Stack the Kindling

“I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well” (2Tim 1:5).

When you want to build a fire, you’ve got to start small. You don’t begin with a few big logs and then strike a match. You need kindling. You need the smallest pieces of wood that will ignite easily. Then as the fire builds, you stoke it with bigger and bigger sticks and limbs. Eventually it’s time for those logs. Before you know it, the fire is crackling and popping. But you have to start small. You have to stack the kindling. 

(This is where I could insert a story about the time I really didn’t have any small pieces of wood to get our fire pit going. I figured a little gasoline would do the trick. I splashed a little from the gas can and tossed a match. WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH! Let’s just say it I’ll never forget the smell of scorched eyebrows. From now on, I’ll stack the kindling.)

In many ways, faith in Jesus is a lot like that. I first heard this idea from Matt Chandler While each person much have an individual trust in our Savior, other people in their life can get them ready. Paul reminds his buddy Timothy of how his family got his faith fire ready. “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well” (v5). A methodist missionary named E. Stanley Jones is famous for saying, “God doesn’t have any grandchildren.” But that doesn’t stop mom, dad, memaw, and pawpaw from prepping kids for the day Jesus lights them up.

As Paul looks back on the blaze burning brightly in Tim’s life, he knows his fire is about to be extinguished. He writes to his spiritual son from the slammer. Specifically, Rome’s Death Row. Alcatraz, Folsom, and Shawshank got nothing on the Mamertine Prison. It’s where enemies of the empire go to die. The apostle is a dead man walking and he knows it. “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2Tim 4:6-7). In the last letter of his life, the apostle does what he can to fan Tim’s flames.

Paul starts by telling Timothy just how much he’s encouraged by his legit love of the Lord. “I remember your sincere faith” (v5). He describes the young gun’s trust in Christ with the Greek word anupokritos. It means genuine, undisguised, or transparent. The term comes from the same root word as hypocrisy (Gr. hupokrisis) which means putting up a front or wearing a mask or impersonating someone you’re not. Tim’s faith is legit. The real deal. Not fake. Not phony. Not a front. 

What a powerful reminder that we’re not supposed to be cookie cutter Christ followers. God has wired each one of us very differently. He’s given every believer varying combinations of spiritual gifts. He’s placed each of us in different places and different times. While we all trust in the same Jesus, we don’t all look and act exactly alike. And that’s a good thing. There’s tremendous freedom knowing I don’t have to put on a front and pretend to be somebody I’m not. Paul tells the Corinthians how God’s grace allows him to be exactly who God made him to be. “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain” (1Cor 15:10). What a relief to know that we can all be sincere and transparent in our faith. 

Tim’s faith may not be phony but what exactly is Paul talking about. Belief in the Bible is a lot more than just a simple acknowledgement of a fact. A whole LOT more! “Faith” (Gr. pistis) is an active trust, confidence, total reliance, and complete conviction in someone or something. In this case, the apostle is talking about Jesus. Andy Stanley says the best way to understand faith is to picture a stool. I may think the stool will hold me when I look at it. I may think the stool will support me when I lean against it. But the only time I’m REALLY trusting in the stool is when I put all of my weight on it.

Tim has placed the entire weight his life onto Jesus. He trusts in who Jesus is and what He has done that Tim could never do for himself. Christ lived the perfect life of obedience to God’s commands that he could never live. He died the death for sin that Tim should have died. He rose to an awesome new life that Tim doesn’t deserve. As a result, Timothy submits himself to our Lord’s leadership. That’s the Gospel. That’s the Good News. It’s not about the strength of your faith. It’s about the strength of the object of our faith. No matter what comes your way, keep your eyes locked on Jesus, the Starter and Finisher of our faith (Heb 12:2). He’ll NEVER let go of you.

Paul reminds his young friend that following Jesus is a family tradition. Tim has “a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice” (v5). John MacArthur is pretty sure the apostle knew these ladies personally. There’s a good chance that they came to place their faith in Jesus during Paul and Barnabas’ first tour through Lystra and the surrounding region (Acts 13:13-14:21). Lois and her daughter Eunice were Jewish. Dr. Luke tells us Tim is “the son of  Jewish woman who was a believer” (Acts 16:1). 

These two women were apparently strong believers in God’s promises made in the Jewish Scriptures called the Torah. It’s what we know as today as the Old Testament. Tim’s memaw and mom trusted in God’s promise to send a Messiah to the rescue (Gen 3:15; 12:1-3; 17:1-8; 2Sam 7:9-16). Their faith was fully realized when they heard that Jesus was indeed the fulfillment of God’s promise and the ultimate Good News. Imagine finding out the long-awaited Savior of the entire world is a resurrected Rabbi/Carpenter from the boondocks of Galilee! 

It seems clear that Grandma Lois and Momma Eunice invested into the spiritual growth of Timothy. They took the time to tell young Timmy all about God’s incredible faithfulness, goodness, and grace as told in His Word. That’s exactly what Paul says later in his letter.  “From childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2Tim 3:15). These women wanted the boy they loved to know the God they loved. So they stacked the kindling.

Parents, grandparents, and other friends do this by telling the little ones about all the amazing things God has done in their own lives. Teach them stories from the Bible. Help them memorize Scripture. Sing worship songs with them. Pray with them, around them, and over them. It’s what my Grandmothers Ethel and Clarabelle as well as my own mom Elma did for me. It’s what my wife Deb and I tried to do with our own kids as well as our grandchildren. While God is the only one who sets someone on fire in the faith, we can certainly stack the kindling.

What can we take away from Paul’s words to Timothy? First of all, we don’t have to be phony when it comes to our faith in Jesus. We don’t have to dress like a TV evangelist, use enough hairspray to make a personal dent in the ozone layer or wear so much makeup it looks like we lost a paintball fight. You and I are free to be the person God made us to be in Christ. I don’t know about you, but that’s a HUGE weight off my shoulders.

Second, think back on the people who gently and consistently invested in your spiritual growth as a child. Was it a grandparent? Your mom? Your dad? A neighbor? A teacher? A coach? Reach out and thank them for fanning the flames of your faith. And don’t forget to let God know how much you appreciate how He placed these people in your path to stack your kindling.

Third, let’s stoke the spiritual fires of the young people in our lives. Parents and grandparents have a very powerful position of influence in children as they grow. Don’t miss any opportunity God gives you to tell them just how good the Lord has been to you. Read the Bible with them. Pray with them. Sing with them. Do I need to warn you not to ram it down their throats? Do NOT be heavy handed.

Find those flammable materials. Spiritual sticks. Gospel branches. Place them all around those you love. You can’t set them on fire yourself but you can do everything possible to get them ready. Stack the kindling. And then you might want to step back. Take it from me, you’re really gonna want those eyebrows.