know that Paul invited him to join the mission team and allowed him to use his gift in service. The gift was likened to a flame that could be fanned into a higher glow. This does not necessarily mean that Timothy was losing the fire. “Fan the flame” can simply refer to stirring it up and keeping it stirred up. That is, don’t let it die down. Paul elsewhere wrote that the inner man is to be renewed day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16). For that to happen calls for us to take some responsibility in that