Aug
23
Handoff
Filed Under Devotional
So, I’ve seen two of my favorite things to see in sports in the last twenty-four hours. One of my favorite things to watch are games played well by players at the top of their game who have the burning desire to win. Another favorite is watching something unusual that rarely happens or causes the announcers to get out the rule book. I saw both today.
I watched the basketball and water polo teams play well. I saw them overcome a little adversity, play with passion, and win convincingly and honorably. Then, I watched more dropped batons in the relays than I can ever recall seeing in the Olympics. Some of the top teams fell victim to the simple act of handing off an aluminum tube. Albeit, they are doing it while running faster than I could ever hope.
You feel sorry for the later runners who never get the chance. They get to watch as the competition keeps running and they can’t do anything. It occurred to me how important it is for the first runners to get it right for the later runners to have a chance. If the starter is slow, the later runner is behind. If the starter falls or drops the baton, the later runner never gets a chance. Those first runners have to run the best they can just to give the rest of the team a chance.
In that sense, we are all relay runners when it comes to the spreading the Good News. We have to run the best race we can and make a firm, solid handoff of the Gospel to the next generation.
“Train a child in the way he should go,
and when he is old he will not turn from it.” Proverbs 22:6
“Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” Ephesians 6:4
“Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Deuteronomy 11:18-19
If you run the race poorly or fumble the handoff, that next generation and, specifically, your children, are at a disadvantage. Can God save them anyway? Of course. But, why make them have to come from behind? Why not give them a running start?
Run the race to serve Christ and hand off the baton to the next runner. They’re waiting.