The Connective Call
2 Timothy 1:5-6 (Amplified Bible)
5I am calling up memories of your sincere and unqualified faith (the leaning of your entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness), [a faith] that first lived permanently in [the heart of] your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am [fully] persuaded, [dwells] in you also.
6That is why I would remind you to stir up (rekindle the embers of, fan the flame of, and keep burning) the [gracious] gift of God, [the inner fire] that is in you by means of the laying on of my hands with those of the elders at your ordination].
When I was younger my Grandma James whom I dearly loved would tease me and say that I was going to be round and fully packed, like her. It is true I am very short as she was, but I vowed that was where it would end. I vowed that would be one way that I would not be identified or connected to my grandma. At that time in my life, I can fully admit that many of her ways I did not want to be connected to; because as a child, I did not understand the value of who she was and the gifts of God that lay within her. I did not understand that always hearing her speak of the goodness of the Lord, the Word of God, her gratitude to God for anything, even when she was in lack, her always praying and meditating and her ability to see people in a spiritual sense were valuable. But in spite of my ignorance in that day, God saw fit to grace me with many of her spiritual gifts and characteristics. For that I am so thankful, I now realize that the connection bestowed upon me was by divine legacy and inheritance, not by chance.
Paul as he wrote to Timothy to encourage him, reminded him of the gifting of faith that was resident in his life and had been evident in the life of his mother and grandmother. Often the apple truly does not fall from the tree. I have watched my daughter and son, gifted with similar spiritual gifts as the ones entrusted to me. I have a spiritual daughter that I have watched inherit the gifting of encouragement and warfare. It is our connection through our birth whether spiritual or natural that will connect us to the gifting and callings that we can and often will walk in. I remember my son when he was very young receiving a word of prophecy that told that he shared the same gift and callings that I was operating in at that time. I did not understand it fully at that time. But as I came to know God more and understand Him more I understood how I gained from my grandmother and my mother and my children would connect and gain some the same spiritual gifts.
For many of us, we do not always understand why we find ourselves sounding like mom or grandma when we pray or minister to others. It is simple it is the connective call that you have inherited and is being made manifest in your life. Don't get me wrong everyone must work out their own soul salvation and there is nothing wrong with God choosing to send us on a different path, but more often than naught we will find ourselves seeing the spiritual gifts of a parent, grandparent or spiritual mentor in our lives. Don't fear it or despise it but embrace it. Realize that God is entrusting you with a family tradition, a legacy. Just as a Levites were entrusted with the office of a priest, so many of us will find that we are entrusted with a call, a ministry or an office that connects us to those in our family but more importantly back to God through generations of service!
No comments:
Post a Comment