A Faith Handed Down

Paul remembers Timothy's sincere faith and traces its roots: it lived first in his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice. Faith rarely appears out of nowhere; usually someone prayed, someone told the stories, someone lived it at the kitchen table. Paul then urges Timothy to stir up the gift of God within him, reminding him that God did not give a spirit of fear, but of power, love and self-control. Timothy seems to have been timid, and Paul does not shame him; he reminds him what he has been given. Whether or not you came from a believing home, you can be the first link in a chain. Today, thank someone who shaped your faith, or write a short note of blessing to a younger person. And ask God to fan into flame whatever gift you have been neglecting.