Guarding the Good Deposit

6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. 8 So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. 9 He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 11 And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. 12 That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.

13 What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. 14 Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. 

– 2 Timothy 2:6-14

As I prepare to renew my covenant with God, I begin by remembering who God is and this causes me to consider how I have drifted away from Him. He loves us and desires relationship with us, yet I frequently put worldly pursuits in front of Him. We should seek first God, but at various times I have sought people, things, personal comfort, pleasure, social standing or other priorities first. If we truly commit ourselves to God, we must exchange our priorities for His, surrender ourselves to Him, and pursue a life consistent with our commitment. And here is the counterintuitive and seemingly unnatural part – while we commit and pursue, which require action on our part, we do so relying on His power, His love, His self-discipline, not our own.

The passage above is a portion of a letter that Paul wrote from a jail cell in Rome to his protégé Timothy. Paul urges Timothy to stay on track and reminds him of the amazing gifts God has given him saying, “Fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you.” The Holy Spirit is in you. He dwells within you. He “gives us power, love and self-discipline.” He “does not make us timid.” He calls us to a holy life. “Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.”

As followers of Jesus Christ, we have certain responsibility, but we are not alone and we do not rely on ourselves or our own power. We rely on Christ Jesus who is our Savior, our Lord and our Strength. The Holy Spirit is in you. He dwells within you. We are not timid, because we have His power, His love and His self-discipline. However, while He gives amazing gifts to us, we must act to nurture the gifts and position ourselves so the gifts grow and mature and blossom. “Fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you…. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you – guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.” We must act to assist transforming the spark into a flame and then we must guard it.  

So how do we do this? Christ Jesus calls us to holiness, but only God is holy. He calls us to be separated from the common and worldly, to be distinct and unique, to be set apart for God; yet we continue living in this world filled with evil. Only God is good and we will continue being sinful as long as we live on earth. So while we may not be holy, we should endeavor to move along the path towards God, towards holiness, seeking Him, desiring His holy transformation. Holiness is God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, and the people we perceive as holy are people who live in relationship with Christ Jesus such that His glory flows through them. The root of holiness is Christ Jesus and a life giving the appearance of holiness is secondary – it flows out of relationship with Him.

God’s call for His people to seek holiness is nothing new. Leviticus includes 10 chapters known as the Holiness Code, which is a call for God’s people to live lives characterized by holiness. God sent prophet after prophet to remind His people about who they are, urging God’s people to be holy, to be set apart, to be unique, to allow God’s glory to flow through them so that the world might know that He is God.

Jesus continues this teaching. He calls us to be separate, distinct, unique and holy, yet He also calls us to be out in the world. He calls us to be light to the world. He calls us to be holy, to allow His life, His love, His light to fill us, to flow through us, and to make a difference in the world around us. This requires us to be holy, distinct, unique, set apart and out in the world acting in a way that reveals our uniqueness and transforms the world around us.

“Fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you…. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.” The Holy Spirit is in you. He dwells within you. We are not timid, because we have His power, His love and His self-discipline. We possess this amazing treasure, the good deposit and everything that accompanies the treasure. We are far from perfect, we are not holy, yet we have this amazing treasure housed within our imperfection. Paul reminds us of this writing, 

For it is God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. – 2 Corinthians 4:6-7  

As we continue pondering our commitment to God, consider His holy grace, His love, His mercy, His faithfulness, and praise God. He desires relationship with you. He desires that we each live our fullest life. He loves us so much that He sent His Son to die for us even though we are far from perfect (see Romans 5:8). And His good deposit, His treasure dwells within us.  

May you continue to fan the flame burning within you, may you continue to guard the good deposit within you, may you shine His light on the world around you.