then God will be given glory through Jesus Christ. All glory and power belong to Him forever. Amen.