THERE IS NO SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD

As a kid I was fascinated by the concept of "spontaneous combustion" - the belief that it was possible for a person to suddenly and unexplainably burst into flames.

Can you imagine? Just walking down the street one day and - poof - you are engulfed in flames. 

I wasn't the only one whose imagination was caught by spontaneous combustion. Stories of such go back to the 1600s. Charles Dickens even eliminates a character in Bleak House via the mysterious process. 

But there has never been a case of spontaneous human combustion confirmed by science. It seems pretty obvious that it just can't happen. In every other case, fire is the result of some outside force: lightning, lighter, spark, or electrical current. Spontaneous combustion is not possible in the physical world.

Neither is it in the spiritual world. 

In his second letter to Timothy, the Apostle Paul associates faith and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit with fire imagery. 

"I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am convinced is in you as well. 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. (1 Tim 2:5-6)

Timothy is responsible for fanning the flame within his own heart, but Paul reminds him that the sparks of that faith came from outside him: from his mom, his grandma, and Paul himself. 

“Faith comes by hearing" - it always originates outside of us. 

We need to acknowledge and praise God for those who sparked faith in us. 

And we should live in such a way as to spark faith in others.