Paul conferred upon Timothy the gift of God, the Spirit of God, and now, in writing to his disciple, Paul affirms that this gift of the Spirit makes us strong, loving and wise. We have received the gift of the Spirit, first of all in Baptism as Jesus did when John baptized him in the River Jordan. United with Jesus in baptism, we become as he was, a person upon whom the Spirit of God rests. The Father spoke to Jesus: "You are my beloved Son in whom is my delight." So, too, the Father accepts us as his beloved children.

Loved by God, we become loving people, people who are capable of love, even heroic love. God's love for us is a joyful love and we have received the assurance that God's joy is our strength. We become strong because of God's joyful love for us. We become spiritually stronger through Confirmation. In the wisdom which Jesus has taught us we can come to experience that a wise love makes us strong, strong enough to continue to love beyond all our faults and failings and so to be in love with God, our strength and our salvation.