“I, Paul, am on special assignment for Christ, carrying out God’s plan laid out in the Message of Life by Jesus. I write this to you, Timothy, the son I love so much. All the best from our God and Christ be yours! Every time I say your name in prayer—which is practically all the time—I thank God for you, the God I worship with my whole life in the tradition of my ancestors. I miss you a lot, especially when I remember that last tearful good-bye, and I look forward to a joy-packed reunion. That precious memory triggers another: your honest faith—and what a rich faith it is, handed down from your grandmother Lois to your mother Eunice, and now to you! And the special gift of ministry you received when I laid hands on you and prayed—keep that ablaze! God doesn’t want us to be shy with his gifts, but bold and loving and sensible.” (2Timothy: 1:1-7 The Message Bible)
Hopefully, this will fit the criteria for your Monday Short Meditation. It’s brief, but not without a story.
In the 1960’s we lived in a house with a coal furnace. Not only did it provide heat, but it gave my older brother and myself some work assigned by our father. If you don’t know about coal furnaces, ask someone in the Baby-Boomer or Traditionalist generations. Our work assignment was two-fold: (1) Carry out the ashes and dump them in the dirt driveway in the rear of the house, and even on top of the black soil that covered our makeshift backyard basketball court when we needed more space. (2) With our parents working the third shift at the downtown post office, we were responsible for keeping the fire going so that the house would stay heated in the morning. Many a morning, there was nothing but read coals that were struggling to stay ablaze, much like children try to stay awake after being told to go to sleep in the summer during days when the sun shined until 9:30 p.m. Sometimes, it seems like my brother and I subtly, silently raced each other to see who could get out of the house first if the furnace coals were barely afire, almost ready to go out. We definitely did not want to see our father’s disappointed face or face discipline for letting the fire go out.
That’s the story, an account from my past, now here is admonition for the present. Keep the spiritual fire burning in you and in your home. Continue to keep your faith burning, your soul set afire, to the point that you put a smile on our heavenly Father’s face! Don’t disappoint Him, not one morning. Keeping the fire going is the morning mindset you should have. Stay God-conscious and Christ-centered! Be blessed!
“If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.” (James 4:17 New International Version)
Committed to the climb,
Mark L. King