2 Timothy 2:2

I love watching the Summer Olympics. Among my all-time favourite events is the relay race. A team of runners working magnificently in harmony and co-operation to pass the baton to their running mates to finish the race for the gold. What a thrill! The key, as I understand it, lies in the precise technique of passing the baton from one runner to the next. The race cannot be won unless the baton is successfully passed.

The same is true of the race of faith.For generations, the great doctrines of God givento the apostles by Christ Himself, have been carefully and successfully handed down tothe next generation.

Transferring biblical principles from one generation to the next is like passing the baton in a relay. This relay has been going on for centuries. The children of Israel were instructed to teach the next generation:

Commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these words of mine. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up (Deuteronomy 11:18–19).

The seasoned Apostle Paul made certain his ministry apprentice, Timothy, understood this process when he wrote him these words:

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.

See how it works? If you’re in Christ, you’re on the relay team. If you’re a father or mother, grandfather or grandmother, pastor, teacher, mentor, or friend, keep in mind the race you are running is not a sprint for one—it’s a relay for many. The next generation of runners is counting on you to pass the baton. Run well. Watch those handoffs. Stay at it!

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Devotional content taken from Good Morning, Lord ... Can We Talk? by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright ©2018. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries. All rights reserved.