We Can’t Drop the Baton!

Olympic running track on a sunny day
Olympic running track on a sunny day

The Olympic 4×100 meter relay is one of the most spectacular sporting events you can watch. 

Four individuals consecutively make one trip around a quarter mile track at a full sprint in less than forty seconds, and in the process they pass a small metal baton to each other.

The four fastest individuals in the world can be disqualified if they fail to pass the baton successfully. Such was the case for both the U.S.A. men’s and women’s relay teams at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.

They failed to pass the baton, and it dropped to the track. Consequently, they were disqualified.

The important part of this story is they failed to pass the baton successfully and it cost them greatly!

Like a runner passing a baton in a relay race, each generation is responsible for passing along the baton of  faith. We can’t drop the baton!

What are you doing today to pass your faith on to your children and/or grandchildren?

“But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24 15

Have a blessed Sunday!

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  1. Wow Cyndi……Our legacy, passing the Baton of Faith ….. Faith in action: train up a child, cast all our cares, be anxious for nothing, our God saves, our God supplies, our God heals, our God directs, our God hears, looking not to our own understanding, but seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness …. and in everything….. praise Him!

  2. Perfect timing! I just had this discussion with my 23 year old daughter as we were leaving church last week! Asked her to pass on the baton, as our Roman Catholic ancestors have done for countless generations….she is the one child I know will pass it on!

  3. Perfect message today Cindi! We had a Dedication Service today for our granddaughter. The Pastor spoke on many things we need to do with regard to teaching our children & grandchildren. From Deuteronomy 6 on fearing The Lord & keeping his commandments… to Proverbs 22:6, train up a child and many other verses in between. As grandparents, we have a big job, not only supporting our children, but our grandchildren! Over the years, our small country church has had 4 & 5 generations attending, right now are we down to 3 generations, but that still speaks volumes on “Passing the “Baton”!

  4. This really strikes a chord today as we witnessed a dear child confirmed today that I coached for years. Our daughters of course were there they were confirmed in Christ over the last 2 years. The discussion over lunch was the 4×100 relay and upcoming regionals my daughter will be running them in. Spot on as usual!

  5. Awesome! Such an important thing to think about daily! Blessings?

    PS–I got the pineapple t shirt at Target. Wearing it right now!

  6. Great analogy Cyndi. Such a great reminder too. Thx for serving the Kingdom. Have a blessed Sunday 🙂

  7. Love this! My husband is the worship leader at our church, and we both help with teaching the preschool children. We also led the youth group for a while. Our eldest son is in college now and our youngest is a preschooler.