Passing the Baton

Many of us watched with disbelief this week as both the men's and the women's U. S. 400 meter relay teams dropped the baton and failed to qualify for the finals in the Olympics. I felt sorry for those teams as the scene of them dropping the baton was replayed at least a half a dozen times. The team that wins the relay race is not necessarily the fasted or strongest. The team that wins the relay race is the team that transports that 2 ounce baton around the track before any other team. We can only speculate as to why both U. S. teams dropped the baton. Was it a curse? Was it just not their day? Or, was it a lack of preparation? We may never know.

     There is a baton that the church passes on that is more important than the baton in a relay race. This is the baton of our faith. If we fail to pass our faith to the next generation, then the church dies. If you are in a church and there are more gray haired and white haired people than anyone else, then it is reasonable to conclude that the church is not doing well in passing on the baton of faith. I do not have anything against grey haired or white haired folks, of course, because I happen to be one of them. If our churches are going to continue to thrive, however, we must successfully pass on the baton of faith to future generations.

     If we are not doing well at passing the baton and our congregations are getting grayer and smaller, then we have to ask the Lord why? Are we not prepared? And if we are not prepared, how can we prepare? Psalm 48:9 says, "We have thought on [meditated] your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of your temple." Why do we meditate on the steadfast love of God? Psalm 48:13-14 answers, "That you may tell the next generation  that this is our God, our God forever and ever. He will guide us forever." We meditate, think on, ponder, contemplate, picture in our hearts and minds the steadfast, unfailing covenant love of God at work in our lives so that we can tell the next generation--so that we can pass on the baton of our faith. By soaking in the truth of the covenant love of God as revealed in his Word, we can be prepared to pass on our faith to the next generation.

 

Soli Deo Gloria!