ABCs of Spiritual Formation: K is for Kindle +
"For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands."
-- 2 Timothy 1:6
K is for Kindle and a bunch of other words!
Ok, I'm going off the rails a bit here, but I've struggled to pick a word for K so I broke the rules. I pray you are well and find this rambling post encouraging as you abide in Jesus.
KINGDOM
I think the most apt choice would be Kingdom because growth in Christ must be grounded in kingdom values and kingdom focus. Christ's kingdom is upside down and a key idea is that maturing in Christ means embracing weakness, an idea anathema to the world. Everything we do is from an understanding that Christ is King and his kingdom coming on earth as in heaven is the cry of our hearts. Spiritual formation is about becoming a kingdom person who joyfully lives as a child of the King.
KNOWN
Another wonderful word beginning with K is Known. To be known is a deep desire of every human. Growing in Christlikeness includes a willingness to know and be known within community. This requires stepping into vulnerability. God knows us which means we don't need to hide. Writing that is easy; living it is a lifelong process for all children of Adam and Eve, the original hiders.
KNOWLEDGE
Related to this but different is Knowledge. Is knowledge good or bad? One may point to 1 Corinthians 8:1 where we learn that "knowledge puffs up, but love builds up." A few verses later Paul says that our knowledge can ruin "the weak person" when they see us eating meat sacrificed to idols. And in 1 Corinthians 13:2,8 Paul tells us that having knowledge without love is useless, and knowledge won't endure. These instances would lead us to be careful of knowledge. I fear these verses have had an inordinately negative impact on Evangelical culture which tends to disdain pursuit of knowledge apart from Bible literacy. I point this out because so often in the Bible knowledge is a good thing. Growing in the knowledge of God's Son is extolled (Eph 4:13), Paul prays for the Colossians to grow in the "knowledge of God's will" (Col 1:9), and Jesus wants everyone to come to a "knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim 2:4), Peter includes knowledge in his list of qualities to "make every effort" to acquire (2 Pet 1:5-6), knowledge is a spiritual gift listed in 1 Corinthians 12, and I could list more. If we are to grow in Christlikeness, it must include growing in knowledge on many different levels.
KEY
From a different perspective I like the word Key because we so often fall into the trap of this unhelpful metaphor. We want to believe there is a key to spiritual growth. Every marketing message is selling the golden key or silver bullet or magic potion or some other formulaic solution that feeds our desire for ease. The only key is Jesus. Experiencing his love and forgiveness and living out of it to love him and our neighbors is about abiding in relationship and is not formulaic. Let's resist the myth of a key which usually takes the form of a broad path that feeds our pride. Instead, let’s cling to Jesus surrendering to him and accepting whatever good gifts he chooses to give us.
KNACKERED
Then as I was doing research I came upon this wonderful word, Knackered. What a great word. I doubt I need to define it for you as it is one of those words that is self-descriptive. If I say, I was out all day working in the heat, and I am knackered. Isn't it obvious? Exhausted. Here's an exercise if you are physically able. If you have a garden, you can do it. If you don't, go help a friend. As spring approaches, spend a day getting the garden ready. Turn the soil, dig, hoe, build, plant, get dirty. At the end of the day your whole body will be aching. You will be knackered. Stand up and look at what you accomplished and picture the harvest of beauty that will appear in the months to come. That feeling is one we need to experience regularly as part of our spiritual formation. We have bodies, and we are made to experience life in and through them and to fully feel all that they feel. Being knackered every now and then is good for us.
KIN
Lastly, I cannot discuss spiritual formation without mentioning community and so Kin must be included. For many Westerners this is a difficult one because we have very little connection to our kin. This is a sad consequence of our cultural values. Regardless, we are impacted by our kin whether they include only our nuclear family or distant cousins. Loving our kin is sometimes the most difficult mountain we are called to climb. Growing in Christlikeness means doing the inner work of dealing with the impact of our family of origin, as well as doing what we can to love our family members now. Many of us are estranged from family and feel the pain. Pursuing peace in this area may be the most important thing we can do for our spiritual life. At least, praying for family relationships will need to be a big part of what it means to follow Jesus.
KINDLE
Yet as good as all those options would be, I chose Kindle because I like what it represents and the bent it moves me to consider. Of course, I don't mean the Amazon Kindle which I don't use nor recommend. Call me old fashioned, but I need to hold a book in my hands. But I diverge...
In 2 Timothy 1:6 Paul tells Timothy to, "kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands." And often in the Old Testament God uses kindle literally to speak of destructive fire. We must be careful.
Regarding spiritual formation we are reminded that it doesn't take much for fire to grow and consume all in its path. James warns us that the tongue is like "a little fire how much wood it doth kindle!" And Amos warns that God "...will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind:"
Last weekend our family sat around our firepit after dinner. I kindled the fire with some paper, small twigs, and a flame. As it grew, we continued adding wood to keep it going for a couple of hours. The light and warmth created the perfect atmosphere for enjoyable conversation and a wonderful memory made.
In spiritual formation settings, both alone and in community, we will need to kindle afresh our gifts as Paul exhorts. He says this because our spiritual growth and gifts don't just happen. We are called to be intentional. The best way to do that is unsurprisingly by making space to encounter God alone and in community.
What are you doing to "kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you"?
Some of us are experiencing a raging fire. Enjoy. Some of us need to kindle it afresh. Some of us don't even know what the gift is. We need a Paul to lay hands on us. We need to experience God's grace in that way. Keep pushing into community. It will become clear.
One last point about kindling. It is experientially personal but not individualistic. When fire is kindled it impacts everyone within reach and can spread far and wide. Out of control it is devastating, but, like our fire pit and Timothy's gift, the point is to impact those around it. We kindle for community.
May each of us be becoming the kind of people who kindle fires that bless all those around us with Spirit-filled and gracious light and heat.
“For the mind does not require filling like a bottle, but rather, like wood, it only requires kindling to create in it an impulse to think independently and an ardent desire for the truth.”
-- Plutarch