070 Sticky Faith: Passing the Baton

Near the end of his life, the Apostle Paul wrote these words to his protégé, Timothy: “I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.”  (2 Tim. 4:7) 

Each of us has a race to run.  And how you run that race carries huge implications – not only in the present but for the future. Indeed, for future generations.

The race of life is in fact a relay.  

To be sure, each of us must run our own race. But it’s our responsibility to pass on the baton of belief to the next runners.  

And that lends itself to our second point. 

The race of life will be a success when the baton is passed.  

No matter how good your “split” may be, you can’t really claim a “win” if the baton isn’t passed to the next runner.

As Paul is writing this letter, Timothy is running in full stride.  But the race still isn’t over.  Another hand-off needs to be made.  That hand-off is alluded to in II Tim. 2:2.  

“You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses.  Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.” II Timothy 2:2 (NLT)

Passing the baton off to one’s family is hugely important.   But passing the baton of faith goes well beyond family.

Now, I always thought that the rules were, if you dropped the baton in a relay, you were automatically disqualified. But that’s not so.

A dropped baton does not necessarily result in disqualification.

Look at these words from the United States Association for Track and Field regarding the baton pass:

“The baton shall be carried by hand throughout the race.  If dropped, it shall be recovered by the athlete who dropped it.  He/she may leave the assigned lane to achieve the baton provided no other runner is impeded and provided that by doing so the distance to be covered is not lessened.”

If I’m the passer and I fumble the exchange, I have to pick up the baton.  If I’m the receiver and I drop the baton after the exchange was made, I have to pick it up. 

Can you see where I’m going with this? Parents, some of you know you dropped the baton. Perhaps you were careless or distracted.

Here’s the thing.  The race isn’t over.  You aren’t disqualified.  You can still go back and pick up the baton.  But only you can do it. It’s never too late to start living a life worth imitating.

Perhaps your parents tried their best to pass on the faith, but you fumbled it.  Perhaps you made some foolish decisions.  Maybe you even left the faith for a while.

You’re not disqualified either.  But you have to go back to where you dropped the baton, pick it up, and start running in a smarter way.

The next challenge in passing the baton is…Exchange zone violations

Once again from the USATF rulebook:

“The takeover zone shall be 20 meters long.  In all relay races the baton shall be passed in the takeover zone…Passing the baton outside the takeover zone shall result in disqualification.”

Space is limited for the baton pass.

Parents…grandparents…you have roughly 18 years to make the pass.  When that time is gone, your potential for making the exchange is reduced.

That’s why it’s so important to be intentional and strategic in your parenting.

Check out the book Sticky Faith by Kara Powell and Chap Clark which served as a major resource for this series.

Text: 2 Timothy 4:6-8

Originally recorded May 11, 2014, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN.