Experiencing God - Fan into Flame 101

Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21 They said, “Caesar's.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.”

Matthew

 

In the Gospel of Matthew, we see instances where Jesus is tested by the Jewish Authorities.  He is asked questions, obviously, with the intent of ensnaring Him.  In the above question as to whether a good Jewish citizen should pay taxes to the Roman emperor, Jesus shows that he has a cunning wisdom in dealing with such trickery.  "Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." 

 

With this answer, Jesus undermines the plan of the Pharisees to trick him into saying something that would get Him into trouble, either with the Jewish people or the Roman authorities.

 

Matthew's readers were amazed at Jesus' wisdom in dealing with these matters as we should be amazed ourselves.  But the Gospel writers want us to be more than amazed.  They want us as Christians to imitate Christ by being courageous apostles of the truth and life of the Gospel. 

 

How can we be courageous followers of truth and life of the Gospel?  How can we get beyond just being amazed about Jesus' astuteness in order to imitate Him as best we can in our own lives?

 

Some of the answers can be found in Paul's encouraging response to young Timothy, an early disciple of Paul.  Paul encourages Timothy to recognize the power of the gift that he possesses; that is his gift of faith as coming from God.  It is not something that he has acquired on his own or by his own efforts.  Timothy's faith is a gift.  And this gift must be kept alive in him.  "Fan into flame this gift that God has given you.  It is not given in a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power and love and self-control. 

 

This faith, as explained to Timothy, is something that is real, and despite the hardships that may result from living the truth of the Gospel, this inner reality of one's faith will overcome all exterior obstacles that may come his way.

 

Saint Paul himself became a living reality of this interior strength and power that comes from faith.  Despite incredible hardship, Paul never gave up on his call to proclaim Christ to the world.

 

We are also living in somewhat turbulent times when it come to faith and faith practice.  A lot of questions are being thrown at us, questions that may cause us confusion, cause us to doubt, and even cause us to wonder whether we are on the right tract.  There are many exterior turbulences going on in the world, in our church, which seem to discount the importance of faith and faith experience.  Are things really any different today that in Paul's time?  

 

Paul is prisoner of the Romans when he spoke to Timothy, but he continued to reassure him that this gift he has is not to be discounted.  "Fan it into flame."  Courageously face any obstacle, and teach by word and example that God will not be outdone in His goodness to us.