Got a Grip onThings

Our focus today is passing on the baton. When the baton is passed we naturally assume it involves a runner in a race. Could there be an alternative scenario at play here? If we rotate the picture, could there be something else going on? Maybe their hands cannot reach each other, but one man has a stick that will allow the other man to grab hold of and then reach out with his other hand and grab an arm and then be pulled to safety! Similarly, don’t be so quick to judge a book by its cover.

 

Passing the baton could represent the passing of one era to another. Maybe a preacher is retiring and turning the flock over to another to be cared for. Maybe a senior statesman is stepping aside to let a new generation lead. Perhaps a scientist who has worked their entire life to find a cure for a disease is passing all their knowledge and a diary of their successes and failures in an effort to continue the fight and save future generations.

Some people in charge don’t particularly want to pass the baton of responsibility on to another. They think that a new generation should reinvent the wheel and start from scratch. Some don’t want another taking credit for their hard work and past successes. The wise man knows that we all stand on the shoulders of those who came before us. The late witty radio commentator Paul Harvey once said he knew that this life wouldn’t last forever, and that when it was his time, he’d like to be remembered as someone who left the woodpile bigger than he found it! Words of wisdom.

Solomon tells us in the Old Testament Book of Ecclesiastes plenty about life. Chapter 9 says that, “the race is not to the swift or the battle of the strong”. Life may seem like a marathon, but for what? Most of life is futile; one must grab its opportunities and use them to the fullest in serving God. Everybody has a particular work, which is accomplished in this life, or, not at all! The issues of our life and the length of our life are quite unpredictable. No one is guaranteed success. No one can know what God will hand them!

Everyone has run a race of some kind in their life.  Many have won, and their witness stirs us to run and win also.  What an inspiring heritage we have!  "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:1-2    Be patient, be prepared, be ready, He is coming!