2 Timothy 1:6-7. 6For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
I remember reading the Wizard of Oz to my children when they were young. We had seen the movie, but we also wanted to read the book, and, as always, the book is better than the movie.
What the book demonstrates so vividly is that the very thing the travelers wanted, (courage, a heart, and a brain) they actually already had. Before ever making it to the Wizard, the Lion courageously fights off the flying monkeys, the Woodsman shows heartfelt empathy and compassion, and the Scarecrow brilliantly comes up with the best ideas. Even Dorothy had what she needed to make it home all along (the ruby slippers). But instead of knowing what they already had, our heroes lived with a fear that they were lacking what they needed for the journey to the Kingdom of Oz, and for the resistance of the Wicked Witch along the way.
Does that story sound familiar? Aren’t we also living in fear that we are lacking something we need to make it on our spiritual journey? Surely I’m not completely forgiven. Once I get my life back on track, then God will begin to use me again. Once I put this sin behind me, then God’s unconditional love will return with his blessings. And so the gift of God in us is just a smoldering wick, rather than a flaming bonfire of love.
But here’s the truth of 2 Timothy 1:6-7 – In Christ we have everything we need to live a fearless life. Do you believe this? Now I know that none of us will ever live a perfectly courageous, loving, and self-controlled life this side of Heaven. The truth is that much of our lives will be lived in a mix of fear and faith, won’t it? But what if God’s grace in Christ, not our own efforts, or the world’s “believe in yourself-ism,” could actually remove fear and give us God’s divine power?
2 Timothy 2:1. You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
What if knowing Christ meant knowing the power of his indestructible life in you? What if knowing you are loved fully and freely by Jesus strengthened you to love others fully and freely? What if knowing who you are in Christ allowed you to have the perfect blend of both humility (I deserve the cross) and confidence (I’ve died with Christ and been raised with him) that allows you to be self-controlled, or literally “right headed?” In other words, what if power, love, and self-control can only be found from the motivations of grace?
Look at Paul’s language again – God has given us a spirit… This spirit (or we could say Holy Spirit) of power, love, and self-control is a GIFT from God. God has given us these inner graces freely in Christ Jesus (2:1). Like the Lion, Woodsman, and Scarecrow, we already have all we need for the journey. Fear comes when we forget who we are and what we have been given. We don’t need to wait around for power, love, and self-control to show up from God at the next revival meeting or the next time we “re-dedicate” our lives to him. Rather, these are the very character of Christ that we received when we accepted God’s salvation, forgiveness, and redemption by the Spirit of Christ.
By God’s grace, as we choose to faithfully express Christ’s power, love, and self-control in our own thoughts, choices, and emotional expressions, this faith will become our soul’s habit, our controlling spiritual instinct, and our ongoing disposition to the world. Now, our spirit of fear is being gradually replaced with the Spirit of Jesus. Living in fear is being replaced with to live is Christ.
You: Where is fear controlling your life?
You in Christ: How does being in Christ give us power, love, and self-control?
Christ in you: Where are you seeing power, love, and self-control flow out of Christ in you?
To Live is Christ 